Eyewitnesses of His Majesty by Max Lucado Christianity, in its purest form, is nothing more than seeing Jesus.
Christian service, in its purest form, is nothing more than imitating Him who we see.
To see His Majesty and to imitate Him,that is the sum of Christianity.
FOR FIFTY-ONE YEARS BOB EDENS WAS BLIND. He couldn't see a thing. His world was a black hall of sounds and smells. He felt his way through five decades of darkness.
And then, he could see.
A skilled surgeon performed a complicated operation and, for the first time, Bob Edens had sight. He found it overwhelming. "I never would have dreamed that yellow is so � yellow," he exclaimed. "I don't have the words. I am amazed by yellow. But red is my favorite color. I just can't believe red.
"I can see the shape of the moon�and I like nothing better than seeing a jet plane flying across the sky leaving a vapor trail. And of course, sunrises and sunsets. And at night I look at the stars in the sky and the flashing light. You could never know how wonderful everything is."
He's right. Those of us who have lived a lifetime with vision can't know how wonderful it must be to be given sight.
But Bob Edens isn't the only one who has spent a lifetime near something without seeing it. Few are the people who don't suffer from some form of blindness. Amazing, isn't it? We can live next to something for a lifetime, but unless we take time to focus on it, it doesn't become a part of our life. Unless we somehow have our blindness lifted, our world is but a black cave.
Think about it. Just because one has witnessed a thousand rainbows doesn't mean he's seen the grandeur of one. One can live near a garden and fail to focus on the splendor of the flower. A man can spend a lifetime with a woman and never pause to look into her soul.
And a person can be all that goodness calls him to be and still never see the Author of life.
Being honest or moral or even religious doesn't necessarily mean we will see him. No. We may see what others see in him. Or we may hear what some say he said. But until we see him for ourselves, until our own sight is given, we may think we see him, having in reality seen only a hazy form in the gray semidarkness.
Have you seen him?
Have you caught a glimpse of His Majesty? A word is placed in a receptive crevice of your heart that causes you, ever so briefly, to see his face. You hear a verse read in a tone you'd never heard, or explained in a way you'd never thought and one more piece of the puzzle falls into place. Someone touches your painful spirit as only one sent from him could do and there he is.
Jesus.
The man. The bronzed Galilean who spoke with such thunderous authority and loved with such childlike humility.
The God. The one who claimed to be older than time and greater than death.
Gone is the pomp of religion; dissipated is the fog of theology. Momentarily lifted is the opaque curtain of controversy and opinion. Erased are our own blinding errors and egotism. And there he stands.
Jesus.
Have you seen him?
Those who first did were never the same.
"My Lord and my God!" cried Thomas.
"I have seen the Lord," exclaimed Mary Magdalene.
"We have seen his glory," declared John.
"Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked?" rejoiced the two Emmaus-bound disciples.
But Peter said it best. "We were eyewitnesses of his majesty."
His Majesty. The emperor of Judah. The soaring eagle of eternity. The noble admiral of the Kingdom. All the splendor of heaven revealed in a human body. For a period ever so brief, the doors to the throne room were open and God came near. His Majesty was seen. Heaven touched the earth and, as a result, earth can know heaven. In astounding tandem a human body housed divinity. Holiness and earthliness intertwined.
Has it been a while since you have seen him? If your prayers seem stale, it probably has. If your faith seems to be trembling, perhaps your vision of him has blurred. If you can't find power to face your problems, perhaps it is time to face him.
One warning. Something happens to a person who has witnessed His Majesty. He becomes addicted. One glimpse of the King and you are consumed by a desire to see more of him and say more about him. Pew-warming is no longer an option. Junk religion will no longer suffice. Sensation-seeking is needless. Once you have seen his face you will forever long to see it again.
My prayer for this book�without apologies�is that the Divine Surgeon will use it as a delicate surgical tool to restore sight. That blurriness will be focused and darkness dispersed. And, that we will whisper the secret of the universe, "We were eyewitnesses of his majesty."
Christian service, in its purest form, is nothing more than imitating Him who we see.
To see His Majesty and to imitate Him,that is the sum of Christianity.
FOR FIFTY-ONE YEARS BOB EDENS WAS BLIND. He couldn't see a thing. His world was a black hall of sounds and smells. He felt his way through five decades of darkness.
