MAY 15 What Is Meekness? Devotional by John Piper “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5) Meekness begins when we put our trust in God. Then, because we trust him, we commit our way to him. We roll onto him our anxieties, our frustrations, our plans, our relationships, our jobs, our health. And then we wait patiently for the Lord. We trust his timing and his power and his grace to work things out in the best way for his glory and for our good. The result of trusting God and the rolling of our anxieties onto God and waiting patiently for God is that we don’t give way to quick and fretful anger. But instead, we give place to wrath and hand our cause over to God and let him vindicate us if he chooses. And then, as James says, in this quiet confidence we are slow to speak and quick to listen (James 1:19). We become reasonable and open to correction. Meekness loves to learn. And it counts the blows of a friend as precious. And when it...

MAY 12 Why We Should Love Our Enemies Devotional by John Piper “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” (Luke 6:27) There are two main reasons why Christians should love their enemies and do good to them. One is that it reveals something of the way God is. God is merciful. “He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10). “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). So, when Christians live this way, we show something of what God is like. The second reason is that the hearts of Christians are satisfied with God and are not driven by the craving for revenge or self-exaltation or money or earthly security. God has become our all-satisfying treasure and so we don’t treat our advers...

JESUS IS THE ANSWER Categories: Daily Devotional “And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.” (Mark 5:41-42 KJV) Everything that man can depend upon has the capacity to fail. In the book of Mark 5:21-24 and also 35-43, a religious ruler by the name Jairus went to Jesus. And you know that religious people are so dogmatic in what they believe. Religion is actually an attempt to reach God, but mortal man cannot reach God, unless God reaches out to him. Neither can religion be depended upon in the hour of need. This man ran to Jesus because religion failed him. His daughter was sick and at the point of death. He could not heal her. He tried all, but his religion failed him. The only option left to him was to go back to Jesus. When Jesus got to the house ...

The Key to Radical Love Devotional by John Piper “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11–12) One of the questions I posed while preaching on loving our enemies from Matthew 5:44 was, How do you love the people who kidnap you and then kill you? How can we do this? Where does the power to love like this come from? Just think how astonishing this is when it appears in the real world! Could anything show the truth and power and reality of Christ more than this? I believe Jesus gives us the key to this radical, self-sacrificing love, described in Matthew 5:44, earlier in the very same chapter. In Matthew 5:11–12, he is again talking about being persecuted, just like he was when he said in Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persec...

APRIL 20 Afraid to Stray Devotional by John Piper Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind! (Psalm 31:19) Consider two important truths in Psalm 31:19. 1. The goodness of the Lord There is a peculiar goodness of God. That is, there is not only God’s general goodness that he shows to all people, making his sun rise on the evil and the good (Matthew 5:45), but also a peculiar goodness, as the psalm says, for “those who fear” him. This goodness is abundant beyond measure. It is boundless. It lasts forever. It is all-encompassing. There is only goodness for those who fear him. Everything works together for their good (Romans 8:28). Even their pains are filled with profit according to Romans 5:3–5. But those who do not fear him receive a temporary goodness. Romans 2:4–5 describe it like this: “Do you presume on the riches ...

Pray for His Fame Devotional by John Piper “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’” (Matthew 6:9) Dozens of times Scripture says that God does things “for his name’s sake.” But if you ask what is really moving the heart of God in that statement (and many like it), the answer is that God delights in having his name known. The first and most important prayer that can be prayed is, “Hallowed be your name.” This is a request to God that he would work to cause people to hallow his name. God loves to have more and more people “hallow” his name, and so his Son teaches Christians to put their prayers in line with this great passion of the Father. “Lord, cause more and more people to hallow your name,” that is, esteem, admire, respect, cherish, honor, and praise his name. It is basically a missionary prayer.

MARCH 28 When Everyone Deserts You Devotional by John Piper At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (2 Timothy 4:16–18) This morning I have lingered long over these magnificent and heartbreaking words. Paul is in custody in Rome. So far as we know, he was not released. His last letter comes to an end like this. Consider and be astounded! He is deserted. He is an old man. A loyal servant. In a foreign city, far from home. Surrounded by enemies. In danger of death. Why? Answer: So he could write this precious sentence for our souls: “But the Lord stood by me!” Oh, how I love those words! When yo...

MARCH 27 10 Results of the Resurrection Devotional by John Piper If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. (1 Corinthians 15:17) Here are ten amazing things we owe to Jesus’s resurrection: 1) A Savior who can never die again. “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again” (Romans 6:9). 2) Repentance. “The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel” (Acts 5:30–31). 3) New birth. “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). 4) Forgiveness of sin. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). 5) The Holy Spirit. “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of G...

MARCH 25 Forever Satisfied Devotional by John Piper “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35) This text points to the fact that believing in Jesus is a feeding and drinking from all that Jesus is. It goes so far as to say that our soul-thirst is satisfied with Jesus, so that we don’t thirst anymore. He is the end of our quest for satisfaction. When we trust Jesus the way John intends for us to, the presence and promise of Jesus is so satisfying that we are not dominated by the alluring pleasures of sin (see Romans 6:14). This accounts for why such faith in Jesus nullifies the power of sin and enables obedience. John 4:14 points in the same direction: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” In accord with John 6:35, saving faith is spoken of here as a drinking...

