The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there, and engage in business, and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’”

—James 4:13–15

This verse doesn’t mean we must include the words “if the Lord wills” in front of every sentence. It’s a matter of having a heart listening to the Holy Spirit—one that is not boastful or set on its own plans but is humble and willing to accept a new path as God leads.

Every goal we make in life should be held with open hands, with the attitude of “your will be done, Lord,” and with acceptance if what he has for us is different than what we hope.

It’s okay to plan, hope, and have desires, but we must add—as Jesus did—the “nevertheless, not my will but yours” (Luke 22:42) to all of those.

If we resist what God has for us or grow bitter when our plans or hopes don’t come to fruition, we have made ourselves, our desires, and the things of this world into a god. Our culture may not have many idols carved from stone or wood, but there are many things we put in front of our desire for the Lord’s will.

Let’s live the life God gives us moment by moment instead of dwelling on the what–ifs, the might’ve–beens, or the should’ve–beens.

The post December 13-Holding My Plans Loosely appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be to you; just as the Father has sent me, I also send you.’”

—John 20:21

We can look at how the Father sent Jesus to know how he sends us.

He sent him humbly, in the form of a baby who had to grow and learn just like we do.

He sent him humbly, as a servant who washed the feet of his own followers.

He sent him humbly, as a sacrifice willing to give up his own life and everything else in this world for the sake of others.

But not only humbly . . .

He sent him in power, as one who did not have to fear evil because he had overcome it.

He sent him in power, the relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit guiding and enabling him to resist temptation and walk in truth.

He sent him in power, as one who was not controlled by the fear of death.

He sent him in power, as one who stood up to those in authority when they oppressed others.

He sent him in power, with the authority to defeat our enemy who prowls about seeking to devour us.

We have been sent as humble servants with a power that no one can take from us, ready to give up this life at its end, dying to self each moment before that, yet walking in the strength that we can only get from abiding in Christ with every breath.

The post December 12-Humble, Yet Unafraid appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?”

—Psalm 42:1–2

When a deer is thirsty, it knows to go to the water. But it doesn’t drink from just any source; it finds the flowing water—the living water. It instinctively knows that the moving water is fresh and safe. The deer will only drink from a stagnant pond—potentially full of dangerous bacteria or algae—if it’s the last option.

Our human instincts aren’t quite as good. We frequently find ourselves drinking from the stagnant pools of this world rather than water that flows from our living God.

We drink and drink the tainted water and wonder why we’re thirsty and ill. The voices of the world tell us we simply haven’t drunk enough or we need to try a different pond, so we attempt to quench our heart’s desire with more and different worldly things. Satan is just as happy if we drink from the worldly pond of pride or deceitful riches as he is to keep us at the pool of lust or addiction.

But the more we drink from the world, the more our thirst increases; the less satisfied we become. We’re poisoning ourselves—sometimes slowly and sometimes fast. Anything other than the overflowing fountain of Jesus Christ will do its deadly work in the end.

When our souls pant from thirst, nothing but the true life–giving nourishment of Christ will do. He’s the only source of the spiritual refreshment that will sustain us, and as we come to him, the living water of the Holy Spirit will flow through us and nourish those around us as well.

The post December 11-When the Soul Thirsts appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please himself.”

—Romans 15:2–3

Most of us spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to make ourselves happy. We may put our desires aside for a time, but there’s often still a voice whispering, “I’ll get back to doing what I want later, so it’s okay temporarily.”

But when the “temporary” extends longer than we’d hoped, our desires start rearing their ugly heads. We get annoyed about how long this “pleasing and edifying my neighbor” is taking rather than getting our own time for whatever seems pleasing and edifying to us.

But if we would put off our desires for good in favor of following the Lord’s leading in our lives, how much happier and freer we would be! For “what is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is the source not your pleasures that wage war in your body’s parts?” (James 4:1).

Putting our desires aside is, in the end, freedom from the sins that so easily plague us. When we do so, we finally find that running this race with endurance is worth the joy set before us—eternity with the Lord (Hebrews 12:1–2).

We are also typically quite bad at knowing what will bring us true and lasting joy; setting aside our own desires leaves us open to all the unexpected, beautiful places God wants us to go.