And then, he could see.
A skilled surgeon performed a complicated operation and, for the first time, Bob Edens had sight. He found it overwhelming. "I never would have dreamed that yellow is so � yellow," he exclaimed. "I don't have the words. I am amazed by yellow. But red is my favorite color. I just can't believe red.
"I can see the shape of the moon�and I like nothing better than seeing a jet plane flying across the sky leaving a vapor trail. And of course, sunrises and sunsets. And at night I look at the stars in the sky and the flashing light. You could never know how wonderful everything is."
He's right. Those of us who have lived a lifetime with vision can't know how wonderful it must be to be given sight.
But Bob Edens isn't the only one who has spent a lifetime near something without seeing it. Few are the people who don't suffer from some form of blindness. Amazing, isn't it? We can live next to something for a lifetime, but unless we take time to focus on it, it doesn't become a part of our life. Unless we somehow have our blindness lifted, our world is but a black cave.
Think about it. Just because one has witnessed a thousand rainbows doesn't mean he's seen the grandeur of one. One can live near a garden and fail to focus on the splendor of the flower. A man can spend a lifetime with a woman and never pause to look into her soul.
And a person can be all that goodness calls him to be and still never see the Author of life.
Being honest or moral or even religious doesn't necessarily mean we will see him. No. We may see what others see in him. Or we may hear what some say he said. But until we see him for ourselves, until our own sight is given, we may think we see him, having in reality seen only a hazy form in the gray semidarkness.
Have you seen him?
Have you caught a glimpse of His Majesty? A word is placed in a receptive crevice of your heart that causes you, ever so briefly, to see his face. You hear a verse read in a tone you'd never heard, or explained in a way you'd never thought and one more piece of the puzzle falls into place. Someone touches your painful spirit as only one sent from him could do and there he is.
Jesus.
The man. The bronzed Galilean who spoke with such thunderous authority and loved with such childlike humility.
The God. The one who claimed to be older than time and greater than death.
Gone is the pomp of religion; dissipated is the fog of theology. Momentarily lifted is the opaque curtain of controversy and opinion. Erased are our own blinding errors and egotism. And there he stands.
Jesus.
Have you seen him?
Those who first did were never the same.
"My Lord and my God!" cried Thomas.
"I have seen the Lord," exclaimed Mary Magdalene.
"We have seen his glory," declared John.
"Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked?" rejoiced the two Emmaus-bound disciples.
But Peter said it best. "We were eyewitnesses of his majesty."
His Majesty. The emperor of Judah. The soaring eagle of eternity. The noble admiral of the Kingdom. All the splendor of heaven revealed in a human body. For a period ever so brief, the doors to the throne room were open and God came near. His Majesty was seen. Heaven touched the earth and, as a result, earth can know heaven. In astounding tandem a human body housed divinity. Holiness and earthliness intertwined.
One warning. Something happens to a person who has witnessed His Majesty. He becomes addicted. One glimpse of the King and you are consumed by a desire to see more of him and say more about him. Pew-warming is no longer an option. Junk religion will no longer suffice. Sensation-seeking is needless. Once you have seen his face you will forever long to see it again.
My prayer for this book�without apologies�is that the Divine Surgeon will use it as a delicate surgical tool to restore sight. That blurriness will be focused and darkness dispersed. And, that we will whisper the secret of the universe, "We were eyewitnesses of his majesty."
So Great a Salvation - by Greg Laurie -
How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? - Hebrews 2:3-4
About $2 billion worth of lottery prizes go unclaimed each year, according to researchers. (By the way, that isn't an endorsement of the lottery.) God has given us something far greater than a lottery ticket, something worth far more than millions and millions of dollars. It is salvation.
No wonder the Bible calls it "so great a salvation" (Hebrews 2:3 NKJV). God has placed the righteousness of Jesus Christ into our spiritual bank accounts, so to speak. This is true of every Christian. The apostle Paul wrote, "For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith" (Philippians 3:8-9 NLT).
As Christians, we are positionally righteous before God. The day you believed, He removed your sin. He forgave your sin. He forgot your sin. He removed every trace of your sin, and He put the righteousness of Jesus Christ in its place. That is what it means to be justified.
