Hold Fast

January 31

Seeing the Works of God
From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman

Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the Lord.... - Psalm 107:23-24

When you were a child, perhaps you may have gone to the ocean for a vacation. I recall wading out until the waves began crashing on my knees. As long as I could stand firm, the waves were of no concern to me. However, as I moved farther and farther into the ocean, I had less control over my ability to stand. Sometimes the current was so strong it moved me down the beach, and I even lost my bearings at times. But I have never gone so far into the ocean that I was not able to control the situation.

Sometimes God takes us into such deep waters that we lose control of the situation, and we have no choice but to fully trust in His care for us. This is doing business in great waters. It is in these great waters that we see the works of God.

The Scriptures tell us that the disciples testified of what they saw and heard. It was the power behind the gospel, not the words themselves, which changed the world. The power wasn't seen until circumstances got to the point that there were no alternatives but God. Sometimes God has to take us into the deep water in order to give us the privilege to see His works.

Sometimes God takes us into the deep waters of life for an extended time. Joseph was taken into deep waters of adversity for 17 years. Rejection by his brothers, enslavement to Pharaoh, and imprisonment were the deep waters for Joseph. During those deep waters, he experienced dreams, a special anointing of his gifts to administrate, and great wisdom beyond his years. The deep water was preparation for a task that was so great he never could have imagined it. He was to see God's works more clearly than anyone in his generation.

God had too much at stake for a 30-year-old to mess it up. So, God took Joseph through the deep waters of preparation to ensure that he would survive what he was about to receive.

Pride sometimes engulfs God’s servants who have access to His great power, but when receipt of the power has been preceded by adversity, His child uses it with grace and gives all glory to Jesus rather than claiming recognition for himself.

If God chooses to take us into deep waters, it is for a reason; the greater the calling, the deeper the water. Trust in His knowledge that your deep waters are preparation to see the works of God in your life, to see His glory revealed in you and in your circumstances.




The words of our Brother Hillman strike a profound chord in the symphony of our lives, for who among us has not suffered? Who among us has not been betrayed by someone we trusted? Who among us has not been penalized for wrongs we did not commit?

Who among us has not dreamed great dreams of personal achievement or of great works done for the Kingdom of Christ only to find our accomplishments to be among the mundane and inglorious deeds of ordinary men?

Should we languish in a prison of despair because the heights of glory we thought were to be ours have not been scaled? That’s not what Joseph did in his prison. Even though his brothers had sold him into slavery, even though Potiphar’s wife lied about him when he refused her favors, even though prison was his seeming reward for his faithfulness to the law of the Holy One, yet he abounded in faith; yet he remained faithful!

When we are hemmed in on every side by limitations not of our own making; when we are faced with consequences unworthy of our diligent efforts; when we are bound by chains of mediocrity when our abilities assured us acclaim would be ours, may we yet hold fast to the One whose Word, fulfilled in Christ, is “yea and amen,” II Corinthians 1:20.

The Only Option

January 30

“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.’” Matthew 22:37-38.

This command very clearly delineates our devotion to God. It includes the fear, service, obedience, and worship of our great God and King who is our Creator, our Comforter, our Healer, our Teacher, our Guide, our Paraclete, our Savior.

The dictionary definition of worship says it involves intense admiration, adoration, honor, and devotion to someone or something. Practically, worship is our reasonable response to our God. Worship is an act that is much more than our reasonable response to the One who made Heaven and Earth and who holds everything that exists in the hollow of His hand; it is our just due.

When we neglect to worship our God and King, we are withholding from Him something that is far more than a perfunctory act of obeisance, we are refraining from paying a debt of gratitude and homage to Him that is required of all men!

Indeed, we are told by Paul in Romans 14:11, “As I live, saith the Lord, every knee in Heaven and in Earth and under the earth shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”

Every knee…every tongue…That is an all-inclusive declaration of the pervasive nature that the worship of Christ shall be. It does not state that only the knee of believers shall bow to or that only the tongue of the faithful shall confess His Lordship. No! Every knee shall bow! Every tongue shall confess!

The scoffer who mocks the faithful as they trod to church each Sunday with their Bible under their arm shall bow and confess! The unrepentant criminal who languishes in a prison cell shall bow and confess! The terrorist who makes himself into a living bomb to destroy believers as they stand against a diabolical mindset that presumes God to be a hater instead of a lover of men who do not espouse their belief system shall bow and confess!

Everyone who is ever born shall be among those who worship Jesus, who acknowledge Him as God and Savior of all men, who bow their knee and yield their tongue to the praise and honor of His holy, mighty, matchless name!

The only option any man has, the only choice any man can make is this…will he bow and confess today while he has life and breath? Or will he bow and confess on that great Day of Judgment when all men’s works shall be tried by fire? (See I Corinthians 3:13.)

As you, dear reader, contemplate your options, be mindful of Paul’s admonition in II Corinthians 6:2, “Behold now is the accepted time, behold today is the day of salvation."

Paying the Debt

January 29

Paying the Debt

A story is told about Fiorello LaGuardia, the beloved mayor of New York City during the worst days of the Great Depression.

One bitterly cold night in January of 1935, the mayor turned up at a night court that served the poorest ward of the city. LaGuardia dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself. Within a few minutes, a tattered old woman was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread.

She told LaGuardia that her daughter’s husband had deserted her, her daughter was sick, and her two grandchildren were starving. But the shopkeeper, from whom the bread was stolen, refused to drop the charges. “It’s a real bad neighborhood, your Honor,” the man told the mayor. “She’s got to be punished to teach other people around here a lesson.”

LaGuardia sighed. He turned to the woman and said “I’ve got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions -- ten dollars or ten days in jail.”

But even as he pronounced sentence, the mayor was already reaching into his pocket. He extracted a bill and tossed it into his famous sombrero, saying: “Here is the ten dollar fine which I now remit; and furthermore I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. ‘Mr. Baliff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant.’”

So the following day the New York City newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to a bewildered old lady who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren, fifty cents of that amount being contributed by the red-faced grocery store owner, while some seventy petty criminals, people with traffic violations, and New York City policemen, each of whom had just paid fifty cents for the privilege of doing so, gave the mayor a standing ovation.-- Brennan Manning (from The Ragmuffin Gospel)


"My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart also will be glad; and my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right." Proverbs 23:15-16

Mayor LaGuardia, for whom LaGuardia Airport in New York is named, is one of the most greatly admired men of his time. Certainly, in this instance when he left his mayoral home to participate in the proceedings of a debtors’ court, he evidenced not only human compassion but also the spirit of Christ who left the glory of Heaven to come to Earth and pay man’s horrible debt of sin.

Certainly this story of LaGuardia is reminiscent of the words spoken of Jesus in Philippians 2:6-11 which tell us:

“Jesus, who, being in very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be held to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself of no reputation by taking on the very nature of a servant, and being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even to death on a cross!

“Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

This story of LaGuardia, a mere man who evidenced the loving compassion of our dear God and Savior Jesus Christ, should inspire us to live our lives in such conformity to His that we may behold the impoverished spiritual condition of our fellow sojourners on this fallen planet and introduce them to the One who “Owns the cattle on a thousand hills,” Psalm 50:10, and who promised in Philippians 4:19 that He would, “supply all your needs according to His riches in glory.”

Man’s greatest need is not financial, not physical, not emotional, not professional, but spiritual. Until the ransom for his debt of sin has been paid through his acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice in his behalf, nothing else he has can avail him anything but a temporary enjoyment of the fleeting advantages of time.

May we shout it from the housetops (Matthew 10:27) that as Fiorello LaGuardia set men free from monetary debt, so Jesus Christ has set all men who believe His love and receive His salvation free of the debt of sin.

A Prayer in Jesus' Name

Lord Jesus, You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. You are still the Healer and the Provider. You still own the cattle on a thousand hills. You are still able to supply all our needs according to Your riches in glory and You are still able to cause even the enemies of Your servants to be at peace with them.

Jesus, we are not asking for anything that You haven't already promised...we are not contriving a list of blessings that You haven't already said are ours. NO! We are standing on Your WORD that cannot fail and cannot lie! We are coming boldly to Your throne of mercy and grace where You have invited us to come and cast all our cares upon You because You care for us.

