Elevate Your Day with Andi and Brian Hale

Study For Service (At His Feet)

Now, although it would of course be amazing to stay in the position of worship, as Mary did. We also have very distinct calls and purposes on our lives which require us to GO. We are required to ABIDE, which means to remain in him, as we go and do.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. (James 1:22-25 ESV)
Passages like this one in James 1, not to mention The Great Commission in Matthew 28, give us clear instruction on the importance of doing the work of God.
Specifically, James 1:23 really strikes me in that the imagery of looking intently at the Word of God is described as being like someone who looks in a mirror. This gives us yet further insight into the fact that so much of our identity is tied up in the pages of Scripture.
The more we read his Word and understand his heart, the more we long to do what he’s created us for. So it starts with the study, but it doesn’t stay there. The natural response after any of us has learned something is to then go and put it into practice. The practice before the knowing can be limiting in that we’ll only ever get so far without knowing exactly what we’re meant to do and why. Equally, simply knowing without going is even more limiting.
Another phrase to note from our passage is the word ‘perseveres’ in verse 25. It can be easy, after a hard knock or a feeling of difficulty and struggle, to feel like perhaps we’ve got it wrong or that God isn’t actually with us after all, and that is one of the crucial reasons as to why it’s so vital to keep coming back to the word.
Just like we don’t look at ourselves in the mirror once and think to ourselves “well, I know what I look like now, I don’t need to look ever again!” – neither do we look to scripture once and think to ourselves “well, I know what to do now”. Of course, we know this in theory, but it can be harder to walk out in practice.
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20 ESV)
One of the most commonly asked questions for both Christians and non-Christians alike is “What is the purpose for my life?” As believers, we have answers to this not only on a broad scale, but also on a day-to-day basis as we continually revisit what God has to say about what is required of us each and every day.
Knowing this, then we must not simply theoretically know what is required of us; we must also be prepared and willing to walk it out, and we must continue to come back to it in order to be replenished, restored, and rejuvenated for what’s ahead. I hope that this short plan has encouraged you to do just that.

Savour > Study (At His Feet)

Now, of course, a devotional plan on the study of God as a means to an end would not be an adequate way to spend this time together. The majesty of God isn’t only something to be studied and pondered on in order to make ourselves feel smarter, or so that we might know more. Our study of him is, of course, an opportunity to KNOW him more.“And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8 NIV)
Picture the scene. You’ve been given a beautiful paradise in which to dwell, you’re given freedom and authority, and you’re also given one instruction which you must not violate… But you can’t help it, so you do.
God comes looking for you – He searches until he finds you and then asks you why you’re hiding.
Imagine the closeness, the connection, and the fellowship alongside the fear that it might soon be over…
Now, we know the story. If we know Jesus, we know that him taking on our sin (past, present, and future) means that although our sin has consequences, God’s not punishing us for it. But that isn’t the key point I raise by sharing this passage today.
I share it because it’s a reminder of the presence of the Lord, which we too can encounter daily. Adam and Eve were human just as we are, and yet they experienced something of God’s presence. They couldn’t stand to be in it because of their own sin, but they had the opportunity to closely encounter God, all the same.
We can so often limit the study of God to simply an opportunity to know more about him as opposed to actually knowing him.
“Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ This ‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8:1, NIV)
And so, with our fallen human nature, how do we actually obtain this place of ‘savouring’ as opposed to simply studying? The answer is in the attitude of our hearts toward Him.
Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. (Psalm 22:3 ESV)
I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. (Psalm 119:7 ESV)
God inhabits the praises of his people, and we’re also encouraged to worship him with an upright heart.
In short, the more we study, the more we savour. The more we TRULY know, the more we want to know Him.

