Plugged In

February 28

Getting Plugged in to the Power

In a seminary missions class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push. After pondering his problem, he devised a plan.

He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car to start. As he made his rounds, he could either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this improvisation for two years.

Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood.

Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, “Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable.” He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life.

For two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work.

J. B. Phillips paraphrases Ephesians l:19-20, “How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God.” When we make firm our connection with God, His life and power flow through us. —Ernest B. Beevers


How plugged in are we to the power source? Jesus said, “Without Me, you can do nothing,” John 15:5. HE is our power source, without Him, we can’t accomplish anything of eternal value.

Though we may rise to the heights of our profession, though we may attain great power among the world’s leaders, though we may be acclaimed to be a great moral leader, though we may inspire all men because of our technological wizardry, none of our accomplishments will stand the test of the fire of Heaven’s judgment (see I Corinthians 3:8-21).

If our works are to be tried by fire, shouldn’t we be mindful of the labor we do? Of course we need to support our families and provide the necessities of life, but if we are consumed with the temporal, how will we assure that those around us see us laboring in behalf of the Kingdom of Christ?

The brother of Jesus said, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways,” James 1:8. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus Himself said, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” He made it clear that we cannot serve the Holy One while being consumed with temporal interests. The reality is we will disdain one and love the other.

If we try to incorporate both worldly and godly goals into our repertoire, we will indeed be unstable in our ways for the temporal will always be at variance with the eternal. The Lord desires that we make Him our complete priority and that we trust Him to help us achieve necessary goals to be responsible and productive people.

If we make Him our power source, there will be no power failure in our lives. We will be able to “do all things through Christ who strengthens us,” Philippians 4:13.

The Brevity of Time

February 27

“Beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance,” II Peter 3:8-9.

We are creatures of time. Oh, yes, we know we were created for eternity; we know it is the will of our Creator that we dwell with Him in the Heavenlies forever; but time is what we know.

As we cannot fully grasp the holiness and perfection of God because we have no point of reference for those of His attributes, neither can we begin to really apprehend the meaning of eternity, for we are constrained by time. Each of us has an ‘expiration date.’

It is difficult to fathom the world around us without us, because as long as we’ve existed on the planet, we’ve been part of it; but we fully understand that our tenure here is limited because every one of us has watched loved ones die.

We strive for ascendancy in our work, we endeavor to control our personal relationships, we seek wise counselors in our investment activities—we gear our lives around attaining a perceived advantage—sometimes forgetting entirely that “it is appointed to man once to die and after that the judgment,” Hebrews 9:27.

James 4:14 says, “What is your life but a vapor of air that is here today and gone with the morning sun.” In the Old Testament, David observes, “…Lord, let me know how transient I am,” Psalm 39:4, and in Job 7:6, God’s suffering servant says, “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle.”

Should we not realize that the seeming delay of Christ’s return is His heart’s yearning that all men would be saved? (I Timothy 2:4) In light of the brevity of time and the absolute fact of our own eventual demise, should we not make our salvation the utmost consideration of our existence? Shouldn’t we strive to fulfill the desire of our Savior’s heart that we not perish but come to repentance?

How Many Have You Claimed Lately?

Unexplainable Power

Excerpt From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman

-Without Pharaoh's pursuit of Israel at the Red Sea, there is no miraculous deliverance.

-Without Lazarus's death, there is no rising to life.

-Without Goliath, there is no underdog story.

-Without Peter stepping out of the boat, there is no miracle on the water.

-Without Judas' betrayal, there is no resurrection.

God wants to show Himself in ways you and I cannot imagine. Let God demonstrate His power in you today. Then, you will see "all men drawn unto Me."



Our brother, Os Hillman, has made a significant observation that can be capsulized in a few simple words, ‘We want to see miracles but we don’t want to endure the distress that precedes them.’

Nobody wants to suffer but everyone wants to see the Lord glorify Himself in the kinds of miracles He performed when He walked the earth. Can we be faulted for desiring to walk in health and wholeness and prosperity? Can we be blamed for preferring good things to bad?

No, our loving Savior does not find fault with us for claiming the blessings He has promised; but He does remind us that when the hedge around us is compromised for any reason, we are to take our needs before Him in faith.

James 4:2 explains that we will try any other method to obtain our needs, but that it boils down to the simple reality that, “…you have not because you ask not.”

Here are just a few of the myriad promises found in the unfailing Word of the Living and True God:

Matthew 7:7-11: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son asked bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he asked for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?

Matthew 18:19: Again I say unto you, if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 21:22: All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

John 14:13: And whatsoever you shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it.

John 15:7: If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you, for herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be my disciples.

John 15:16: You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you.

John 16:23: And in that day you shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you. Hitherto have you asked nothing in My name: ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.

Philippians 4:6: Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Philippians 4:19: And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

James 1:5: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and upbraids not; and it shall be given him.

The Bible is replete with the promises of our God. How many of them have you claimed lately?

Oil for Your Lamp

February 25

”Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you; and over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity,” Colossians 3:12-15.

God has chosen you. As a believer in Christ, you have stepped forward and allowed yourself to be counted among the people who have heard His call and recognized His Lordship over you. As Jesus concluded in His parable of the wedding feast (see Matthew 22:1-14), many are called but few are chosen.

God’s Word, that cannot fail and cannot lie, tells us it is God’s will for all people to be saved, I Timothy 2:4. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was freely made for all, without discrimination. But we learn a lesson from the parable of the wedding feast.

In reading Jesus’ words, we discover that many do not take His invitation seriously. Ten virgins are called to the feast, but only five of them thought to bring additional oil for their lamps. While waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom, the ten whose lamps had run out of oil had to scamper off to find more oil. While they were gone the bridegroom arrived and they were left behind. (See Matthew 25:1-13.)

In much the same way, we are waiting for the arrival of Christ. We are to be shining the light of His truth as we wait for Him, but the Bible tells us that many among us will be scoffers who allow our light to go out. We will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? Since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”

While we wait, the fervor of our faith will diminish, the light of our witness will falter and fail. When He bursts the eastern sky with His presence, we will vainly strive to renew our faith, but it will be too late, for those who remained prepared will already have arisen to “meet Him in the air,” I Thessalonians 4:17.

Let us value the light that we have within us and let us allow the oil of faith to keep it aflame so kindness and mercy and truth and gentleness and patience and forgiveness and love might shine brightly through us; so the living epistle of our lives may be clearly read of all men, II Corinthians 3:2, 3.