Because we believe and are sure that You have the answer to every need we ever face, we come to You today with our brothers' needs. They are Your children, Lord; they are Your servants. Our brothers have spent themselves in the furtherance of Your Kingdom's purposes and to the glory of Your name so we come to You in their behalf, claiming Your complete provision for every need of each of Your children who have placed their lives at Your feet.

We ask for Your peace that passes understanding to keep their hearts and their minds stayed on You, Jesus. We ask Your healing touch upon them to deliver their bodies from pain and affliction. We ask Your peace for their emotions and for their spirits where Your Holy Spirit dwells.

We bind every foe who would persecute them or rob them or harm them in any way; we grind the enemy of Your purposes to fine powder and scatter him impotent to the wind! The evil one cannot hinder Your work as it's being accomplished through Your children...he cannot harm their bodies or minds or spirits or reputations or finances! The evil one cannot assail Your children's families!

The hedge of Your protection and Your holy angels stand guard round about Your children and NOTHING can penetrate that hedge! Nothing of evil can get past those angels!

We claim evidence today of the efficaciousness of all Your promises; of all Your provision; of all Your protection upon Your children...and in accordance with your WORD, we believe that before we speak, Your answer to every need is on its way.

It is in Your mighty, matchless name we pray, Jesus. Amen.

Greek vs. Hebraic

January 28

Greek versus Hebraic
From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman


"I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and make you like a warrior's sword," Zechariah 9:13.

In the early church there was an emphasis on developing a heart toward God. This was the Hebraic way. The scriptures were not accessible like they are for us. So, the relationship with God was the key focus. God related to his people on a personal and intimate level. And obedience was the key to a healthy relationship with God. Decisions were not made based on reason and analysis, but by obedience. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom," Psalm 111:10.

This is why many of the miracles performed in the Bible went against natural reason, (i.e. feeding five thousand, crossing the Red Sea, retrieving a coin from a fish's mouth, walking around Jericho to win a battle, etc.) God constantly wanted to check the leader's obedience, not his knowledge. Knowledge and reason came into the early Church with the Greek scholars in subsequent centuries. This is when the church began to affirm oratory skills among Church leaders. Gradually, over many centuries the focus on knowledge and reason has become more accepted in the Church.

Loss of intimacy with God has been the fallout as a result of the influence of the Greek spirit. The primary focus has been teaching and discipleship instead of the development of a personal and intimate relationship with God. This has resulted in a form of religion, but one without power.

In the early church, the rabbi was there primarily for quality control, not as the primary teacher and speaker. He did not even address the people from an elevated platform. The whole congregation was in a more circular format, each sharing what they believed God was saying. The focus was on the power of God working through each individual, not one individual. (See 1 Corinthians 14:26.)

Is your focus on gaining more knowledge or growing in intimacy and power with Jesus? He desires to know you intimately.



Our Brother Hillman has articulated a truth that many people of faith have observed but have been unable to explain. We read the exploits of kings and prophets in the Old Testament and we see the power demonstrated by the Apostles of Christ, then we look at ourselves and wonder at the lack of efficaciousness in our own walk of faith.

Can Os Hillman be right? Are we so focused on teaching and learning and understanding the WORD that we have neglected our relationship with JESUS, the LIVING WORD of GOD?

Are we so busy serving the purposes of the Kingdom that we have neglected to sit at the feet of the King? Have we become so devoted to sharing the truth of God with the lost that we are too busy to place our hand into the hand of the Master and to walk in sweet fellowship with Him?

If we are as busy doing the Lord’s work as was Martha, we have little time for the devotion of Mary. Jesus prefers our devotion. (See Luke 10:38-42.) If we are to be effective in the work of the Kingdom, we must first be intimate with the King. We must walk with Him, commune with Him, rest in Him, or we have nothing of value to share with anyone else.

We must KNOW our Savior, not merely know of Him (See Acts 19:13-15.) If we go about doing His work without Him, we become as those on judgment day who will say, “Lord, Lord, didn’t I prophecy in Your name? Didn’t I cast out demons in Your name? Didn’t I heal sick bodies in Your name?” And Jesus will say to them, “Depart from Me; I never knew you.” Matthew 7:21-23.

Lord Jesus, take our good intentions and conform them to Your will. Take the eagerness in our hearts to serve You and conform it to Your heart of love that reaches out in Your way, in Your time to those to whom You send us. We know You can best do that when we draw near to Your bosom and abide in You.

Sustenance and Life

January 27

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
Proverbs 16:25

We can understand the word ‘way’ to mean both a narrow, single aspect of a whole spectrum of issues or we can understand it to mean one event within a range of issues. The point within the context of the proverb is that mankind is frequently driven by blind self-deception or ignorance.

Man often has no absolute certainty regarding right and wrong because his ethics have been impacted by the standard of the world and he has never seriously compared what he has accepted as truth against God's immutable verity. How does our understanding of the word ‘way’ compare to the Holy One’s irreversible, incontrovertible law?

Until we have thoroughly investigated God’s truth and embraced it to ourselves as the only word worthy to be the foundation of our lives, we cannot say with any assurance that we know truth. Until we have searched for truth, we can literally know nothing.

The Word says, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free,” John 8:32, so until we have sought the One who is truth, “You shall seek Me and find Me when you shall search for Me with all your heart,” Jeremiah 29:13, we can know neither the truth nor He who is Truth!

Until we have sought the truth, we can merely scamper down trails to captivating rabbit holes where we will stumble over the very thing we thought was our foundation for life.

The great advantage of that fall, the enormous benefit to our well-being when we have toppled from the pinnacle of our deception is that in our plummet we often find we have landed on the veracity of God’s word that we once discounted as foolishness.

When we have lost our way sufficiently to seek the Bible as a roadmap for our further travels in life, we will understand the veracity of the Word which says, “There is a way that seems right to a man but the end thereof is the way of death,” Proverbs 14:12, Proverbs 16:25.

When we have made that life-saving discovery, we will allow the Holy Spirit to re-chart our course, we will allow Him to “teach us all things,” John 14:26. And the things He will teach us will be sustenance and life to us.

Beneath the Surface

January 26

"The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." John 14:26-27

Is the surface of your life like a tumultuous sea? Are the waters rough and foreboding? Deep down, beneath the surface, you can experience the “peace that passes understanding…” that only Jesus can give because it will “…keep your heart and your mind stayed on Him,” Philippians 4:7.

No matter how severely the winds and the waves batter the shore, those who abide in the depth of His love will have complete peace.


Deep Waters

Several years ago a submarine was being tested and had to remain submerged for many hours. When it returned to harbor, the captain was asked, “How did the terrible storm last night affect you?”

The officer looked surprised and exclaimed, “Storm? We didn’t even know there was one.”

You see, the sub had been so far beneath the surface that it had reached the area known to sailors as “the cushion of the sea.” The ocean may be whipped into huge waves, but the waters below are never stirred.

Have you experienced the “cushion of the Savior”? The waves of worry and fear will not overcome you if you put our faith and trust in Christ. Anonymous

'In' But Not 'Of' The World

January 25

“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?

"For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them, and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you,’” II Corinthians 6:14-17.

“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” II Corinthians 7:1

Our holy and righteous God wants us to be like Him. He does not want us to frequent our former haunts or indulge our former habits. He wants us to separate ourselves from the unclean things of our former lifestyle as He wants our hearts to be cleansed of the sin that once resided there in order that the Holy Spirit might dwell within us.

He wants us to renew our minds, according to Romans 12:2, renouncing even our former thoughts and reconfiguring our ponderings to those that are edifying to our spirit rather than those that contemplate the advancement of the flesh. We are no longer to be preoccupied with the world and its trappings of power or wealth or association; we are to desire the things of God and association with His people.

We tend to think those verses of scripture admonish against marriage between believer and unbeliever, and indeed they do, although Paul is quick to adjure the one who is married to an unbeliever that he or she must do everything possible to make the marriage work and to pray for the salvation of the unsaved spouse—(see I Corinthians 7) but it also applies to other relationships.

We are to choose our friendships from among God’s people as well as our business associates. In so doing, we will spare ourselves the inevitable conflict of interest that will arise when a different system of values manifests discord between the believer and the unbeliever.

Of course, it is impossible to select our neighbors or our employers or…the list is extensive…from among only those of “like precious faith,” II Peter 1:1, nor are we to attempt to do so, for we cannot be “salt and light” (Matthew 5:13-16) to a lost and dying world if we separate ourselves from it.

