Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. —Revelation 3:11 NIV
Some of you have never won a prize in your life. Oh, maybe you were quartermaster in your Boy Scout troop or in charge of sodas at the homeroom Christmas party, but that’s about it. You’ve never won much. You’ve watched the Mark McGwires of this world carry home the trophies and walk away with the ribbons. All you have are “almosts” and “what ifs.”
If that hits home, then you’ll cherish this promise: “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away” (1Peter 5:4 NIV).
Your day is coming. What the world has overlooked, your Father has remembered, and sooner than you can imagine, you will be blessed by him.
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“The great dragon — the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world — was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.” Revelation 12:9
Imagine a Walled City, constructed within one square mile, populated by over 50,000 desperately hopeless souls. A city with no law other than gang rule; where drug addiction and prostitution dominate the dark corridors, which snake through its tangled streets and alley ways. Open sewage runs along the curbs, while life-destroying heroin runs in the veins; sin is enthroned, and the Dragon reigns unchallenged.
But then a girl came to town. Filled with boundless hope, and carried forward by a childlike faith, she moved into this Walled City – not as a missionary, per se, but rather to simply be a Christian. Who ever thought of such a thing?
It’s now been forty years since she first walked into the darkness, and the Walled City no longer exists! That’s right; it’s gone. In fact, there is not even a trace that it ever existed. The site is now a beautiful park located in Kowloon, just across the harbor from Hong Kong Island. The girl’s name is Jackie Pullinger, and you can read her true story in the fascinating book, “Chasing the Dragon.”
The remarkable transformation of this forsaken place required a long and uncelebrated obedience, which was marked by an unrelenting resolve to love the unlovely, to help the helpless, and to touch the untouchable. It required the sort of faith that sees the invisible, and does the impossible. It required the power of the Holy Spirit, unleashed through the life of a willing person…any person.
What walls need to come down in your sphere of influence? What souls around you need the touch that only faith and love can bring? And are you the Christian your world is desperately looking for in these disturbing times?
There are so many hoping that you are.
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“How shall you contend with horses?” Jeremiah 12:5
Jeremiah, a young man facing opposition and growing increasingly impatient, complained to the Lord about the injustice in life — the wicked prosper, and the righteous suffer, and God seems to sit back in silence. “Lord, I have a problem here – why do the wicked prosper, and the faithless always succeed?”
Have you ever wanted to say something to God along those lines? Before you do, you should hear how He answered young Jeremiah’s complaint.
“Jeremiah,” the Lord said, “if you get tired in a race against people, how can you possibly run against horses? And if you complain in fields of ease, what will happen when your encounter the high tides of the turbulent Jordan?”
There God goes again, speaking in riddles. What on earth does this mean? He is telling Jeremiah that tough times are ahead, and these present difficulties are only preparing him for the steeper climb. And the question God puts to him is the same we must answer in our ever darkening world.
And even though the wicked may seem to have it made now; in that day when their world comes crashing down around them, will you have what it takes to stand?
If we cannot handle the inconvenience of the smaller thing, then how shall we meet the challenge of the greater thing? If we stumble over that which is now before us, how shall we advance to that which is yet beyond us?
To be sure, the Lord wants us to make measured moves to greater levels of opportunity and responsibility, but the climb is beset with necessary challenges that can only be mounted by an unflinching faith. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. said, “Faith is the highest passion in a human being. Many in every generation may not come that far, but none comes further.”
None but those who contend with horses.
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“Everybody woke up to the fact that God was alive and active among them.” Acts 9:35 (The Message)
After the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and the extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the country was ablaze with excitement and wonder. Things reached a new level of astonishment with the fast spreading news that Saul of Tarsus had himself become a follower of Christ and was now preaching the very Gospel he had sworn to destroy! Yes, those were wondrous days.
But not everybody was fully on board just yet. The Bible tells us that Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, traveled throughout the country encouraging and strengthening the early Church. No doubt he ran into believers of all types, and churches of all sorts.
There surely were those who were vibrant with a sense of faith and filled with awe over all that had occurred in those recent days. And, there can be little doubt that he ran into the occasional Sleepy Hollow Church of the What-in-the-World-is-going on-around-here Fellowship. Perhaps.
What we do know is that in one of his stops he came to a town named Lydda and there met with the believers, who gathered in some suitable location to hear what Peter would say to them. It is believed that Philip the Evangelist planted this church after the Spirit of the Lord caught him away from the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch.
Peter showed up in Lydda about one year later. Evidently, prior to Peter’s visit these folks had settled down and gone back to sleep – spiritually speaking. Philip’s testimony had stirred them to a spiritual hunger, but with the passing of time their minds had drifted back to business as usual. They were dutiful in their devotions, evidenced by the fact that they assembled to hear Peter preach; but they were dry as a bone in their souls.
