Daily Devotional

To overcome fear we must remember the promises of God.

 

Soon the day will be here when the Lord will return. Therefore, His children must quickly carry out what He commanded us before He left. Give sight to those who are blind as to who Jesus is, and to show those who think they know Him – what they lack in knowledge. Jesus said, “Those who know Me recognize My voice. I call to My children by name and I lead them. I walk ahead of them, and they follow Me because they know My voice. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. For, no one can snatch them away from Me!”

 

“You want to know who are My true heroes of today? Those who follow Me, and stand for the truth even if it costs them everything, even their life. When theses heroes speak – people will listen because they speak the truth from sincere hearts. These heroes will be able to stand firm in the days ahead.” 

 

So what about those people who say they know Jesus, but don’t? What will they do when all of their possessions are taken right in front of them? Will they run away and deny that they know Jesus? What about those pastor’s who teach the Bible as a book, and are afraid to preach from their pulpits against what is taking place today; afraid that if they do – the government will remove their tax deduction status from them; afraid that their buildings and ministry will stop because of a lack of money. These pastors are working only for the money they receive and do not really care about God’s children. 

 

So, how do I overcome all of the fears that are coming to those who follow Jesus? I must remember that He is always with me. Therefore, I will not be shaken. He will show me the way to go and will grant me the joy of His presence. I will live with Him forever. 

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Devotional

FREEDOM!

 

This is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit. “Only a fools say in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ But anyone who belongs to Me listens gladly to My words, and they will know the truth, and the truth will set them free.”

 

“If you are truly my disciples then remain faithful to My teachings, and you won’t have to walk in darkness; you will have the light that leads to life. Remember that if I set you free, you are truly free.”

 

Freedom will allow me to break free from the man made walls of religion.

Are We Losing the West? Part 30

 What Can We Do? part 9

 

Revelation 13:16-17 “He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.”

 

We see from the above passage that a time is coming when there will be strict government control on all that we do in buying and selling, as well as in so many others things. Even today in most of our countries in the West we find that a lot of our life is under government control through many government regulations. One thing that we have in the West is religious freedom, but we can see that this too is being infringed upon and we are in danger of losing it.

 

I was talking with a brother and he mentioned how the mark of the Beast is already in play here in our society. He was referring to America and this reference as to the tax exemption that churches have. He went on to mention how many churches are afraid to speak out on certain issues, especially political issues in fear of losing their tax exemption status. Was he right? I think he might have a valid point, because of the tax exemption status given to us by the government and through political correctness we find that the government is controlling a lot of what we say or preach from the pulpit.

 

It would seem that the “upper and lower story” that Francis Schaefer brought out might be in operation more in our preaching than we might like to think. Like I wrote about in my series “Biblical Worldview,” our Biblical worldview affects everything in life: marriage, family, politics, government, economics, entertainment, media, education, etc. In a Biblical worldview there is no such thing as an upper story (our spiritual life) and lower story (our secular life). There is only one floor and our spiritual life, or lack of it, affects our physical life. Our spiritual life affects absolutely everything.

 

Wallbuilders David Barton brings out some important points regarding the founding of America during the revolutionary period and how the Lord used what was known as the “Black-Robed Brigade.” This was a name given by the British to pastors who in their preaching used rhetoric to bring out Biblical principles in which to guide the congregation in building a just and righteous civilization. They preached the Word of God without fear or favor. They boldly proclaimed the Word of God to everything that pertained to life whether spiritual or temporal. There was no upper and lower room in their preaching. They fearlessly preached and brought the Word of God to bear upon the main issues of the day.

 

Today we live in times of great deception and there is a need for great discernment in moving through all of the subtle, but real and deadly traps the enemy has placed in front of us seeking to stop and hinder us.