No, we are to be in the world but not of the world; as Paul says in Romans 12:2, we are to “be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

May He help us to so live our lives in conformity to the life of Jesus that men who look upon us may see not ourselves but Him. May they long for the goodness and mercy and power that they see in us so they, too, will desire to be separate from the world, having died to themselves and become alive to Christ (see I Corinthians 15:31.)

POWER!

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I pray you can connect to this link. It will bless and inspire you. It will make you hope afresh in the ONE who has all power in heaven and earth! Matthew 28:18

Just Because He Loves

January 24

“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love,” I John 4:8.

Every thought, every word, every act of God is an expression of His love for us. God is sovereign over all the earth, and He has the right to do whatever He wants, and everything He does, everything He allows, is motivated by love. Even our trials are evidence of His love as Hebrews 11:5-19 conveys:

Because of His love for us, He will allow us to face trials because we need them to conform us more fully to the image of the Christ we profess to love and serve. In his letter to the Hebrews, Chapter 11, Paul says the following:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. This is what the ancients were commended for.

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: He could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, and he, in holy fear, built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. He was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

And by faith, Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered Him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.

People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death when God provided the ram for the sacrifice (see Genesis 22).

As we read of our forefathers in the faith, as we recognize the trust they placed in the God at whose feet they had laid their lives, as we see the degree to which they trusted His love, can we not do the same in our moment of trial? Can we not say with Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him,” Job 13:15, just because we know He loves us?

The How? The When? The Where?

January 23

How did this teaching of the apostle Paul ever come to be called the Rapture? The answer lies in the word translated "shall be caught up" (Greek harpagésómetha). In Latin, this word is rapere, from which "rapture" is derived. Free of any arcane or mysterious interpretation, it simply means "to be caught up," "snatched," or "seized."

The difficulty in understanding begins when people confuse this meaning with another definition of rapture that has nothing to do with the biblical concept: "a state or experience of being carried away by overwhelming emotion; a mystical experience in which the spirit is exalted to a knowledge of divine things." When people blur these meanings, a picture develops of a strange, otherworldly experience preached by fire-breathing preachers to compel sinners to repent before God's wrath burns them to cinders.

Those who teach the Rapture frequently begin with I Thessalonians 4:16-17, but soon afterward they move into areas unsupported in the Bible. They make assumptions that are suspect. Worse, they fail to consider the clear order of events presented in Revelation, pinpointing when this astounding miracle will occur.

What should they believe? That at some point in the near future, Jesus Christ will return and "snatch away" all Christians on the earth. Those who believe in Jesus will rise to meet Him in the air, and He will whisk them off to heaven for a 3 ½-to-seven-year Marriage Supper.

In the meantime here on earth, untold destruction occurs when professing born-again Christians suddenly vanish while at the controls of cars, trucks, trains, airplanes, heavy equipment, and the like.

Unsaved relatives and friends will frantically and unsuccessfully search for their raptured loved ones. The media will provide 24-hour coverage of the mysterious disappearance of millions of people, speculating wildly on its cause—everything from a mass alien abduction to shifting dimensions and levels of consciousness… — Richard T. Ritenbaugh



The Biblical explanation of the event is most authoritative, so no matter what men theorize about the day, we who trust in His name should embrace only His words to our hearts. I Thessalonians 4:13-18 gives what is perhaps the most expansive information regarding the Rapture.

It says, “Now we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep (deceased), so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep as Christians.

”For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

“Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

Perhaps the best information we possess in the matter is vague because our God desires that our faith be rooted in our relationship with Him rather than in the promise that one day we shall be caught up to meet Jesus in the air and dwell eternally with Him.

Perhaps He desires that our faith be so alive that our passion for meeting Him will pale only in comparison to our passion for living for Him in the day-to-day reality of our lives. Perhaps then we can say as did Paul, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain,” Philippians 1:21.

Perhaps then we won’t concern ourselves about the “How?” or the “When?” or the “Where?” of the Rapture because we will already be basking in the beauty of Christ’s presence and power with us!

The Law of God

January 22

Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed, who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect,” Galatians 3:16, 17.

Under the New Covenant, the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant are valid, and Abraham is our spiritual father, as it were. He is the model of the family, with whom God first made the covenant, and he obeyed God's voice (Genesis 26:5). He kept the commandments and the laws, and Abraham's children are going to do the same thing! Otherwise, they will not really be his children.

Paul is not doing away with the law! He is simply saying that the law cannot justify us. We see here, by God's own witness, that Abraham lived up to the terms of the covenant. Because he did, it was passed on to Isaac for him to do as his father had done.

The problem of transgressions in the Old Covenant was not resolved until the promised Seed, Christ, came. He lived perfectly, qualifying to be the payment for sin, and at the same time, He confirmed the promises that were made unto Abraham—and they were made absolutely and eternally binding.

God then proposed the New Covenant that He had previously shown in prophecy, (see Jeremiah 31). God has presented it to all of mankind—not just to Abraham's physical descendants.

It is not circumcision (the seal of the Abrahamic covenant) that makes one a part of this covenant. Rather, it is circumcision of the heart! The sign is repentance and faith in the sacrifice of the promised Seed, Jesus Christ. The receipt of the Holy Spirit is the seal; it authenticates what has occurred. It completes the making of the New Covenant with the individuals whom God calls.

Nowhere does God say that the laws that define sin are done away. On the contrary, the One who made the New Covenant possible said that not one jot or tittle would pass from the law until all was fulfilled (see Matthew 5:18).

God's moral and spiritual laws have been from eternity, and an agreement between Him and mere man is not going to do away with them. God Himself would have to pass from existence for that to occur. In addition, the loving intent of those laws as they apply to human relationships is still valid. — John W. Ritenbaugh



Many believers today seem to have lost sight of the overarching immutability of the law of God. Were it not necessary that the law, in its entirety, be fulfilled, would the Father have stated emphatically in Malachi 3:6, “I am the Lord; I change not”?

Would the Second Person of the Godhead have come to satisfy its just requirements Himself, according to Revelation 13:8?

Would the Third Person of the Trinity have made Himself available to live in the hearts of believers that He may guide them and “teach them all truth,” John 16:13?

Dear reader, if the law of God were not eternal as He is, were it not imperative that it be kept to the uttermost letter, “the Holy One who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy,” Isaiah 57:15, surely would have mollified sin’s awful penalty without such great cost to Himself!

Were our transgression something at which God could wink, were our offenses insignificant in His eyes, Jesus would not have allowed Himself to go to the cross in our behalf!

Our Triune Majesty on High gave the utmost treasure of Heaven to the lowest sinner of earth so “whoever believes on Jesus shall be saved,” according to Mark 16:16. Though you or I or any mortal may “have sins as scarlet, they shall be washed white as snow,” Isaiah 1:18.

How can we hope to escape “the wrath to come,” Luke 21:36, if we do not appropriate to ourselves the great salvation that Jesus provided for us at Calvary? How can we possibly imagine that any sin—small or great—can possibly be admitted into the heavenly realm?

How can we hope to escape if we refuse to see our culpability to the eternal law of God? How can we hope to escape if we, “neglect so great salvation,” Hebrews 2:3.

He's Working Out His Purpose

January 21

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:3


We need to understand three words here. The first is "worlds," which is the Greek aion meaning "ages," "periods of time," or "dispensations." The author is not referring at all to the created world—the earth. He means periods of time.

The second word is "framed," which gives the impression of a person building something, but that is not the author's intent. The same word appears in Hebrews 10:5, "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared." This translation points to a different connotation.

The third word is "word." Normally, a Bible student would probably immediately think of logos as being the Greek for "word," but such is not the case here. It is instead the Greek word rhema, which means "the revealed word."

A good paraphrase of verse 3, then, would be: "By faith we understand that the ages were prepared by the revealed word of God." This verse is telling us that there is an UNSEEN HAND somewhere that is guiding the course of the periods through which mankind has lived!

In other words, God is working out a purpose! People with faith look to the purpose He is working out and what He has revealed, and they see His hand guiding the destiny of nations as well as individuals.

This is an interesting, encouraging, faith-building concept because God is never far from the thoughts of a faithful person. Such a person, because he has had the mystery of God revealed to him - the purpose He is working out—begins to see God in everything that is happening because God is his companion. He has a relationship with Him. Because of his fellowship with God, he tries to see everything through God's eyes, as it were.

When God calls, one of the miracles He works in us by His Spirit gives us insight into His movements in the history of man. The Christian begins to see God in his environment, the earth—and discovers that it is all under God's control.

