Passing the Test

January 31
From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman

“The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors - to David,” 1 Samuel 28:17.

When God anoints a person, a pattern of testing appears to take place at specific times in the leader's life. God often takes each leader through four major tests to determine if that person will achieve God's ultimate call on his or her life. The person's response to these tests is the deciding factor in whether they can advance to the next level of responsibility in God's Kingdom.

Control - Control is one of the first tests. Saul spent most of his time as king trying to prevent others from getting what he had. Saul never got to the place with God in which he was a grateful recipient of God's goodness to him. Saul was a religious controller. This control led to disobedience and ultimately being rejected by God because Saul no longer was a vessel God could use.

Bitterness - Every major character in the Bible was hurt by another person at one time or another. Jesus was hurt deeply when Judas, a trusted follower, betrayed Him. Despite knowing this was going to happen, Jesus responded by washing Judas' feet. Every anointed leader will have a Judas experience at one time or another. God watches us to see how we will respond to this test. Will we take up an offense? Will we retaliate? It is one of the most difficult tests to pass.

Power - Power is the opposite of servanthood. Jesus had all authority in Heaven and earth, so satan tempted Jesus at the top of the mountain to use His power to remove Himself from a difficult circumstance. How will we use the power and influence God has entrusted to us? Do we seek to gain more power? Jesus modeled the opposite. He was the ultimate servant leader.

Greed - This is a difficult one. Money has the ability to have great influence for either good or bad. When it is a focus in our life, it becomes a tool of destruction. When it is a by-product, it can become a great blessing. Many leaders started out well - only to be derailed once prosperity became a part of their life. There are thousands who can blossom spiritually in adversity; only a few can thrive spiritually under prosperity.

As believers, we must be aware when we are being tested. You can be confident that each one of these tests will be thrown your way if God calls you for His purposes. Will you pass these tests? Ask for God's grace today to walk through these tests victoriously.

Don't Sell Out

January 30
Don't Sell Out by Rod Parsley

Then King David sent, and fetched him [Mephibosheth] out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. —2 Samuel 9:4

Mephibosheth dwelt in the house of Machir, which means "sold out." He had sold out to his circumstances. Have you ever said, "Well, under the circumstances, I'm doing okay."

Who says you are under your circumstances? You are more than a conqueror! But if your circumstances dictate your lifestyle instead of your position, then you will sell out your birthright for your current situation instead of waiting for your future promise. You may have settled for less, but God won't.

Like the man with the withered hand, God will demand that you stretch forth your disability Mark 3:1-5.

Perhaps, instead, you are like the prodigal son eating with pigs, but the Father is waiting for you to come to His feast, Luke 15:11-32. You may be eating crumbs, but God has prepared His table for you, Luke 16:19-31.

Yes, you can run from covenant but you cannot hide. The glow of His Light will expose you. You will say with the psalmist, "If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me,” Psalm 139:11.

Don't run from the covenant. Embrace the new covenant with Jesus as Your Lord and Savior.

Jesus, I desire to be in covenant with You. No longer will I sell out to the world with all of its pleasures and temptations. I desire You and You alone. Amen.

Seek His Esteem

January 29
Seek His Esteem by R.T.Kendall

This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. —Isaiah 66:2

It is a powerful and wonderful thing to have God's esteem. The word esteem means to think highly of; it means respect or favorable opinion. Can anything be more fantastic than to have God esteem you—to think highly of you? This is possible not because of your profile, your importance, or performance, but because you want it more than anything else.

Your personal acumen does not mean that God is pleased with you. There are people who are rich and famous, but they will never experience God's commendation or hear "well done." For these things mean nothing in heaven. All that is required to have God's esteem is to want it—more than anything. That's all. This means that you—whoever you are—can have God's esteem.

What is required of you is not perfection, but seeking—making an effort to obtain—His praise and esteem. You don't have to be the prophet Daniel. Three times the Lord said to Daniel, "You are highly esteemed," Daniel 9:23; 10:11, 19.

Daniel was called highly esteemed not because he was a prophet, but because he loved God more than the approval of people, Daniel 6:10. It was his love for God's honor that put him where he was; he could be trusted with a high profile position because it meant less to him than God's honor.

How much time and energy is required on our part? It all depends. If we want His esteem, then we are going to walk in any ray of light He gives to us along the way. We prove we want His esteem by the decisions we make. The honor of God is therefore at our fingertips. It is closer than our hands or our feet, closer than the air we breathe.

It is centered in the mind, heart, and will. One could say, therefore, that to have the esteem of God is the easiest thing in the world to achieve because He is eager to show it. And yet to feel and hear His "well done" comes to those who show that it is really what they want by their words and deeds. The reward is pure joy.

Excerpted from Pure Joy (Charisma House, 2006).

Overcome ALL Things!

January 28

The enemy of your soul, the evil one, God’s archenemy from eternity past is a master of the ‘bait and switch’ scam that he uses to snare people into believing something good is within their grasp but which will leave them empty and frustrated. Perhaps he has pulled such a scheme on you.
In spite of his malicious intent, the Christ you love and serve and trust will intervene to bring good out of evil, to bring hope out of despair, to bring joy out of disappointment, and to bring prosperity out of loss.

Your Jesus is able to make a way where no way is, for as the Word says, “With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible,” Matthew 19:26. As you ponder the future and realize your hope cannot be in any entity other than the REAL SOURCE of hope who is Jesus, and He has never changed.

Continue to keep your eyes focused on the Lord, for HE will not, He cannot fail you. Men, motivated by the evil one, may lie, men may offer false hope, but Jesus is THE TRUTH, John 14:6, and His word says, “COMMIT YOUR WAY TO THE LORD, TRUST ALSO IN HIM AND HE SHALL BRING IT TO PASS,” Psalm 37:5.

Psalm 42:5 says, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why are you so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

Please know that something that seems like a terrible setback will be transformed by our faith and the hand of the Living God into something that will give you great cause for rejoicing and thanksgiving.

Jesus doesn’t promise that His people won’t have difficulties; indeed, He says, “In the world you shall have troubles, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world,” John 16:33. He also says He “will be with you even to the end of the Age,” Matthew 28:20.

He has invited you to, “Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you,” I Peter 5:7, so lay this burden at His feet and trust Him to help you work It out to a viable conclusion. Remember, the One in whom we have placed our faith has promised that through Him, we can “overcome all things,” Philippians 4:13.

Faithfulness Carries Its Rewards

January 27
Faithfulness Carries Its Rewards by Mike Bickle

God will reward you in your faithfulness and diligence in pursuing Him.

How diligently are you seeking God? Do you remain steady in your love for Him no matter what, or do you let life's disappointments interfere with your pursuit of Him? Daniel loved God and showed it in his daily life in spite of his circumstances, and the Lord responded.

The Lord revealed His love to Daniel in a deep way through an angel, who addressed Daniel as the beloved of the Lord: "He [the angel] said to me, 'O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have been sent to you now.' And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood trembling" (Daniel 10:11, 19).

I assume that receiving the understanding of how much God loved him was one of the most powerful things that happened to Daniel personally. The angel said, "O Daniel, greatly beloved." Imagine a high-ranking angel telling you, "The Lord greatly loves you, and you are beloved by your God." In other words, he is saying, "The Lord is moved by the way you live. He is moved by your hunger for Him and by your lifestyle choices."

We know that God loves the world. He loves unbelievers, even though He does not enjoy a relationship with them. But there are those in whom God takes special delight; that is, He delights in the choices they make for Him. In this sense His love for them is different than that with which He loves the world. He takes greater enjoyment in those who seek to love and obey Him with all their hearts.

And God clearly took great enjoyment in Daniel. In essence He told Daniel, "I am moved by the way you care about My kingdom and My glory and the way you care about who I am. That touches Me."