 

Why are we, here in the 21st century, in a situation where we have started to call evil good and good evil? Isn’t it because man’s reasoning has superseded God’s wisdom as a basis for gaining knowledge?  When I look back over my writings regarding the men who built upon the ideas or philosophy of previous men – so that we have the stronghold we have today – I need to ask myself where was the church; ‘the holder of truth?’ Are we MIA (missing in action)?

 

We need men of God in our pulpits today that are truly called by God. What do I mean? Some years ago when I was the director of our (Operation Mobilization) ship the DOULOS we had Stephen Olford (a well-known English Bible teacher) to come on board and preach to the ship personnel.

 

In a private conversation he told me about a survey done by a major denomination to find out why so many pastors were leaving the pastorate. They came up with four reasons:

1.   The pastorate was a profession and not a calling

2.   Immorality

3.   Love for material things

4.   Biblical illiteracy

 

This last one was the great surprise for me. They did not know the Word of God. I was dumfounded by this. These were men who had their doctorate degrees in theology. They had studied books about the Bible, but they did not know the Word of God.

 

Might God in our generation raise up men and women of God who are filled with the Words of Christ, who “while musing the fire burned and then spoke with their tongues.”

 

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:16-17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Devotional

Don’t be so concerned about perishable things.

 

The only work God wants from you is to believe what He has told you will happen. Remember that human effort accomplishes nothing, so listen to the Father, and you will learn. He will give you everything He has promised you.

 

Trust in the Lord – that He rules from heaven; He over-rules the wicked. He watches everyone closely. Those who are virtuous will see His face. The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over. Even though the wicked strut about and evil is praised throughout the land, God’s children will have hope! Because….

 

The Lord said, “I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles. I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. By my power I will make My people strong, and by My authority they will go wherever they wish. All who curse them will be cursed, and all who bless them will be blessed. They will pass safely through the sea of distress, I, the Lord, have spoken; for I am the Lord their God, who hears their cries.”

 

Lord, forgive me for doubting. I have decided to break free from what man says he can do, and shake his yoke from my neck. Therefore, Lord, I believe!

Daily Devotional

The leaders of California love darkness more than the light of God, for their actions are evil. All who do evil hate His light and refuse to go near it in fear their sins will be exposed. They have made their hearts as hard as stone, so they can not even hear the truth. They brag about their evil desires. They praise the greedy and curse the Lord. They are too proud to seek God, and seem to think that God is dead. They think that nothing bad will ever happen to them, and that they have the knowledge to overcome His judgments! They even think that God isn’t watching them, that He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what they are doing! Since they refuse to listen Him, He will not listen when they call to Him. Therefore, they have turned California into a desert, and this is the fate of anyone who ignores God!

 

But, to those children of His who are troubled by what these leaders are doing, wake up and be wise. Be strong and finish the task by planting seeds of truth. Don’t be afraid to tell the truth. Stand by judges who render verdicts in your courts that are just. Don’t scheme against each other, but be united. When His children stand for the truth and seek peace, people will say to them, “Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

 

Life is a choice! Therefore I will praise the Creator and Redeemer of life with all my heart. I will tell of all the marvelous things You have done. I will be filled with joy because of You. I will sing praises to Your name. O Lord, You do not abandon anyone who searches for You in truth. But you see the trouble and grief these leaders of California have caused. You have taken note of it and will punish them. You will bring justice to Your children, so that they will no longer be terrified by them.

Daily Devotional

God says, “In the beginning Jesus already existed. He has always been with Me, Jesus and I are one, and He became flesh. Jesus is My Son, and He created everything. He is the one who gave life to everything. By His physical life He brought light to everyone. His light shines in the darkness, and no darkness can extinguish it. He came into the very world He created, and everyone who believes and accepts Him as their Savior will be given the right to become My children. My unfailing love and faithfulness come through Him. For He is the only stairway between heaven and earth!”

 

John the Baptist said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! For God sent me to baptize with water, but the one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.”