We can see where God says, "I raise up kings. I put down kings." Sometimes these are "the basest of men," but because we are beginning to think like God, we understand why He does such things. In Romans 13:1-2, we find out that all governments are ordained of God. He at least permits them to govern, and sometimes He directly installs them.

God is guiding and controlling events. Men think they are in control of what is happening…No, God is in control. He is working out a purpose...

The psalmist says that God is not in all of the ungodly man's thoughts, Psalm 10:4. Andre Matisse, a French philosopher and writer, once said, "The universe is indifferent. Who created it? Why are we here on this puny mud heap, spinning in an infinite space? I have not the slightest idea, and I am quite convinced that no one has the least idea."

This is the way man looks at things, but Christians had better not look at them like this because they will not operate by faith. If we are operating by faith, we can begin to see events and circumstances in their fuller scope, as well as how they fit and how important they are to the purpose God is working out.— John W. Ritenbaugh



We live in a time when everything we have known as true seems to be cast aside, when everything that we have relied upon seems to be undone, when everyone in whom we had placed our confident expectation seems to have disappointed us. Everywhere, on every hand, earthly entities seem undone. People of faith wonder if God will ever intervene to right all that’s wrong.

But God has not abandoned us to the devices of the enemy. No, He is merely allowing the schemes of the evil one to unfold to their ultimate conclusion. The Word, that cannot fail and cannot lie has told us in advance of the events. In II Timothy, Chapter 3, the Apostle Paul says:

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

“They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

“You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

That day seems to be upon us, but we must hold fast to the profession of our faith, for HE IS FAITHFUL WHO HAS PROMISED,” Hebrews 10:23. Let us not be discouraged when evil seems to flourish and spread itself over all for a season (Psalm 37:35), for his time is measured and it will expire at the moment of God’s choosing.

As the handwriting on the wall foretold the evil king in Daniel 5:27, so wicked men today “…have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.” We who believe must not be weary in waiting our deliverance, for we know that if we will but persevere in faith, we shall reap, according to His promise in Galatians 6:9. Jesus is faithful. Every word in the Bible is true. As prophecies of His first coming came to pass, so will every prophecy of His second coming be fulfilled completely.

As Romans 8:25 tells us, “We hope for that which we cannot see, and we, with patience, wait for it,” and as we wait, we say as Paul did in II Timothy 1:12, “I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him.” We say it because we know He's working out His purpose.

Lavish the World with Truth

January 20

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: grace to you and peace be multiplied," 1 Peter 1:1-2

It is the life that is obedient to God and separated from the world that provides the proof of one's conversion. If the Christian is legally cleared of guilt before God and obedient to Him, he no longer "belongs" to the world; the Bible no longer perceives such a person as being "in the flesh."

Philippians 3:20 offers understanding of another separation from the world: "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." His spiritual separation produces for the Christian a legal transfer of citizenship that he must recognize.

Colossians 1:12-13 confirms this: "Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love."

As a result of these separations, the Christian must live his life as a stranger and pilgrim as if in a foreign land, obeying the laws of his new nation by placing higher priority in his activities as a citizen of the Kingdom of God.

This opens the door to another line of practical thought, conduct, and attitude: "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself the enemy of God" (James 4:4).

We normally do whatever we can to avoid our enemies, even to the point of fleeing from them if necessary. This reality should help us to understand why God commands us:

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? . . . Therefore "Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you." (II Corinthians 6:14, 17)

It is by means of conduct motivated by the Holy Spirit that we are to come out from among unbelievers and be separate. We cannot—we must not—straddle the fence; we cannot serve two masters. Once we are called, we must serve God, or we will have received God's grace in vain (II Corinthians 6:1). — John W. Ritenbaugh



Our brother has pointed out an obvious truth, that being: we who cannot save ourselves have been abundantly saved and set free from the clutches of the devil who would, if he could, ensnare us into every manner of sin. Jesus is the way out of the quagmire of evil that engulfs the world around us. Jesus is the One who empowers us to separate ourselves from the deceit of sin and the stumbling block of riches.

We who love and trust Him must affirm the words of the Apostle Paul in Hebrews 2:3, “How can we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” We must implore ourselves and those whose lives touch ours to understand the truth of II Corinthians 6:2, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold today is the day of salvation.”

“At an hour when we think not, the Son of Man will come,” Luke 12:40, so we must be diligent to receive and to share the grace that has set us free; we must be diligent to proclaim the name of the Lord! May we live and declare His truth and salvation, may we, “shout it from the housetops,” Matthew 10:27, Luke 12:3.

Even as we are separate from the world, may we lavish the world with the truth that saves and frees from sin every man who will trust Jesus as his Savior and Lord, for it is the will of God that “none should perish, that all should have everlasting life,” II Peter 3:9.

Stand on the WORD!

January 19

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. II Timothy 1:7

All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think, according to His power at work within. Ephesians 3:20

Truly, truly, I say to you, He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to my Father. John 14:12

Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things you cannot imagine. Jeremiah 33:3

My WORD, which goes forth out of My mouth, will accomplish that which I please and will prosper in the thing to which I send it. Isaiah 55:11

He sent His WORD and healed them. Psalm 107:20

In the beginning was the WORD and the WORD was with God and the WORD was God. John 1:1

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30:5

Dear Reader…Appropriate these words of power, for they were given to you by the One who has all power and who extended His power to you in John 14:12 where Jesus said, “The one who believes in Me will do the works that I do and even greater works because I go to the Father.”

Because Jesus is the One who cannot lie, we who believe in Him can see miracles as we appropriate His Word that will, “accomplish all that He pleases and prosper in the thing to which He sends it,” Isaiah 55:11.

Appropriate His power, for He has said it is yours!

The Whole Duty Of Man

January 18

The age old question for which man has sought a satisfactory answer through the entirety of his existence is: “Why am I here?” He seeks a satisfactory resolution to his quest in many ways. He invests himself in a career but finds it unsatisfying. He pursues gratification in relationships but finds them un-fulfilling. He loses himself in pleasure and self-indulgence but this leaves him empty.

Pastor Brad, of God Thoughts Wired, has done a word study that will illumine the path of a man who is seeking a sense of purpose. If a man will but follow this wise counsel, he will find himself fulfilled.

He points out that the Bible speaks directly and specifically to this issue and gives us a clear and concise answer to our question.

In Isaiah 43:7 we are told that God created human beings so that He would be glorified. We are created for God’s glory. The purpose of human life is to glorify God. Here the prophet states, “Everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have formed, even whom I have made,” has one over-riding purpose, to bring glory to the name of his God.

Further, Jeremiah 13:11 and John 15:7-8 also confirm the ultimate purpose of man as being created “for the glory of God.” In addition, 1 Corinthians 10:31 admonishes us, “Whether then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Jesus Himself confirmed the purpose of His own life upon the earth as glorifying God: In John 17:4 He says, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the purpose You gave Me to do”

Kavodh, a Hebrew noun means, “glory, to be honored.” In the Old Testament, kavodh is used to express the idea of honor, respect,” renown, prestige.

Doxa, a Greek noun, means “glory, splendor, radiance, fame, renown, honor.” In the New Testament, the most important understanding of doxa is that the glory of God has been revealed in and through Jesus Christ.

Beyond Pastor Brad’s word study, there is the truth that is stated very clearly in Hebrews 1:3 where Paul says, “He, Jesus, is the radiance of His glory, the exact representation of His nature.”

According to the immutable Word of God, there is only one reason for our existence, only one purpose for our being. The totality of our purpose for existence is to glorify God, to honor Him. We were born to bring God glory.

In Ecclesiastes 12:13 it is stated thusly, “Love God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

If we love the Lord, we will be obedient to Him. In our complete surrender of our person-hood to Him, in allowing the radiance of His perfection to shine through our lives, we are fulfilling His good pleasure—glorifying Himself through His beloved children.

Following Our Archegos

January 17

“…and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses,” Acts 3:15.
In THE BEREAN, John W. Ritenbaugh states, “The word "Prince" is translated from the Greek archegos, which is translated "author" or "captain" in Hebrews 2:10. But here, Jesus Christ is called "the archegos of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses."

“In this context, the word has the sense of being "originator," someone who starts or initiates something. An archegos is one who leads the way so that others may follow. It can also be translated "trailblazer," "scout," or "pioneer," and it indicates one who leads into battle, blazes a trail, sets a pattern, one who initiates and guides.

