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

“The end of a matter is better than its beginning; patience of spirit is better than arrogance of spirit.”

—Ecclesiastes 7:8

This may be an odd verse to ponder at the end of the year when everyone is excitedly thinking of new beginnings and New Year’s resolutions, but it’s important to consider—how will we finish what we begin (Luke 14:27–33)?

Because anyone can start. We see it all the time—launching a new endeavor, pursuing a shiny goal—the enthralling rush that accompanies all the plans we make.

It’s the same feeling that accompanies young love, which often fizzles as the thrill fades, the difficulties arise, and reality sets in.

I’m afraid we frequently do this in our faith life. I read something that said there was “nothing like” those first days of following Jesus, but this is not how it should be. The end should be better than the beginning.

If we expect those early thrills to carry us through, we will not make it.

We should always be growing in the Spirit, and our love for Christ should deepen in the way the committed love of a marriage deepens as the years go on, even when the flutters have ceased and the trials of life are in full force.

We often begin with arrogance and naivety, but we can only complete with patience, perseverance, and dedication.

We must commit to the long–term rewards instead of the short, to showing up even when we don’t feel like it, and to persevering even when we’re exhausted.

Let us be people who do not begin in arrogance, but who plan and commit to doing what it takes to finish well, both in faith and in life.

The post December 31-Finishing Well 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 mouth speaks from that which fills the heart.”

—Matthew 12:34

What fills our hearts? If we’re not sure, we can find out by checking out our words.

What do we talk about? What attitudes come out in our words? That’s what we hold in our hearts.

Do we often speak about the lasting things that are important in the kingdom of God, or do we only talk of worldly things? Is the attitude of our speech peace, love, and the other fruits of the Spirit or is it anger, complaint, discontentment, unforgiveness, or bitterness?

If we look at our words and are disappointed by what they reveal about our spirit, it just means we have some heart–change to work on.

Many of us try to change only our outward actions. That’s a place to start, and to some extent, we can use willpower to moderate what comes out of our mouths, but what’s truly in us will still emerge in times of stress, fear, or anger.

To change from the inside out, we need to work on our hearts and minds and let the Lord work on our spirits.

We do this by taking time to sit with him, praying and meditating on his Word, and living by the truths we say we believe. We need to resist temptation, the lies of the devil, and worldly mindsets. The more we follow the Lord, the more readily we hear his voice (James 4:7–8).

We can store up verses to train our hearts and minds to dwell on biblical truth and goodness when our attitude strays back to fear, anger, or insecurity (Philippians 4:8).

With time, obedience, and intention, the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) will bring about the transformation of our hearts and words.

The post December 30-Listening to My Words 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.

“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go away, Satan! For it is written . . ..’”

—Matthew 4:10

There are a couple of things we can learn from Jesus’s response to Satan’s temptation.

First, through his connection to the Father, he knew what was or wasn’t something he should do. To make your own food when you’re hungry (Matthew 4:3) doesn’t seem so bad on the surface, but Jesus knew it would be a misuse of his power according to the purpose God had for him. As we submit to, seek, and follow the Lord, the Holy Spirit will reveal this to us as well.

Second, Jesus knew his sure defense came from God’s Word. Satan’s deception doesn’t work if we know and believe what God has truly said in the Bible.

The devil comes at us with the same deceptions he brought to Eve in Eden—“Did God really say . . .?” Our enemy subtly adds to the command that was given (Genesis 3:1) then outright calls God a liar (Genesis 3:4). He tries to convince us God doesn’t really want good for us (Genesis 3:5).

But we can defend our hearts and minds with truth. All the crafty messages are defeated when we have the two–edged sword of the Word (Hebrews 4:12) stored up in our hearts (Psalm 119:11).

“It is written” is a tool we should all have at the ready. Whatever temptation is common in our lives, we can study the Word and find Scriptures that apply to it, then memorize them and have them ready when that temptation arrives.

And the more we study, meditate, and memorize the Word in general, the more the Holy Spirit will bring what God has said to mind even when unexpected temptations come our way.

The post December 29-Anchored in Truth 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.

“You will make known to me the way of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; in your right hand there are pleasures forever.”

—Psalm 16:11

How many of us agonize over what path to take in life? And not just once, but over and over.

But God assures us so many times of his guidance:

• Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
• Isaiah 30:21 says, “Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.”
• Psalm 25:12 says, “He will instruct him in the way he should choose.”
• Proverbs 3:5–6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
• Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
• James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

His way is perfect (Psalm 18:30) and leads to the fullness of joy—not just some joy, but its fullness.

He shows us the way of life; it’s in his presence, where, once we join him in eternity, we have pleasures forevermore.