 

Jesus, Your majestic Name fills the earth! When I look at the night sky and see the works of your fingers – the moon and the stars that you set in place – who am I that you should think about me, or that you should care for me? And yet – You do!

Are We Losing the West? Part 29

WHAT CAN WE DO? Part 8

 

Isaiah 59:15 “Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.”

 

In Tim Stafford’s book SHAKING THE SYSTEM he does a study on some of the great reform movements here in the States (prohibition, abolition and civil rights movement) and presents some interesting thoughts on what we can do.

 

Things will not change until people change. To me one of the most important things is to be able to present the gospel to 21st century man so that it is understood in such a way that he can make a choice on whether to accept or reject it, because that is his choice to make. So often we leave it up to the pastor to bring the gospel to people that we want to see changed instead of realizing that we have a circle of friends and co-workers that need the gospel and that this is our congregation.

 

Some of the great movements here in America have come about by evangelical Christians working under Christian principles. However, it would seem that from 1930 to about 1980 our evangelical faith became separate from public affairs and we developed what Francis Schaefer called the upper and lower story with the upper story being our religious life and the lower story our secular life – and there are no stairs in between. With that type of mentality we will never shake the system. We will have to see that our religious life affects everything we do, decisions we make, etc. We cannot withdraw from society, but must be involved in the place where God has placed us in our society.
We start with truth about abortion, family, marriage, society, the environment and above all, man’s reasoning versus God’s revelation in the pursuit of gaining knowledge.

 

However, we need to realize that there will be resistance especially when we stick to principle and not sentiment. We will find that people will resist and do not want the truth. One of the things that will happen (and we see this today) is that when we present the truth people will begin to resist in a way that will be similar to a school-yard bully. They do not have any recourse to what is being presented so they resort to the only thing that they can do and that is to “bully.” We must be ready for that and expect it.

 

The prophet got a glimpse of our day when he said: “So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.” Isaiah 59:14-15

 

Tim Stafford said in his book SHAKING THE SYSTEM that he insists on public debate. I know that most of us will not be in a position for public debate, but there are some who will be. One thing that we can do is stand with those people and let them know that they are not alone. We will be with people in our circle or sphere where we can calmly present the facts. Because of the bullying tactics of the enemy we cannot allow the ‘spiral of silence’ to take over. This is what the enemy wants. The bullying tactics of the Pharisees and religious leaders of Jesus time did not stop the blind man who was healed. His knowledge might not have been great, but like he said “this one thing I know, once I was blind, but now I see.” We too can do the same thing. This one thing I know……

 

We know that truth will set us free, but it is only through the crucible of suffering. Freedom may come, but not without the cross. We live in what the theologians call the “fallenness of humanity” and the direction of man is downward, not upward, but God in His great grace can change the downward plunge of a fallen man.

 

We realize that there are things like ‘institutional sins’ that consist of laws, habits, customs, etc. that make it difficult for us to break free. Satan has built little kingdoms that hold the prisoners, not in bars of steel, but through the basic human needs of being accepted and to belong, because no one wants to be rejected, but accepted.

 

On some of these institutions there may be the need for what Tim Stafford calls “pressure tactics” which might consist of boycotting some of these institutions with strikes and protests. The plagues of Egypt were a protest and used to set free a nation within a nation. Plagues of Egypt were a direct protest from God, but usually God uses secondary means: His people. In other words, the struggle against sin involves confrontation.

 

Most churches have their people broken up into cells that meet weekly for fellowship, Bible study and holding one another accountable. What would happen if these cells or little groups were taught to take on some of the issues that we face in our society today like abortions, sex trafficking, gangs, etc.? They could begin to pray, do research, and see how they could be involved in seeing something done to bring a needed change. By being in a small group they already have the support of one another, which is important. In the small group they could work out the tactics of what could be done and more importantly they could have focus in breaking through the culture barrier into society as a whole. It is also one way to get the small groups involved in something more than just meeting together once a week. They would have involvement which helps their own spiritual growth.