Life To The Full (At His Feet)

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. – John 10:10 ESV
Jesus longs that we’ll live our lives to the full – He truly does. But that abundant life he speaks of is, of course, so much more than simply lip service on a Sunday or our well-rehearsed prayers. Instead, it’s about honesty and wholehearted surrender to him.
When we can get to this place, it means we truly understand that we, too, are choosing ‘what is best’. We, too, are understanding that there is nothing else that compares to a moment at the feet of Jesus like Mary had, as we explored yesterday.
And of course, it’s not just Mary. The psalmist echoed this sentiment in Psalm 84:10.
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
In this verse, we hear a similar refrain – a sentiment which suggests that a seemingly ‘low’ position before God is still better than the highest, most noble position there is without him.
The familiar ‘my God’ in this verse instantly speaks to me of relationship. This is not ‘the God’, ‘a God’, or even ‘God’, this is MY God. My Father, the One I cling to. When we cultivate relationship, and are in turn reminded that God is in no way distant or far off, we too recognise that our acts of service are only ever going to play a small part in the much, much bigger story of surrender.
The Word of God is one of the most crucial places within which we, God’s children, truly get to understand how wonderful this truth really is. It’s within those pages where we recall and remind ourselves of not only who we are, but also whose we are, which is ultimately more important.
We will never understand our identity, our calling, our purpose – all of the things we often seek to understand first – until we’re able to understand He whose image we have been created in.
“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4 NIV)
This often quoted verse is equally as often misquoted. We can read this and sometimes find ourselves believing that it’s saying that God loves us so much, He will give us whatever we want. But when we pause and think, we realise that our human nature sometimes desires things which, ultimately, are no good for us.
Real love – Indeed, God’s love gives us the things HE desires for us. But the beautiful truth about that is, the more we get to know Him, the more we DELIGHT in HIM as the scripture states, the more our desires line up with the things he longs for us to have anyway.

What Is Best (At His Feet)

When met face to face with Jesus, Mary chose worship and Martha chose worry.
Luke 10:38-42 ESVNow as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Jesus saying these words to Martha after she’s been rushing around trying to get the house ready for him always used to rub me the wrong way.
I used to find myself thinking ‘well, it’s all very well to say that the BEST thing is just to sit at your feet, but I don’t know how I can do that when there’s so much to do.’
The truth is, I still find myself thinking like that a lot of the time. But regardless of what emotions get stirred as we read these words from Jesus, it’s so vital that we pay attention.
When met face to face with Jesus, Mary chose worship and Martha chose worry.
Where do we find ourselves at those moments during the day when we just need to hear from him, but we also have hundreds of things to fit in? Does the to-do list get the domain? I know it often does for me.
The truth is, in order for us to understand what it is that Jesus is saying here, we must understand him. We know that we won’t fully know all there is to know about him now, but we also know that we can at least endeavour to understand and grow more as we study his word and his work.
Jesus was talking about attitudes of the heart here. He was making it clear that good deed after good deed wasn’t in any way the same as just sitting at his feet in worship and wonder. He wasn’t saying that we won’t have earthly responsibilities, of course. But he also wasn’t saying that they come first.
What comes first is always him. What comes first is always sitting at his feet before we rise to our own and get on with the duties of the day.
However, our own perspectives won’t always make this easy to understand. With the wrong frame of mind and indeed heart, we can quite frankly find ourselves frustrated with this sort of talk. This is why making that all-important space to sit at his feet is just so vital.

Real Relationships (At His Feet)

There are countless books that remark on the characteristics of God, our understanding of God in relation to our lives, how to use our God-given gifts, etc. Something we mustn’t skip, though, or feel to be irrelevant or less important, is the simple seeking of our Savior.
 
I say ‘simple’, but sometimes that’s so far from the truth, though, isn’t it? Sometimes one of the hardest things to do is to sit at Jesus’ feet and be still – to worship him, to adore him.
 
This devotional is all about the how and why of the study of God himself. Not as some form of dry study for study’s sake, of course, but because our relationship with Jesus is the most important we’ll ever have. I don’t propose to be able to cover it all in one devotional, but I do want to give us a foundation from which we can continually draw strength.
 
John 21:25 ESVNow there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
 
As we go through these few days together, you’ll note that the so-called ‘study’ of God isn’t a means to an end or a box to be ticked, but the very lifeblood of what makes us who we are.
 
The closer we get to God, the more we’ll understand ourselves. We’re made in his image after all, and so it makes sense that in knowing our creator more intimately, we allow ourselves to be more fully known.
 
What’s incredible, though, is that it is just a bonus, an add-on, a free gift – because, as I pray you’ll discover as you go through this study, what is of most value in the seeking of our Savior, is that we might actually find him there.
 