So our faith won’t be extinguished by doubt or impatience or trials or delays but we will be ablaze with the truth of Christ’s salvation; so we will be ready when He comes! It is God's will, after all, that "none should perish, that all should be found in faith," II Peter 3:9.

Shadow of Good Things

February 24

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin,” Hebrews 4:15.

Aaron, the elder brother of Moses, was the first high priest and the progenitor of the priestly class in Ancient Israel. The high priest was tasked with entering the Most Holy Place, or Holy of Holies, once a year to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people on the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur.

But the blood of sheep and goats could not cleanse us from sin. That task required a pure and holy Savior. In Hebrews 10:1-7, that sacrifice is proclaimed:

“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

"Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: 'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.' Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God.’”

In order to be our High Priest, Jesus offered the sacrifice that satisfied the just requirement, that forever paid the penalty, which met the awful price required to atone for our sin. He walked in our place when He climbed Golgotha’s hill, He took our punishment when He was nailed to the cross, He paid the complete recompense for our sin when His blood forever washed away our transgression!

Our Heavenly High Priest, unlike every other sacrifice, shall live forever; and He knows us and empathizes with us, for He walked among us! If we will but accept Christ’s atonement for our sin, we, shall abide with Him forever.

Alive after Being Dead for 45 Minutes

Our God is an awesome God! He can do anything! He can do all things!
"Is anything too hard for Me?" Jeremiah 32:27
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13


Dead for 45 Minutes, Resurrected Man Tells Fox's Megyn Kelly About Experience in Heaven

"He had no heart rate. He had no blood pressure. He had no pulse, his brain had no oxygen for 45 minutes. So, the fact that he is up walking, talking, laughing and everything-I mean, that's amazing." -ICU Nurse, Emily Bishop

(Beachwood, Ohio)-For 45 minutes, doctors and nurses were unable to revive Brian Miller after the 41-year-old truck driver suffered a heart attack. But Miller, who says he was in Heaven during that time, claims he's alive today because God sent him back. . .

More specifically, according to a Fox News interview, God sent Miller's deceased father-in-law and mother-in-law to deliver a message to him that it wasn't his time and ushered him back into life.

As Miller suffered the initial heart attack, his ICU nurse, Emily Bishop, said, "His heart is just quivering in there. It's not able to pump. It's not doing anything."

Speaking later of his miraculous revival, Bishop added, "He had no heart rate. He had no blood pressure. He had no pulse, his brain had no oxygen for 45 minutes. So, the fact that he is up walking, talking, laughing and everything-I mean, that's amazing."

According to Fox WJW Channel 8 News, not only did Miller's heart inexplicably just start beating on it's own again, but he "miraculously" suffered no brain damage or loss of any bodily functions.

When interviewer Megyn Kelly asked Miller to describe his experience, he said, "I [saw] the light and just kept walking toward it. And then, all of a sudden, it opened into a most beautiful path with flowers." It was as he was walking along this path that he was met by his in-laws.

When asked about his religious background, Miller explained that he's "always believed in the Lord" and that as a child he went to church a lot but that now, since getting married and driving a truck so often, he hardly goes anymore.

Miller states that the experience has changed his perspective on life in multiple ways and that people need to know heaven is real.

It Matters Who You Serve

February 23

The Two Fruit Trees
A farmer one planted two fruit trees on opposite sides of his property. One he planted to hide the unsightly view of an old landfill; the other to provide restful shade near a cool mountain stream which ran beside his fields.

As the two trees grew, both began to flower and bear fruit. One day the farmer picked some fruit from the tree nearest his house -- the one used to provide a hedge from the landfill. He noticed the fruit was a little deformed but it looked edible. Hoping for a quick snack, the farmer bit into the fruit and immediately spit it out. It was extremely bitter.

Curious, the farmer walked across his field to the other tree and harvested some of its fruit. A smile drew on his face as he sampled it and found it sweet and delicious. He gathered several more pieces of fruit and took them to the house. What had made the difference?

Both trees were the same type of fruit. The quality of the fruit was greatly affected by the nutrition at its roots. Just as the tree by the landfill grew to be bitter, while the tree by the stream produced sweet fruit, so we, children of God, have a choice.

We can either put down our roots in the soil of the landfill of fleshly pursuits, or into the cool refreshing stream of the person of Jesus Christ. The fruit of our lives is the outward evidence of our inward motivation. – Anonymous



The Bible tells us that every person who is ever born is going to serve someone. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus states very clearly that nobody can serve God and mammon. None of us can be humble servants of our good Master as well as being arrogant servants of our self-interests.

If we plant ourselves in the soil of self-aggrandizement, of personal accomplishment, of temporal gain, the fruit of our lives will ultimately become bitter to our taste.

On the other hand, if we allow our lives to be uprooted from the dry dirt of self, and transplanted into the rich soil of the divine, we will become like “trees of righteousness,” Isaiah 61:3.

In fact, the passage states in full, "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified."

When our lives have been transplanted from the godless soil of unbelief to the Christ-centered soil of faith, we know we will be uprooted from death and replanted to life. We know the ashes of our broken lives will be exchanged for the beauty of our Lord. We know we will have the oil of joy poured over our heads and our mourning shall cease.

We know that as we praise the One who causes us to thrive, all heaviness will lift and our spirits will flutter ever closer to our Savior on the wings of angels. As we serve Jesus instead of self, we will rise in confident anticipation of the abiding joy of serving the Lord who loves us forever.

We're not Done

February 22

It Is Not Finished

Real faith is not only getting beyond our past: it’s recognizing that faith is an ongoing process. None of us “have arrived.” At best, we can say we’re “on the way.”

A big mistake many make is the notion that at any given moment we’re going to be complete and thus relieved from the prospect of additional construction. That is not and will never be the case.

While I’m not everything I want to be, I’m not all the things I once was. Our lives are filled with pressure and stress. This is not necessarily bad. Stress and tension, properly balanced, actually give us strength.

Faith involves having something in the distance to motivate us and keep us moving, as the apostle Paul admonished in his Epistle to the Philippians. We should “press on toward the goal.”

Faith gives us a focus for our future, helps us move in the direction of our destiny, and gives us the capacity to continue working toward a worthy legacy. -- Mike Huckabee, from Living Beyond Your Lifetime



Governor Huckabee has taken the words of Jesus as He expired on the cross, “It is finished,” John 19:20, and applied them to the unfinished work of our lives. While Jesus could affirm that the work of salvation was indeed done, we cannot make such claims where the work of our own lives are concerned.