Jesus taught that the Father loves all who obey Him. He loves the relationship He has with all who keep His commandments, and He loves their life choices.

"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father. And I will love him and will reveal Myself to him" (John 14:21)

Lest we think that Jesus loves only those who love Him, let's remember that Scripture says God loved us first (1 John 4:19). But He loves the choices of those who love Him.

Jesus made the amazing statement that He would manifest Himself to those who show their love for Him in their words, actions and lifestyles. No one is "good enough" to deserve a greater manifestation of God's glory. It's not about being good enough but about positioning ourselves to receive more from God.

Every believer can have a close relationship with the Lord. Daniel was forcibly taken to Babylon as a prisoner of war in his youth. Yet even as a captive, far from his home in Jerusalem and in a foreign culture, he determined to seek God with all his heart for all his days. Today the Lord is looking for men and women like Daniel, who will set their hearts to live before God as Daniel did.

Some people are easily offended. If they don't get on the worship team at their church or aren't hired for the job position they were hoping for, they ask, "How could God allow this to happen to me? It's so rough." Yes, your heart hurts, and the pain is real, but your response to life's trials and disappointments is the crucial issue.

Look at Daniel. He was taken into captivity, and yet he determined not to defile himself and to be a man of prayer all his days. He did not let any person or any disappointment steal the vision of what he was determined to be from his heart. He remained steady in his love for God and lived out his commitment in his daily life until he died.

In my 40 years of ministry I have seen many people go hard after God for five or even 10-plus years. Most of them were young and in their twenties. By the time they reached 35, several had "good" reasons for drawing back and being more "practical."

I have seen only a few people stay consistent in seeking God with diligence for 20 or 30 years or more. Daniel stayed consistent in seeking God for 60 years, even during his time in the pagan city of Babylon.

I want the Lord to say to me on the last day, "I loved the way you spent your time and money and the way you obeyed Me; I loved the way that you loved Me." I want Him to be able to say the things about me that He said about Daniel. I want to be steady like this great man of God, even when I'm 80. What about you?

Adapted from Growing in Prayer by Mike Bickle, copyright 2014, published by Passio-Charisma House.

Today's Newspaper

January 26

“I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,” Revelation 1:9, 10.

Patmos and the End Times by John T. Ritenbaugh

John informs us that he "was on the island that is called Patmos" Revelation 1:9, a small, rocky Aegean island just west of due south from Ephesus, employed as a prison or place of exile by the Roman emperors. Most prisoners were required to work the quarries and mines on the island, but John's advanced age may have allowed him to avoid such backbreaking labor.

John writes that he was exiled there "for [because of] the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ," an indication that his preaching had come to the attention of the Roman authorities, and judgment had gone against him. It is likely that John had spoken against the emperor cult (the worship of the current Roman emperor as a god, a practice that reached its height under Domitian, AD 81-96), and his exile rather than execution can only be attributed to Jesus' prophecy of John not facing martyrdom, John 21:22. The apostle perhaps remained on Patmos for less than two years, as such exiles were routinely released upon the death of the emperor who had exiled them.

Some Protestants and Catholics contend that John saw these visions on a Sunday because John writes that he "was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day," Revelation 1:10. This may be a misunderstanding due to the prevalence of Sunday worship throughout Christendom. However, in Greek, this phrase reads en teé Kuriakeé heeméra, literally "on the belonging-to-the-Lord day." Although it is different in construction to other instances of "the day of the Lord" in the New Testament, the meaning is the same.

It does not appear that John is speaking of the first day of the week, but of the time of God's judgment known throughout the Old Testament as "the day of the LORD." Sunday, the first day of the week, was never known as "the Lord's Day," for Jesus Himself says He is "Lord of the Sabbath," Mark 2:28, which is the seventh day.

The apostle is giving the reader vital information about the time setting of his vision and thus the true application of the book of Revelation. Through God's Holy Spirit, John received a vision of end-time events and related material that reveal to the church a unique understanding of the day of the Lord.

Though couched in late first-century terms and allusions, Revelation is first and predominantly about the time of the end, when God through Christ will intervene in world affairs and establish His Kingdom on the earth. Most of its prophecies are only now beginning to be fulfilled or are still awaiting fulfillment in years just ahead.

In a sense, the book of Revelation is as current as today's newspaper—even better, because we have it in advance!

Let Us Proclaim His Truth!

January 25

In Deuteronomy 13:1-5, Moses says to the people:

"If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, Let us go after other gods—which you have not known—and let us serve them, you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

"You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.”

Amos 8:11-14 further states:

"Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine on the land. Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, but shall not find it. In that day the fair virgins and strong young men shall faint from thirst. Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, who say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan and, as the way of Beersheba lives, they shall fall and never rise again."



The clear message conveyed by the Lord in each of these passages is that He carefully guards His Word and that He does not take lightly its mishandling by those who profess to know Him and understand Him.

We live in a day and age when the truth of Heaven is much questioned—if it is thought of at all—in a time where much liberty is taken with the truth on which our culture has long rested.

Our compromise has come about for varied reasons such as endeavoring to be tolerant of other world views as well as to mitigate our own concept of sin so we will not offend anyone who does not subscribe to Biblical teaching.

But no matter how cleverly we may rationalize, justify, sugar-coat our endeavor to transform the inerrant, steadfast Word of the Living God to make it compliant with the mindset of sinful man, His verdict for our mishandling of His truth remains the same—if we deny His Word, He shall deny us. If we destroy His truth, we shall ourselves be destroyed!

In this age of delusion and deceit, at this time of blatant disregard for all that is holy; as we see unprecedented evil unleashed by godless men whose way is the way of Baal, may we who call upon Christ alone for our salvation resolve to be steadfast in our love for and service to Him. May we know no other gods before the One who sits upon the circle of the earth and in whose sight men are mere grasshoppers (see Isaiah 40:22).

May we not be as those who “wander from sea to sea…seeking the Word of the Lord,” or as those dreamers of dreams or like those dreamers of dreams who falsify His Truth, or as those dreamers of dreams who deserve death for their abrogation of His Holy Truth!

No! Let us be among those who cherish Jesus our Savior, the Living Word of our Eternal God! Let us not be in the number of those who espouse death above life through their denial of the One who has died to set them free from sin and death.

Let us hold fast to Jesus, “the Author and Finisher of our faith,” Hebrews 12:2, and let us proclaim His truth as long as He gives us breath!

Love Your Neighbor Movement

January 24
New Yorkers

Taylor Swift is one of the most popular singers of our day—with everyone but some New Yorkers, as it turns out. She has recently been named Global Welcome Ambassador for New York City, and released a new single, "Welcome to New York." But critics complain that the song "celebrates as generic, flat, and lifeless a New York as has ever existed in pop culture."

Others call her a "white bread out-of-towner" since she only recently moved to the city If we're going to connect with our culture, it's important that we listen to our culture. No one knows this better than Dave Runyon, executive director of an amazing initiative in Denver called City Unite
Of his remarkably successful gospel program he said, "We call the party, ask the questions, then work together to accomplish things we couldn’t do alone." City Unite partners the faith community with business and government leaders to address major issues facing their area. Over the past seven years, they have recruited over 80 churches to their network.

Their strategy works as a three-legged stool, each leg essential to the others. Local government officials such as the sheriff and city council members know the issues of the community better than most. These officials take the calls and hear the complaints of constituents. They know the work that needs to be done for the good of the city.

The business leg provides leaders—women and men who know how to implement strategy and mobilize people to do the work. And the faith community brings a strong spirit of volunteerism, understanding that they have not come to be served but to serve. City Unite has recruited 11 "city connectors" to facilitate these relationships among government, business, and faith communities.