MARCH 23 Ignorance Guarantees Ungodliness Devotional by John Piper His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:3) I am amazed at the power that the Bible gives to knowledge. Consider 2 Peter 1:3: “[God’s] divine power has granted . . . all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” Literally, all the power available from God to live and be godly comes through knowledge! Amazing! What a premium we should put on doctrine and instruction in the Scriptures! Life and godliness are at stake. Not that knowing guarantees godliness. It doesn’t. But it seems that ignorance guarantees ungodliness. Because, Peter says, the divine power that leads to godliness is given through the knowledge of God. Here are three implications, a warning, and a promise. 1. Read! Read! Read! But bew...

MARCH 18 Why We Must Hold Fast Our Hope Devotional by John Piper When God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. (Hebrews 6:17–18) God is not inconsistent. He does not exert himself with promises, and oaths, and the blood of his Son simply to anchor down one end of our security while leaving the other to dangle in the air. The salvation Jesus obtained by his blood was everything it takes to save his people, not just part of it. So, we are prone to ask, Why does the writer encourage us to hold fast to our hope (Hebrews 6:18)? If our holding fast was obtained and irrevocably secured by the blood of Jesus, then why does God tell us to hold fast? The answer is this: What Christ bought for us when he died...

MARCH 16 Jesus Will Finish the Mission Devotional by John Piper “ This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14 don’t know any more inspiring missionary promise than this word from Jesus. Not: This gospel should be preached. Not: This gospel might be preached. But: This gospel will be preached. This is not a great commission, nor a great commandment. It is a great certainty, a great confidence. Who can dare talk like that? How does he know it will? How can he be sure the church will not fail in its missionary task? Answer: The grace of missionary service is as irresistible as the grace of regeneration. Christ can promise universal proclamation because he is sovereign. He knows the future success of missions because he makes the future. All the nations will hear! A “nation” is not a modern “country.” When the Old Testament spoke of nations, it referred to groups like ...

MARCH 15 Subversive for the Savior Devotional by John Piper When Jesus met the man filled with demons at Gadara, the demons cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29) Demons learned a mystery here. They knew they were doomed. They knew the Son of God would be the Victor. But they didn’t know until it happened that Christ was coming before the time of final defeat. Christ is not going to wait until the atom bomb drops to end the war. He has begun to lead a subversive force into the territory of Satan. He has trained a “life-squad” to perform daring rescue operations. Christ has plotted many tactical victories before the time of the final strategic victory. The resulting wartime mentality is this: Since Satan’s doom is sure, and he knows it, we can always remind him of it when he tempts us to follow him. We can laugh and say, “You’re out of your mind. Who wants to join forces with a loser?!” The c...

MARCH 14 The Triumph Is Sure Devotional by John Piper Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you. (Isaiah 25:3) Isaiah sees the day coming when all the nations — representatives from all the people groups — will no longer be at odds with Yahweh, the God of Israel and his Messiah, whom we know to be Jesus. They will no longer worship Bel or Nebo or Molech or Allah or Buddha or utopian social programs or capitalistic growth possibilities or ancestors or animistic spirits. Instead they will come in faith to the banquet on God’s mountain. And they will have the veil of sorrow removed and death shall be swallowed up and the reproach of God’s people will be removed and tears shall be gone forever. That’s the setting for understanding the vision of Isaiah 25:3, “Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you.” In other words, God is stronger than the “strong people” and he is so powerful and so gracious...

MARCH 13  Jesus Is God’s Amen Devotional by John Piper All the promises of God find their Yes in him.  why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (2 Corinthians 1:20) Prayer is the place where the past and future are linked repeatedly in our lives. I mention this here because Paul links prayer with God’s Yes in this verse in a striking way. In 2 Corinthians 1:20, he says (with choppy Greek that comes through in choppy English), “That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” Let’s try to smooth that out. Here’s what he is saying: “Therefore, because of Christ, we say Amen to God in our prayers to show that God gets the glory for the future grace we are counting on.” If you’ve ever wondered why Christians say Amen at the end of our prayers and where that custom comes from, here’s the answer. Amen is a word taken straight over into Greek from Hebrew without any translation, just like it has come into English an...

Two Infinitely Strong and Tender Truths  by John Piper “ . . . declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” (Isaiah 46:10) The word “sovereignty” (like the word “Trinity”) does not occur in the Bible. We use it to refer to this truth: God is in ultimate control of the world from the largest international intrigue to the smallest bird-fall in the forest. Here is how the Bible puts it: “I am God, and there is no other. . . . ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’” (Isaiah 46:9–10). And: “[God] does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:35). And: “He is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. For he will complete what he appoints for me” (Job 23:13–14). And: “Our God is in the heavens; he does...