Indeed, we cannot even know our mission to the degree that Jesus knew His, for His was purposed “before the foundation of the earth,” Revelation 13:8. In order to accomplish the mission set before Him, in order to redeem the souls of men from eternal damnation, Jesus accepted the role of Redeemer before man existed on the planet.

As Philippians 2:6 states very clearly, “He, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation and took upon Himself the fashion of a man. Being found in the likeness of men, He became obedient unto death—even the humiliating death on the cross.”

When that redemptive work was done, Jesus did not remain in the tomb. No! “He arose on the third day,” I Corinthians 15:4, “according to the scriptures.” Jesus spoke of His resurrection in numerous places in the gospels, among which is Matthew 16:21.

When mortal men appropriate the truth of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, they are set on the path of life eternal. They are promised that in all the trials they face, they will be “more than conquerors,” Romans 8:37, and that they will judge angels (see I Corinthians 6:3) and that they will reign with the Lord (see II Timothy 2:12).

As we can readily see, what Jesus completed on the cross and what He proclaimed to all men through His resurrection, we have only begun to proclaim when we lay our lives at His feet. Our service will continue until we slip this mortal coil and join Him in the heavenlies.

Please forgive my error! Feb 20 blog was inadvertently posted twice!

February 21

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” Matthew 5:3.

To be ‘poor in spirit’ is not, in actuality, to be poor in any way. Rather, to be poor in spirit is to be unencumbered by the strivings of the world. The man who is poor in spirit is the man who is free of any desire for temporal things; he is the man who is totally free to dedicate himself to the Kingdom of Christ.

The Word of God tells us in Matthew 6:24, “You cannot serve two masters; you cannot serve God and mammon. For you must love the one and hate the other.” Jesus Himself spoke these very profound and telling words and He exemplified the humility of spirit that those who follow after Him must attain.

Here is a definition of poor in spirit from a commentary by Emmet Fox on the Sermon on the Mount: “To be poor in spirit means to have emptied yourself of all desire to exercise personal self-will and what is just as important to have renounced all preconceived opinions [prejudices] in the wholehearted search for God.

“It means to be willing to set aside your present habits of thought, your present views and prejudices, your present way of life, if necessary—to jettison in fact anything and everything that can stand in the way of your finding God.”

So the person who is poor in spirit recognizes his total lack of eternal treasure and is willing to sacrifice anything and everything in order to obtain it.

The person who is poor in spirit recognizes that as Jesus, “…who was in the form of God and equal to God, made Himself of no reputation and took on the form of a man, “ Philippians 2:7, so he must empty himself in order to pursue the treasure Jesus sacrificed all in order to bring to man.

As it was said of Jesus in Philippians 2:8-11, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him a name that is above every name. And at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The man who is willing to empty himself of everything as Jesus did, the man who is willing to live his life in pursuit of eternal rather than of temporal achievement, will be the man who receives the promise that was given to all who follow after the Christ—he shall “rule and reign with Him,” II Timothy 2:12.

In the Crosshairs

February 21

“I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, iniquity was there. I said in my heart, ‘God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work,’" Ecclesiastes 3:16, 17.

The wickedness around us merits judgment; wickedness deserves to be in the place of judgment, but we don’t anticipate seeing iniquity in the place of righteousness!

There are some aspects of life and law and love that we expect to be squarely in sync with the immutable will of God.

We strive to anchor our lives to the truth that is eternal and in so doing, we anticipate a smooth flow of our day-to-day activity that will be totally compatible with the Lord’s perfect plan for us.

We endeavor to comply with His eternal law and in so doing, to find ourselves to be in right standing with everyone around us, for in our obedience to the law of God, we cannot imagine that we could offend any man.

The law of love, that tells us that we “must love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your strength and you must love your neighbor as yourself,” Luke 10:27, is one we obey to the utmost of our ability.

But sometimes God’s perfect plan for us seems to go awry. Sometimes our compliance with the law of God places us at odds with the law of man. And there are indeed times when in loving the Lord, our neighbor takes offense in us.

What are we to do when our compatibility with the perfect law of the Holy One places us at cross purposes with the law of man—especially in these closing days of time when wickedness abounds everywhere? When our surrender to Him places us in the crosshairs of the backlash of human fallibility or even exposes us to governmental injustice?

At those times when injustice encompasses us and when even those from whom we anticipate honor and truth and integrity disappoint us, we may stand on the assurance of King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:16, 17, there is a time of judgment coming when all things will be recognized for what they really are.

In the meantime, may HE give us grace, by the power of the Holy Spirit within us, to discern the right and to abide in the right—no matter how void of righteousness the world around us may become in these closing days of time.

Recognized for What They Are

February 20

“I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, iniquity was there. I said in my heart, ‘God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work,’" Ecclesiastes 3:16, 17.

The wickedness around us merits judgment; wickedness deserves to be in the place of judgment, but we don’t anticipate seeing iniquity in the place of righteousness!

There are some aspects of life and law and love that we expect to be squarely in sync with the immutable will of God.

We strive to anchor our lives to the truth that is eternal and in so doing, we anticipate a smooth flow of our day-to-day activity that will be totally compatible with the Lord’s perfect plan for us.

We endeavor to comply with His eternal law and in so doing, to find ourselves to be in right standing with everyone around us, for in our obedience to the law of God, we cannot imagine that we could offend any man.

The law of love, that tells us that we “must love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your strength and you must love your neighbor as yourself,” Luke 10:27, is one we obey to the utmost of our ability.

But sometimes God’s perfect plan for us seems to go awry. Sometimes our compliance with the law of God places us at odds with the law of man. And there are indeed times when in loving the Lord our neighbor takes offense in us.

What are we to do when our compatibility with the perfect law of the Holy One places us at cross purposes with the law of man—especially in these closing days of time when wickedness abounds everywhere? When our surrender to Him places us in the cross-hairs of human fallibility or even exposes us to governmental injustice?

At those times when injustice encompasses us and when even those from whom we anticipate honor and truth and integrity disappoint us, we may stand on the assurance of King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:16, 17, there is a time of judgment coming when all things will be recognized for what they really are.

In the meantime, may HE give us grace, by the power of the Holy Spirit within us, to discern the right and to abide in the right—no matter how void of righteousness the world around us may become in these closing days of time.