What we want to do is take hold of, or live out, what God has given to us. Sometimes we don't see the impact of salvation on a believer's lifestyle or on their choices. They may say, "Yes, I love the Lord," but then they do things that seem to contradict that. They may say, "Oh yes, I am saved," but then we wonder whether they really are.
If a person has really met God, there will be evidence in his or her life. If a person has really come into this encounter with Jesus Christ, others will see the results of it.
Think Biblically - by Greg Laurie -
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. - Psalm 119:105
Everyone has a worldview. Our worldview is influenced by many things. It's influenced by our culture, by our upbringing, and by our education or lack thereof. It's influenced by the books we read or the lack of books we read. It's influenced by the media we expose ourselves to.
A worldview is comprehensive. It will affect every area of our lives, from our morality to how we spend our money to our politics to how we vote. It affects everything about us. What we want to have is a Christian worldview, and more specifically, a biblical worldview.
C.S. Lewis said, "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." That's how we need to view life: through the lens of Scripture, through the eyes of a follower of Jesus Christ.
The only way to have a biblical worldview is by studying and memorizing Scripture and spending time in it every day. We want to run everything through a biblical grid, asking ourselves, "What does the Bible say about this?"
Sometimes people have an emotional worldview. They base their views on how they feel. They'll say, "Well, I just go with my heart, because the heart wants what the heart wants."
Here's what the Bible says about our hearts: "The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?" (Jeremiah 17:9 NLT).
Don't go with your heart, because your heart can mislead you. Don't go with your emotions, because your emotions can mislead you. And certainly don't go with the culture, because that will mislead you. Go with the Bible. It will never take you in the wrong direction. Learn to think biblically.
Eyewitnesses of His Majesty by Max Lucado
Christianity, in its purest form, is nothing more than seeing Jesus.Christian service, in its purest form, is nothing more than imitating Him who we see.
To see His Majesty and to imitate Him,that is the sum of Christianity.
FOR FIFTY-ONE YEARS BOB EDENS WAS BLIND. He couldn't see a thing. His world was a black hall of sounds and smells. He felt his way through five decades of darkness.
And then, he could see.
A skilled surgeon performed a complicated operation and, for the first time, Bob Edens had sight. He found it overwhelming. "I never would have dreamed that yellow is so � yellow," he exclaimed. "I don't have the words. I am amazed by yellow. But red is my favorite color. I just can't believe red.
"I can see the shape of the moon�and I like nothing better than seeing a jet plane flying across the sky leaving a vapor trail. And of course, sunrises and sunsets. And at night I look at the stars in the sky and the flashing light. You could never know how wonderful everything is."
He's right. Those of us who have lived a lifetime with vision can't know how wonderful it must be to be given sight.
But Bob Edens isn't the only one who has spent a lifetime near something without seeing it. Few are the people who don't suffer from some form of blindness. Amazing, isn't it? We can live next to something for a lifetime, but unless we take time to focus on it, it doesn't become a part of our life. Unless we somehow have our blindness lifted, our world is but a black cave.
Think about it. Just because one has witnessed a thousand rainbows doesn't mean he's seen the grandeur of one. One can live near a garden and fail to focus on the splendor of the flower. A man can spend a lifetime with a woman and never pause to look into her soul.
And a person can be all that goodness calls him to be and still never see the Author of life.
Being honest or moral or even religious doesn't necessarily mean we will see him. No. We may see what others see in him. Or we may hear what some say he said. But until we see him for ourselves, until our own sight is given, we may think we see him, having in reality seen only a hazy form in the gray semidarkness.
Have you seen him?
Have you caught a glimpse of His Majesty? A word is placed in a receptive crevice of your heart that causes you, ever so briefly, to see his face. You hear a verse read in a tone you'd never heard, or explained in a way you'd never thought and one more piece of the puzzle falls into place. Someone touches your painful spirit as only one sent from him could do and there he is.
Jesus.
The man. The bronzed Galilean who spoke with such thunderous authority and loved with such childlike humility.
The God. The one who claimed to be older than time and greater than death.
Gone is the pomp of religion; dissipated is the fog of theology. Momentarily lifted is the opaque curtain of controversy and opinion. Erased are our own blinding errors and egotism. And there he stands.