“In the Daily Study Bible series commentary by William Barclay, he uses the illustration of a ship foundering on a rock. Someone jumps overboard with a rope and swims ashore, securing the line somewhere on the shore so that others are able to grab onto the rope and come to safety. The one who did it originally is an archegos. He fulfilled the role of an archegos.

“That is what Christ is. He is saving us from the jagged rock, from the loss of our hope of eternal life. That is His job. He is leading and guiding us to the safety of actually being in the Kingdom of God.”

We who believe in Jesus Christ, we who have received Him as our Savior and Lord, understand fully that there is nothing we have ever done or have the power to do that can free us from the weight of the sin that we carry or from its awful penalty. We understand that apart from the propitiatory life, death and resurrection of Jesus, “we are of all men most miserable,” I Corinthians 15:19.

As Paul further states in this passage, our hope, were it just for some advantage in this life, would assure our misery. But it is not for this life only; it is for eternity. The work that our Lord did in our behalf transcends this Vale of Tears where we may labor without profit, serve without reward, be persecuted without reason—except for our faith in the One who has assured us that eternity is ours.

James 1:12 affirms that though our reward may not appear in this life, it will indeed be ours if we, “persevere to the end.” Matthew 24:12-14 says, “"Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Indeed, we see this waxing cold on the part of many who have known the gospel of truth while at the same time, men who have been fettered to the deceitful religions of the enemy are being set free. In this, we know the Captain of our Salvation, Jesus Christ, is glorifying Himself.

May we not be among those who turn aside from the truth of our salvation because of the illusory allure of the world or because of the persecution we may endure here. May we not ignore the peril of being aboard the ship of life that sails in treacherous waters, but let us follow our “Archegos,” the “Author and Finisher” of our faith,” Hebrews 12:2, who “endured the cross for the glory that was set before Him.”

Let us endure the trials of life as did our Pioneer, the One who led the way to our salvation! Let us know as He knew that any price we need to pay to maintain our “unspeakable GIFT” II Corinthians 9:15, is worth the cost. Let us hold fast to Him who is Life, and let us show others the way that leads to that precious Life.

Anxiety Will Be Swallowed Into Peace

January 16

The world is fraught with anxiety. People are experiencing a sense of foreboding that shows little evidence of abating in spite of the various interventions of governments that are designed to eliminate poverty, increase man’s self-sufficiency, and reduce man’s dependency on an ever decreasing supply of natural resources.

The benevolent endeavors of men to afford assistance to those who are desperate—in spite of man’s best efforts—find the monumental problems confronting our world increasing rather than lessening.

The machines of war still traverse the seas and overarch the land. Combat gear is still the attire of the world’s armies, for swords still have not been beaten into plowshares (Isaiah 2:4) and man has not yet arrived at the point when he shall not know war anymore (Micah 4:3). Peace negotiations are doomed to failure because the opposing sides have placed inflexible expectations upon their outcome.

It would be logical to throw up our hands in despair…to give up hope of ever living in peace and prosperity because strife and war are on every hand. Man seems incapable of putting aside his prejudice against his brother and man seems incapable of winning the war on poverty that has spent itself to no avail over the last 50 years.

Only when we delve into the Word of God do we find cause for hope. In I Peter 3-5, the Apostle exults, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In God’s great mercy, He has caused us to be born again into a living hope, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead!

“Now we hope for the blessings God has for His children. These blessings, which cannot be destroyed or spoiled and cannot lose their beauty are kept in heaven for us. God’s power protects us through our faith until salvation is perfected for us at the end of time.”

Though we now “see through a glass darkly, then we shall know Him fully as we are fully known, for we shall see Him face-to-face,” II Corinthians 13:12. When Jesus returns, all mysteries will be unveiled; all problems will be solved; all men who have placed their lives at His feet shall abide as brothers.

Anxiety and foreboding will be swallowed up in the absolute peace that will attend Christ’s thousand year reign upon the earth (Revelation 20:6). We who believe will “rule and reign with Him,” II Timothy 2:12, if we will but endure.

The Price Of Grace

January 15

We live in an age that seems to be described in II Timothy 3:1-7. Here the Apostle Paul says to his young apprentice, “This know also, in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts. They are ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

This passage suggests that unbelief will be rampant in the last days before Christ returns according to Acts 1:11 which says, “…why stand ye gazing up into the sky? This same Jesus who is taken from you will return in like manner as ye have seen Him go.” Paul states to Timothy that whatever religion exists at the time the Lord returns will be perfunctory, that men will be “hearers of the Word, but not doers of the Word,” James 1:22.

In his commentary on Matthew, Chapter 7, Matthew Henry says, “Christ shows that it will not be enough to own Him for our Master, only in word and tongue. It is necessary…that we believe in Christ and that we repent of sin, that we live a holy life, that we love one another. 'This is His will, even our sanctification,' I Thessalonians 4:3. Let us take heed of resting in outward privileges and doings, lest we deceive ourselves, and perish eternally, as multitudes do, with a lie in our right hand. 'Let everyone that names the name of Christ, depart from sin,'” II Timothy 2:19.

In His GodThoughtsWired, Pastor Brad expounds a most significant word study regarding the inter-connection of true belief in the Lord with obedience:

pisteuo (Greek) verb: "believe, have faith in, be convinced of, trust, rely on, have confidence in."

apeitheo (Greek) verb: "disobey, be unpersuaded, be disobedient or disloyal." Implies a willful rebellion against or a resistance to obeying God.

"He who believes (pisteuo) in the Son has eternal life; but he who 'does not obey' (apeitheo) the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." -John 3:36

One of the greatest lies in today's church is that salvation is available without the willingness to obey...

It is not.

"By this we know that we have come to know Him, IF we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a LIAR, and the truth is not in him." I John 2:3, 4.

In this matter, the Bible is quite clear, quite precise, quite emphatic. In John 3:36 (see above), "belief" and the willingness to "obey" are synonymous.

Now consider Acts 5:32: peitharcheo (Greek) verb: "obey, follow, submit to."

"And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who 'obey' (peitharcheo) Him.”

The immutable Word of God is quite clear! The hallmark of every Christian is the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit as Ephesians 1:13 says, “When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,” and the Holy Spirit is "given to those that obey Him," Acts 5:32.

In Hebrews 5:9 we see the Greek verb hupakouo which means, "Listen to, obey, follow, be subject to."

"He became to all those who 'obey' (hupakouo) Him the source of eternal salvation." And what of those who "do not obey?" What happens to those who "do not believe?" What about those who are willfully "disloyal?"

Of them Jesus said, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" -Matthew 3:7 And John declared, "He who does not obey the Son will not see life, the wrath of God abides on him,” John 3:36

And Paul, the "apostle of grace, " wrote, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness...because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God...Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience...For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience." (see -Romans 1:18; 2:5; Ephesians 5:6; Colossians 3:6.)

Salvation is free, but grace is not cheap. There is a cost and the price that must be paid by those of us who profess to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is that we are obedient to His ever holy, never-changing, immutable Word.

Evil on the Ascendancy

January 14

“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

This famous quote was from British statesman Edmund Burke, who was considered the most influential orator in the House of Commons. Edmund Burke stands out in history as a member of the British Parliament who defended the rights of the American colonies and who strongly opposed the slave trade.

We cannot but wonder if Burke had a crystal ball that enabled him to see into our age, for indeed, we live in a time when the words of the Apostle Paul wax true, “Evil men shall become worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived,” II Timothy 3:13.

We hardly know in whom or in what we may place our trust. Men resort to duplicity to gain professional advantage; people cheat on their spouses; governmental leaders are known for their duplicity and trickery rather than for their patriotism and integrity.

In a time of economic upheaval, hard-working tax payers are called upon to fund the exorbitant vacations and lavish parties of those who are supposed to be serving them. People in positions of power vote themselves extravagant salary increases when many of our citizenry are unemployed.

Rather than implement policies that have accomplished a needed economic turn-around in previous times of financial distress, the current crop who are at the helm resort to the ever-failed method of burdening the workers through increased taxation.

And there is no end in sight. Promises are made and promises are broken to voters who are disillusioned with betrayal in high places. But we who believe must not allow ourselves to be discouraged by what we see. Rather, we must realize that in the ‘last days these evil things will come to be.

