Next Steps Devo – February 9
Hope is a powerful force. According to this week’s passage, our hope in Christ enables our boldness. But what are we to do with this boldness? A snapshot of much of Western Christianity today may reveal that this audacity is often misplaced.
I boldly commit to reforming my behavior every January, but wait—what was that resolution again now that we’ve reached February? I boldly aim to reform the behavior of those “dirty unbelievers” in this repulsive world! Hold on a second. I am quite certain that both of these types of boldness are misguided at best and more likely to damage you and hinder your ability to live out your God-given calling.
Paul teaches us to be bold in the way we gaze—not at self-accomplishment and exaltation, but at the glory of the God who has redeemed us. Gospel boldness always begins at the foot of the cross and calls us to fall deeper in love with the Savior who hung on that cross. Don’t miss the boldness that declares, “I can see the lies of this world, am broken for those who can’t see them, and long to see all live in the joy I experience.”
Pray: God, thank you for the passion you have instilled in me for your name. Father, protect me from misplacing that zeal. Please, continually bring the cross to the forefront of my heart and mind. Enable me to consistently gaze upon your transforming grace and then live out that grace in my life. I am grateful that all my contemplation will never exhaust the beauty and wonder of who you are. I love you.