Jesus.
Have you seen him?
Those who first did were never the same.
"My Lord and my God!" cried Thomas.
"I have seen the Lord," exclaimed Mary Magdalene.
"We have seen his glory," declared John.
"Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked?" rejoiced the two Emmaus-bound disciples.
But Peter said it best. "We were eyewitnesses of his majesty."
His Majesty. The emperor of Judah. The soaring eagle of eternity. The noble admiral of the Kingdom. All the splendor of heaven revealed in a human body. For a period ever so brief, the doors to the throne room were open and God came near. His Majesty was seen. Heaven touched the earth and, as a result, earth can know heaven. In astounding tandem a human body housed divinity. Holiness and earthliness intertwined.
One warning. Something happens to a person who has witnessed His Majesty. He becomes addicted. One glimpse of the King and you are consumed by a desire to see more of him and say more about him. Pew-warming is no longer an option. Junk religion will no longer suffice. Sensation-seeking is needless. Once you have seen his face you will forever long to see it again.
My prayer for this book�without apologies�is that the Divine Surgeon will use it as a delicate surgical tool to restore sight. That blurriness will be focused and darkness dispersed. And, that we will whisper the secret of the universe, "We were eyewitnesses of his majesty."
God Acts on Our Behalf
Isaiah 64:1-4
The Lord is a God of action. Even when He rested on the seventh day of creation, it wasn't because He was tired and needed to recuperate. Although He deliberately made a choice to stop His creative activity, He never ceased working. While the Lord is always controlling the universe, He is, at the same time, intimately involved with individual lives.
God has a plan for each one of us and wants us to know what it is. Every time we take a step of obedience, He sheds more light on our path. But sometimes He asks us to pause awhile, and we may not know why. We long for direction in a particular matter, but our prayers just aren't being answered, and we wonder, Why does He delay?
When you intentionally choose to be still, God unleashes His mighty power on your behalf. He has planned good things for those who wait, and I believe what He has in store for your life will surpass all expectations. When He knows you're ready to receive His blessings, they'll flow into your lap.
God's Choice Shaping Tools Romans 12:1-5
God's kindness to us is demonstrated by the fact that He doesn't leave us in the condition we were in before coming to faith. How tragic it would be if we still thought, felt, and acted the same way we did before receiving Christ as our Savior. Throughout our lives, the Lord uses His choice tools to shape us into the image of His Son.
Prayer. By talking to the Lord in open dialogue, we develop a relationship with Him. He becomes not just our Savior, but our friend, and as the intimacy grows, so will our passion to be with Him. Setting aside time for prayer each day will become a delight, not a duty.
God's Word. You can't grow in your Christian life if you keep the Bible closed all week long. No one lives on one meal a week, yet many Christians try to get by with just a Sunday dinner of the Word served up by their pastor. How can we expect God's truth to do its transforming work if we never let it into our minds and hearts?
The Church. Christ uses His body of believers as a place for transformation. That's where we rub against each other and have the rough edges of our character smoothed. It is a place of instruction, accountability, and encouragement.
Are you letting the Lord use His character-shaping tools in your life? Our culture has no shortage of worldly voices and pressures that fill minds and influence behavior. Only when we intentionally schedule time for God, His Word, and His people can Christ do His transforming work in our lives.
A Clean Slate - by Greg Laurie -
God's kindness to us is demonstrated by the fact that He doesn't leave us in the condition we were in before coming to faith. How tragic it would be if we still thought, felt, and acted the same way we did before receiving Christ as our Savior. Throughout our lives, the Lord uses His choice tools to shape us into the image of His Son.
Prayer. By talking to the Lord in open dialogue, we develop a relationship with Him. He becomes not just our Savior, but our friend, and as the intimacy grows, so will our passion to be with Him. Setting aside time for prayer each day will become a delight, not a duty.
The Church. Christ uses His body of believers as a place for transformation. That's where we rub against each other and have the rough edges of our character smoothed. It is a place of instruction, accountability, and encouragement.
Are you letting the Lord use His character-shaping tools in your life? Our culture has no shortage of worldly voices and pressures that fill minds and influence behavior. Only when we intentionally schedule time for God, His Word, and His people can Christ do His transforming work in our lives.