Putting the edification of others for their good above our own wants in favor of the Lord’s direction is the path to peace and, ultimately, to more purpose and joy than chasing our desires ever could provide.

The post December 10-Beyond My Desires appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hurries toward the goal, and it will not fail. Though it delays, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay long.”

—Habakkuk 2:3

God gives us all good works to do in this lifetime (Ephesians 2:10). Some of those good works are simply living life where we are with faithful integrity, showing others the work of the Spirit in us, and making disciples of those around us.

But sometimes it feels a bit bigger than that; God gives us a hint or a vision of something that seems beyond us.

And sometimes we’re tempted to make that vision come to fruition by our own efforts . . . like Moses trying to free the Israelites by his own strength and being exiled from Egypt or like Abraham and Sarah making their own plan about how to get a son. They did get a son, but he was not the promised son.

God’s way had Moses shepherding in the wilderness as a nobody for forty years. It had Abraham and Sarah childless for twenty–five years after the promise.

If God calls us to something big and he hasn’t shown us the way to accomplish it, proceeding according to our own human efforts will always lead to disaster rather than fulfillment.

In the end, Moses freed the Israelites with miracles he never could have performed without God’s power. Abraham and Sarah had a child after it was beyond the realm of possibility according to all human standards.

If God gives a way forward, we move in it. If he doesn’t, we keep praying about that vision and trusting that God has given it an appointed time in which he will bring it to pass.

The post December 9-The Appointed Time appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

—Colossians 3:1–3

It’s so easy to set our minds on the things on earth. We can see them, and they require our immediate attention.

We often think that setting our minds on things above looks like staring whimsically into the clouds or spending all day in prayer, but God is also clear that we are to serve and do our work on this earth with integrity.

So what this really looks like is keeping our hope, desires, and purpose on the things above while yet keeping our hands to the daily work that duty requires of us.

To do this, we must die to our flesh (Romans 8:13) and perform our earthly duties with heavenly intent—in the power of the Holy Spirit and trusting that no matter how unspiritual the task, we can do it while displaying his fruit.

When we’re tempted to set our energy and emotions on the things of this world, may we remember that we’re already dead, and ask ourselves if those things matter in the life we live above with Christ.

We can put our earthly wants aside and make our lives about abiding in Christ in the day–to–day for the purpose of bringing him glory and showing him to others.

The post December 8-Heaven on Our Minds appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and likewise also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people.’ When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.”

—Luke 5:8–11

When Peter saw Jesus’s greatness, he knew he wasn’t worthy to be in Jesus’s presence.

Imagine Peter’s surprise when Jesus didn’t shun him, but instead invited him to join the greatest mission of all.

The understanding that we are not worthy—that the Lord’s forgiveness is undeserved—is part of the truth of the Gospel. It’s not a reason to hide or run away from him; it’s a reason to follow. We’re transformed into his image as we believe and live our belief out in obedience (1 John 2:6).

When we come to Jesus in repentance, all our sinfulness is washed away, and we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Then we must follow as the disciples did—willing to abandon all else as the disciples did if he requires it.

When we’re humble before him, he will always say, “Don’t be afraid; follow me.”

He will give us a purpose and an eternal mission, and he’s worth infinitely more than anything we could ever leave behind.

The post December 7-Because He Called appeared first on C. E. White.

The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls.”

—2 Corinthians 12:15

Paul echoes this statement again in Philippians 2:17: “But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.”

Just like Jesus, Paul laid his life down willingly to bring others to God. This is just one example that it was not only for Jesus to sacrifice for the kingdom of God, but for all of us as fellow heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).

That will look different for each of us. Whatever life the Lord has given us, we’re called to lay it down. “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters. But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God remain in him? Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:16–18).

This doesn’t mean we will do everything anyone asks or expects of us, but it does mean if we’re walking in the Spirit, we will give willingly where the Lord leads. We will gladly “spend and be expended,” whether in our time, finances, emotion, or physical effort.

This life is not about what we can get out of it, but about what we can pour into others for the sake of the Gospel.

The post December 6-Giving Gladly appeared first on C. E. White.