“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-6).

As Christians, we believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is resurrection love when God’s Spirit goes into the streets and reaches the destitute sinner, changing him. Today many people are living on the streets — some are homeless, some addicts, some prostitutes — and Jesus wants to touch them with new life — his resurrection life.

Throughout the world in congregations large and small that preach the gospel, new life in Christ is changing sinners. Spiritually dead people are changed, because in Christ all things become new: “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).

Events arranged by the Holy Spirit are often referred to as “divine appointments.” What caused you to first go inside a church? What did you expect when you first attended a church service? Did you go with an open heart? Were you hoping something would penetrate your soul and speak peace to you? Were you hoping to be touched deep down and given comfort?

Wherever you were when you heard the message of salvation was not just happenstance. The merciful Spirit of Christ led you there. In fact, he had had you on his radar for some time. As God tells us, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16).

Our Lord is sovereign. He does not trifle with the lives of men. He can move heaven and earth to accomplish his purposes, and he put you right where you are, both to save you and to set in motion his plan for your life.

How wonderful to know he loves us so much that he would choose us to live with him for eternity if we respond to his call.

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31).

These are powerful words from the prophet Isaiah. Right now the world seems to be shaking and the people of God need to know how to maintain their strength in the midst of it all. Drawing near to God in times of crisis is necessary in order to sustain stability and effectiveness.

The psalmist David says, “Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; you shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues” (Psalm 31:19-20).

This is profound! David is telling us, in essence: “All true strength comes from drawing near to the Lord. Indeed, the measure of our strength is proportionate to our nearness to him.” Simply put, the closer we are to Jesus, the stronger we are going to be. In fact, all the strength we are ever going to need will come through our secret life of prayer.

The enemy of your soul wants you drained of all strength and he will use anything he can, even “good” things, to keep you from spending time alone with Jesus. He knows your time with the Savior enables you to endure fear and anxiety, even in this worrisome season. We are facing difficult times and are headed for incredible changes.

Each one of us must ask, “How near am I to Jesus in this hour?” Spend time alone with him daily and seek his face in prayer. He promises to hear your every cry and meet your every need.

If your heart is motivated by the approval of others and this influences the way you live, your loyalties are divided. You will always be striving to please someone other than Jesus.

A few years after the apostle Paul was converted, he went to the church in Jerusalem to try to join the disciples there. “But they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple” (Acts 9:26).

The apostles knew Paul’s reputation as a persecutor. The churches in Judea had heard only that, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy” (Galatians 1:23). But Barnabas helped the apostles get over their fear of Paul and they offered him fellowship. Paul decided to itinerate among the Gentiles and he was careful to describe his calling very clearly, explaining that it came “not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead” (Galatians 1:1).

Then Paul added emphatically, “I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. . . . I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood” (Galatians 1:11-12, 16).

What Paul is saying here applies to all who desire to have the mind of Christ: “I didn’t have to read books or borrow men’s methods to get what I have. I received my message, my ministry and my anointing on my knees.

“These things came while I was shut in with the Lord, interceding and fasting. Any revelation of Christ I have comes from the Holy Spirit, who abides in me and leads my life. I cannot allow myself to follow the trends and devices of others.”

Paul was not a proud, arrogant preacher. He had emptied himself of all self-ambition, and had allowed the Holy Spirit to become his teacher

In Psalm 27, David beseeches God in an intense urgent prayer. He pleads in verse 7, “Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.” His prayer is focused on one desire, one ambition, something that has become all consuming for him: “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after” (27:4).

David is testifying, “I have one prayer, Lord, one request. It is my single most important goal in life, my constant prayer, the one thing I desire. And I will seek after it with all that’s within me. This one thing consumes me as my goal.”

What was this one thing that David desired above all else, the object he’d set his heart on obtaining? He tells us: “That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple” (27:4).

Make no mistake: David was no ascetic, shunning the outside world. He wasn’t a hermit, seeking to hide away in a lonely desert place. No, David was a passionate man of action. He was a great warrior, with huge throngs singing of his victories in battle. He was also passionate in his prayer and devotion, with a heart that yearned after God. And the Lord had blessed David with so many of the desires of his heart.

Indeed, David tasted everything a man could want in life. He had known riches and wealth, power and authority. He had received the respect, praises and adulation of men. God had given him Jerusalem as the capital for the kingdom and he was surrounded by devoted men who were willing to die for him.

Most of all, David was a worshiper. He was a praising man who gave thanks to God for all his blessings. He testified, “The Lord laid blessings on me daily.”

David was saying, in effect, “There is a way of living I seek now—a settled place in the Lord that my soul longs for. I want uninterrupted spiritual intimacy with my God.” This was what David meant when he prayed, “That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple” (27:4).

The story of Hanukkah begins during the period in between the Old and New Testaments, when Antiochus IV Epiphanes became the ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. While the Hellenization of the region already threatened the survival of the Jewish religion, Antiochus seemed obsessed with ensuring the demise of Judaism and thereby, the future of the Jewish people.

He not only murdered the High Priest, Onias III, but he slaughtered 40,000 inhabitants of Jerusalem. The observance of the Sabbath and feast days were prohibited as were sacrifices and temple services. In the final assault on Judaism, Antiochus ordered an idol to Zeus be erected in the temple and a pig slaughtered on the altar, thereby desecrating it.

A family from the priestly line of Aaron, the Maccabees, led a revolt against this evil ruler and miraculously experienced victory after victory over the mighty Seleucid forces, until at last the temple could be purified and its services restored. This rededication of the temple to the God of Israel is celebrated during Hanukkah, originally known as the Festival of Dedication. Hanukkah is a Hebrew word derived from the word “to dedicate.”

The defeat of the Seleucid forces by this small band of Jewish zealots was nothing short of a miracle. God had once again demonstrated His faithfulness to His people by saving them from this existential threat. The Maccabean revolt was a turning point in history that saved the Jewish people, their religion, and their calling from extinction.

This Hanukkah story should serve as an encouragement to us all that when we stand up against the mighty powers of our day, we do so not in our own strength, but with God’s help. Standing in solidarity with the Jewish people at Hanukkah is a stance in support of the very root of our own faith.*