A Clean Slate - by Greg Laurie -
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. - 2 Corinthians 5:17
What does it mean to be saved? As Christians we use the word a lot, but do we understand it? Romans 10 tells us, "If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved" (verses 9-10 NLT).
One of the great benefits of salvation is that God justifies us. One aspect of justification means that God has forgiven us of all our sin. Even more, He has removed all the evidence of our sin as well. That's important, because we've all done things we wish we hadn't. We've all said things that we wish we hadn't. But God will forgive our sin if we repent of it.
Not only does God forgive us, but then He forgets our sin. God says in Hebrews 10:17, "I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds" (NLT). God is omniscient, which means that He knows all things. It doesn't mean that God is literally forgetting things. It means that He's choosing not to hold those things against us. God is saying, "I choose to no longer remember the thing you did that was a sin against me and an affront to me."
In this passage from The Message version, God says, "They'll look high and low for a sign of Israel's guilt-nothing; search nook and cranny for a trace of Judah's sin-nothing. These people that I've saved will start out with a clean slate" (Jeremiah 50:20).
That's what God does for us. That's what it means to be saved. We have a clean slate. Our sin is removed.
Our Awesome God Revelation 4:9-11
In our culture, God�s name is oftentimes mentioned with little reverence. In fact, many people actually use it as a curse. Even among those who love Him, it is far too common to use His name casually, without taking time to ponder who He is. When you say a blessing at mealtimes, for instance, do you realize that you are talking to the almighty Creator God who rules over all things?
Our view of the Lord impacts three areas of life. First, it affects our prayers. As we come to know Him better and better, our desires will start to look like His goals for us, and our petitions will align more closely with His purposes. Furthermore, as we recognize His greatness and power, we�ll become more confident that He can accomplish mighty things�and we will venture to �pray big.�
Second, our understanding of His righteousness and goodness influences our behavior. If God has these attributes, surely it is in our best interest to obey gladly. We will desire righteousness and be quick to repent of sin.
Third, our faith is impacted. Grasping that Jesus is holy, good, and powerful grows our trust in Him. Knowing our awesome God and remembering His great works will further build our confidence in Him.
Do you personally know our loving and holy heavenly Father? He invites you into an intimate relationship with Him. But, as with any good friendship, time and intentionality are necessary to understand Him and learn His ways. The more you do that, the more your prayers, behavior, and faith will be impacted.
The God to Whom We Pray
Nehemiah 1
What�s your view of the Lord? Do you see Him as the One who can handle all the challenges you bring before Him? Nehemiah knew God in this way. Upon hearing about Jerusalem�s destruction, he mourned, fasted, and prayed for intervention. His supplication (Neh. 1:5-11) offers a glimpse of how he viewed the Almighty.
First, the Hebrew term Yahweh refers to One who is absolute in faithfulness. Next, the title Elohim indicates infinite power and sovereignty over the universe. Finally, Adonai means �ruler over all.� Nehemiah was bringing his request before the throne with full confidence in God.
And the Lord answered his prayer in a powerful, dramatic way. As cupbearer in the palace, Nehemiah tasted food and drink first to protect King Artaxerxes from possible poisoning. For a servant in this position, to look sad was very risky (Nehemiah 2:1), yet the terrible news disheartened him.
So the Lord worked a miracle: when the king asked what was troubling his cupbearer, Nehemiah expressed concern for the Jewish people. Instead of punishing him, Artaxerxes let him go to rebuild what had been destroyed, and even supplied the materials! God handled what seemed like an overwhelming, impossible burden for Nehemiah, and He can do the same for us.
Having the right view of the Lord will allow us to approach Him with absolute confidence. And we know that He will hear and answer our prayers (Ps. 86:7). Remember that He is absolute in faithfulness and infinite in power. Our heavenly Father is the ruler over all.
The Provision of God
�But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.� (Philippians 4:19)
Psalm 136 gives three key examples of God�s sovereign provision. He protects and shelters during our times in the �wilderness.� He makes possible victories over great �enemies.� And he gives �food to all flesh.� God�s detailed provision and the many examples thereof in the Scriptures are inexhaustible. Yet, in these three areas, we may find hope for any situation �in time of need� (Hebrews 4:16).