Non-entities

February 19

“Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD,” Psalm 34:11

“To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work,” Titus 1:15-16

God’s Holy Word the Bible admonishes us to learn of Him but it also makes us aware that when we know Him, we are to be reconciled to Him. That reconciliation does not mean only that we attend religious services when they are available or that we focus our associations on others who believe as we do, but that we allow ourselves to be conformed in our innermost being to the likeness of Christ.

The difference is a very basic one because if we don’t allow that inner transformation to occur, we cannot be truly His; rather, we will be among those who prophesied in His name and healed in His name and cast out demons in His name but were none of His (see Matthew 7:22).

Jesus isn’t looking for people who merely proclaim Him to others without fully embracing Him themselves. He is looking for men who have allowed His life, His sacrificial death, His resurrection—His salvation—to transform them in the essence of who they are.

Otherwise, we may be better people—we may be more generous, kinder, more compassionate, more loving—but we are not truly transformed people, we are not people who have died to themselves that we might live fully unto the Lord.

We will be an improved version of ourselves, but even ‘good’ people are fallen. We can’t be content to be better people, we must be transformed as was Paul so we may say as he said, “For me to live is Christ…” Philippians 1:21. When we allow Jesus to live in us, we will become non-entities so that He may become everything in and through us. Jesus will become the essence of who we are.

The Iron Floats

February 18

God Makes Impossible Things Possible Anonymous

Made the Iron Float II Kings 6:6

The axe head seemed hopelessly lost, and as it was borrowed, the honor of the prophetic band was likely to be imperiled, and the name of their God to be compromised. Contrary to all expectation, the iron was made to mount from the depth of the stream and to swim; for things impossible with man are possible with God.

I knew a man in Christ but a few years ago who was called to undertake a work far exceeding his strength. It appeared so difficult as to involve absurdity in the bare idea of attempting it. Yet he was called to it, and his faith rose with the occasion.

God honored his faith, unexpected aid was sent, and the iron did swim. Another of the Lord's family was in dreadful financial straits. He would have been able to meet all claims and much more if he could have realized a certain portion of his estate, but he was overtaken with a sudden pressure.

He sought for friends in vain, but faith led him to the unfailing Helper, and lo, the trouble was averted, his footsteps were enlarged, and the iron did swim.

A third had a sorrowful case of depravity to deal with. He had taught, reproved, warned, invited, and interceded, but all in vain.

Old Adam was too strong for young Melanchthon; the stubborn spirit would not relent. Then came an agony of prayer, and before long a blessed answer was sent from heaven. The hard heart was broken; the iron did swim.

Beloved reader, what is your desperate case? What heavy matter have you to deal with at this juncture in your life? Bring it here. The God of the prophets lives, and He lives to help His saints. He will not suffer you to lack any good thing. Believe in the Lord of hosts!

Approach Him pleading the name of Jesus, and the iron shall swim; you too shall see the finger of God working marvels for His people. According to your faith be it unto you, and yet again the iron shall swim.

Enter His Rest

February 17

Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did (the Israelites who did not enter the Promised Land); but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’”

And yet His works have been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” And again in the passage above He says, “They shall never enter My rest.”

Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This He did when a long time later He spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” Hebrews 4:1-7

Our God is beyond our ability to fathom. We read of His righteousness, of His holiness, of His perfection, and we have no frame of reference for these concepts. He knows we are finite while He is infinite, so He doesn’t judge us harshly for our lack of complete understanding.

He does, however, fully expect us to grasp that we are bound to earth while He is “high and lifted up and His train fills the temple,” Isaiah 6:1. When the prophet saw the Holy One, he said, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King ...” Isaiah 6:5.

Unlike Isaiah who saw the King, we dwell among a people who refuse to see the Lofty One. We deny Him in our mad race to aggrandize our ‘self.’ We have become our own gods and we have turned our backs on the idea of our having any need of a Savior.

We cannot enter His rest because we refuse to know Him, just as the Israelites in the desert were unable to see that their lostness was a result of disobedience to the God who had rescued them from bondage.

If we refuse to abandon our headlong pursuit of sin and self, we will discover to our eternal dismay that we, too, will be denied entrance to His promised rest. If we choose the world and its temporary pleasures over Christ and His eternal salvation, we will languish in our depravity in time and we will wail in our misery through endless ages of our damnation.

Wake up, precious ones! Receive the Savior! Enter His rest! Dwell in His love forever!

Can We Give Heed?

February 16

To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the LORD is a reproach to them; they have no delight in it. Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD. I am weary of holding it in.

"I will pour it out on the children outside, and on the assembly of young men together; for even the husband shall be taken with the wife, and their houses shall be turned unto others, their fields and their wives together; for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah; also the aged who is full of days.

"Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely. They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ when there is no peace.

“Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time I punish them, they shall be cast down," says the LORD. Jeremiah 6:10-15

Oh, people! Do we see ourselves here? The people of America were blessed with a land that their founding fathers placed at the feet of Jesus at its inception and it thrived and prospered through its brief history until its people came to disdain the WORD OF THE LORD!

Can we say we are not under condemnation brought about by our covetousness? Can we deny this reproach when our nation is indebted beyond any debt of any nation in history? When our current leadership has more than doubled in five years the total debt of all the years preceding it?

Can we disclaim responsibility for this condition when we have stood silent while irresponsible and wicked men have sold us into slavery to debt? When they have bound our children and our grandchildren for generations to their lust for consumption and power?

Where is the voice of reason from the media? Where is the voice of condemnation from the pulpit? Where is the hue and cry from the citizenry? There is muted resistance at best and total silence at worst—as those who should be speaking out against such gross mismanagement of the resources of a blessed nation stand silent.

The condemnation of the Lord is just. The collapse of our house of cards will be swift if we do not pray the prayer of II Chronicles 7:14: If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Guarded in Christ

February 15

”Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:6,7.

It is on God that we should wait, as a waiter waits—alert, watchful, attentive, with no agenda of his own, ready to do whatever is wanted. 'My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him,' Psalm 62:5.

In Him alone lie our security, our confidence, our trust. A spirit of restlessness and resistance can never wait, but one who believes he is loved with an everlasting love, and knows that underneath are the everlasting arms, will find strength and peace.”—Elisabeth Elliot (from Quest for Love: True Stories of Passion and Purity)


The nature of man is to be impetuous. The Apostle Peter embodied this trait throughout the three years he walked the dusty streets of Palestine with Jesus. Even after he watched the Lord die on the cross and and knew Him in His resurrection glory, he evidenced that rashness of spirit.

It wasn’t until he asked Him what his fate would be (see John 21:21) that he seemed to experience peace within his bosom. After that experience, Peter went forward in great resolve to carry the precious treasure of Christ’s saving power to the lost, dying world around him.