Gathering to hear Peter was just another church meeting as far as they were concerned; just another special speaker come to town. Oh, sure, this speaker was a cut above most of the others; after all, he actually knew and walked with Jesus.
While he was preaching Peter saw a man there, named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed in bed for eight years. This man’s affliction became the occasion for God to do something extraordinary.
Peter matter-of-factly said, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you! Get up and make up your bed!” The man jumped right out of bed, and everybody who heard about it became ignited with spiritual life. The Message puts it this way, “Everybody woke up to the fact that God was alive and active among them.” The old King James says they “turned to the Lord.”
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And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance. Acts 20:32
God’s grace has such marvelous ability. It is able to give the eternal inheritance of God to His children. It is also able to build up their lives here on earth for greater service and increased fruitfulness.
It is by the grace of the Lord that we can anticipate being recipients of a heavenly inheritance. “The word of His grace, which is able to . . . give you an inheritance.” An inheritance is obtained by being born into a family. We have been born again into the family of God. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name: who were born . . . of God” (John 1:12-13). We who believe in Jesus are God’s children, “and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). We are blessed beyond measure to know that heavenly treasures of fellowship, worship, and service await God’s children in glory above. All of these eternal riches are ours by the grace of God alone.
God’s amazing grace also has the ability to build us up as we await our inheritance here on earth below. “The word of His grace, which is able to build you up.” The Lord wants our spiritual roots of hunger and trust to be growing deep into Himself. He wants our lives to be undergoing continual construction in Christ. He wants our character to become increasingly stabilized in the faith, that is, in His word. “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith” (Colossians 2:6-7).
It is the will of God that we be edified. “Let all things be done for edification” (1 Corinthians 14:26). All along the way from new birth into His family until our full heavenly inheritance as His family, God desires that His children be spiritually strengthened and increasingly developed in Christian maturity.
Our ministry to one another can be an effective part of this edification process. “Let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another . . . Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification” (Romans 14:19; 15:2).
It is essential to remember, however, that God’s grace is what accomplishes the building up process. “The word of His grace, which is able to build you up.”
My God and Father, I rejoice exceedingly as I think of the inheritance that You are preparing for me by Your grace. O Lord, my Strength, I need Your mighty work of grace that I might be edified myself, and be edifying to Your children. Please purge my life of any matters that are not edifying, all by the grace of Jesus, my Lord, Amen.
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“He is able to save to the uttermost them that draw near unto God through Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.”—Hebrews 7:25.
THE ATTRACTION of the Divine Nature. We draw near because we are drawn. As the sun is ever exerting a drawing power on each planet and each particle of stardust in the solar system, so God is ever attracting us to Himself. To all eternity we shall be ever drawing nearer to Him, though there will be ever an infinite distance to traverse. When Jesus was lifted up on the Cross He began to draw all men unto Himself, and that magnetic attraction has continued through the centuries.
There is no reason for us to be afraid of God. He is Love! He is a consuming fire to our sin, but His Nature is essentially lovely. Moses exceedingly feared when he ascended Sinai, amid the trembling of the mountain and the heavy clouds that enclosed the Divine Light. But, as we learn from the 12th chapter of this Epistle, when we approximate to God, we encounter three circles. The innumerable Hosts of Angels, including the Cherubim and Seraphim, with their burning love and purity! The Church of the First-born, the purest and noblest of elect spirits! The Spirits of the Just made perfect, inclusive of our own beloved ones that have passed over. Surely where these are, we may venture without fear. The God in whom they live and move and have their being cannot be other than infinitely beautiful to know and love. Lord, Thou hast been the dwelling-place of all generations, and Thy secret place shall be our home for ever. “Draw us, and we will run after Thee!”
Our fears are met by the Risen and Living Saviour. First, He will ever live to make intercession for us; but next He will go on sanctifying us lower down, even to the uttermost. To the depths of our nature, He will carry His gracious work. Salvation has three stages. It begins with deliverance from the penalty of the past. Our sins are blotted out. The penalty is remitted or turned to benediction. Then we are saved lower down. The process of purification goes deeper and deeper into our nature. Finally, our body is renewed through the resurrection-grace of Christ. And surely there is a sense in which the grace of Christ will ever sink deeper, giving us a profounder realisation and participation in the things that will open before us in the eternal progress. Here we see in a glass darkly, there face to face. Here we know in part, there we shall develop in the knowledge and love of God. Salvation to the uttermost!
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“And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it.” Colossians 4:17
Have you ever been in a place where the phone kept ringing and nobody answered it? In moments like that it seems everybody is busy with something else, assuming that somebody else will answer the call. But nobody does. After awhile it can get to be quite annoying. There is something irritating about an incessant, unanswered call.
