Who He is to us, and who we are to Him. “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever. Amen” (2Peter 3:18 KJV). Many years ago, I would have agreed with the word Relationship, but only superficially. I would have actually meant, “Get them saved, ” then repeat the process with the next one. But, they come in through the front door and leave through the back door. We try to solve the problem by social engagement, church member interacting with church member, with the understanding, “They won’t leave, if they have friends.” But, then they leave with their friends. Perhaps we need to be asking one another, “What is the LORD trying to teach us about Himself?” How has our understanding of His Word’s application to ourselves changed our understanding of Him? Paul seems to have captured that understanding. “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death” (Philippians 3:10). Father, stir us out of our lethargy. Cause us not to be satisfied with the way things are. Enable us to see You as our all in all to meet all the difficulties of life that You use to motivate us. May our cries for help fall upon Your hearing ears. May our hearts not be satisfied with mere answers for our deliverance, but may we see Your glory. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Spiritual Warfare
Joe Versus the Volcano
Are you awake? “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Ephesians 5:14 KJV). Patricia (Meg Ryan) said to Joe (Tom Hanks) in the fantasy comedy movie, “Joe Versus the Volcano” (1990): “My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement.” Do you see more than just what the average church member has been programmed to see, as they encourage themselves they are on their way to Heaven? “How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it!” (Matthew 7:14 NET).
Ways of His Words (Psalm 119:3)
“They also do no iniquity: they walk in His ways” (Psalm 119:3 KJV). Negatively, we do no evil. How can we be so sure? Because, positively, we are walking in His ways. This is positive holiness, for we are separated to “walking in His ways.” In our Unity of Moral action, we cannot be both holy and sinful at the same time. If we are truly doing no iniquity, then we are walking in His ways. Our purpose, intention, or emphasis must be Him. Loss of that intention, all is lost. We must persevere “to the end” (Matthew 10:22) with wholehearted devotion to Him. LORD, make it so. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Treasuring His Word (Psalm 119:2)
“Blessed are they that keep [Hebrew, nâtsar, guard, watch, observe] His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart” (Psalm 119:2 KJV). Why are they blessed? For two reasons. They (1) “keep His testimonies,” i.e., because they are important, so they obey them, and (2) “seek Him with the whole heart,” i.e., emphasis is upon the LORD, and absolute giving of the heart to Him. None other than “whole heart” seeking is possible, since “no man can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). LORD, deliver us from half hearted seeking, believing we can be blessed by such deceptiveness. Show us Your glory. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Vain is the Help of Man
“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7 KJV). David slew Goliath, not because of superior armament, but because of His trust in the LORD. In life, warfare, politics, business, and sports, we conceive of competition, where my victory is only your defeat. Where I live, because you die. But, we forget, God is more interested in our heart than He is in our financial bottom line or the results of an election. “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). If I must sacrifice my relationship to God, then I would not want that victory. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). God’s people become like the world, when they measure victory in terms other than faith. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1John 5:4). It is more important that God would be honored than I live, succeed, or prosper. Only those who create their god as a figment of their imagination can afford to sacrifice that god for the benefit of their success. Only those who see nothing beyond the here and now could sneer, “Winning Is Everything, Stupid.” Father, deliver us from the victories, where Christ is not enshrined as the Victor. Teach us to compete so no one can take away our crown of victory. Cause us to elevate our understanding of You and our opinions about ourselves that we might war a good warfare. Lord Jesus, return quickly. Amen and amen.
Happiness From His Word (Psalm 119:1)
“ALEPH. Blessed [Hebrew, esher, happiness or blessedness] are the undefiled [Hebrew, tâmîym, whole, sound, healthful] in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD” (Psalm 119:1 KJV). Yes, we are blessed or happy, but why? We are as Noah was a “just [Hebrew, tâmîym, perfect]” (Genesis 6:9 KJV), or undefiled by the physical and spiritual curse of the Nephilim, but why? We are undefiled, because we walk in the law of the LORD. True, we walk not in the “counsel of the ungodly” (Psalm 1:1), but we “delight” and “meditate” in the “law of the LORD” (1:2). If we stop there, we miss the point. It is the LORD’s law. Without Him, we have no source or focus. He alone is able to give meaning to the law. We learn of Him and His character by our association with that law. Unless we view our time around His Word as something more than a word study, then we escape the grand point of our existence — to “know Him” (Phillippians 3:10).