And they have built a neighboring movement that calls Christians to obey Jesus' command to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39). Dave notes that we too often turn Jesus' command into a metaphor. City Unite calls believers to build relationships on proximity: we learn our neighbors' names, show them Jesus' love, and share our lives with them.

There is great power in being served by our neighbor—borrowing a cup of sugar or a power tool. When the people of God walk outside their front door and build relationships, things happen. Since we share the things we love, believers will naturally share Jesus with their neighbors.

What God is doing in Denver, he wants to do in your town. Do you know your neighbors' names? Would you take the initiative to build a relationship with them? It can be as simple as borrowing a hammer or discussing the local news. Taylor Swift wants to welcome us to New York—you and I have the privilege of welcoming people to Jesus.

January 23

But Jesus spoke to them at once. "Don't be afraid," he said. "Take courage. I am here!" - Matthew 14:27

Information like that in today's news can be quite disconcerting until we reflect upon the truth that Almighty God, the Holy One, Jehovah, Jesus Christ is still on His throne.

Although it is imperative that we be vigilant against the incursion of evil into our midst in any of its forms, we must also recognize that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness in high places," Ephesians 6:12, and we must strive with all our strength and with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to put the army of the evil one to flight with the love of the Lord.

As we see these things come to pass, we must, as Jesus said, "Look up and lift up your heads (we must not be downcast or discouraged for all these things surely indicate) your redemption draws near," Luke 21:28.

The Truth Who Sets Men Free

January 22

“ (16) You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? (17) Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. (18) A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit,” Matthew 7:16-18

Combining the principle that whatever is sown will also be reaped (Galatians 6:7-8) with the tendency towards increase means that no matter what a person sows—unless somebody or something intervenes and interrupts the cycle—more will be produced than was sown.

Living according to Christian standards, or morals and ethics, can be faked for a while. Consider these verses: "Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit." Christian standards, and morals, and ethics can be faked for a while. But, no matter how guarded a person is, the fruits produced will betray him. That principle that Jesus gave was also given in the Old Testament by Moses, in Numbers 32:23, where Moses said you can "be sure your sin will find you out."

Bitterness, divisiveness, envy, jealousy, lethargy will eventually show. How much of the fruit will be produced cannot be accurately predicted because there are too many variables involved. But because of the principle of increase over what was originally sown—whether good or evil—there is every likelihood that more is going to be produced than was sown.— John W. Ritenbaugh

Jesus stated this truth by saying, "A little leaven (yeast) affects the whole batch of dough," Galatians 5:9. We must be ever-vigilant in our walk with the Lord or we will discover that at best our zeal will be diminished and at worst our actions, our words, our attitudes will become an antithesis to the teaching of the Gospel.

If this sounds far-fetched, it is not. The pages of Church membership are replete with names of former members and adherents who have withdrawn from active participation or who have renounced the faith.

The evil one “goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may destroy,” I Peter 5:8, and we know it isn’t ungodly people he targets with his machinations, for they are already in his camp; no, his campaign is against believers in Christ! The intent of our archenemy is to lure us away from the “TRUTH (JESUS) who sets us free,” John 8:32.

If we do not hold fast to Truth in this age of delusion and deception, we run the risk of being among “the elect,” that Christ said “would be deceived,” Matthew 24:24, Mark 13:22. May we abide in Christ who is TRUTH so our minds and are hearts will be guarded from the flourishing seeds of deception that are all around us.

May we diligently labor in the behalf of His Kingdom, sowing seeds of His truth to counter the false gods and doctrines of demons spoken of in I Timothy 4:1 where Paul says, “Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils…”

We are warned of the schemes of the evil one and we know how to counter them. We must be resolute in our pursuit of and dissemination of the knowledge of the One who is the TRUTH who sets men free (see John 8:32).

Will You Pray For Your Nation?

January 21

Imagine a group of scientists in a food laboratory on a dark and stormy night. “Eureka!” one cries out. “I’ve created the superfood that will end disease as we know it!”

All the other food scientists gather around. Such excitement! Soon, the food additive is being blended into everything, from cookies to fast-food burgers, as scientists are certain the superfood will help us all live longer and healthier.

Now, imagine that years later, we discover the superfood is, in fact, a monster food—an additive so toxic that, over time, it wildly increases our risk for everything from heart disease to stroke to cancer to obesity. And—it’s already inside us all!

Sound like a made-for-TBS movie? It's not. It's the story of trans fat, a dangerous, man-made lipid found in margarine and shortening that, for a little while at least, was believed to be healthier than regular fats. We bought the lie until the mid-’90s, when a study in the American Journal of Public Health indicted trans fats for no fewer than 30,000 annual deaths. The worst part: They're still in our food today!

My point: Understanding the nuances of nutrition is hard—so hard that even the scientists are constantly making mistakes. That’s why the best way to lose weight is to ignore trends and fly-by-night advice, and instead focus on healthy eating strategies.

Excerpt from EAT THIS, NOT THAT.



We live in a world that has very definitive ideas about how we should look. Many of us, perhaps most of us, are greatly influenced by the world’s perception of what our appearance should be and endeavor to conform ourselves to the norm. This is not a concept that is new to our day.

The Reuben’s models of old, for example, were plump because to be thin at that time in history was considered to be evidence of poverty. Today’s highest-paid model (estimated earnings--$47 million per year) would have been a Reuben’s reject because she looks emaciated by the standard of beauty of his day.

Were it just our physical appearance that we allow to be influenced by the fashion of the day, our eternal destiny would not be in jeopardy, but unfortunately, we have allowed the same world that dictates how we should look to dictate what we should believe—and we have fallen into its trap in this vital matter.

There was a time when most of the Western world considered itself to be believers in Christ and as such, exploration was done, conquering armies were defeated, and individual freedoms were instituted in His name. No sacrifice was considered to be too great in order to achieve the spreading of the Gospel of the Savior to all men everywhere.

His directive, “Go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature,” Mark 16:15, was considered to be so important that explorers sailed and armies stood against tyranny and lawmakers designed legislation that would assure the furtherance of the good news of salvation in the “one name given under heaven whereby men might be saved,” Acts 4:12.

How are we doing with that today? Rather than men who will pursue any goal, resist any foe, ordain any new law that promotes the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, we find ourselves swallowing any idea, resisting any truth, ordaining any concept that aligns itself against Almighty God and His unchanging truth!

Can any civilization, any culture long endure that pits itself against the will of the Holy One? The answer to that is at our fingertips in the history books that detail the rise and fall of past civilizations.

If we hope to see our way of life endure, we must fall on our knees before the Almighty and pray the prayer of II Chronicles 7:14 with the utmost sincerity of our hearts for its truth speaks a clarion call to our generation.

Last night's state of the union address did not address the abysmal spiritual condition of our country. No alarm was sounded, no petition for prayer was given, no indication was stated that this area is a matter for concern, but, will you pray for your nation?

“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.”

The alternative is too devastating to consider.

Will We?

January 20

“Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, (26) "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. (27) And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. (28) For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— (29) lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, (30) saying, "This man began to build and was not able to finish?” Luke 14:25-30.

"Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." (58) And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." (59) Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." (60) Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." (61) And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." (62) But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.," Luke 9:57-62.

The Lord’s requirements for membership in His ‘club’ sound very harsh and restrictive. Perhaps He means them to be, for He has also said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it,” Matthew 7:13-14. Our Lord is not playing the game of ‘bait and switch.’

Jesus wants us to be fully aware of the agreement into which we enter when we place our lives at His feet. He wants us to know that although the gift of salvation is free, that HE has already paid the full price that redeems us from the penalty of our sin, there is a high premium placed upon the commitment of the one who decides to follow after Him.

He wants us to know that by comparison, our love for others must pale when placed beside our love for Him. He wants us to know we will endure a cross of our own if we follow Him. He wants us to count the cost before we commit ourselves to love Him, for He does not want us to be found wanting and ashamed in our resolve to follow Him.