Acts 17:26-27 ESVAnd he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
 
He is not far from us, and my prayer as we go through these next few days together is that as we sit at His feet, we’ll know that to be true.

Finish Well (Get Your Spirit Back)

You could have been born at any time, but God saw fit for you to be born in this day and age. He knew all the challenges that would come your way.
Our glorious Savior faced so many battles. He faced so many moments when He could have thrown in the towel. John 12:27–28 gives us a peek into one such moment, when Jesus said:
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glo­rify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glori­fied it, and will glorify it again.”
How about you? Thinking about the challenge that has been beating down your spirit, could this be the very reason too that you came to this hour?
You could have been born at any time, but God saw fit for you to be born in this day and age. He knew all the challenges that would come your way. He also knew all the gifts that He put on the inside of you, and now He is asking you to say yes to His plan and to His will.
So do not let discord, racism, sexism, poverty, de­struction, fear, lies, distortions, or anything else in­timidate you and make you run to some corner. At every turn, may these words rise up from your heart: “Father, glo­rify Your name.”
And may you hear God answering back from heaven and saying over your life, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
Philippians 3:7-14 ESVBut whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
I speak life over you where others have declared death. I speak hope over you where you have walked in doubt. I speak faith over you where there has been fear. And I pray for you to make the move now instead of allowing another moment to pass by living smaller than the heavenly calling you have in Christ Jesus.
You are free.You are loved.You are called.You are chosen.You are forgiven.You are adopted.You are anointed.And in Jesus’s name, you have your spirit back!
Where do you see new life already beginning to grow within you?

Walk With The Spirit (Get Your Spirit Back)

Your desire to read the Bible, your hunger for the things of God, your longing to walk more closely with Him have been orchestrated by God because the Holy Spirit goes before you.
First Corinthians 12:3 says, “No one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” This verse teaches us that you can’t even be drawn to God, you can’t even find the gift of salvation in Jesus, unless the Holy Spirit is the one who empowers you to say “Jesus is Lord” in the first place.
So let me make this clear: Your desire to read the Bible, your hunger for the things of God, your longing to walk more closely with Him have been orchestrated by God because the Holy Spirit goes before you.
Acts 1:4-8 ESVAnd while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Before your next epic battle, I would implore you to pause and begin to see not just God the Father and God the Son but God the Holy Spirit—the one Jesus promised would come and walk with us. He will remind us of the Word and will keep us in align­ment with it.
Some of us have incredible physical experiences when the Holy Spirit shows His power, while others don’t. You may not shed any tears, you may feel zero goosebumps, but all of us need to pause and say, “Holy Spirit, You already sealed me and filled me up until I overflow. And I live a life of love and surrender that points everyone I know and ev­eryone I don’t know to Jesus.”
Galatians 5:22-25 ESVBut the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
This is your challenge, my friend. Take the step. Yield your heart. Let the Word of God cleanse and renew your mind, and then walk forward into the plans and purposes God has for you with confidence, conviction, and humility. Because the Holy Spirit’s work isn’t designed to keep you hiding. The Holy Spirit is going to empower you to move!
Pray for a new filling of the Holy Spirit, and trust that He will guide you.

I Am Scared, But... (Get Your Spirit Back)

You may never graduate from some struggles. They might always be closer than you want them to be. But some­times the struggle is the thing that keeps us humble. It helps us see ourselves rightly as we see ourselves surren­dered and dependent upon Almighty God.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul prays about a particularly stubborn challenge he’s struggling with:
2 Corinthians 12:7 ESVTo keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.
Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Sometimes it’s good to say, “I’m scared.” I’m scared, but I’m not quitting. I’m scared, but I’m not throwing in the towel. I’m scared, but I’m not going to sit on the side of the road and sulk. I’m scared, but I will not forfeit what God has called me to do, because I recognize it’s not about me; it’s about Him and about Him reaching others through me. I’m scared, but I will stay at my post. I’m scared, but I will keep moving forward. I will continue to trust God in the middle of crying huge tears. I’m scared, but I will not turn away from what God has asked me to turn toward. I’m scared, but I’m still going to trust that God knows what He is doing. And even when I don’t know all that He knows, I can trust that He knows better than me.
James 1:2-12 ESVCount it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.  Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
In defiance of whatever fears you may be feeling, what step forward do you need to take today?