Our �wanderings� are compared to hard-hearted Israel (1 Corinthians 10) and the many physical and spiritual sins of a people in rebellion to God�s control in their lives. Jesus warned that the �cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things� would �choke the word� and make us unfruitful (Mark 4:19). Yet, even though we may be like the younger son in the story of the prodigal (Luke 15:11-32) and would waste our �substance in riotous living,� God was still the Provider of the inheritance that was wasted. God was still waiting for the son to �come to himself� and return home. God still has compassion, and He forgives and restores to fellowship all who come home.
And were it not for the promises of deliverance from our enemies that are so replete throughout the Scriptures, were it not for the hope that we would see deliverance �in the land of the living� (Psalm 27:13), and were it not for the confident knowledge that �evildoers shall be cut off� (Psalm 37:9), we would be in constant fear and torment. God promises to bring us victory! We are told that He will fight for us, and that we are not left to our own devices! Jesus said, �All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. . . . and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen� (Matthew 28:18-20). HMM III
The Fullness of God in You
Ephesians 3:14-21
Have you ever wondered if you are a "whole person"? We all have struggles in life that could make us feel incomplete, but the apostle Paul says we can be "filled up to all the fullness of God" (v. 19). What does that look like?
A "whole person" is generally satisfied with life. He feels loved and is able to love others in return. Difficulties and hardships don't devastate him, because he is able to go through them with confidence in God. He isn't a complainer or someone who is quick to blame others. A positive attitude guards his mind since he knows that the Lord will work everything out for good (Rom. 8:28).
Being a Christian doesn't automatically make us feel complete. Fullness comes only when we experience God's love for us. For many years, I knew theologically that the Lord loved me. I even preached about it, but I didn't really feel it. Only after I took a deep look at my life and started dealing with events that had fractured my soul in childhood did I begin to experience His love in an intimate way. Once I felt the security of His love for me, I discovered great joy in walking in obedience to His will. The reason was that I knew I could trust Him to meet all my needs in His time and way.
Do you feel God's love, or is it just a biblical fact to you? If you long for wholeness, the key is to experience an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. This is possible only when you're willing to open up and let the Lord search your heart. He'll reveal what's holding you back from accepting His love.
Praying for Faith
�Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.� (1 Thessalonians 5:24)
Many centuries ago, a desperate father brought his son to the Lord Jesus with an appeal for healing. The boy was demon-possessed from childhood and tormented physically and spiritually. The agony was awful. His father had brought him to Jesus� disciples, and they were unable to do anything. Nothing worked (Mark 9:17-21).
Jesus told the father, �If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth� (v. 23). The urgent and tearful cry of that hurting father was, �Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief� (v. 24). No doubt we often need to plea for such help. Join me in this prayer that the Lord will grant us greater faith in Him.
Oh Lord, God, we cannot know the end of a thing. We do not have certainty about the plans of our days. Forgive us when we try without consulting You. Forgive our blundering efforts to make something happen. We love You, and we want to please You, but our lives are so caught up in the things of this world. Help us, Lord. Help us to know how much we need You. Help us to see the real values of eternal things. Give us a greater awareness of Your Holy Spirit. Give us a holy awe of Your Word. Drive us to our knees more often, Lord. Keep us close.
Oh, our Father, purge us from the ungodly. Separate us from the sins that hinder and blind us. Meet us in the halls of our heart and sanctify us there. And then, Lord Jesus, embolden us for the work ahead. Provide our daily bread. Cleanse us of our sins and enrich our fellowship with the saints. Clothe us in the armor of God and place us where we must stand. Enable us to resist the enemy in the faith, that we may see his strongholds crumble and his minions flee. Grant us a fruitful harvest and an effective ministry, in Jesus� name. Amen. HMM III
When the good do nothing - Bill Wilson - www.daily.com
In our culture, God�s name is oftentimes mentioned with little reverence. In fact, many people actually use it as a curse. Even among those who love Him, it is far too common to use His name casually, without taking time to ponder who He is. When you say a blessing at mealtimes, for instance, do you realize that you are talking to the almighty Creator God who rules over all things?