Until he had himself received the “peace of God that passes all understanding to keep his heart and his mind in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:7, he could not convey that tranquility of spirit to anyone else.

Like him, we must give our innermost being over to the assurance of not only our salvation but also to the knowledge that the God we serve “neither slumbers nor sleeps,” Psalm 121:4. His watchcare over us continues forever.

When we have settled within our minds and spirits that He hears and responds to our prayers and supplications, we will indeed abide in His peace, knowing our hearts and minds--our very lives--are guarded in Christ Jesus.

Live for Truth; Die for Truth

February 14 Happy Valentine’s Day

Valentine: Bishop and Martyr

Saint Valentine (in Latin, Valentinus) is a widely recognized third-century Roman saint commemorated on February 14 and associated since the High Middle Ages with a tradition of courtly love.

Nothing is reliably known of St. Valentine except his name and the fact that he was martyred on February 14 on Via Flaminia in the north of Rome. It is uncertain whether St. Valentine is to be identified as one saint or two saints of the same name. Several differing martyrologies have been added to later hagiographies that are unreliable. For these reasons this liturgical commemoration was not kept in the Catholic calendar of saints for universal liturgical veneration as revised in 1969.

But the Martyr Valentinus who died on the 14th of February on the Via Flaminia close to the Milvian Bridge in Rome still remains in the list of officially recognized saints for local veneration. Saint Valentine's Church in Rome, was built in 1960 for the needs of the Olympic Village, and continues as a modern, well-visited parish church.

Additionally, today, Saint Valentine's Day, also known as the Feast of Saint Valentine, is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion, as well as in the Lutheran Church.


The Western tradition of celebrating romantic love on this saint’s day is not rooted in a romantic circumstance. The following is told by Father Frank O’Gara of Whitefriars Street Church in Dublin, Ireland:

Flowers, candy, red hearts and romance. That's what Valentine's day is all about, right? Well, maybe not.

The origin of this holiday for the expression of love really isn't romantic at all -- at least not in the traditional sense. Here is the real story of St. Valentine, the man behind the holiday.
"He was a Roman Priest at a time when there was an emperor called Claudias who persecuted the church," Father O'Gara explains. “He also had an edict that prohibited the marriage of young people. This was based on the hypothesis that unmarried soldiers fought better than married soldiers because married soldiers might be afraid of what might happen to them or their wives or families if they died."

"I think we must bear in mind that it was a very permissive society in which Valentine lived," says Father O'Gara. "Polygamy would have been much more popular than just one woman and one man living together. And yet some of them seemed to be attracted to Christian faith. But obviously the church thought that marriage was very sacred between one man and one woman for their life and that it was to be encouraged. So it immediately presented the problem to the Christian church of what to do about this.

"The idea of encouraging them to marry within the Christian church was what Valentine was about. And he secretly married them because of the edict.

Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned and tortured for performing marriage ceremonies against command of Emperor Claudius II. There are legends surrounding Valentine's actions while in prison.

"One of the men who was to judge him in line with the Roman law at the time was a man called Asterius, whose daughter was blind. He was supposed to have prayed with and healed the young girl with such astonishing effect that Asterius himself became Christian as a result.

“In the year 269 AD, Valentine was sentenced to a three part execution of a beating, stoning, and finally decapitation all because of his stand for Christian marriage. The story goes that the last words he wrote were in a note to Asterius' daughter. He inspired today's romantic missives by signing it, ‘from your Valentine.’

"What Valentine means to me as a priest," explains Father O'Gara, "is that there comes a time where you have to lay your life upon the line for what you believe. And with the power of the Holy Spirit we can do that—even to the point of death.

“Valentine's martyrdom has not gone unnoticed by the general public. In fact, Whitefriars Street Church is one of three churches that claim to house the remains of Valentine. Today, many people make the pilgrimage to the church to honor the courage and memory of this Christian saint.

"Valentine has come to be known as the patron saint of lovers. Before you enter into a Christian marriage you want some sense of God in your life—some great need of God in your life. And we know, particularly in the modern world, many people are meeting God through his Son, Jesus Christ.

"If Valentine were here today, he would say to married couples that there comes a time where you're going to have to suffer. It's not going to be easy to maintain your commitment and your vows in marriage. Don't be surprised if the 'gushing' love that you have for someone changes to something less gushing but maybe much more mature.

"So on the day of the marriage they have to take that into context," Father O'Gara says. "Love -- human love and sexuality is wonderful, and blessed by God—but it must be in the shadow of the cross.”


So, in light of the information we have about St. Valentine, what should we do to anchor our own lives, our own relationships, our own core beliefs to the truth we hold dear? This good man gave himself in order for a sacrament to be bestowed upon others that he never received for himself. He believed in the sanctity marriage and he died because he lived to extol what he knew to be right.

How willing are we, in this age when “good is called evil and evil is called good,” Isaiah 5:20, to stand up for what we know to be God’s immutable truth? Are we willing to risk everything we count dear; are we willing to sacrifice everything we count precious—even life itself—in order to stand for the tenets of the faith that are eternal?

Will we bow before the unjust laws of godless men or will we devote ourselves even unto death to the just laws of our wholly righteous and completely holy God, that His truth might be extolled among men?

Simple Surrender

Faith Lessons from Catastrophic Winter Storm by Dr. Jim Dennison

Atlanta and much of the South are blanketed under several inches of ice and snow today, the result of what the National Weather Service has called a "catastrophic event." Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal called it "one of Mother Nature's worst kinds of storms." Power is out and roads are impassible all across the region.

President Obama declared a state of emergency in Georgia before the storm even arrived. Governors of both Carolinas, Alabama, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland also declared states of emergency for much or all of their states. While the storm should not bring as much ice as it moves toward New England, it will cause snow accumulations of more than a foot in some places.

When people hurt us, we can understand the theological logic that God is not to blame for the consequences of misused freedom. But when natural disaster strikes, there's no one to blame but him. It's true that creation "fell" when sin entered the world (Romans 8:22), so that there would have been no ice storms in the Garden of Eden. But God can intervene in nature, a fact proven across Scripture. Why, then, did he allow this storm? Why the tsunami in Southeast Asia or Hurricane Katrina?

