Mar 16, 2023
When God says to humankind, “Believe,” he demands something that is wholly beyond reason. Faith is totally illogical. Think about it. The book of Hebrews says faith is the substance of something hoped for, evidence that’s unseen. There is no evidence, yet we’re asked to believe. Believers will face discouragement in this life, yet I believe if we understand the illogical, unreasonable nature of faith, we will find the help we need to get through.
Consider the faith that was demanded of Noah. He lived in a generation that had spun out of control, and God finally said, “Enough! Man is set on destroying himself. It must end.” (see Genesis 6).
Imagine the faith required of Noah. God was going to send a cataclysmic event that would destroy the entire earth, and Noah was simply to accept God’s words by faith. He was given a mammoth task to build a huge ark, surrounded by dangerous unbelievers, without further direction from God for the next 120 years. Despite all this, Noah did as God said and kept trusting the word he’d been given. For his obedience, Noah “became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (Hebrews 11:7 NKJV).
In Genesis 12:1–4, God similarly told Abraham, “Get up, go out, and leave your country.” This was a ridiculous, unreasonable demand, yet Abraham obeyed. Faith demanded that he act on nothing more than a promise.
One starry night, God told Abraham, “Look up into the sky and try to count the stars. That’s how many descendants you’re going to have” (see Genesis 15:5). Abraham must have shaken his head at this. By now he and his wife, Sarah, were old, yet here was God promising him that he would become a father of many nations. The only evidence he had was a word from heaven: “I am the Lord” (Genesis 15:7).
Abraham obeyed, and the Bible says the same thing of him that it says of Noah. “And he believed in the Lord; and he accounted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Once again, one man’s faith is translated into righteousness.
What God asks of us may sound unreasonable, but he has proven that we can trust him in every situation. Even when the situation seems hopeless and impossible, he always comes through with perfect Holy Ghost timing.
Mar 15, 2023
“And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat’” (Luke 22:31 NKJV).
Satan sifts only those who threaten his work. He goes after the tree with the most potential to bear fruit. Why was he so anxious to test Peter? Well, for three years Peter had been casting out devils and healing the sick. Satan had heard Jesus promise the disciples another baptism, one of Holy Ghost power and fire, and he trembled! Now the devil knew God’s ultimate plan for Peter. He realized that the past three years would be nothing compared to the greater works to come. Satan was searching for a weakness in Peter to build on that would destroy his faith.
Perhaps, like Peter, you are being shaken and sifted right now. Don’t despair! Rejoice that you have such a bad reputation in hell. Satan never would have asked God’s permission to sift you unless you were a threat to him. He is sifting you because you play an important part in God’s kingdom in these last days. The greater your gifts and potential, the more severe your sifting will be.
When someone is going through the fire of sifting, what should those around him do? What did Jesus do about Peter’s imminent fall? He said to him, “I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to me, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:32).
I look at this wonderful example of Christ’s love and realize I know almost nothing about how to love those who fall. Jesus saw both the good and the bad in Peter and concluded, “This man is worth saving. Satan desires him, but I desire him more.”
Lord, give us that kind of love! When we see brothers and sisters heading for disaster, let us love them enough to reach out and say, “I am praying for you.”
Today we have yet another “It is written” with which we can do battle against Satan. It is this: “I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail.” You can tell the devil, “You may have gotten permission to sift me, to try to tear down my faith, but you need to know this: My Jesus is praying for me!”
Mar 14, 2023
As soon as the disciples heard about receiving a baptism of power, they asked, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel”? (see Acts 1). Jesus answered in no uncertain terms, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in his own authority” (Acts 1:7 NKJV).
Stop and think about what their question implied. “Lord, do you mean that beginning in that room, with just us, you will restore the kingdom of Israel? Will we bring down Herod and Rome? Are we the ones to cleanse the land, set up the kingdom and bring you back?”
We know that Jesus had to deal with some lust for leadership and authority among his disciples, but I sense something in their question here beyond a thirst for place and power. It speaks of a human need to be involved in a great and final destiny. It was a need to be special, to be the right people at the right time!
In their hearts the disciples may have been saying, “Lord, where are we in your prophetic schedule? It would be a great spiritual incentive to know that we are ministering in a day of destiny, that a new dawn is coming, and you are using us to wrap it all up.”