Our view of the Lord impacts three areas of life. First, it affects our prayers. As we come to know Him better and better, our desires will start to look like His goals for us, and our petitions will align more closely with His purposes. Furthermore, as we recognize His greatness and power, we�ll become more confident that He can accomplish mighty things�and we will venture to �pray big.�
Third, our faith is impacted. Grasping that Jesus is holy, good, and powerful grows our trust in Him. Knowing our awesome God and remembering His great works will further build our confidence in Him.
Do you personally know our loving and holy heavenly Father? He invites you into an intimate relationship with Him. But, as with any good friendship, time and intentionality are necessary to understand Him and learn His ways. The more you do that, the more your prayers, behavior, and faith will be impacted.
The God to Whom We Pray
Nehemiah 1
What�s your view of the Lord? Do you see Him as the One who can handle all the challenges you bring before Him? Nehemiah knew God in this way. Upon hearing about Jerusalem�s destruction, he mourned, fasted, and prayed for intervention. His supplication (Neh. 1:5-11) offers a glimpse of how he viewed the Almighty.
First, the Hebrew term Yahweh refers to One who is absolute in faithfulness. Next, the title Elohim indicates infinite power and sovereignty over the universe. Finally, Adonai means �ruler over all.� Nehemiah was bringing his request before the throne with full confidence in God.
So the Lord worked a miracle: when the king asked what was troubling his cupbearer, Nehemiah expressed concern for the Jewish people. Instead of punishing him, Artaxerxes let him go to rebuild what had been destroyed, and even supplied the materials! God handled what seemed like an overwhelming, impossible burden for Nehemiah, and He can do the same for us.
Having the right view of the Lord will allow us to approach Him with absolute confidence. And we know that He will hear and answer our prayers (Ps. 86:7). Remember that He is absolute in faithfulness and infinite in power. Our heavenly Father is the ruler over all.
The Provision of God
�But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.� (Philippians 4:19)
Psalm 136 gives three key examples of God�s sovereign provision. He protects and shelters during our times in the �wilderness.� He makes possible victories over great �enemies.� And he gives �food to all flesh.� God�s detailed provision and the many examples thereof in the Scriptures are inexhaustible. Yet, in these three areas, we may find hope for any situation �in time of need� (Hebrews 4:16).
Our �wanderings� are compared to hard-hearted Israel (1 Corinthians 10) and the many physical and spiritual sins of a people in rebellion to God�s control in their lives. Jesus warned that the �cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things� would �choke the word� and make us unfruitful (Mark 4:19). Yet, even though we may be like the younger son in the story of the prodigal (Luke 15:11-32) and would waste our �substance in riotous living,� God was still the Provider of the inheritance that was wasted. God was still waiting for the son to �come to himself� and return home. God still has compassion, and He forgives and restores to fellowship all who come home.
And were it not for the promises of deliverance from our enemies that are so replete throughout the Scriptures, were it not for the hope that we would see deliverance �in the land of the living� (Psalm 27:13), and were it not for the confident knowledge that �evildoers shall be cut off� (Psalm 37:9), we would be in constant fear and torment. God promises to bring us victory! We are told that He will fight for us, and that we are not left to our own devices! Jesus said, �All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. . . . and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen� (Matthew 28:18-20). HMM III
The Fullness of God in You
Ephesians 3:14-21
Have you ever wondered if you are a "whole person"? We all have struggles in life that could make us feel incomplete, but the apostle Paul says we can be "filled up to all the fullness of God" (v. 19). What does that look like?
A "whole person" is generally satisfied with life. He feels loved and is able to love others in return. Difficulties and hardships don't devastate him, because he is able to go through them with confidence in God. He isn't a complainer or someone who is quick to blame others. A positive attitude guards his mind since he knows that the Lord will work everything out for good (Rom. 8:28).
Do you feel God's love, or is it just a biblical fact to you? If you long for wholeness, the key is to experience an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. This is possible only when you're willing to open up and let the Lord search your heart. He'll reveal what's holding you back from accepting His love.
Praying for Faith
�Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.� (1 Thessalonians 5:24)
Many centuries ago, a desperate father brought his son to the Lord Jesus with an appeal for healing. The boy was demon-possessed from childhood and tormented physically and spiritually. The agony was awful. His father had brought him to Jesus� disciples, and they were unable to do anything. Nothing worked (Mark 9:17-21).