He would not have us to enter relationship with Him without knowing we may not have a place to rest, that we may not have the opportunity to attend the requirements placed upon us by other relationships, that we may not even be indulged the saying of goodbye to those we love, for in looking back to any of our former life, once we have decided to follow Him, we render ourselves unworthy of the Kingdom of God.

How many of us have fully assessed His stipulations prior to committing ourselves to be followers of the Christ? How many of us understand how total is to be our separation from our former life—its desires, its achievements, its loves, its allures—all that Jesus may be the totality of our heart’s longing?

If we haven’t assessed the cost, if we aren’t following with complete understanding of the price that's required of us, will we be able to stand in the day of persecution? Will we be able to suffer any consequence because we have already weighed the cost of walking with Jesus and found it to be worth everything? Will we?

The Precious Blood of Jesus

January 19

“Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. (4) And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. (5) Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. (6) Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.

(7) And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two door-posts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. (8) Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. (9) Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. (10) You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. (11) And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD"s Passover.

(12) For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. (13) Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. (14) So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance,” Exodus 12:3-14.

There is power in the blood of Jesus. Isaiah 53:5-12 says, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His generation? for He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was He stricken. 9 And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when you shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall my righteous Servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He has poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Just as the blood of the Passover lamb covered each man’s family on the night the death angel took the firstborn of every family in Egypt, so the blood of our Passover Lamb covers us. In that covering, we find healing for all our diseases and cleansing from all out sin. The total provision for our well-being for time and for eternity is in the blood of Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” John 1:29.

These words of John the Baptist redound in our ears today and we know they will ring through the corridors of heaven for all eternity as Jesus’ praises are sung forever to the glory of God the Father (see Philippians 2:11).

Knowing that the blood of the Lamb has played such a pivotal role in the lives of believers through the eons of time, should we not allow the blood to be the covering under which we hide ourselves from the onslaught of the enemy today? Should we not recognize his resurgence, his vitriolic hatred of Christians and Jews as it is evidenced around the globe and should we not be sure that we hide ourselves in the cleft of the rock that is Jesus? (See Exodus 33:22.)

We do not hide from the enemy, quaking in fear at his ruminations, rather we focus ourselves upon the SOLUTION that has been supplied by our One True and Living God. We do not suppose ourselves capable of victory over the enemy of our souls by our own strength, for the Word tells us that our victory is “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,” Zechariah 4:6.

That perfect victory has been extended to us in full supply by the blood of the Lamb of God. It is because of Jesus that we are able to be “more than conquerors,” Romans 8:37 and that we are “able to do all things,” Philippians 4:13. Must we not keep our focus on Jesus and allow His precious blood to cover us until the evil day is past and we reign with Him in glory! (See II Timothy 2:12.)

Where Do We Stand?

January 18

“(9) Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. (10) And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"—that they might accuse Him. (11) Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? (12) Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." (13) Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. (14) Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him,” Matthew 12:9-14.

“(1) And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. (2) So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. (3) And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward." (4) Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. (5) And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other,” Mark 3:1-5.



These parallel Biblical passages reflect a distinctive differentiation between ‘religious folk’ and Jesus, and they illustrate to us the importance of aligning ourselves with the Lord rather than allowing ourselves to be pigeon-holed into the first group.

Both tell the story of Christ’s encounter with a man who had a withered hand. The self-appointed ‘religious police’ were there as well. We might speculate that their presence was calculated to enable them to ‘corner’ Jesus when He approached the beggar in the synagogue on the Sabbath Day.

Their question to Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” was a challenge to the very nature of His ministry among them. They knew He “never turned any away,” John 6:37, but it was His practice to heal all who came to Him, so the very essence of their question was, ARE YOU GOING TO HEAL THIS MAN OF HIS DISORDER OR ARE YOU GOING TO OBEY THE LAW REGARDING REFRAINING FROM WORK ON THE SABBATH?’

Of course, they wanted Him to break the Sabbath law so they would have one more thing to hold against Him. They did not understand that the Sabbath was created by God for the good of man; it was not ordained simply as God’s legislative privilege. In Mark 2:27, 28, Jesus states very clearly, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath; and the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

This evidences how far from the reality of God’s truth and how distant from the intent of God’s heart these religious leaders were. They were not governed in the least by compassion for the man who would be delivered by the touch of the Lord upon Him, nor were they motivated by reverence for the Lord of the Sabbath who set the day aside as a day of worship and rest.

They couldn’t even stand in awe of the One who did glorious things before their eyes that only God could do. No. They were intent upon destroying the Holy One who came to dwell among them so their stranglehold over the people and the ritual of the Temple that they controlled would not be minimized by the interjection of God’s light into their darkness.

What about us? Where do we align ourselves? Do we stand on religious legalism that condemns the sinner and allows no place for him among the congregation? Or do we open our arms and our hearts to receive the lost and introduce them to the way of salvation?

It is only as we allow ourselves to be the reflection of Jesus and His love that we destroy the human proclivity within us to stand on the legalistic platform from which we endeavor to control those around us.

What Kind of Believer Are You?

January 17

“Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, "It will be fair weather, for the sky is red"; 3 and in the morning, "It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening." Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed,” Matthew 16:1-4.

Who asked for a sign? Who asked for a miracle? Those whose hearts were farthest from Him, the unbelieving, the hecklers, the critics. These people cared nothing for the real Jesus, so they occasionally became the objects of His scathing denunciations. He calls them "hypocrites" for asking for a sign.

In Belief or Unbelief, a segment from Today God Is First by Os Hillman, our brother states the following:

"...Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." - Romans 4:3
You can be a believer yet act as though there is no God. Whenever you fret over life circumstances, you immediately demonstrate unbelief. Whenever you move out of fear or anxiety, you believe a lie about God's nature.

Each day your actions affirm or convict you of your belief system. It reveals who the central focus of your life really is - you or God. It reveals who you place your ultimate trust in - you or God. It is one of the great paradoxes for believers. One day we can believe Him to move mountains. The next day we can question His very existence.

• Peter believed God and walked on water (see Matthew 14:29).
• A sick woman touched the hem of His garment and was healed (see Luke 8:43-48).
• A Canaanite woman believed and freed her daughter from demon-possession (see Matthew 15:21-27).

In what circumstances do you act as an "unbeliever"? Ask God to increase your level of trust so that your actions match up with one who believes every day.

It is evident that our faith is not reflected by what we evidence of belief in our Holy God when He interjects Himself into our circumstances in a miraculous way to deliver us from trouble, but it is profoundly evidenced by how firmly we stand when the circumstances of our lives are not going our way.

What kind of believer do we evidence ourselves to be? Are we the kind who “follow for the loaves and fishes,” John 6:26? Are we like the Pharisees and Sadducees who test the Lord by asking for a sign (see Matthew 16:1)? Or are we like Job who affirmed in the midst of his grievous trial, “Though He slay me, Yet will I trust Him,” Job 13:15?

Hebrews, Chapter Ten

January 16
Hebrews, Chapter 10

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. 2 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. 3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. 4 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
6 with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
7 Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, my God.’”

8 First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. 9 Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

16 “This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”

17 Then he adds:

“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”

18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For,

“In just a little while,
he who is coming will come
and will not delay.”

38 “But my righteous one will live by faith.
And I take no pleasure
in the one who shrinks back.”

39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

How We Spend Our Days

January 15
Ecclesiastes 11:1-10

Ship your grain across the sea;
after many days you may receive a return.
2 Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

3 If clouds are full of water,
they pour rain on the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
4 Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.

5 As you do not know the path of the wind,
or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.

6 Sow your seed in the morning,
and at evening let your hands not be idle,
for you do not know which will succeed,
whether this or that,
or whether both will do equally well.

