Aug 27, 2022
“Then Jesus lifted up his eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward him, he said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?’ But this he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do” (John 6:5-6, NKJV). Jesus took Philip aside and said, “Philip, there are thousands of people here. They are all hungry. Where are we going to buy enough bread to feed them? What do you think we should do?”
How incredibly loving of Christ! Jesus knew all along what he was going to do, yet the Lord was trying to teach Philip something, and the lesson he was imparting to him applies to each of us today. Think about it. How many in Christ’s body sit up half the night trying to figure out their problems? We think, “Maybe this will work. No, no… Maybe that will solve it. No…”
Philip and the apostles didn’t have just a bread problem. They had a bakery problem…and a money problem…and a distribution problem…and a transportation problem…and a time problem. Add it all up, and they had problems they couldn’t even imagine. Their situation was absolutely impossible.
Jesus knew all along exactly what he going to do. He had a plan, and the same is true of your troubles and difficulties today. There is a problem, but Jesus knows your whole situation. He comes to you, asking, “What are we going to do about this?”
The correct answer from Philip would have been, “Jesus, you are God. Nothing is impossible with you. I’m giving this problem over to you. It’s no longer mine but yours.”
God’s holy Word assures us, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). Rest in that promise, and then cry out in full faith, “Lord, you are the miracle worker, and I’m going to surrender all my doubts and fears to you. I entrust this entire situation and my whole life into your care. I know you won’t allow me to faint. In fact, you already know what you’re going to do about my problem. I trust in your power.”
Aug 25, 2022
Do you know it is possible to walk before the Lord with a perfect heart? If you are hungering for Jesus, you may already be desiring and earnestly trying to obey this command of the Lord. I want to encourage you that it is possible, or God would not have given us such a call. Having a perfect heart has been part of the life of faith from the time God told Abraham, “I am Almighty God; walk before me and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1, NKJV).
To come to grips with the idea of perfection, we first must understand that perfection does not mean a sinless, flawless existence. No, perfection in the Lord’s eyes means something entirely different. It means maturity and completeness.
The Hebrew and Greek meanings of “perfection” include “uprightness, having neither spot nor blemish, being totally obedient.” It means to finish what has been started, to make a complete performance. John Wesley called this concept of perfection “constant obedience.” A perfect heart is a responsive heart, one that answers the Lord’s whisperings and warnings quickly and totally. Such a heart says at all times, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. Show me the path, and I will walk in it.”
The perfect heart cries out with David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).
The perfect heart wants the Holy Spirit to come and search out the innermost man, to shine into all hidden parts, to expose and dig out all that is unlike Christ. Those who hide a secret sin, however, do not want to be searched or convicted.
The Lord’s heart-searching are not vindictive but redemptive. His purpose is not to catch us in sin or condemn us but rather to prepare us to come into his holy presence as clean, pure vessels. “Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart…He shall receive blessing from the Lord” (Psalm 24:3-5).The perfect heart yearns for more than security or a covering for sin. It seeks to be in God’s presence always and dwell in communion. This means talking with the Lord, sharing sweet fellowship with him, seeking his face and knowing his presence.
Aug 23, 2022
Jesus prayed for his disciples, “That that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you; that they also may be one in us… And the glory which you gave me I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one: I in them, and you in me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them as you have loved me” (John 17:21-23, NKJV).
Jesus said, in essence, “The glory that you gave me, Father, I have given to them.” What is this glory that was given to Christ, and how do our lives reveal that glory? It is not some aura or emotion; it is unimpeded access to the heavenly Father. What an amazing thought!
Jesus made it easy for us to access through the cross to the Father. “He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:17-18). By faith, we’ve come into a place of unimpeded access to God. We’re not like Esther in the Old Testament. She had to wait for a sign from the king before she could approach the throne. Only after he held out his scepter was Esther approved to come forward.
By contrast, you and I are already in the throne room. We have the right and privilege of speaking to the King at any time. Indeed, we’re invited to make any request of him. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Christ said, “I can do nothing on my own. I do only what the Father tells me and shows me” (see John 5:19). Today we have been given the same degree of access to the Father that Christ had. You may say, “Wait a minute. I have the same access to the Father that Jesus did?”
Make no mistake. Like Jesus, we’re to pray often and fervently, waiting on the Lord. In response, the Holy Spirit reveals to us the mind and will of the Father.
Aug 22, 2022
It can be confusing at times what role God plays in pain, hardship and suffering versus what is sin or the fall.
We see in scripture that God created a good earth and that everything he’d created in those six days was good. Then sin enters the scene, and much of the good is spoiled. Satan’s evil is part of this. I believe Satan has been given some leeway under the authority of God. God doesn’t cause any of the evil that Satan does, but he has given Satan some leeway to have that hostility.
The evil of sin in the world isn’t just because of Satan, though. God specifically said to Adam and by extension all mankind, “…cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life. …By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:17-19, ESV).
Because of Satan’s evil and man’s sin, God in his sovereignty allowed for an environment where there’s going to be danger and chaos. He also made a plan for redeeming us and the world through us. “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:19-21).
When I read this passage, I see God’s lordship and good eternal purposes still being enacted through a fallen world. I believe what happened in Genesis 3 was not an accident or plan B. I see it as a part of God’s sovereign plan in order to manifest his fullness to humanity. Why? Because just one verse earlier, Paul wrote, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).
When we contemplate suffering in the world, we must never lose sight of the fact that God doesn’t exist for us. We exist for God. Because of this, he is glorified as we grow through sorrow and pain to better understand and worship the perfect goodness of who he is.
Aug 19, 2022
God is a promise-maker and promise-keeper, and he has spoken to my heart about four places where God’s people should trust him. These expectations are based on promises God has made to us.
Expect to be rewarded as you diligently seek the Lord. “[God] is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6, NKJV).
You can ask in faith for a token from God to encourage and rekindle your confidence. God is always on time, and he knows you need a ray of hope and good news in your testing time. Expect him to keep his promise to reward you now when you are in greatest need. God cannot lie. He said he rewards those who diligently seek him. Seek him daily, and believe that this year will be your year of great spiritual blessing.
Expect to see evidence of a progressive miracle in your life. “With God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27).
I believe in both instantaneous and progressive miracles. Progressive miracles start in unseen, quiet ways and unfold little by little, one small mercy at a time. Expect to see God working in mysterious ways, unseen to the human eye.
Expect to enter into God’s promised place of rest. “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. …Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:9,11).
In the last few years, we have seen an outpouring of incredible calamities, problems and trials. In the midst of this, the Lord desires that you believe him to bring you into his promised rest. God never intended that his children live in fear and despair. We need a reckless faith and trust in God in the face of fear, trouble and death itself.
Expect the Holy Spirit to be always in his temple. “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
The Holy Spirit abides in the heart of the believer. He is omnipresent throughout the world. I face each day acknowledging that he is here in his temple to comfort, guide and reveal to me the glory of Jesus Christ. He desires that you expect him to make his presence manifest to you. He wants to bring you into unshakable faith, just as he did his disciples.
Believe these promises! Lay hold of these expectations, and you will see God do marvelous things.
