Unapologetically, we eagerly await our Lord’s return, for how can we be and do otherwise? After all, only those will be raptured. “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:28 KJV). What salvation is spoken of? The salvation of your physical body at the Rapture. Remember, the Rapture is the Catching Up to meet the Lord in the air before He returns. “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Thessalonians 4:17). Listen to Amir Tsarfati: Like Those Who Dream (2:30) preach on the word “eagerly”: (1) “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20 NIV), (2) “For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope” (Galatians 5:5 NIV), (3) “Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed” (1Corinthians 1:7 NIV), and (4) “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” (Romans 8:25 NKJV). LORD, we eagerly await Your return, but we do not want to be lazy about Your business of reaching this world. We desire to know You better and the power of Your resurrection. As we watch the events unfold in Israel, may we lift up our heads, for our redemption draws near. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Promises
From Awful to Amazing
The difference between before and after the Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost is awful to amazing. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8 KJV). When we depend upon the Spirit working in us for everything, then the difference will be amazing. But, remember, God makes that determination. How do we know we’re depending on God for everything? When we continually come to Him for directions and help. If we can get sidetracked doing lesser things, we won’t be available to do the greater things. Allow everything to drive us back to God. Even the “butterfly effect,” the chaos theory of physics, where the simple flapping of a butterfly’s wings can be later responsible for much greater and larger consequences, should impress us of the value of our seemingly inconsequential labor for the LORD. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1Corinthians 15:58).
Cooperating With the Holy Spirit
Just as we are not to be ignorant of the devil’s “devices” (2Corinthians 2:11 KJV), we must not be ignorant of the Holy Spirit’s ways. “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant” (1Corinthians 12:1). Our understanding of the workings of the Spirit, coupled with understanding of the particular needs of our situation, is itself one of the indications of the presence of the “Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding” (Isaiah 11:2). To be full of that understanding is to be full of His Spirit. Our emotions may or may not be large evidence of our cooperation with His Spirit, but certainly our emotions are fully engaged, when we cooperate with Him. LORD, grant to us the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, for we know “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2Corinthians 3:17) of understanding. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
The LORD Is My Shepherd
We are supposed to take responsibility for ourselves, but that doesn’t mean we necessarily know what is best. Have you ever gone shopping for what you thought you needed only to find nothing seemed to fit your situation? Being “led by the Spirit” (Romans 8:14 KJV) might mean leaving the store without purchasing. Wasteful of time? Perhaps, but better to acknowledge the lack of appropriateness of your purchasing than to force a square peg into a round hole. How to prevent that? Be more in a frame of mind and attitude of prayer. LORD, shepherd me to where You want me to be, do what You want me to do, think what You want me to think, and appreciate You in a way that I never knew. In Jesus’ name, amen. “The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He takes me to lush pastures, He leads me to refreshing water” (Psalms 23:1-2 NET).
Satan’s Devices
“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2Corinthians 2:11 KJV). Paul warns the Corinthians from failing to restore a penitent backslider, lest they be “swallowed up with overmuch sorrow” (2:7). Satan’s devices are many: (1) our failure to acknowledge him as a continual, arch “adversary” (1Peter 5:8), (2) our lack of understanding him as a master “tempter” (Matthew 4:3; 1Thessalonians 3:5), (3) our not properly crediting him as the ruler of the “darkness of this world” (Ephesians 6:12), (4) our not acknowledging that earthly kingdoms belong to the “prince of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), and (5) above all, our failure to properly acknowledge the devil’s necessity of gaining permission from the Almighty to do anything — “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). LORD, may You be magnified by the enemy fleeing from us. Amen.
Where Freedom Ends
My right to swing my fist ends where your nose begins. God created all humans “in His own image” (Genesis 1:27 KJV) with the potential of free moral choice. Without the liberty or freedom of choice, humanity is less than human — reduced to slavery, serfdom, or a clone imitation of a real human. But, the very freedom to choose must also contain the seeds of rejection of that liberty, unless the subsequent generations choose to continue in that liberty. If left solely in the hands of humankind, then we are in great peril of being the last generation who understands the Truth. But, glory be to God, He has given us His Eternal Spirit (Hebrews 9:24), through the new birth (John 7:39) and baptism (Acts 2:38) to ensure the success of Truth to the end! “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come” (John 16:13).