7 Light is sweet,
and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.
8 However many years anyone may live,
let them enjoy them all.
But let them remember the days of darkness,
for there will be many.
Everything to come is meaningless.

9 You who are young, be happy while you are young,
and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart
and whatever your eyes see,
but know that for all these things
God will bring you into judgment.
10 So then, banish anxiety from your heart
and cast off the troubles of your body,
for youth and vigor are meaningless.

The bottom line of life is that apart from living it for the Lord, apart from abiding in and for the things that are eternal, it leaves one empty and unfulfilled and accountable for all the meaningless drivel that has turned one away from the tenets of the Christ who died to make life rewarding in time and blessed in eternity.

May He who holds all life in the hollow of His hand bring each of us into the light so we may see as He sees and understand as He understands the matters that so impact our perceptions of how we live and move and have our being. May we desire nothing more or less than to spend our days as He would have us to walk before Him.

Waiting

January 14

“They who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint,” Isaiah 40:31.

God’s timing is not ours to command. If we do not start the fire with the first strike of our match, we must try again. God does hear our prayer, but He may not answer it at the precise time we have appointed in our own minds. Instead , He will reveal Himself to our seeking hearts , though not necessarily when and where we may expect.

Therefore we have a need for perseverance and steadfast determination in our life of prayer. In the old days of flint, steel, and brimstone matches, people had to strike the match again and again, perhaps even dozens of times, before they could get a spark to light their fire, and they were very thankful if they finally succeeded.

Should we not exercise the same kind of perseverance and hope regarding heavenly things? When it comes to faith, we have more certainty of success than we could ever have had with flint and steel, for we have God’s promises as a foundation.

May we , therefore , never despair. God’s time for mercy will come— in fact, it has already come, if our time for believing has arrived.

Ask in faith without wavering, but never cease to petition the King simply because He has delayed His reply. Strike the match again and make the sparks fly. Yet be sure to have your tinder ready, for you will get a fire before long. Charles H. Spurgeon

All That Call on Thy Name

January 13

All That Call on Thy Name by Greg Hinnant

Is your light shining through the darkness of this world? (Lightstock) One of the unofficial names given to Christ's followers in the New Testament was "all that call on thy name" (Acts 9:14). What does this unofficial but inspired label say about us?


It reveals Jesus's followers are a praying people. Some folks worry, reason, or imitate their way through problems. Others steal, cheat, or bribe their way to get what they want. Still others lie, fight, or manipulate their way through life.


Unlike these 'self-sufficient' individuals, Christ's born-again people pray their way through life. Our Biblical watchword is, "In everything by prayer" (Philippians 1:6). What makes us this way? We have an advantage—an all-sufficient, ever-present, super-attentive, marvelously loving heavenly Father! Whether we were well or poorly parented, as God's own adopted children we may now call on our wondrously faithful Father for every need, worldly or spiritual. As we learn to lean on Him for everything, we begin thriving.


Soon we're overcoming problems, perplexities, and persecutors the same way Jesus did—by praying early, often, simply, patiently, expectantly, and with praise. Let's review this prayerful lifestyle.


We pray in private, "When thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, who is in secret" (Matthew 6:6), and in public, "They continued steadfastly ... in prayers ... in the temple" (Acts 2:42, 46). We pray at set times, "Peter and John went up ... at the hour of prayer" (Acts 3:1), and at all times, "Praying always" (Eph. 6:18). We pray with purpose, "If we ask any thing according to His will" (1 John 5:14), and with persistence, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We petition with faith, "When ye pray, believe that ye receive" (Mark 11:24), and with thankful praise, "In everything by prayer ... with thanksgiving" (Philippians 4:6). We pray with obedience, "Whatever we ask, we receive ... because we ... do those things that are pleasing in His sight" (1 John 3:22) and without presumption, sure that "God heareth not sinners" (John 9:31).

There's more.

We appeal in the city, "Prayer was made. . .[in] the house of Mary [in Jerusalem]" (Acts 12:5, 12), and in the countryside, "We went out of the city by a riverside, where prayer was [offered]" (Acts 16:13). We plead for kings, "I exhort ... supplications, prayers, intercessions ... be made ... for kings" (1 Timothy 2:1-2), and for criminals, "If he [Onesimus] hath wronged thee ... put that on my account" (Philemon18).


We call on God in palaces, "The chief man of the island ... received us, and lodged us ... to whom Paul entered in and prayed" (Acts 28:7-8), and in prisons, "They cast them into prison ... And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed" (Acts 16:23-25). We pray for our ministers, "Ye also helping together by prayer for us" (2 Corinthians 1:11), and they pray for us, "We will give ourselves continually to prayer" (Acts 6:4). We intercede in our native tongue, "And I will pray with the understanding" (1 Corinthians 14:15), and in other tongues, "I will pray with the spirit" (v. 15).

That's not all.

We offer petitions for friends, "The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorous, for he often refreshed me" (2 Timothy 1:16), and for enemies, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" (Acts 7:60). We pray for messages, "[Praying always] for me, that utterance may be given unto me" (Ephesians 6:19), and for missions, "When they had fasted and prayed ... they sent them away" (Acts 13:3). We request open doors, "That God would open unto us a door of utterance " (Colossians 4:3), and closed doors, "For there are many ... deceivers ... whose mouths must be stopped" (Titus 1:10-11).
We appeal for boldness, "Behold their threatenings, and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word" (Acts 4:29), and for wisdom, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God" (James 1:5).

We cry out for the Spirit's fullness, "I bow my knees unto the Father ... that we might be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:14, 19), and to have our worldly needs fully supplied, "Pray to thy Father ... seek ye first the kingdom of God ... and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:6, 33). Thus, "in everything by prayer" we prevail—thanks to the Father!

Born-again one, have you forgotten to lean on your fabulously faithful Father lately? Are you worrying, reasoning, or arguing your way through problems? Are you fighting, manipulating, or imitating your way to what you want?

Are you stressed out, exhausted, miserable? Remember your New Testament name: "All that call on Thy name." Live out this label and be a light to this hopeless, prayer-less, Fatherless world.

Awesome answers await.

"By awesome things in righteousness wilt Thou answer us, O God" (Psalm 65:5), and all that call on Thy name.

Fall on Us

January 12, 2015

“…and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’" Revelation 6:16, 17

The Word quotes these sixth-seal cavemen twice. The first quote is a command to mountains and rocks. The second is a question. What do their words tell us? What does their silence tell us?

The first sentence is a somewhat illogical command for the mountains and rocks to fall on them. In making this statement, the cavemen demonstrate at least some correct understanding of the Source of their difficulties. They recognize the Holy One as the cause.

Further, they understand that this powerful Being is angry. In assigning a cause to their difficulties, they utterly shun the voice of the secularist or the atheist. They do not, for example, blame nature for their troubles. They do not assert, "It's just a cycle. Nature will clean up the air and water, and everything will be okay soon." Rather, they squarely identify the cause of their present problems to be the wrath of God.

Their second sentence is a question rather than a statement or command. In stating that "the great day of His wrath has come," they recognize that their situation is special; theirs are extraordinary times. They rightly realize that they can no more defer the effects of God's ire than they can blame those effects on nature. Their reference to "the great day of His wrath" indicates an at least superficial realization that they are facing the Day of the Lord. In asking, "Who can stand?" they recognize that they are powerless to defend themselves against the wrath of God.

In short, the window of these people's minds opens up to a substantially different landscape than what currently exists in our world. Consider how many individuals whom we would today classify as "the kings of the earth, the great men" would refer to Christ as "the Lamb"? How many "rich men, the commanders, the mighty men" know about the prophesied Day of the Lord?