As the impetuous apostle said in II Peter 2:1-3, “But there will be false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words…”

If we do nothing, the progression of this evil foretold by Burke will be exacerbated. If we resist it, perhaps we can abate its progress. Whatever happens, may we rest in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ which remind believers when we see evil on the ascendancy to, “Look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption draws near,” Luke 21:28.

Reflections of Himself

January 13

Do you know that people are like diamonds? Yes, they are.

Do you know that if you saw a raw diamond lying on the ground you might not bother to bend over to pick it up because it would look pretty much like an ordinary rock?

Not many people have ordinary rocks stored away in vaults or stashed in their jewelry boxes or dangling from chains around their necks, but that’s what LOTS of people do with diamonds! So what happens? How do drab-appearing rocks become the precious gems that everyone values?

First, it takes a trained eye to spot them…someone who can tell that they aren’t just stones lying on the ground with all the other stones. Then it takes someone with great skill and patience to take them in hand and to use the proper tools and expertise to cut and facet them.

In the wrong hands, too much of the stone, or the wrong parts of the stone might be cut away, lessening its ultimate value. In expert hands, the stone will be cut and faceted to maximize the stone’s intrinsic beauty and worth. Next, the stone will be polished and brought to the luster we so admire when we gaze upon it in a necklace or a ring.

When it’s ready for mounting, the craftsman who cut the stone won’t trust it to just any jeweler…he will assure that the diamond he has skillfully brought out of its hiding place will be mounted into the perfect setting that maximizes its beauty.

The jeweler who offers it for sale doesn’t set it down just anywhere in his shop. No! He makes sure the backdrop compliments it. He doesn’t want the backdrop to compete with the jewel for attention but to display it in a way to take full advantage of its luster and sparkle and design.

Because everyone involved in the transformation of gemstone-quality diamonds from mere rocks to amazing treasures is excellent at his job, the result is exquisite jewelry that many people greatly admire and pay quite handsomely to obtain.

So how does any of this apply to people?

People, too, start out rather ordinary. They can be rough and quite imperfect. The untrained eye looking at them will see people who are rude or impolite or loud or selfish or careless in their words or actions. They will see individuals who lie or scheme or are unconcerned about anyone but themselves. To those with untrained eyes, people are like ordinary rocks…easy to ignore, to step over, and walk away from.

But someone who can see…really SEE…can detect the uniqueness of each individual. And that someone knows what people need to enable their finest inner gifts to emerge from the ordinariness of their appearance.

The trained individual will recognize that someone who is willing to channel his energy into positive goals will ultimately shine like a bright jewel in the jewelry store.

The trained individual will help him to see the importance of the small things that are easily overlooked. The trained individual will encourage him to be attentive to those small things as well as to the big things that will set him apart as unique and precious.

The trained person will help him to be the person who uses his mind to achieve worthwhile goals by paying attention to little things that seem insignificant to others, just as the master jewel cutter always cuts the raw diamond to its perfect advantage in the smallest detail.

The trained expert will help him to “Do all things as unto the Lord,” as it says in­­­­ Colossians 3:23. He will help him to see that taking care of little things, and assuming small responsibilities, will help prepare him for later things that will not be little things.

There are a lot of human experts who think they have good ideas about how people should develop their potential, but the main EXPERT is JESUS, and He wants the best for every person who has ever been born.

Jesus paid attention to the smallest details of life—learning the trade of carpentry in Joseph’s workshop, knowing the best way to catch fish, understanding the intricacies of men’s hearts and minds—so when it came time for Him to fulfill the BIG THING for which He came, the plan of salvation that was established before the world began (Revelation 13:8), He was able to conclude it successfully…and anyone who believes can be saved for eternity because He did.

If Jesus is the GREAT EXPERT who “knows all things” John 21:17-19 and “by Whom all things are made,” John 1:3, shouldn’t we follow His example and get all the things that involve our lives into the kind of order that He valued?

Individuals who do, who stick to doing things right at every opportunity, are the ones who shine like lovely diamonds because they have allowed the Master Jeweler, Jesus, to cut and polish them into wonderful reflections of Himself.

Minister with His Hands and Heart

January 12

According to the Washington Times, Senator Marco Rubio has declared that the ‘War on Poverty’ has been lost. A recent post states his conclusion thusly: "Five decades and trillions of dollars after President Johnson waged his War on Poverty, the results of this big-government approach are in," he said. "We have four million Americans who have been out of work for six months or more."

Rubio added that "economic, social, cultural and educational changes and challenges" have caused poverty to get worse and that the federal government is not equipped to fix it.

One crucial factor that the government has not included in its futile effort to end poverty in our time is a truth that was spoken by Jesus in John 12:8, “The poor you shall always have with you…” Jesus spoke these words to Judas who had faulted Mary for pouring expensive perfume upon the Lord’s feet. Our Savior took the opportunity to say that her having done so was an anointing for His burial, for Jesus knew the work He came to do would soon be concluded on the cross.

But Jesus’ heart was not hardened to the poor, nor should ours be. He was simply stating the truth that His crucifixion was at hand. Throughout His ministry, Jesus interacted with compassion with the poor and destitute and sick and helpless. He ever manifested the compassion the Father had expressed in Deuteronomy 15.

The passage begins by talking about the remission of debts, and based upon this principle it asserts: that "there will be no poor among you." However, it then goes on to say: "If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be… Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so… For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore, I command you saying, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.'"

The clear message we can take from these passages is that there will, indeed be poor people among us but that we as believers are to endeavor to alleviate their poverty through our generosity. This is not the coerced largess of government that taxes one to supply another, it is not the 'redistribution of wealth,' but the heartfelt giving of a believer of substance to another whose circumstances are penurious.

What Senator Rubio has discovered is that government beneficence, carried on the backs of an over-taxed people, has failed. In every little hamlet, however, where believers in Christ reach out to meet the needs of their brothers, stomachs are full and homes are warm simply because brothers care for each other and labor in the behalf of those in need as does the Lord who invites us to, “Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you,” I Peter 5:7.

May we ever minister to our brothers as with His own hands and as with His own heart.

Kindness

January 11

Here is an excerpt from Season of Life: A Football Star, a Boy, a Journey to Manhood Author: Jeffrey Marx, Publisher: Simon & Schuster, that greatly reflects the power of kindness.

Gilman High School in Maryland has a highly successful football team. And its coaches have a few unusual rules -- such as an ironclad rule that no Gilman football player should ever let another Gilman boy -- teammate or not -- eat lunch by himself. And the requirement that players constantly base their thoughts and actions on one simple question: What can I do for others?:

"What happened that first day at Gilman [High School] was entirely unlike anything normally associated with high school football. It started with the signature exchange of the Gilman football program -- this time between [head coach] Biff Poggi and the gathered throng of eighty boys, freshmen through seniors, who would spend the next week practicing together before being split into varsity and junior varsity teams.

" 'What is our job?' Biff asked on behalf of himself, Joe, and the eight other assistant coaches.

" 'To love us,' most of the boys yelled back. The older boys had already been through this routine more than enough times to know the proper answer. The younger boys, new to Gilman football, would soon catch on.

" 'And what is your job?' Biff shot back.

'To love each other,' the boys responded.

"I would quickly come to realize that this standard exchange -- always initiated by Biff or defensive coach Joe Ehrmann--was just as much a part of Gilman football as running or tackling.

" 'I don't care if you're big or small, huge muscles or no muscles, never even played football or star of the team -- I don't care about any of that stuff,' Biff went on to tell the boys, who sat in the grass while he spoke. 'If you're here, then you're one of us, and we love you. Simple as that.' ..." 'I expect greatness out of you,' Biff once told the boys. 'And the way we measure greatness is the impact you make on other people's lives.'

"How would the boys make the most impact? Almost anything Biff ever talked about could be fashioned into at least a partial answer to that question.

"For one thing, they would make an impact by being inclusive rather than exclusive.

" 'The rest of the world will always try to separate you,' Biff said. 'That's almost a law of nature -- gonna happen no matter what, right? The rest of the world will want to separate you by race, by socioeconomic status, by education levels, by religion, by neighborhood, by what kind of car you drive, by the clothes you wear, by athletic ability. You name it -- always gonna be people who want to separate by that stuff. Well, if you let that happen now, then you'll let it happen later. Don't let it happen. If you're one of us, then you won't walk around putting people in boxes. Not now. Not ever. Because every single one of them has something to offer. Every single one of them is special. Look at me, boys.'