How to Protect the Minority
“Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:21 KJV). Foreigners in Ancient Israel were given the liberty and safety to reside among the Israelites, for the Israelites were once foreigners in Egypt. Though not a totally clear picture of the status of possible immigrants in Israel, it is telling that Jehovah gave them special protection. Where the LORD gave “liberty throughout all the land” (Leviticus 25:10), it extended to its immigrants. Liberty or freedom of choice is a trademark of a nation who knows the LORD. “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2Corinthians 3:17). Israel could not continue as a nation singularly for Jehovah, if the culture and religion of the immigrants overpowers the worship of the True God rather than becoming assimilated to Yahweh. If we promote True Christian Liberty, the minorities will be protected; or, we will succumb to foreign gods, if the Spirit of God is not given free reign to effectively propagate the Truth.
Center of the Will of God
Standing in the center of the will of God is not an illusion. Epaphras prayed for the Colossians, “That ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Colossians 4:12 KJV). “Perfect and complete in all the will of God” (4:12) is not man’s standards, for humanity will always be “accusing or else excusing one another” (Romans 2:15). God alone can declare us “perfect and complete” (Colossians 4:12) in the center of the will of God. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Only the Spirit of the Living God can cause us to be in the center of the will of God. “And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). Obedience is not simply deciding to do right, and doing it. Obedience is understanding and purposing to do right, then seeking and trusting the Spirit of God in making us do right, as we actually obey. Meditate on it. LORD, we can of our own self do nothing; and, through Your Spirit, we can do all things. Make us to know and trust You for everything. May You be magnified in all things. Return quickly, in Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen.
We Practice What We Believe
In other words, we all demonstrate what we actually believe by the way we act. “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew [shō] me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew [shō] thee my faith by my works” (James 2:18 KJV). There is no mystery about our beliefs, just look at how we act. If you wonder why you don’t have certain results from your beliefs, then you are confused about how you believe. Faith is not simply willing yourself to trust God, but “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Faith is not ‘pulling yourself up by your bootstraps’; but, faith is the “gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). And, no, God does not do our believing for us, but He makes our believing “effectual [Greek, energeia, Thayer, in the NT used only of superhuman power, whether of God or the devil]” (3:7), that is, He makes our faith valuable by empowering it. And, you can tell when He is cooperatively empowering us, when the results align with what He reveals in His Word. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). LORD, empower our believing. Make our simple act of intellectual faith powerful and spiritual. Cause us to evaluate our faith by what You represent in Your Word. Cause us to actively hunger for our faith to look like what we read in Your Word. Make it so that what we believe causes us to act like what we know from Your Word. Grant to us the essential working of Your Spirit that You may conform us to Your Word — not just in letter — but in Spirit and in power. Do all of this, in Jesus’ name. Amen and amen.
How to Get the World’s Attention
“Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek Thy name, O LORD” (Psalm 83:16 KJV). How does God accomplish His will in the world? What does filling their “faces with shame” (83:16) mean? In context, the Psalmist referred to “Thine enemies” (83:2), the ones, who said about Israel, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance” (83:4). For us, shame means a loss of control in protecting our dignity, which is a loss of whatever we confide in to support us, e.g., our world view. This may represent a rearrangement of our circumstances (religious, cultural, political, economic). “Seek Thy name” (83:16) refers to “seek, and ye shall find” (Matthew 7:7). For whom we pray, all may not be subsequently converted; but unquestionably, this must be how some will be converted. The question is not whether Almighty God is capable of answering such a prayer, but whether we have the confidence to pray it. LORD, You deserve the world to seek Your name. We know that there is salvation in no other name than Jesus. Cause Your net to draw in a great harvest for Your kingdom, especially of those, whose purpose is that “Israel may be no more” (Psalm 83:4). Return quickly. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen.
We Need A Miracle 
You must be logged in to post a comment.