Comparatively few. Perhaps some in America's Bible Belt might use this terminology, but most individuals in the wider society, the secularized, cosmopolitan masses we call the Western World, would find these concepts alien to their thinking. Moreover, most of those who are familiar with the concept of Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world or of the Day of the Lord as the coming day of His wrath are silent in today’s post Christian western world.

What is happening here? God has actually begun to transform the religious landscape of these godless men as surely as He has commenced to reform the planet's physical landscape.

These people have listened to the two witnesses' preaching, beginning at the time of the fifth seal (see Revelation 6:9). Because God's Word does not return to Him void (see Isaiah 55:11); these erstwhile movers and shakers have heeded their witness to an extent. As a result, they have a more complete—though far from perfect—understanding of God and His purposes. And they run for the hills!

Where should the events of the end times find Christians? Are we, like the unbelieving world, looking for a secure place of refuge from the scenario described to John on the Isle of Patmos in some natural hiding place? If we are, then we are as deluded as the people described here.

We, as those redeemed by the Living Christ who shed His blood to cleanse us from the sin that separates us from God must demonstrate to the world that the only place of safety at that later day is at the foot of the cross, and our only position of strength is on our knees.

The Faith Chapter

January 11
HEBREWS, CHAPTER 11

This passage of scripture is called "the faith chapter." As you read it, may your own faith be encouraged and anchored even more fully to the Christ who loves you and desires you to be an heir of the peace and power He gives through time and of the salvation He gives through eternity:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
4By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
5By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
7By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
8By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
12Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
13These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
15And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
16But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
17By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
21By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
22By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
23By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.
24By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
25Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
26Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
27By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
28Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
29By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
31By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
32And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
33Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
35Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
36And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
40God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Self-Denial

January 10
Self-denial by John O. Reid

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it,” Matthew 16:24, 25.

Jesus tells us to deny ourselves. This means we must disown and renounce ourselves and subjugate everything—all our works, interests, and enjoyments—to the standards set by God. Paul commands us to bring under our control every thought that opposes God and His way.

Jesus also instructs us to bear our cross. We need to embrace the situations God has set us in, and with faith in Him to bring us through them, bear the troubles and difficulties that come upon us. Just as Jesus accepted His role, even to "the death of the cross," Philippians 2:8, we need to be content with what God gives us to do, Philippians 4:11. As Paul says in I Timothy 6:6, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." What an achievement it is not to be driven by the desire for the honors or riches of this world!

God has called us to lay down our lives in subjection to Him. The supreme object of our lives is not our personal happiness or the fulfilling of our every desire. Our goal is God's kingdom and His righteousness (see Matthew 6:33), but notice what Jesus says next: "And all these things shall be added to you." If we yield ourselves to God's instruction and grow and overcome, He will fulfill our legitimate desires!

Matthew 16:25 shows us the two sides of this issue. Jesus says that if we insist on preserving our way of life, with all its wrong hungers and desires, we will lose it eternally! But if we take control of our mind and emotions and destroy our way of life—ridding ourselves of all the wrong hungers and desires that are against God—then God will save it eternally! The better option is obvious.

The evil one has filled this world with hungers of every sort to tempt men, including the people of God. Hungers of lust, power, money, and fame seem inviting after the monotony of day-to-day living, but Satan's way is a trap, though an enticing one. It always looks good on the outside, but inside is sin, destruction, and ultimately death, eternal death.

God allows us to make decisions. He allows us to learn from the decisions we make—both right and wrong. The right decision to make about the wonderful calling and opportunity He has given to us is to yield ourselves under the mighty hand of God in faith that He will work in us. His work is always wonderful and good. Once we yield, we can set our mind to overcome, by hungering and thirsting for righteousness. And God will satisfy us!

The Full Salvation Package

January 9

“The people from the west will fear the Lord and the people from the east will fear His glory. The Lord will come quickly like a fast-flowing river, driven by the breath of the Lord,” Isaiah 59:19.

This verse is replete with prophetic significance. As we view our world today, it seems men of all nations and kindred and tribes stand afar-off from the Holy One. All manner of men seem deaf and blind to the reality of His existence, let alone to His right to authority over them. All manner of men seem intent upon living their lives their own way, without regard for God or His holiness or His ultimate control over all life.

But His holy Word that cannot fail and cannot lie tells us differently. Things are not as they appear. Men from the west who are convinced that science and technology hold the answers to all the needs of all men; men from the west who are certain that there is nothing beyond their ability to control—from the weather to other men—if they but tap the resource of their own intellect, will fear Him.

Men from the east who are immersed in the vitriolic bile of a worldview that spews its ire upon anyone who is not of their persuasion, men who are convinced within the innermost recess of their existence that they must by any means convert the entirety of humanity to their point of view must ultimately fear the glory of the One against whom they have railed, for indeed, “Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father,” Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:10, 11.

Though it seems slow in its unfolding, the promise of the Lord is sure. Though men say mockingly, “Where is the promise of His coming? Since the fathers fell asleep, things continue as they were from the beginning of creation,” II Peter 3:4, yet the Word of God is unfailing.

Jesus Himself tells us in Matthew 24:35, Luke 21:33, and again in Mark 13:31, “Heaven and earth shall pass away but My Word shall not pass away.” If He considers the matter to be of such import that His chroniclers were inspired to write it several times in the books that apprise us of His life and ministry, certainly we should embrace these words as truth!

There is also a strong indication in this passage that when the Lord does return as He has promised He would, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing into heaven? This same Jesus who is taken up from you shall return in like manner as you have seen Him go,” Acts 1:11, that there will be no time for reconsideration of one’s perspective regarding the Lord. If a man does not already stand in awe of Him, fear Him, and own Him as Savior and Lord, there will not be the opportunity at His coming to change his mind.

As Isaiah 59:19 says, “The Lord will come quickly like a fast-flowing river, driven by the breath of the Lord,” and everyone who has not embraced the salvation He purchased for him by His death on the cross shall be swept away into the abyss. The breath of the Lord shall drive that river, so there shall be no escape for the errant one who has denied Him as Savior.

Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” The strong implication here is that the mere whisper of the Lord is of such great power as to establish everything that exists. With that truth confronting us, should we not assure ourselves of our place in His realm of glory by accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord! Should we not establish our place with the people of the west and the people of the east who recognize His glory before that fateful and wondrous day of His return! (See I Thessalonians 5:2, II Peter 3:10, and Revelation 3:3.)

“Let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread Your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy." Psalm 5:11

It is interesting that the psalmist does not say here, “Spread Your protection over the people who love you so they may rejoice.” No, he states this assurance of protection in such a way that those who take refuge in the name of the Lord should sing songs of joyful praise forever…then he asks that the protection of the Holy One be spread over them that they who love Him may be filled with joy.

It is thus with much of the word of promise that believers have in scripture. The hope, the encouragement, the blessing is proffered, but to those who have signed on with the Lord, to those who have taken the initial step of committing their way to Him. Once the person of faith has ‘thrown his hat into the ring,’ so to speak, then the offers of abiding help become viable in his life.

Jesus observed once that there were some who followed Him “only for the loaves and fishes,” John 6:26. These were people who were more impressed with having their needs supplied than by the fact that One who was obviously who He claimed to be—the Son of God (see Mark 14:61,62)--stood before them. Of course, Jesus did supply the needs of the people (see John 6:1-14) where He fed the 5000, but this was not His primary purpose.

Much more than He desired to supply the daily sustenance of the people who followed Him, Jesus desired to win souls from the kingdom of darkness to His Kingdom of Light. Although He came to minister healing to the sick, (see Isaiah 53:5), His primary intent was to bear the sins of fallen man so he could have fellowship with the Holy One again (see Isaiah 53:6-8, 11-12).