They were looking.

" 'We are a program of inclusion,' Biff said. 'We do not believe in separation.'

"The boys would also make an impact by breaking down cliques and stereotypes, by developing empathy and kindness for all.

" 'What's empathy?' Biff asked them. 'Feeling what?'

"'Feeling what the other person feels,' said senior Napoleon Sykes, one of the team captains, a small but solid wide receiver and hard-hitting defensive back who had already accepted a scholarship to play college football at Wake Forest.

" 'Exactly right,' Biff said. 'Not feeling for someone, but with someone. If you can put yourself in another man's shoes, that's a great gift to have for a lifetime.'

"That was the whole idea behind Biff and Joe's ironclad rule that no Gilman football player should ever let another Gilman boy -- teammate or not -- eat lunch by himself.

" 'You happen to see another boy off by himself, go sit with him or bring him over to sit with you and your friends,' Biff said. 'I don't care if you know him or not. I don't care if he's the best athlete in the school or the so-called nerd with his head always down in the books. You go get him and you make him feel wanted, you make him feel special. Simple, right? Well, that's being a man built for others.'

"How else would the boys make an impact?

"By living with integrity ... and not only when it is convenient to do so. Always. By seeking justice ... because it is often hidden. By encouraging the oppressed . . . because they are always discouraged."

Ultimately, the boys would make the greatest overall impact on the world -- would bring the most love and grace and healing to people -- by constantly basing their thoughts and actions on one simple question: What can I do for you?

Not, what can I do to get a bigger bank account or a bigger house? Not, what can I do to get the prettiest girl? Not, what can I do to get the most power or authority or a better job title? Not, what can I do for me? The only question that really matters is this: How can I help you today?

Biff and Joe would constantly elaborate on all of this as the season progressed.

"Because in case you haven't noticed yet, we're training you to be different," Biff said. "If we lose every game of the year, go oh-and-ten on the football field, as long as we try hard, I don't care. You learn these lessons, and we're ten-and-oh in the game of life."





Although Jesus is never mentioned in this excerpt, His influence is all over it. This is football coach does not quote scripture or share his faith in Christ. We do not receive any indication of his religious affiliation, but we sense the power of the Lord pervading the foundation of Biff Poggi’s athletic program.

We see the evidence of the power of Jesus’ words that believers must, “Let you light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify your Heavenly Father,” Matthew 5:16.

May we be encouraged in this day of persecution for our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that even if we must remain silent before a world that disdains our faith and denies our hope and disbelieves our Christ, we yet may allow our lives to be a “living epistle, read of all men,” II Corinthians 3:2.

Even when our lips must be silent, our Jesus can be glorified in the way we live and through the outcome of the works we do to the honor of His name.

Ever Brighter Reflections

January 10

God’s provision is complete. His spiritual treasure is all around for us to gather as we ply His Word for nuggets of golden truth. From the beginning of the Bible to the end, we find our King’s treasure trove pouring out for us to glean of the wealth of His eternal certainty.

Yet, like prospectors in earth’s goldmines, we must dig into the veins of truth in order to find all that is there for us to possess. We do not wish to be content with the mere scattering of nuggets that can be gleaned from panning the surface of what is revealed to us. We want to dig deeply and discover all He has for us.

Toward that end, He has provided the Holy Spirit as our Partner in prospecting. Jesus has promised that the Comforter would come and that He would teach us all truth (John 14:26). When we open our hearts to Jesus, the Third Person of the Trinity becomes the Indweller of our spirits and He guides us in the way we should go in order that we may discover the fullness of God’s will for our lives.

In this regard, the Holy Spirit is rather like the science teacher in a laboratory where his students have the opportunity to experiment and to discover and to record scientific data on their own. He gives the basic guidelines and then allows the learners in his charge to discover knowledge on their own. The general consensus is that knowledge discovered in this fashion is more likely to be retained than if it is acquired through reading a book or being instructed by a teacher.

Our God wants us to discover His truth and He wants us to appropriate the power of His presence in our lives. He doesn’t require us to open our innermost being to Him but He is available when we invite Him in to be the heart of our existence.

How does this happen? Jesus says in Matthew 7:7, 8, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” God knows we will value truth more if we seek it for ourselves—as the prospector who searches values the wealth he gains.

May we hunger and thirst after Him so fully that each day of our lives will be an exercise in achieving an ever deepening relationship with Him; that every moment of our existence will find us diminishing in our own control of our lives and allowing Jesus to increase in power in us. May our lives become ever-brighter reflections of the glory of the Christ we love and serve.

He Who Promised Is Faithful

January 9

We cannot count ourselves blessed if we alone are blessed. It is the longing of our hearts to rest in the assurance that those we love, those to whom we have witnessed the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, are also blessed. We long not merely for temporal, but also eternal favor upon ourselves and those around us.

The great God we serve indicates His understanding of our deep yearning for the well-being of our loved ones in Isaiah 65:23, 24 where the prophet says, “They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they shall be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call, I will answer; while they are speaking, I will hear.”

What a precious promise! The Almighty One sees our heart! He knows the depth of our longing for meaningful results to the labor we perform. He knows it is our desire to lay up treasure for our children—our natural children and our spiritual children! He knows we covet the blessings of time and of eternity—especially of eternity—for those we hold dear. And He says they’re ours!

As we see the events that unfold on planet earth, such things as the ‘polar vortex’ encroaching into half of the country and plunging it into a deep freeze; as we see man’s inhumanity to man evidenced in so many places and is so many ways, as we observe men who “have a form of godliness, but deny the power,” II Timothy 3:5, we tend to conclude that we are indeed living in the closing days of time.

As these signs unfold in more and more manifestations, with greater rapidity and in various and sundry places, we cannot but think of Jesus’ words in Luke 21:28, “When you see these things happen, look up and lift up your head, for your redemption draws near.”

So we wait in hope, knowing the words of the angel as the Lord ascended into Heaven after resurrection are true, “Why do you stand gazing into the air? This same Jesus, who is taken from you will return in like manner as you have seen Him go,” Acts 1:11. We do not despair when men and governments seems to be plummeting out of control.

We believe and are sure that Jesus came to make available to us everything man lost by the fall. Whereas Adam and Ever were required by their sin to toil to survive, to endure pain in childbearing, we are now told that our labor will be fruitful and those with whom we share the message of salvation will be kept in the hollow of His hand!

We know our God hears us as we whisper our prayers for those we love. We know we may continue to labor in the behalf of His Kingdom’s purposes and that our efforts will bear fruit. Until He comes, we may abide in the assurance that “as our Savior comes, His reward will be with Him,” Isaiah 62:11.

May we allow our endeavors to be in the behalf of His Kingdom’s purposes and may we keep our eyes on the eastern sky, for surely, “He who has promised is faithful,” Hebrews 10:23.

Fulfilled

January 8

John 16:23, 24 extends a powerful promise to the people of God from the lips of the Lord Jesus Himself. Here He says, “I tell you the truth, My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name. Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be full.”

Could Jesus have made a more expansive promise than that? Could any promise given to us fulfill the longing of our hearts and souls to the degree that this one does? “…My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name…” Oh, what love the Father has for us! Oh, what power is in the name of Jesus!

Combine the fact of the Father’s love with the power of the Son’s name and heaven and earth open before the supplicant! We may achieve the goals we yearn to attain and we may possess the things we long to own—it seems the promise is without reservation! It seems the ticket to ‘Easy Street,’ the way to lifelong self-indulgence and aggrandizement.

Yet, the reality is that if a man truly loves Jesus with all his heart, soul, mind, and spirit, his supplication before the Father will reflect that love. He will not ask for the trappings of power and wealth, for those things will have no allure for him. The man after Christ’s heart will ask for the treasures of the Kingdom, for souls won to the Lord—and his longing will be fulfilled.

When we are one with Christ as Christ is one with the Father, when our spirits are united with the Holy Spirit of the Living and True God, our desire will be toward Him. As I John 5:14 tells us, we will approach Him with boldness because as James 4:8 assures, "When you draw near to God, He draws near to you."

We have no doubt in our mind or reservation in our spirit, for we have been promised by the Christ Himself that as we boldly surrender our hearts, our lips, our prayers to Him, He will be near us; He will be our "Advocate with the Father," I John 2:1. He not only washes us clean of sin, but invests His power in the behalf of the prayers He lays upon our hearts.