Fighting on Foreign Ground
Home court advantage always belongs to the LORD. Our opponents mistake our strength, as if it depended upon our location. “And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they” (1Kings 20:23 KJV). The LORD always wants His people to prepare their utmost for the battle and the likely casualties of the battle, but to undoubtedly trust Him for the victory. As at another time King Jehoshaphat of Judah prayed about his coming battle, “O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon Thee” (2Chronicles 20:12). The LORD must take great pleasure in delivering His people to demonstrate He is the LORD, because He also did it for even the Northern Kingdom of Israel: “26 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. 27 And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country. 28 And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD” (1Kings 20:26-28). LORD, may we know the certainty that here or away, You are the God, who delivers us. Teach us to act and believe, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Come quickly, Lord Jesus, and deliver Your people. In Your name, we pray. Amen.
What is the Doctrine of Christ?
Unity in the Body of Christ is one of the indications to the world of Christ’s reality and divine love for them. “I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me” (John 17:23 KJV). As important as unity is, Christians need to be even more careful about the teachings or “principles of the doctrine of [concerning] Christ” (Hebrews 6:1), because “whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of [concerning] Christ, hath not God” (2John 1:9). Since “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump” (1Corinthians 5:5-6; Galatians 5:9), once those in our Christian fellowship adamantly maintain doctrines about Christ contrary to the truth, either they depart from our fellowship or you depart from them. “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (2John 1:10-11).
For instance, if in your attempt for ecumenical unity and cooperation, you found one of the church participants, such as the Roman Catholic Church, teaching Mary as “Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all Graces and Advocate,” i.e., “Mary’s singular and unique sharing with her Son in the saving work of Redemption for the human family,” then you must reject your association with that church. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The purity of your devotion to Christ requires you to “come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2Corinthians 6:17). If our actions represent our devotion to Christ, then we are defending Christ, not just words, teachings, or doctrines about Christ. Father, cause our devotion to You to be greater than our attempt to prove the correctness of our doctrine or the incorrectness of anyone else. Preserve Your people in loving obedience and cast out the bondwoman who would draw us back to Babylon. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen.
Miracle of Willingness
Can’t understand, unwilling to hear. First, we must be willing. Only then can we understand. “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine” (John 7:17 KJV). We highly underrate willingness. Only God’s Spirit infallibly knows how to reach each of us with a saving and useful understanding of Christ. Or, whether we can be reached at all. “Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power” (Psalm 110:3). In these NT times, we have an even greater opportunity of knowing Christ because of all the history of God’s unfolding revelation of Himself to humanity through the birth, ministry, sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of His Son; but especially, the sending of the Spirit of Christ to make us willing.
“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).
“8 And when He [the Holy Spirit] is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on Me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 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. 14 He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall shew it unto you” (John 16:8-15).
Father, grant us the miracle of a willing heart. Make today the day of Your power for me. Cause me to be fully surrendered to whatever You want from me. Take my heart and do whatever You know is best to bring about Your Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven. Lord Jesus, return quickly. Amen and amen.
Team Jesus
Christianity is a team sport, and Jesus, as the Head of the Team, always wins. Apart from Jesus, there is no victory. “And they overcame him [the adversary, the devil] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:11 KJV). “Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:24) because he was not a solo performer. Paul encouraged others to be followers of him “even as I also am of Christ” (1Corinthians 11:1). If others fall away from Jesus, then they forgot or never truly learned that victory is only in Jesus. “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Corinthians 15:57). Satan hates us, though he may succeed in martyring some of us, he can never defeat Team Jesus. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1John 5:4). Father, help us to keep our eyes on Jesus for without Him, we have no victory. Cause us to think, act, and pray like we truly believe it. Return quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.
We Need A Miracle 
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