I've been reading through Joseph's story in Genesis and came upon this statement: "Now the famine was severe in the land" (Genesis 43:1). This thought occurred to me: it would have been impossible for anyone victimized by that famine to understand God's redemptive purpose in allowing it. They could not possibly know that God would use the famine to bring and preserve Jacob's family in Egypt, then lead them out of Egyptian slavery four centuries later, establish them in the Promised Land, and eventually use their nation to bring the Messiah for all humanity. Those suffering from the famine lived and died with no concept of the larger story in which they played such a difficult role.

I wondered how much of the suffering we experience today is being redeemed in ways that are similarly unknowable to us. The fact that God is working through pain we cannot understand doesn't make the pain more intelligible, but it does give us hope as we endure it. Nothing in life is meaningless. "Now we see in a mirror dimly" and "know in part," but one day "I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Stoic Marcus Aurelius claimed, "If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your own estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment." We can "revoke" our estimate of our suffering by claiming the fact that God is using it to mold us into the character of Christ (Romans 8:29) and to accomplish his larger purposes in our world. The fact that we cannot see these purposes makes them no less real. We can't feel the warmth of spring in the dead of winter, but it's coming.

Artist Paul Gauguin said, "I shut my eyes in order to see." Sometimes we must do the same.


Dr. Denison is absolutely right--but few of us in the midst of heart-wrenching problems would be able to affirm his conclusion. We are inclined to search for the way out of our dilemmas rather than to seek God's purposes in them.

We know that Jesus, "...the Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth," Revelation 13:8, knew in the depth of His Godhood and in the depth of His humanity exactly why He came to earth. We are told in Philippians 2:6, "He was in the form of God and thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made Himself of no reputation and took on Himself the fashion of a man...even unto death..."

Although Jesus emptied Himself of His own volition--though He had acquiesced to His role from the foundation of the earth, when it came time to carry out the plan He had Himself devised, He said, "Father, if there be any other way, let this cup pass from Me..." Luke 22:42.

We do the same thing. We yearn for a way out of our trials. We don't see the big picture or care if there is a big picture! We simply want to be delivered! But if we are true followers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we know we must say as He said, "...yet not My will but Thine be done."

We may not be able to fathom a significance to our suffering that will impact time as did the people Dr. Denison speaks of, but we can understand the concept of surrender to the loving hand of the Living God. And that simple surrender of our will to His is all He wants from us.

To those who read this blog...

Our readership has lessened in recent weeks. Perhaps this blog is over-extended in its scope. The intent of blessing people seems to be falling short of its goal so it will no longer be posted daily but weekly--on Fridays.

If there is a significant event or if the Lord's leading indicates that additional postings are His will, they shall be forthcoming, no matter what the day may be.

If readership increases, daily postings will be resumed.

May you be blessed as you continue to read.

Victory of the Eternal

February 10

The Mean Dog

I encountered a mean, barking dog. He had the look that said, “If I live long enough, sooner or later, I'm going to bite you!”

As is my habit, I tried to entice the dog to let me pet him, to which he of course, wanted no part, and became even more vicious. As I came close enough to see his teeth, I snatched him off his feet, and wrapped my arms completely around him, thus disabling his means of attack.

As I examined him, he had this look of distress, almost desperation in his eyes, and it was then I noticed, the huge thorn he had in his front paw. I decided I must remove the thorn at once....I put him down, and imagine my surprise to find he wasn't near the snarling, mean dog I had imagined....He now was a dancing, prancing, full of love puppy-dog, who seemingly had no care in the world.

Thus is the sin in our lives. It becomes a thorn is our paws, which if allowed to, consumes our very being, and eventually, we become barking dogs. Christ says He can remove the sin, if we allow it. Many times we fight the cause, many times we fight the solution, but when it's finally removed, how sweet it is to know His grace.—Rick Dellinger


Pain brings out the worst in us. We react badly when words cause us to become upset and we behave abysmally when we are physically hurt. It is the rare individual who allows grace to overtake the natural proclivity to reel when in a flood of misery.

But this is not God’s way. He would have us to emulate Christ when we are undone by circumstances that cause our hurt. We have the example of the Lord Himself who said when He had been brutalized, mocked, and hung on a cross, “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they do,” Luke 23:34.

As the people who crucified Him didn’t grasp the reality of who He was or what His mission among them was, neither do those who torment His people today understand the impact of their actions upon their own eternal well-being.

It may not surprise us that scoffers would demean and assail us. It may not seem out of character for unbelievers to inflict pain upon those who love Jesus simply because they are of the same mindset as those who dragged Him before Pilate and demanded His death, John 19:6.

They cannot grasp the truth that when they lash out against us they are really assailing the Holy One who bore their sin. So if we suffer as He suffered—without retaliation—we show them afresh the power of the One who had only to call upon His Father who would sent twelve legions of angels to set Him free, Matthew 26:53.

Because the same power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, we, too may call upon the Father to deliver us from pain and all adversity. But it behooves us to allow the eternal plan to run its course, to fulfill its purpose, so He can bring it again to the glorious victory of the eternal over the temporal.

Employ the Immutable Law

February 9

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law," Galatians 5:22, 23.

Law. What would the world be without it! Man requires perimeters to remind him of the borders of propriety that he must not transgress. Even though he has an ‘inner compass’ that points him in the direction of right living, he has the proclivity to transgress his inborn indicator, so external restrictions are required.

Governments are replete with minutia—legislation that applies to every avenue of life, to every area of involvement of not only man’s interaction with other men but with the intents of a man’s mind and heart.

God’s scribes, the (approximately 40) authors of the Bible, appeared able to peek into the future to see our time. In so doing, they seemed to recognize an age when laws would be so restrictive they would virtually bind men’s hands.

And they were wise enough to see that even in an age such as ours, certain things could not be legislated away. If we indeed have the Christ as our Savior and Lord, we will abide by the law He fulfilled in our behalf. We will adhere ourselves to His immutable law of love.

We will love our enemies, Matthew 5:43.

We will have the joy of praying for those who despitefully use us, Luke 6:28.

We will abide in His peace that passes understanding, Philippians 4:7.

We will evidence the long-suffering of the Lord which is described in II Peter 3:8 which says, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

We will gently lead by our example as the Lord gently leads us as a shepherd does his flock, Isaiah 40:11.

As His goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives, Psalm 23:6, so will our goodness and mercy be extended even to those who disdain our kindness.

Our faith will be that of a grain of mustard seed, which can speak to mountains and remove them, Matthew 17:20.

As His meekness makes us great, Psalm 18:35, so may our meekness lift up those whose lives touch ours.

And Philippians 4:5 assures us that our temperance will be known to all men.

