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“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

1 Corinthians 6:9–11

One of the people who did the most to reach people through rescue missions was Mel Trotter. He knew firsthand the power of the gospel to change a life. Trotter was an alcoholic, who returned home from one of his benders to find that his two-year-old son had died. Believing that he was to blame, he swore that he would never drink again. Two hours later, he was staggering out of a saloon. He took a train to Chicago, where he sold his shoes for enough money to buy one more drink, planning to kill himself. On his way to Lake Michigan he passed the Pacific Garden Rescue Mission and went inside. When he heard the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, he was converted and devoted the rest of his life to helping reach others.

The salvation that God offers freely by grace through faith to all those who come to Christ and trust Him as their Saviour changes far more than just our eternal destiny. It changes everything about this life as well. The word gospel means “good news,” and the message of salvation—that God gave Himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for us to be cleansed from our sins through His blood—is the best news anyone can ever receive. The only hope that we have is in Jesus, for our sins separate us from God, and nothing we can do can bridge that gap.

“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

1 John 5:11–13

One of the great Bible teachers and preachers of the past, G. Campbell Morgan had already enjoyed some success as a preacher by the time he was nineteen years old. But he began to read Charles Darwin and other critics of biblical truth, and his mind filled with doubt about the Bible. Finally, knowing he could not continue to preach with such doubts, he canceled his upcoming speaking engagements and put away all the books he had been reading. He went to the store and purchased a new, unmarked Bible, then sat down and began reading it—reading nothing else until He completed it from beginning to end. His doubts fled away, and He spent the rest of His life preaching the Word of God he had come to fully trust.

There are many wonderful resources available to Christians in our day, and I am thankful for every one of them. But nothing can ever take the place of the Word of God. We need to hear it preached and taught on a regular basis. We need to read it for ourselves. We should memorize it, hiding it in our hearts. We should fill our thoughts and meditations with the Bible. When we do, our faith grows and we become more like Jesus.

The only completely perfect and trustworthy tool given to us is the Bible. We can fully believe everything it says and must fully obey everything it commands.

“And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.”

Exodus 2:13–15

All of us have failures in our lives. There are moments we would like to change, moments where we did things we should not have done or failed to do the things we should have done. And there are consequences to some of those failures that remain with us, even after we have confessed and forsaken our sins and done what we can to make things right with those we have hurt. But past failure is not an unbreakable bondage that means we can never do anything for God with the rest of our lives—unless we allow ourselves to be bound by the past.

Paul knew something about living with the past. He was prolific in his persecution of the early church, going to great lengths to stamp out the new religion being preached by the followers of Jesus. But after Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, his life took on a completely new direction. I’m sure Paul thought of his own past when he was inspired to pen these words: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). While we should do what we can to undo damage we have brought on others in the past, we find freedom from our past confessing our sin to the Lord and trusting the pardon bought by His blood.

“And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.”

Exodus 4:1–3

The devil often keeps God’s people from doing what they should for His Kingdom by convincing them that they lack the resources to accomplish what needs to be done. The feeling of inadequacy—that what we have or can contribute is not enough to do the job—may keep us from doing anything at all. Yet the Bible is filled with examples of small things being used by God to accomplish mighty works once they are given to Him. The question is not whether what is already in our hand is sufficient, but whether we are willing to launch out in faith and trust God to work in a great way. F. B. Meyer wrote, “God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible. What a pity that we plan only the things we can do by ourselves.”

I believe in wise planning and careful living, but at the same time, we cannot leave God out of our thinking. As Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)” (2 Corinthians 5:7). The God who took a shepherd’s rod and parted the Red Sea, who took a boy’s sling and killed a giant, and who took another boy’s lunch and fed thousands is able to supply whatever we need to do His work. But God does not work with what we hold back. We must be willing to give what we have and trust Him to see Him supply what is lacking.

“So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.”

2 Kings 5:9–11

In Bible times, leprosy was one of the most-dreaded diseases known to man. The contagious effect meant that unless those suffering from it were isolated, it would quickly spread through a community. The disease was no respecter of persons, and even a powerful general like Naaman of Syria could contract it. The young Israeli girl who had been captured and taken into his home as a slave told Naaman’s wife that Elisha, the prophet of God would be able to help. So Naaman made his way to Elisha, and Elisha told him to go to the Jordan River and immerse himself seven times. After Naaman’s initial reluctance to comply, his servants convinced him to obey. Not only was his leprosy completely healed, but the Bible says, “His flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean” (2 Kings 5:14).