Jesus told the father, �If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth� (v. 23). The urgent and tearful cry of that hurting father was, �Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief� (v. 24). No doubt we often need to plea for such help. Join me in this prayer that the Lord will grant us greater faith in Him.
Oh Lord, God, we cannot know the end of a thing. We do not have certainty about the plans of our days. Forgive us when we try without consulting You. Forgive our blundering efforts to make something happen. We love You, and we want to please You, but our lives are so caught up in the things of this world. Help us, Lord. Help us to know how much we need You. Help us to see the real values of eternal things. Give us a greater awareness of Your Holy Spirit. Give us a holy awe of Your Word. Drive us to our knees more often, Lord. Keep us close.
Oh, our Father, purge us from the ungodly. Separate us from the sins that hinder and blind us. Meet us in the halls of our heart and sanctify us there. And then, Lord Jesus, embolden us for the work ahead. Provide our daily bread. Cleanse us of our sins and enrich our fellowship with the saints. Clothe us in the armor of God and place us where we must stand. Enable us to resist the enemy in the faith, that we may see his strongholds crumble and his minions flee. Grant us a fruitful harvest and an effective ministry, in Jesus� name. Amen. HMM III
When the good do nothing - Bill Wilson - www.daily.com
Edmund Burke is credited with the quote: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Certainly, we are told by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:21, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." In this case, the Greek word used for "overcome" can be interchanged with "conquer." We are not to be conquered by evil, but to conquer evil with good. So Burke's quote is quite right in the sense that if good men do nothing in the face of evil, evil with triumph. This is one of the problems we have with our political system. Year after year we elect the same kinds of people and we expect them to do what they say. We are mostly disappointed because of a lack of quality and character.
People have often asked about why we have such questionable candidates running for office. The choices, they say, are subpar. The short answer is that we need to recruit better candidates. That recruitment process starts at the local level, meaning that we should be involved at the precinct or county committee level and exercise our opinions on candidate selection. But even at that foundational level of all politics, there is built into the system these days a tremendous flaw. Those who run for office may start out believing they can make a difference, but the longer they are in politics and the higher the office they seek, the less in touch they are with their original values. It really is a true formula.
Over my years in politics, I saw really good people with great ideals slowly erode into minions for the party machine or other outside influences that "redirected" their thoughts and stances on issues they once held dear as non-negotiable. Moreover, the very essence of politics in today's environment would strongly discourage or even prevent a good person from running for office. Who in their right mind would subject their family, friends, business associates, or even themselves to a process that seeks as a price of entry the destruction of reputations built over a lifetime? Everything that was done by a candidate during his life is open to the twisting of half-truths or lies or worse by the opposition.
In many cases-and I know this is true because I am a veteran of political campaigns-a lie is spoken on purpose to get a willing reporter to write a story. Once the story is written, it has legs that can be run through the public, then used again in negative campaign ads, and can be recycled in debates, and so on. Often these lies are proven to be lies long after the election-long after the reputation is ruined, marriages are left on questionable ground, jobs are lost. This is what our political system has become. No good person would even enter the building politic knowing this risk. Hence, evil advances. It takes a special kind of person to put all at risk to overcome this evil. They are hard to find.
Work It Out - by Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. - Philippians 2:12
Wouldn't it be nice if you could hire someone to work out for you? When you don't want to go to the gym, you simply pay someone to do it for you. But you can't do that. You have to work out for yourself.
The Bible tells us, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12 NKJV). This carries the meaning of working to full completion. We don't work for it, however; it's a gift to us from God. But there's work involved in the Christian life as we discover what God has done for us.
This isn't something that someone else can do in your place. This is something that you must do for yourself. The apostle Paul gives this interesting thought in verse 12: "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence . . ." (NKJV). Paul was writing to the believers in Philippi from prison. He couldn't be there with them as he had been in the past.
The New Living Translation is helpful here: "Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear."
Paul was effectively saying, "You need to grow up spiritually. You can't build your spiritual life on me, because it is God who works in you, not me."
Sometimes we allow people to take the place of God in our lives. A husband chooses not to attend church because his wife doesn't go anymore. Or the kids don't go to church because their parents don't.
You need your own relationship with God. Work out your own salvation.
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