As we employ the immutable law that Jesus fulfills in us, no law of man can cause us to transgress in any way. No law of man can deny us the fruit of the Spirit which is the embodiment of “Christ in us, the hope of glory,” Colossians 1:27.

To the Counsel of His Will

February8

“In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,” Ephesians 1:11.

Little children are noted for wanting their own way. The pout, they cry, they argue with their parents regarding the things ‘everybody else’ is doing but they are not allowed to do. But in the depth of their being, they are happy to have perimeters set for them by loving parents.

Children, even when they have reached adolescence, realize that they are not equipped to take control of their own lives, and if they have a loving mother and father who have established safe borders for them in the past, they will comply with those boundaries even when their friends may have more latitude in where they may go and with whom they may go and what they may do.

Youngsters who are being nurtured in loving homes by loving parents know that the heart of their parents is toward them, that their mom and dad want what is best for them, so they follow compliantly.

We who are children of the Most High God have a profound realization that our Heavenly Father desires the best for us. We know He has sent the Treasure of Heaven to ransom us from destruction.

He has established His good intentions for us through the sacrifice of Jesus as the propitiation for our sin. We are aware that His willingness to do that, His granting to us of that “unspeakable Gift,” II Corinthians 9:15, assures us that His complete purpose for us is good.

So when things appear to go awry in our lives—when relationships sour or jobs disappear or disease assails; when persecution comes—we know our God has not abandoned us to the storms of life. We trust in Him, though the events that touch our lives on this fallen planet may bring us to distress.

Just as “the rain falls on the just and on the unjust; and the sun shines on the just and on the unjust,” Matthew 5:45, so do blessings and trials come into the lives of the good and of the bad.

But He, our loving Savior, has ordained that all these things shall indeed, “work together for good to those who love Him and are called to His purpose,” Romans 8:28. We know it is His will to effect the increased faith of and to promote the eternal reward of those who have placed their lives at His feet.

One Way Out

February 7

No Other Way Out of Town

Wabush, a town in a remote portion of Labrador, Canada, was completely isolated for most of its existence. But finally a road was cut through the wilderness to reach it. Wabush now has one road leading into it, and thus, only on one road leading out. If someone would travel the unpaved road for six to eight hours to get into Wabush, there is only way he or she could leave —- by turning around.

Each of us, by birth, arrives in a town called Sin. As in Wabush, there is only one way out—a road built by God himself. But in order to take that road, one must first turn around. That complete about-face is what the Bible calls repentance, and without it, there’s no way out of town.—Brian Weatherdon


“And a man shall be as your shelter from the wind, and a covering from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land,” Isaiah 32:2.

The town of Sin is a tumultuous place. It may not seem to be so initially. We grow up in Sin and we gradually acclimate ourselves to its weather. We begin with a little shower of deception and proceed to a blizzard of lies; we harbor a bit of greed and it becomes an avalanche of conspicuous consumption.

Neither do we have fair weather in our personal relationships. Intimate interpersonal relationships are often of very short duration, for they are typical of stormy weather—intense but brief.

The only deliverance we can hope to obtain from the inclemency of life in Sin is our escape via the only road that leads away—and that route is Jesus who says of Himself, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life…” John 14:6. If we want to move beyond the constraints of Sin, Jesus is our only way out.

When we discover that living in Sin is destructive to every aspect of our lives, when we weary of its blustery grasp upon our personhood, when we desire to dwell in the “peace that passes understanding that keeps our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:7, then we will traverse the one road that leads out of Sin; we will follow Jesus.

We will become like others who have lived in Sin, others like the Apostle Paul who said in I Corinthians 11:1, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” We will evidence to the unfortunate residents of Sin that there is a way out, that there is an escape from everything that binds us to depravity.

We will find our shelter from the storm in the One who leads us away from the tumultuous abode of Sin. Let us follow Him; let us follow Jesus who is the way out.

See Beyond Corruption To Unfailing Glory

February 6

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,” Titus 2:11, 12.

Without the grace of God we have no hope of salvation. The Word tells us that the “wages of sin is death,” Romans 6:23, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Because Jesus lived and died for us, because “He arose on the third day according to the scriptures,” I Corinthians 15:4, we who believe know we are redeemed from destruction! We know our feet are set on the Path of Life and that it has become our destiny to “rule and reign with Jesus,” II Timothy 2:12.

The great privilege He has given us is free but it comes with a profound obligation as Titus has quoted, “…that we should deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, that we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age,” Titus 2:12.

The world around us is becoming more corrupt with each passing day. There is a failure of leadership in high places and there is a wanton abandonment of the law of God which is eternally true for the pseudo law of man which is totally flawed.

Yet our Jesus has assured us that if we hold fast to Him and to the truth He has confirmed to us we may be sure that we shall “be forever with the Lord,” I Thessalonians 4:17.

May we embrace Jesus with a full heart that allows us to see beyond the corruption of the institutions and the men of time to the unfailing glory of the One who broke the bonds of time and gave to us the unfathomable blessings of eternity!

Stand Fast in the Truth

February 5

"For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying Peace, Peace; when there is no peace." Jeremiah 8:11

Soft Tyranny

Alexis de Tocqueville defines soft tyranny in his book Democracy in America, Volume II (1840) as: "After having thus successively taken each member of the community in its powerful grasp and fashioned him at will, the government then extends its arm over the whole community.

“It covers the surface of society with a network of small, complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd.

“The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, and guided; men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting.

“Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence: it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd."



The nations about which de Tocqueville wrote are a far cry today from what they were when he wrote of them. They are so different from those he knew that he would not recognize them if he saw them now, but he would see his insights unfolding.

Because we are inching our way toward the world system that will be the government of the antichirist, our course toward that evil regime must be dotted with the brokenness of men’s attempts to govern. Whether they be theocracies or kingdoms or democracies, all man’s efforts must come to nothing.

The only system that will endure forever is that which is built upon the truth of Jesus Christ. As Jesus said when Peter declared Him to be the Christ, the long awaited Messiah, “Heaven has revealed this to you and upon this rock I shall build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” Matthew 16:18.

Paul says in Galatians 5:1, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." As we see the evil day approaching, let us strive with every fiber of our strength to stand against it; let us not be overwhelmed by it!

Rather, let us be resolute in our determination to stand fast in the truth that has set us free! Let us proclaim the holy word of Jesus our Savior until He returns to take us to be forever with Him, according to Acts 1:11 which says, “This same Jesus…shall come again…”

James, a Servant of God

February 4

“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing,” James 1:1-4

According to historical research, James, who here counts himself a ‘servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,’ could easily have elevated himself in the esteem of his readers by saying, ‘James, the brother of Jesus, who grew up with Him and knew Him intimately within the home of our mother Mary and my father Joseph.’ But he did not.