Still today, Jesus is our Healer and our Savior. He wants us to have the full salvation package. He wants us to rejoice no matter what our circumstances may be, for His promise is to spread His covering over us. If we will do that, we who love His Holy Name shall indeed be filled with joy according to the promise, and that joy will abide through trial and temptation and persecution. It will abide forever.

Abiding Joy

January 8

“Let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread Your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy." Psalm 5:11

It is interesting that the psalmist does not say here, “Spread Your protection over the people who love you so they may rejoice.” No, he states this assurance of protection in such a way that those who take refuge in the name of the Lord should sing songs of joyful praise forever…then he asks that the protection of the Holy One be spread over them that they who love Him may be filled with joy.

It is thus with much of the word of promise that believers have in scripture. The hope, the encouragement, the blessing is proffered, but to those who have signed on with the Lord, to those who have taken the initial step of committing their way to Him. Once the person of faith has ‘thrown his hat into the ring,’ so to speak, then God's offers of abiding help become viable in his life.

Jesus observed once that there were some who followed Him “only for the loaves and fishes,” John 6:26. These were people were more impressed with having their needs supplied than by the fact that One who was obviously who He claimed to be—the Son of God (see Mark 14:61,62)--stood before them. Of course, Jesus did supply the needs of the people (see John 6:1-14) where He fed the 5000, but this was not His primary purpose.

Much more than He desired to supply the daily sustenance of the people who followed Him, Jesus desired to win souls from the kingdom of darkness to His Kingdom of Light. Although He came to minister healing to the sick, (see Isaiah 53:5), His primary intent was to bear the sins of fallen man so he could have fellowship with the Holy One again (see Isaiah 53:6-8, 11-12).

Still today, Jesus is our Healer and our Savior. He wants us to have the full salvation package. He wants us to rejoice no matter what our circumstances may be, for His promise to spread His protection over us transcends time. He desires to cover us eternally by rescuing us not merely from temporal trials but from everlasting punishment. If we will, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4, we who love His Holy Name shall indeed be filled with abiding joy according to the promise, no matter what circumstances we may face.

Our Redemption

January 7

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, (12) teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, (13) looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (14) who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. (15) Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you,” Titus 2:11-15.

No matter what false doctrine of men an individual or a culture may espouse, it is rooted in essentially the same error; that being the belief that salvation is not by God’s grace alone but by a man’s works.

When a mere mortal thinks he can earn the approval of the Holy One, that individual is possessed of a grievous error that will prove a stumbling block to him throughout his sojourn in this Vale of Tears as well as a great wall of separation that will stand eternally between him and the God he is striving to please.

If a man were to adhere to the entirety of the premise of this scripture—deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age, keep his eyes fastened on the eastern sky in his search for the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, yet believe his redemption to be contingent upon his own work rather than upon the One who gave Himself for us, his compliance would be in vain.

Our redemption from every lawless deed, our purification, our transformation from godlessness to purity before God is achieved only because we have appropriated to ourselves the “unspeakable GIFT” of II Corinthians 9:15, because we have embraced to our heart the precious treasure of eternity that only the sacrifice of the Holy One upon the altar of grace can accomplish for us.

May we, His special people, indeed be zealous for good works. May we speak these things, exhorting and rebuking the lost souls around us with all authority, no matter how we may be despised for our effort. May we, according to Revelation 2:10, “be faithful unto death,” so He may certainly fulfill His promise to, “give us a crown of life.”

If we will be true to His calling, we will not only receive the blessing of eternal life but we will be privileged to share that amazing treasure with everyone who will receive it from our outstretched hand, with everyone who will receive the fruit of our lips, spoken to share the wonder of Christ’s unspeakable gift of eternal redemption, of our salvation through His shed blood at Calvary.

Watchmen

January 6
WATCHMEN by Bill Federer

"We...are...the watchmen on the walls of world freedom" -John F. Kennedy

The youngest President ever elected, being 43 years old, he was also the youngest to die, barely serving 1,000 days. Kennedy was on his way to the Dallas Trade Mart to deliver a speech, in which he prepared to say: "We in this country, in this generation, are - by destiny rather than choice - the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of peace on earth, goodwill toward men...That must always be our goal and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength. For as was written long ago, 'Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.'"

Rev. Richard Wurmbrand was imprisoned in Communist Romania for 14 years. He stated of America in 1967: "America is the hope of every enslaved man, because it is the last bastion of freedom in the world. Only America has the power and spiritual resources to stand as a barrier between militant Communism and the people of the world. It is the last 'dike' holding back the rampaging flood waters of militant Communism. If it crumples, there is no other dike, no other dam; no other line of defense to fall back upon. America is the last hope of millions of enslaved peoples."

Alexander Solzhenitsyn was imprisoned in the Soviet Union from 1945-53. He stated in Washington, D.C., June 30, 1975: "At the height of Stalin's terror in 1937-38...more than 40,000 persons shot per month!...It is precisely because I am the friend of the United States...that I have come to tell you...Over there people are groaning and dying and in psychiatric hospitals. Doctors are making their evening rounds, for the third time injecting people with drugs which destroy their brain cells...I would like to call upon America to be more careful with its trust and prevent those...using the struggle...for social justice to lead you down a false road...They are trying to weaken you; the are trying to disarm your strong and magnificent country in the face of this fearful threat-one that has never been seen before in the history of the world. I call upon...ordinary working men of America...do not let yourselves become weak."

Dutch politician Geert Wilders was born the year John F. Kennedy was shot. He gave a speech titled "America the Last Man Standing" in New York, September 25, 2008: "The United States as the last bastion of Western civilization, facing an Islamic Europe...Europe...is changing...by Muslim mass-migration...with mosques on many street corners...controlled by religious fanatics...Muslim neighborhoods...are mushrooming in every city across Europe. These are the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger portions of Europe, street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood, city by city...Many European cities are already one-quarter Muslim: just take Amsterdam, Marseille and Malmo in Sweden...In many cities the majority of the under-18 population is Muslim. Paris is now surrounded by a ring of Muslim neighborhoods. Mohammed is the most popular name among boys in many cities...In once-tolerant Amsterdam gays are beaten up exclusively by Muslims...

Non-Muslim women routinely hear 'whore, whore'...In France school teachers are advised to avoid authors deemed offensive to Muslims...The history of the Holocaust can no longer be taught because of Muslim sensitivity...In England sharia courts are now officially part of the British legal system. Many neighborhoods in France are no-go areas for women without head scarves...Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II...A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe... 25 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now...The numbers would not be threatening if the Muslim-immigrants had a strong desire to assimilate...Half of French Muslims see their loyalty to Islam as greater than their loyalty to France.

One-third of French Muslims do not object to suicide attacks...One-third of British Muslim students are in favor of a worldwide caliphate...They do not come to integrate into our societies; they come to integrate our society into their Daral-Islam...Much of this street violence...is directed exclusively against non-Muslims forcing many native people to leave their neighborhoods, their cities, their countries...Muslims are now a swing vote not to be ignored.

Mohammed's...behavior is an example to all Muslims...If Mohammed had been a man of peace, let us say like Ghandi and Mother Theresa wrapped in one, there would be no problem...Islamic tradition tells us how he fought in battles, how he had his enemies murdered and even had prisoners of war executed. Mohammed himself slaughtered the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza...Islam means 'submission.' Islam is not compatible with freedom and democracy, because what it strives for is sharia. If you want to compare Islam to anything, compare it to communism or national-socialism, these are all totalitarian ideologies..."

Geert Wilders concluded: "There is a danger greater danger than terrorist attacks, the scenario of America as the last man standing...With an Islamic Europe, it would be UP TO AMERICA ALONE to preserve the heritage of ROME, ATHENS and JERUSALEM."

Franklin D. Roosevelt had stated on Labor Day, September 1,1941: "Preservation of these rights is vitally important now, not only to us who enjoy them-but to the whole future of Christian civilization."