We make it so complicated. We doubt him and stop seeking his presence. We start seeking other things, hurrying, scrambling, and worrying. We forfeit our direction and our joy.

Seek him first (Matthew 6:33); his way is sure and full of joy.

The post December 28-Where Joy Is Found 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 cry to God most high, to God who accomplishes all things for me.”

—Psalm 57:2

We often stress about God’s purposes for us. Our human nature has us looking at our circumstances, worrying whether we’ll be able to accomplish them.

But God is the potter, and we are the clay (Isaiah 45:9–10); he gave us our purpose from the beginning of time (Ephesians 2:10), and he is the one who will fulfill it as we seek him and cry out to him (Numbers 23:19; Philippians 1:6).

The enemy wants us obsessing about whether we are doing what God wants with our gifts and lives. He wants us to agonize in fear and to stay focused on ourselves instead of on God.

The truth is, we aren’t capable of accomplishing the Lord’s purpose in, through, or for ourselves.

Moses couldn’t part the waters and rescue the Israelites from Pharoah. Gideon’s three–hundred men couldn’t have defeated the Midianites great army. Joshua and the Israelites couldn’t bring down Jericho’s wall.

But God accomplished his purposes in, through, and for each of them nonetheless because they cried out to him and obeyed where he led.

When the Lord gives us something to do, he will make a way. Our job is to be obedient even when obedience has us standing up to insurmountable odds. What looks like defeat can be the Lord’s great victory.

This doesn’t mean we will always live through that triumph. Each of us has our appointed time to die (Hebrews 9:27), and when that time comes, our death will accomplish his purpose as well and will be no great loss to us as we enter our eternal home without pain or sorrow.

The post December 27-Crying Out, Resting In 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.

“My soul waits in silence for God alone; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be greatly shaken.”

—Psalm 62:1–2

Seeking help from others or working toward a solution by our own means is not wrong, but our tendency is to seek help in all those other places before we lay it before the Lord. We often live in feverish concern about a thing before we finally hand it over to him and say, “This is too much for me.”

But a loving parent doesn’t want to wait to help their children until after they’ve worked themselves into a frenzy of exhaustion trying to do something on their own.

The loving parent is always ready: “Here, let me teach you; let me help you. This is really heavy. Let me carry it.”

God is that loving parent. He knows we can’t handle all the burdens this world hands us. We aren’t meant to. We’re meant to cast our burdens and anxieties on our heavenly Father (Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7).

All of them can be laid at his feet. We don’t have to complain, cajole, wear ourselves out, or get angry before God is willing to step in.

How many of our needs would be met through the Lord’s provision if we took them to him instead of dragging them around with us everywhere else first?

He is our stronghold, and only in him will we remain unshaken even when the world is unsteady.

The post December 26-Learning to Wait First 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.

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen him, you love him, and though you do not see him now, but believe in him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

—1 Peter 1:6–9

Perhaps this Christmas season finds us in a place where we cannot see God in our lives; perhaps we are distressed by trials.

We see him all around in mangers, and others seem to bask in the joy of his advent, but we cannot.

Let’s take comfort in the fact that we can look beyond this moment—this “little while” of testing—to the glorious revelation on the other side of the fire, where our faith has been proven, all the worthless dross of this life burned away, and our love is purified.

Right now, we cannot see him, but because we believe in the “Immanuel, God with us” without seeing, we can still rejoice with joy inexpressible in what is to come, knowing that this endurance will result in the salvation of our souls.

We may grieve for what we’ve lost or what is missing in our lives, but let’s look further to see what we have—the guarantee of eternal joy in our Savior’s presence where all our sorrows are washed away.

The post December 25-Immanuel, Even Here 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.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”

—Ephesians 3:20

He can do far more than we can even imagine, but it’s “according to the power that works within us.”

The Holy Spirit is the “power that works within us,” but 1 Thessalonians 5:19 warns that we can quench the Spirit. When we take that into consideration after looking at today’s verse, we can see that quenching the Spirit will limit what the Lord does in and through us.

But what does quenching the Spirit mean? The flesh is at war with the Spirit: “For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh” (Galatians 5:17). So we quench the Spirit by setting our minds on—prioritizing—the flesh.

And the “power at work within us” is proportional to the level of submission to Christ: “the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him” (Acts 5:32).

Just like the disciples could not cast out the demons because they could only be cast out by prayer (Mark 9:29), we may be lacking in obedience—whether that be in some task God calls us to, our attitudes, or some unrepented sin—and thereby limiting God’s power and voice in our lives.

The more complete our submission to the Spirit and the less we give in to the desires of the flesh—“sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these” (Galatians 5:19–22)—the more we will see the Holy Spirit’s power working within us far more abundantly than we can ask or think.

The post December 24-More Than I Can Imagine appeared first on C. E. White.