Today’s Bible Verse
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your earnings for what does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness [the profuseness of spiritual joy]. Incline your ear [submit and consent to the divine will] and come to Me; hear, and your soul will revive; and I will make an everlasting covenant or league with you, even the sure mercy (kindness, goodwill, and compassion) promised to David.
Isaiah 55:2-3 (AMPC)
Don’t Settle for Knockoffs
During my 20 years spent as a Marine, I traveled to many foreign places. During my travels, without fail, there would always be one or two locations for local vendors to sell knockoff merchandise (designer shoes, purses, hats, jewelry, and clothing) to the visiting tourists. Americans would flock to these locations and spend hundreds of dollars on seemingly nice and inexpensive designer gear. Most customers never even questioned why the items were so cheap or if the items were even real. Undeterred and committed to having the first-class lifestyle without paying the price, tourists would settle for the copy, a counterfeit, as being the real thing, without ever once questioning or wanting to know the truth of its authenticity.
This is not just the case in foreign countries, with jewelry and designer clothes; this is also the case with the condition of the human heart. An unsurrendered, undisciplined heart can easily be drawn to shortcuts, to bargains, and to purchasing shiny new products that make big promises, but lack any real substance and enduring quality. Now I realize that buying cheap designer clothing is relatively harmless, but today’s cheap counterfeits are not just limited to material things. Today’s cheap counterfeits are embedded in our culture, in our entertainment, and in the abuse of media. These things have become like idols in the hearts of humanity promising us peace, joy, love, and contentment, but leaving us more empty, more unfulfilled, and exceedingly lacking in purpose and quality of life.
If we are not careful to examine our culture and even ourselves (read Romans 2:2-12, MSG), that which seems so normal and pleasantly ordinary may in fact be counterfeit, carefully crafted by the enemy to keep us from accepting and knowing God’s truth; and like the ancient Israelites, deceived, we will “spend [our] money for that which is not bread, and [our] labor for that which does not satisfy (Isaiah 55:2); We will set up idols in our hearts (Read Ezekiel 14:3) and expect them to deliver that which can only be given from the Giver of life—the God who made us, loves us, and saves us. (Marques Farmer)
An Uncommon Life
One of the most effective ways of recognizing a counterfeit is to be intimately familiar with the real thing. When you are deeply aware of how a real 20 dollar bill feels in your hands—the intricate details of its artwork, its weight, and the fibers embedded in its material, you are more capable of recognizing when you have been handed a fake. When you know the “real thing,” the subtle differences in the counterfeit stand out to you like night stands out from day.
From our adolescent and teen years, to our time as young adults and well into adulthood, counterfeits are being peddled to us at every stage of life, but God is saying to His children that He wants us to know Him and His Word as the real thing, and in turn, know and be your authentic selves in Him. God knows that it can be exhausting pretending to be something that you are not. Even though most of today’s society has settled for the knockoffs (the idols of this world) and learned to be quiet and blend in, know today that God has called us to BE UNCOMMON, AUTHENTIC, and to stand out (Matthew 5:13-16).
Today’s Declaration
I am not a knockoff, a copy, a fake, or a counterfeit made to compete with the real thing (Psalms 139:14). What God has promised, He has delivered (Numbers 23:19). God made me in His image, and like Him, I am UNCOMMON (Genesis 1:27, Acts 10:15). I am my authentic self in God, and there is no more need for competition with a knockoff. Authenticity requires a certain level of integrity, vulnerability, and transparency. Today with God, I settle to live an UNCOMMONLY AUTHENTIC LIFE for Him. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Today’s Bible Reading
Our Bible Reading Plan gives 25 daily readings per month. There is no scheduled reading for today. You can use this time to catch up on any readings you may have missed, or read through previous passages again.