Winston Churchill addressed Britain's House of Commons, June 18, 1940: "Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization...If we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science."

President John F. Kennedy stated February 9, 1961: "This country was dedicated to...two propositions: First, a STRONG RELIGIOUS CONVICTION, and secondly, a recognition that this conviction could flourish only under a SYSTEM OF FREEDOM...

The Puritans and the Pilgrims of my own section of New England,
the Quakers of Pennsylvania,
the Catholics of Maryland,
the Presbyterians of North Carolina,
the Methodists and Baptists who came later...

...all shared these two great traditions which, like silver threads, have run through the warp and the woof of American History."

John F. Kennedy stated in his Thanksgiving Proclamation, October 28, 1961: "The Pilgrims, after a year of hardship and peril, humbly and reverently set aside a special day upon which to give thanks to God...I ask the head of each family to recount to his children the story of the first New England Thanksgiving, thus to impress upon future generations the heritage of this nation born in toil, in danger, in purpose, and in the conviction that right and justice and freedom can through man's efforts persevere and come to fruition with the blessing of God."

On February 9, 1961, President Kennedy remarked at a Breakfast for International Christian Leadership: "Every President of the United States has placed special reliance upon his faith in God...The guiding principle and prayer of this Nation has been, is now, and shall ever be 'IN GOD WE TRUST.'"

Theodore Roosevelt addressed the American Sociological Congress (Fear God and Take Your Own Part, 1916, p. 70): "The civilization of Europe, America and Australia exists today at all only because of the victories of civilized man over the enemies of civilization...victories stretching through the centuries from Charles Martel in the eighth century and those of John Sobieski in the seventeenth century...There are such social values today in Europe, America and Australia only because during those thousand years the Christians of Europe possessed the warlike power to do what the Christians of Asia and Africa had failed to do - that is, to beat back the Moslem invader."

Theodore Roosevelt stated in his Thanksgiving Proclamation, October 24, 1903: "In NO OTHER PLACE and at NO OTHER TIME has the experiment of government OF the people, BY the people, FOR the people, been tried on so vast a scale as here in our own country...Failure would not only be a dreadful thing for us, but a dreadful thing for all mankind...It would mean loss of hope for all who believe in the power and the righteousness of liberty. Therefore, in thanking God for the mercies extended to us in the past, WE BESEECH HIM that He MAY NOT WITHHOLD THEM IN THE FUTURE."

Open the Door

January 5

"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:15-20.

We are, to a great measure, victims of an age that is certainly not apathetic to seeking its own pleasure but is apathetic about having a true relationship with God. Would anybody in all honesty not care to eat with or to have fellowship with Jesus Christ? Yet, verse 20 says He is standing at the door and knocking, and He will come in and dine with them if they just open the door!

Many would like to eat and fellowship with Christ just to say that they'd had that novel experience. But the irony here is that God is seeking His people, and they are too uncaring to even rouse themselves to answer the door! The message to this church shows that the problem is that they are so far from Him they are not even aware of their spiritual need and thus have no desire to be near Him. No desire, no prayer. No prayer, no relationship. No relationship, no awareness of spiritual need. It goes in a vicious cycle.

God is hoping that He can stir us up enough to repent and to break out of the cycle. He says, "Repent. Be zealous." Zeal indicates heat, passion, and feeling. He is hoping to break us out of this circle by rekindling an awareness of our spiritual need.

An awareness of need resides in us because we are close enough to Him to see how holy, gracious, kind, merciful, and good He is and desire to be like Him. In other words, we admire Him so much and respect His personality and character so much that we want to be near Him—right across the table from Him, as it were. We do not want to be near Him just to have a novel experience but to exalt Him and honor Him by being like Him. — John W. Ritenbaugh

Where Does God's Joy Come From?

January 4
Where Does God’s Joy Come From? by Mike Massé

Listen, friends, even mainstream psychology teaches that it's not what happens to us, it's our response that determines success. Jesus, in Matthew 5, comments that it rains on the righteous and the unrighteous all the same.

There's a dangerous false gospel that basically says once we receive salvation, it never rains again. All we have to look forward to are financial windfalls, favor (in the sense of, say, being supernaturally first in every line you ever would have had to wait in) and immunity from any of life's difficulties.

Other than the really "big dogs" who profit indefinitely from this message, I have not seen a disciple of this kind of teaching last more than a couple of years. By the 26th time they don't claim what they've named, it's off to disillusionment with Christianity or joining a new "spiritual-ish" belief system that carries promises to "fill their vats to overflowing."

However, there's another false gospel that may be even more dangerous because it's endorsed by more credible people and movements: If you truly follow Christ as Lord and Savior, get ready for the rain, baby! This one interprets the "narrow road" talked about in the Bible as one chock full of suffering, pain and self-denial in the sense of denying yourself any fun, pleasure or happiness. It teaches that things are bad and only getting worse now, but if we just hold on until Jesus gets back, it will all be worth it.

The whole of Scripture on this particular subject seems to be summed up in what Jesus said to His followers: "In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Here's the Mike Massé commentary: "There are going to be times of rain no matter what. But Jesus is so much bigger than even the biggest storm. Sometimes He will supernaturally command them to be still (remember Peter), and other times there's a shipwreck coming but you will not be harmed (as happened to Paul)."

All of that pales in comparison to His love for us. If we make Him our focus, we can immensely enjoy the sunny days. While we acknowledge the reality of the rainstorms, they do not cause us to lose our joy or get off course in His plan for our lives.

In fact, we will come out of them with stronger faith, character and spiritual sensitivity because we chose to pass these tests by following faith over feelings. How else does it make sense to "…count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations" (James 1:2)?

Learn to respond to tough circumstances Jesus-style! Jesus had just been baptized by the Holy Spirit, passed His tests in the desert and been released to start ministering in power. Then, He gets a piece of terrible news. John had been put in prison. This is huge! His cousin and likely childhood friend—the "greatest man born of woman," who had overseen His very baptism—had just received, in essence, a death sentence.

How did Jesus respond? "After John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel'" (Mark 1:14).

That was His response! It's unfathomable in our own strength. The "wisdom" of the world might even call Jesus "uncaring." "Your cousin just got sentence to death, and you're going to go preach a sermon?" We know from the story of Lazarus and other accounts that He experienced grief and anguish. It's pretty safe to surmise He didn't take John’s imprisonment without sorrow, but even the worst of circumstances couldn't take the joy of the Lord from His heart. Nothing could send Him into self-pity or distract Him from declaring the good news.

How was that kind of surrender and dependency on God possible? Most would say a combination of constant communion with the Spirit and withdrawing to lonely places to pray and "see what His Father was doing." But there was also something else. Before any recorded signs and wonders, before any mention of making disciples, there was His baptism. The incident where God the Father spoke and said: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

When God speaks over you and calls you His beloved son or daughter, in whom He is well pleased ... That's it, my friend. Nothing can steal that joy. Temporary unpleasant circumstances no longer dictate my happiness level. He alone does. I'm not talking about a head knowledge or mental assent that God loves me, or that I'm His child, or any "church-ism" along those lines.

I'm referring to the heart-shaking encounter with the Father's heart. Though emotions fade and feelings change, every time I am reminded of my heavenly Father's heart toward me, my joy increases. That's the place where the joy of the Lord is my strength. Whether it rains or the sun shines, whether the circumstances are pleasant or unpleasant, what our lives will manifest depends on our response!

Never having a bad day doesn't depend on pleasant circumstances or even whether I feel joyful. It's in the immovable knowledge that He remains joyful, and His heart is for me. That's where I draw my strength. Period. So God continually pours into us the love, grace and joy to live sincerely happy. Where does it all come from? His love, poured into a heart that is devoted and passionate toward Him.