James, the brother of our Lord did not equate a temporal relationship above the high honor that was afforded to him—that of being a ‘servant’ of our God and Lord and King. Further, he declared that believers are to recognize the long-range purpose of the trials they face, that being the perfection of their faith so they will lack nothing required by God of those who He promises shall one day rule and reign with Him.



What do we know of James, the brother of Jesus? Historians of antiquity tell us that James' influence became so strong that even some of the Jewish rulers believed, which horrified the scribes and Pharisees who became afraid that all the people would flock to Jesus as the Christ.

Because of his strict observance of the Law, many of the Pharisees thought they could enlist James to discourage the people from believing in Jesus. They asked him to stand at the pinnacle of the temple on Passover and speak to an assembled crowd. James agreed, but his motivation was not to dissuade the people from faith in Christ but to affirm the rightness of belief in Him as their Messiah.

As James stood at the top of the temple, the religious leaders shouted questions to him from below such as, "Oh, righteous one, in whom we are able to place great confidence; the people are led astray after Jesus, the crucified One. So declare to us, what is this way, Jesus?"

James was ready to take full advantage of this opportunity and his words are memorable: ”Why do you ask me about Jesus, the Son of Man? He sits in heaven at the right hand of the great Power, and He will soon come on the clouds of heaven!”

The Pharisees, realizing their blunder, began crying out, "Oh! Oh! The righteous one is in error!"

Their next act is purported to have been to push James down from the temple, hoping to intimidate the crowd by seeing that even one held in esteem would be slain for extolling the Messiah-ship of Jesus. As the people continued to shout in affirmation of the words of the brother of the Lord, the angry leaders reached the place where James stood, and threw him from the pinnacle of the temple, but the fall didn't kill him.

He rose to his knees and began to pray for them. "I beg of you, Lord God our Father, forgive them! They do not know what they are doing." His words reflect those of Jesus on the cross, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do,” Luke 23:34, and remind us that we, too, if called upon to do so, must suffer as Jesus did—with love for those at whose hands we agonize.

The Pharisees on the ground began to stone him as he prayed, while those from the roof rushed down to join the execution.

One of the priests, a son of the Rechabites mentioned by Jeremiah the prophet (in chapter 35:1-19), shouted, "Stop! What are you doing! The righteous one is praying for you." But, it was too late. A fuller (i.e., launderer) took out one of the clubs that he used to beat clothes and smashed James on the head, killing him with one blow.

What do we know of James? We know that we, like him, must one day die. If we are called upon to relinquish this mortal life because of our faith, may we follow his example of proclaiming the truth of the Lord—even unto our last breath.

Stand on That Day

February 3

"Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand," Romans 14:4.

In Joshua 24:13 we are told that we must, “Choose you this day whom you will serve.” That doesn’t go down well with a people who think they are free. Americans are so accustomed to the liberties we are guaranteed in our Constitution that we have a difficult time discerning that vigilance on our part is necessary if we are to maintain them.

Our brothers who are citizens of nations where freedom is not an assured right along with life and the pursuit of happiness grasp much more fully than we do why the freedoms we enjoy are worth dying for. They see much more clearly what we are throwing away by our inability to discern the subtle changes that are occurring in our government, changes that are encroaching more and more fully into our rights and freedoms.

And people who are not at liberty to worship God in the way that their conscience dictates can see far more fully than foolhardy Americans just how precious is the Constitutional guarantee that we may bow before our Creator in the way that seems right to us—or not bow at all if we are so blind as to believe He does not exist or that He is not worthy of our worship.

But, every person who is ever born will indeed serve someone. Free men in free countries may choose whom they will serve while men in bondage must serve the gods set before them by a tyrannical government; but all men will serve someone.

If we think we serve no one, we deceive ourselves because every person who is alive will serve either the Lord Jesus Christ or some demonic entity that presents itself as a god worthy of worship. And ultimately, for all eternity, “Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the eternal glory of God,” Romans 14:11.

Shall we judge other men? That is not ours to do, but we must indeed judge the evidence set before us regarding this weighty matter of faith and in whom we shall place it, for the reality is that only God can keep the promise of Romans 14:4 that assures the believer that he shall stand on that Great and Terrible Day when all men’s works shall be tried by fire according to I Corinthians 3:13 which says:

“Their work will be shown for what it is, because that Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.”

Hold fast to Jesus now, so He can cause you to stand when Judgment Day arrives.

Fulfilled in Christ

February 2

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 it 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.

God Will Get You Through

February 1

Preparing a Place

God’s purpose from all eternity is to prepare a family to indwell the kingdom of God. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11).

God’s plotting for our good. In all the setbacks, He is ordaining the best for our future. Every event of our day is designed to draw us toward our God and our destiny. When people junk you in the pit (wrong you in some way), God can use it for good. When family members sell you out (betray you), God will recycle the pain. Falsely accused? Utterly abandoned? You may stumble but you will not fall. You will get through this!

Not because you are strong, but because God is. Not because you are big, but because God is. Not because you’re good, but because God is. He has a place prepared for you!
-- Max Lucado (adapted from You’ll Get Through This)


Max Lucado has an amazing way with words. He uses the tools of his craft to formulate ideas that are designed to lift his reader above his circumstances into the Lord’s realm of Hope. The Bible, the Holy Word of our Living God does the same thing. In Romans 8:28, Paul states this truth very succinctly. Here he says, “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

We who believe and love Jesus are indeed called according to His purpose which is “that all men might be saved, and come to a knowledge of the truth,” I Timothy 2:4. The heart of God weeps at the lostness of those who know Him not.

When men revile Jesus, when men terrorize the people of ‘the Book,’ when men cast aspersions upon those who do good work—even to the point of murdering them—the Almighty God weeps for their lost souls.

And what of those who suffer at the hand of unbelievers? What of those who are slain for their faith in Christ? Our God will take all the evil they have endured and turn it around for the good He has promised. If they don’t see their deliverance here—like the giants of the faith described in Hebrews 11 who were not rescued from their circumstances, they can still affirm as did believers of old, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” Hebrews 11:1.


They can still know that they know that they know as Max Lucado reminds us, God will get them through; God has prepared a place for them—and for all who trust in the name that is above all names, for all who trust in the name of Jesus.