Over the years I have noticed a similar thing in the lives of many people – a call that is not being answered. A call from God. Busy with so many other things, and sure that the call is for someone else, many loose themselves in trifling moments and miss the momentous opportunity to answer the call of God on their lives.
One of the greatest fears people face is having lived a meaningless life; a life that didn’t matter; a life that made no difference. It is a dreadful thought that haunts even the most accomplished of individuals.
Indeed, few things could be more unsettling than to get to the end of one’s life, cast a cautious glance back over time and discover what has been suspected all along, “My life didn’t matter!” Each of us long to know that our lives counted; that we accomplished what we were put on this earth to do. We want to maximize every opportunity, seize the day, and live life to its fullest.
Yet, in an odd contradiction, nothing is more common than unrealized potential. Most of us settle for far less than we are capable of being, and of doing. On the one hand we want our lives to count; on the other hand, we seem far too willing to become marginalized into mediocrity. Our only hope is to answer the call of God upon our lives.
Abraham traveling into the unknown, Joseph remaining faithful in Egypt, Moses crossing the Red Sea, Joshua conquering the Promised Land, David slaying a Giant and becoming a King, Isaiah telling his visions, Zechariah telling his dreams, Daniel in the Lion’s den, Nehemiah rebuilding the Walls, Zerubbabel rebuilding the Temple, Simon Peter leaving his fishing nets, Paul preaching the Gospel, John writing the Revelation — each one answered the call.
They heard God’s voice and followed Him with trusting hearts. And now it’s your turn.
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He remembered us when we were in trouble. His love continues forever. —Psalm 136:23
God chose to reveal himself through a human body
.
The tongue that called forth the dead was a human one. The hand that touched the leper had dirt under its nails. The feet upon which the woman wept were callused and dusty. And his tears … oh, don’t miss the tears … they came from a heart as broken as yours or mine ever has been.
So, people came to him. My, how they came to him! They came at night; they touched him as he walked down the street; they followed him around the sea; they invited him into their homes and placed their children at his feet. Why? Because he refused to be a statue in a cathedral or a priest in an elevated pulpit. He chose instead to be a touchable, approachable, reachable Jesus.
God Came Near
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“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 (NKJV)
Do you ever question if you are good enough? Are you more likely to dwell on what’s wrong with you than what’s right with you?
One day I realized I was scrutinizing myself to find out what my problem was. The more I picked myself apart, the more it dawned on me another voice was egging me on; the voice of the enemy, Satan. As I listened to his lies, my sense or worth and security were zapped.
For a long time I didn’t even recognize him for who he was. The negative thoughts and deceitful suggestions simply sounded like my own voice.
The Bible opens with a serpent slithering into the lives of Adam and Eve. He filled their heads with lies they believed which separated them from God. Jesus, too, was tempted by this liar. He was ready though, with the Word of God, to defeat the evil one.
We too can have this weapon in our arsenal. As we fill our hearts and minds with Truth, we can defeat the lies we tell ourselves and the lies Satan whispers to our hearts.
When I compare my negative thoughts to God’s Word, the differences amaze me:
My thoughts: I want to give up.
God’s Word: Be committed. Matthew 5:33-37
My thoughts: I’ll feel lost.
God’s Word: He watches my paths and establishes my ways. Proverbs 5:21, 4:26
My thoughts: No one loves me.
God’s Word: He loves me more than life. John 3:16
My thoughts: I’m ugly.
God’s Word: I’m wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14
My thoughts: I’m all alone and no one understands me.
God’s Word: He will never leave me. He has plans for my life. Deuteronomy 31:6, Jeremiah 29:11
My thoughts: I’m just not good enough.
God’s Word: I was created in His image. Genesis 1:26
Are you ready to replace lies with God’s truth, so when the enemy tries to slither back in with false accusations, you’ll be ready to combat him with what God’s Word says about you?
To get started, evaluate your thoughts and pray for wisdom to distinguish the voice of the enemy. Condemning thoughts that steal your confidence of who you are in Christ aren’t from God. Let’s commit today to renew our mind with the Word of God each day, and replace those worn-out, deceitful lies with Truth.
Dear Lord, thank You for Your life-giving truth. Please fill me with Your Word so that I can live in freedom and confidence! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
From Melissa Taylor
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This body that dies must clothe itself with something that can never die. —1Corinthians_15:53
[Does] Jesus care what clothes we wear?
Apparently so. In fact, the Bible tells us exactly the wardrobe God desires.
“But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and forget about satisfying your sinful self” (Romans 13:14 ).
“You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This means that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-27 ).
This clothing has nothing to do with dresses and jeans and suits. God’s concern is with our spiritual garment. He offers a heavenly robe that only heaven can see and only heaven can give. Listen to the words of Isaiah: “The LORD makes me very happy; all that I am rejoices in my God. He has covered me with clothes of salvation and wrapped me with a coat of goodness”(Isaiah 61:10 ).
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