When we have given our lives to Him for time and for eternity, He will invest Himself in us. He will plead our case before the Father, and He will send His Holy Spirit to "teach us all things," John 14:26. With His guidance, we will know "how to pray as we ought," Romans 8:26. When we are praying His own prayers, we can be assured that the longing of our heart will be fulfilled.

Miracle in Israel...in JESUS' Name!

January 7

The Lord wants to bless His people. He holds out great opportunities for enrichment to those who will but place their lives at His disposal. We read in Psalm 128:2 David’s encouraging words, “You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.”

We sometimes tend to read verses like that one and make the quantum leap of interpretation that assures that all believers will be possessors of great wealth. While some people of faith do have tremendous financial resources, we cannot equate promises such as this one entirely with the monetary realm.

The Lord indeed wants us to have financial blessings. He wants us to labor and to reap the reward of our work. There is a verse that says, “Do not muzzle the ox that treads the corn…” I Timothy 5:18, and goes on to clarify, “…the laborer is worthy of his hire.”

Yet beyond the gain afforded to us by our work, we have also the assurance of spiritual gain when we labor for the Lord (I Corinthians 15:58) where we are told that we are to, “…abound in the work of the Lord, for your labor for Him is not in vain.” He is a rewarder of those who work to further the Kingdom of Christ.

A glorious testimony of the wondrous benefits that come through the prayers of believers comes out of the land where Jesus walked and had His ministry. Hearing of this amazing miracle occurring in Israel should cause everyone, everywhere to realize that the One who came originally to save His people is moving among them today!

This is a clear indication that signs and wonders (Mark 16:17, 18) are still following believers. May I speculate here that IF HE IS INDEED EVIDENCING HIMSELF AMONG THE JEWS, THIS IS SURELY AN INDICATION THAT HIS RETURN IS NEAR!

Before He comes, may He show Himself strong among people of faith in every kindred, nation, tribe and tongue!

HERE IS THE TESTIMONY OUT OF ISRAEL:

Miraculous Healing in Jesus Stuns Israelis

Israeli news stations have been reporting on the miracle and all admit that it is impossible to explain what happened to Therese, other than the power of her faith. Hospital staff and reporters even traveled to Therese's home to look for some other explanation. They tasted the food she eats and checked the water she drinks, but there was no physical explanation. They left contemplating one undeniable, unavoidable and very uncomfortable option-that prayer in Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel, still heals today.

When Therese Daoud arrived at Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital with a huge cancerous tumor, doctors said her only chance of survival would be to amputate the leg. What happened during the following months has left the medical staff and the nation speechless.

"If someone had told me the story of what happened to Therese, I would have said they are crazy and sent them to a mental hospital," said Professor Yaakov Bickels, head of the Orthopedic-Oncology Department at the hospital. "But I was there. I saw it with my own eyes."

What the professor saw he described as a malignant tumor "the size of an orange." The biopsy showed a sarcoma. "This is one of the most aggressive and terrifying of all cancerous tumors," Bickels explained. "With a tumor developed to this degree, the only treatment we could offer Therese was to amputate her leg."

"I was in shock when the doctors told me," said Therese, a junior high school science teacher. "I thought he was talking about someone else. But I had no choice. I began to prepare myself for life with one leg."

Therese sent lab tests and x-rays to the USA to double check, but they came back with the same prognosis. The leg must be amputated to save her life.

On the day of surgery, after waiting in the hospital for three days, Therese was informed that because of "technical difficulties" the operation must be rescheduled. When she went back for the rescheduled surgery, just as she was about to be wheeled into the operating theater, Therese was told again, "the amputation must be postponed." This time the surgical units were unavailable due to a number of emergency cases. By the time Therese got another date for surgery, her mother had become very sick, and Therese decided to herself postpone the operation in order to take care of her mother.

For most of us, postponing a lifesaving surgery would have been overwhelming. Not for Therese. "Three times the surgery was delayed," she said. "This was a clear sign to me from Heaven that I should not have the surgery." Israeli TV showed images of Therese praying in a church in the north of the country.

Three months later, a huge smile on her face, Therese walked unaided into Bickels' office. "What happened to you?" he asked. "I prayed," she responded.

Stunned, Bickels immediately sent Therese for an MRI, but the results were undeniable. The killer growth had receded dramatically. "This just does not happen," stammered the professor. "A growth of this kind cannot recede like this."

Doctors and nurses could not believe the results, so they sent for another biopsy. But . . . there was no cancer. It had completely left her body. "We kept checking her records over and over," said an astonished Bickels. "We just could not accept that the cancer had gone without any treatment."

Israeli news stations have been reporting on the miracle and all admit that it is impossible to explain what happened to Therese, other than the power of her faith. Hospital staff and reporters even traveled to Therese's home to look for some other explanation. They tasted the food she eats and checked the water she drinks, but there was no physical explanation. They left contemplating one undeniable, unavoidable and very uncomfortable option-that prayer in Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel, still heals today. (Israel Today)

Relinquish to Possess

January 6

The dissertation of Paul in Philippians 3:7-9 is the affirmation of a man who has turned his life around. Where once he had temporal goals at the heart of his being, he now had a totally spiritual orientation. There was nothing that he once held dear that he had not totally abandoned. There was Christ Whom he once scorned that he had now come to embrace.

He said of himself, “Whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. I consider everything I gained to be loss compared to the surpassing greatness of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for Whose sake I have lost all things and count them but dung that I may gain Christ and be found in Him.

“I have no righteousness of my own through obedience to the law; I have only the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus. It is the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”

When Paul’s dark eyes were opened, when he could see the squalor of his own goodness, he embraced the One whose pure life enabled Him to place a robe of righteousness upon those who believe Him.

When Paul’s eyes were opened to behold the glory of the Holy One whose life, death and resurrection had the power to transform an ordinary flawed man from sinner to saint, he received the Gift that made all things new—that made him a man of passion for the Lord—the “unspeakable Gift” of II Corinthians 9:15.

It is only Jesus who can transform ordinary men today from flawed, vessels, laden with sin into godly people who can boldly face life or death in the confidence that Paul had. As the Apostle declared, “I know Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed to Him,” II Timothy 1:12, so may believers today affirm that confidence!

Like Paul, we can be believers who are willing to exchange the momentary treasures of time for the unfathomable riches of eternity. We, too, may embrace the Lord Jesus Christ with a full heart that enables us to be like Paul—a man who relinquished the trappings of the world so he could possess the treasure of eternal life.

Scatter the Seeds

January 5

We’ve all heard the riddle, ‘What would you do if the world were to come to an end tomorrow?’ and the answer is, ‘Plant a tree.’ This wise counsel indeed propagates the notion that hope springs eternal and man should never give up. Where there is life, there is hope. Best of all, however, we who believe know that where there is Christ, there is life after life.

Everyone longs for the assurance of fulfillment in life and of joy in the presence of God when our brief sojourn in time is done. Some people who do not know Jesus, go to extraordinary lengths in their attempt to appease their angry god. They will crawl on their foreheads to reach a shrine to lessen his wrath; they will blow themselves up in an effort to diminish his anger.

But those who know Jesus are aware that our profoundest yearnings to attain the righteousness we must possess in order to one day see His holy face cannot be attained through anything we can do on our own. Jesus has done everything for us at the cross. Our part is simply to receive His “unspeakable gift,” II Corinthians 9:15.

Of our longings, the Word says in Proverbs 13:12, “A longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” This speaks of the import of those things that profoundly impact our hearts. Our longing to know God and to be acceptable in His sight is the profoundest yearning of our souls and the writer of Proverbs understood that when that incomparable longing was fulfilled, the rest of life would be reconciled to our Holy God.

The things for which we yearn deeply are the stuff that makes the essence of life. We cry within our spirits to have a sense of well-being. We want to know that all is well for not just ourselves but also for those whom we love. We pray and seek the face of the Lord in the behalf of our family, our friends, our brothers in Christ. And He assures us that He hears and cares.

He knows that when we attain the object of our deep striving, we will thrive in our inner man as does the well-watered tree that spreads its branches to give shade and offer its fruit to sustain life. Our lives benefit the lives of those around us when we bask in the assurance that our Jesus never fails.

We become His partners in the giving of life eternal when we share our knowledge of Him with those within our sphere of influence. When we walk hand-in-hand with the Savior, we help Him scatter the seeds of life. No matter where those seeds fall, life will spring up, because Jesus is our Tree of Life!