 

One thing is certain. We live in a world that is changing rapidly and we the church must learn to adapt in order to meet the challenges that lie ahead. We have some great days ahead of us, but we need to be ready.

 

 

 

Daily Devotional

Lord, please listen to my voice this morning, as You have every morning when I bring my requests to You and wait expectantly. It is because of Your unfailing love that I can enter Your Presence. So lead me in the right path, and surround me with Your shield of love. For I know that anyone who harms Your children – You will raise Your fist to crush them!

 

Lord, look at what is taking place today, men young and old, are having sex with each other, and they boast about it. When anyone speaks against it they are yelled at: “Who are you to judge us, for we were born this way.” The shedding of innocent blood by abortion is not acknowledged and treated as the monstrous crime it is in Your sight. I know that the outcry of sin is great, and that it has reached You.

 

Because the sins in this world are so great – Your faithful ones must remain faithful in the days ahead. For everything prophesied about this time is about to take place. Your children must strengthen each other, because the time has come for all the prophecy to be fulfilled.

 

So why are Your children sleeping; treating it so lightly and indifferent? We need to wake up, and pray for strength to endure and persevere! The signs are very clear, You are coming soon! And there’s still work to do.

 

Your word says that nation will go to war against nation. There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues. There will be terrifying and strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. The nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides, and the polar caps will begin to melt. People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth.

 

Your word tells us that there will be a time of great persecution for Your children. Even those closest to us: our parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will betray Your faithful ones and some will be killed because they refuse to deny You and Your Word. Everyone will hate us because we follow You. You said that this will be a great opportunity for Your children to testify about You. We must remember that by standing firm in our faith, we will be able to win souls for You.

 

These things that You said would happen, are happening; therefore Your children must stand strong in the truth and depending on Your favor. Help us not to have hearts dulled by the worries of this life. Help us not to be unaware and unprepared, but alert at all times, and praying to be strong with Your strength and wisdom.

Daily Devotional

Some people will say that they follow the Lord, but they no longer ask for His guidance. They desire to be free from living according to His righteousness; from obeying His Word. They secretly worship the sun, moon, and stars, and would rather ask those things to guide them. They think that the Lord will do nothing to them, either good or bad. They justify their life by saying, “Others are doing the same and no judgment has come to them.” No one can tell them anything about their lifestyles; for they refuse all correction.

 

So be warned, submit to God’s royal Son, or He will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities.

 

There are those who believe the Lord, and He will count them as His righteous children. So how can I be sure that I will actually receive everything He has promised to those who follow Him? Because the Lord says that He sees me, therefore I can be sure! I have joy when I refuse to think like the world and refuse to follow the advice of the wicked. Because I delight in His word, meditating on it day and night, He watches over me with delight. I only need to ask, and He calms all my fears. I am convinced of His love for me.

 

Soon He will stand and accuse these evil people, and they will receive the wages of their pride, for they have scoffed at the Lord.

 

Therefore, His children need to be patient; for soon all of their troubles will be over, and they will never again fear disaster.

Daily Devotional

So how do you see the world today?

 

Do you see destruction and violence is everywhere? Are you surrounded by people who love to argue and fight? Has the law become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts? Do the wicked outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted? Is it your view that the rich have become proud, trusting in themselves, and their lives have become twisted? Do they build big houses with money gained dishonestly, and believe their wealth will buy them security?

 

Or are you filled with awe by God’s amazing works, and remember that in times past He helped you and believe that He will do so again. Do you shout it out for all to hear, “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength!”

 

Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things well. Remember that we must give an account to God for everything we do. So refuse to worry, keep your body healthy, and remember words from the wise are like cattle prods; painful but helpful.

 

So use your worldly resources to benefit others for the Lord’s sake. If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in greater things. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, God will not trust you with the true riches of heaven? Remember that God knows your heart. Remember that what this world honors is detestable in His sight.