Now all of us, to some degree, have this same need to be people of destiny. However, Jesus’ response was blunt: “It is not for you to know the times.” Jesus is not looking for men or women of destiny. He wants only witnesses unto himself. He is saying, “The issue is not the ‘prophetic hour’ or some great moment in time appointed to you. I need people to share the good news of the gospel to this present generation.”
This deeply convicts me. I also want to know where we are at this very minute on God’s prophetic clock. Are we about to enter the great tribulation? Is God gathering the final remnant of believers? “That is not your concern” Jesus says. “It’s not for you to know. Be filled with the Spirit, then go.”
We are to live in a state of watchfulness and expectancy. We are to look for his appearing and warn of his judgments, but first and foremost we are to be his witnesses!
Mar 10, 2023
How many of you have heard of Huldah in the Bible? She gave exhortation and hope to the Israelites during a very dark stretch of history. Evil foreign kings had invaded, and evil kings from their own people had ruled over the land. Some truly grotesque forms of idolatry were rampant in society; children were sacrificed to demonic ‘gods’; necromancy was practiced.
The previous two kings in Huldah’s lifetime had been incredibly immoral. One was said to have shed so much innocent blood that it “filled Jerusalem from one end to another” (see 2 Kings 21:16), and the other was such a nightmare that he only made it two years before he was assassinated by his own servants (see 2 Kings 21:19-23).
In the middle of all this, Huldah openly stood for the true God.
The law of God was found in the temple after having been lost of years, possibly generations. As soon as the new king realized what they’d unearthed, he immediately knew who to send for: Huldah.
“Those whom the king had sent went to Huldah the prophetess…and she said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: “…Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book that was read before the king of Judah. Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods… But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him…[because]…you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord” (2 Chronicles 34:22-27, ESV).
This woman unflinchingly proclaimed the truth, rebuked those who had reveled in sin, but offered a second chance to the genuinely repentant. Her words gave the young king who had inherited this broken, sin-riddled kingdom both the hope and motivation to enact reform and revival in their nation.
When we are willing to boldly stand for God’s Word, even for years without seeing positive change, God will use this for his glory and the benefit of others.
Mar 9, 2023
Leading in church can often feel like a partner sport, like tennis or fencing, especially if you’re a woman. It can be easy to get discouraged if you’re a single woman and the only available position for you in church seems to be childcare, but that’s not an area you feel skilled in or called.
It’s worth looking at two of the single ladies in the Bible and how God used them. Most people have at least heard of Miriam, Moses and Aaron’s sister. She aided in Moses being rescued from infanticide shortly after he was born, and she later became a leader among the Israelites. After the entire nation escaped Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, we’re told, “Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing” (Exodus 15:20, ESV).
That may seem unimpressive, but please recall that the Bible says the number of men was over 600,000 (see Numbers 1:17-46). With women and children, the population was probably close to two million people. This was an epic worship service Miriam was leading!
Fast forward hundreds of years, and we’re introduced to another prophetess: the widow Anna. She was waiting in the Temple for the Messiah to come, and she was one of the first to recognize Jesus for who he truly was. “She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:37-38). In many ways, Jesus’ ministry on earth was publicly announced first by angels and then by a woman.
Years later, Paul would write strong praise of another single woman who was an enormous help to the early church. “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well” (Romans 16:1-2, ESV).
Please know that God wants to use your time, gifts and presence to bless the church. Being single or widowed will never mean your talents can’t be used to edify the body of Christ!
Mar 8, 2023
Lydia was one of the first converts in Macedonia. One of the early churches was hosted by a successful businesswoman! When Paul and others were first evangelizing in this city, scripture tells us, “One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.’ And she prevailed upon us” (Acts 16:14-15, ESV).
As a businesswoman, Lydia could have easily filled the church with business associates. Instead, she clearly made room for everyone in this church because we’re told later that the Macedonian church was one of the least wealthy churches. It’s also described as one of the most generous.
“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord” (2 Corinthians 8:1-3).
Presumably, Lydia was still a major part of this church, and its virtues speak to the environment that she must have played an instrumental part in orchestrating. As we examine her conversion story and the church she was a leader in, we should ask ourselves, “In what ways am I building spaces where everyone feels welcomed, regardless of background or socio-economic status? How am I actively finding ways for people from diverse backgrounds to all grow in Christ?”
A secure community that cares for its members and shepherds them toward maturity will also help generosity grow. May we become the kind of leaders who foster this kind of passionate and generous spirit in other believers!