The Bible uses leprosy as a picture of sin. In our own strength and power, we have no hope of dealing with our sin. But as we see in the story of Naaman, we are often reluctant to accept God’s plan for dealing with our problem and prefer to do things our own way. That approach never works. It is not until we come to the point where we realize what we have done and yield to God’s plan that we receive His cleansing work. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,”

Psalm 19:1–4

In 1998, John Glenn, who had been the first American to orbit our planet, became the oldest man ever to go to space when he joined the Discovery space shuttle mission. The seventy-six-year-old was greatly touched by his experience. Later Glenn described his second voyage to space this way: “To look at the window…as I did that first day…to look out at this kind of creation and not believe in God is to me impossible.”

Though much of our world today tries its best to deny and discredit the Creator, the evidence of God’s handiwork is not hard to find. It takes a more willful decision to disbelieve than to believe what the Bible tells us about how the world came to be. In fact, our surroundings are a powerful voice that speaks to God’s existence and the fact that one day we will answer to Him. “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

While all lost men must hear the gospel in order to be saved, the very world around them is a reminder of their need of a Saviour. And the lengths to which people go to avoid dealing with this truth should not discourage us from our vital task of being witnesses, but should instead motivate us to increase our efforts to reach the lost before it is too late.

“Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground. I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt. This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.”

Acts 7:33–35

When T. DeWitt Talmage took the pastorate at Central Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, there were just seventeen members. His fervent preaching and emphasis on evangelism sparked massive growth. Just a few years later the church built an auditorium seating six thousand, but it frequently held as many as seven thousand with people sitting in aisles and even on the platform. Talmage kept his focus on God’s approval rather than man’s, often preaching against the powerful forces behind the drinking, gambling, and prostitution that flourished in the city. At one point after a series of sermons on evil amusements, Talmage’s life was so severely threatened that the Brooklyn police chief stationed twenty-four officers in shifts around the clock at the church to protect the pointed preacher’s life. Talmage later said that the threats, “Frightened everyone but me.”

If our focus is on what God thinks of us and what we are doing, we will not be deterred from doing right by either flattery or criticism from others. Jesus was able to say, “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29). Nothing that we do is hidden from the eyes of God, and it is His approval that should motivate us rather than the fleeting opinions of men.

“John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

John 1:26–29

At the very beginning of the Old Testament, following the entry of sin into the world, God instituted a system of animal sacrifices. These offerings did not in and of themselves make an atonement for sin. “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). Rather, they were a reminder that the penalty of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and were offered as a tangible expression of faith in God’s promise of the coming Messiah who would provide salvation for those who believed in His substitutionary death. People before Jesus were saved by faith looking forward to the cross, just as we are saved looking back to it.

John the Baptist had been preaching with power and effectiveness of the need for repentance and preparation for the Lord’s coming. Huge crowds left the cities and went out across the Jordan River into the desert to hear John preach.

When John saw Jesus, he could have announced Him in any number of ways. There are dozens of names for Jesus found throughout Scripture. The one that John chose to use, “The Lamb of God” is a statement of the purpose of Jesus’ life. He came into the world to be the willing sacrifice for our sins. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14). This is our hope and confidence of eternal life—the substitute who paid for our sins in full.

“And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us. And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.”

Exodus 5:21–23

Sometimes the difficulties of life are the natural consequence of sins and mistakes. Sometimes they are God’s chastisement to encourage us to repent and return to Him. But there are times when we are doing right to the best of our ability and walking by faith when it seems like things just keep getting worse. The more we try to follow God, the harder our pathway becomes. This should not come as a surprise to us, for we have an active enemy who is committed to hindering us in our spiritual walk and work for God.

The critical thing for us to remember is that difficulty does not equal God’s displeasure. Sometimes the things which are most painful to us are in our lives because God is using them to work in a greater way than we can see. Paul faced this with the “thorn in the flesh” that came into his life. After his repeated prayers for its removal were not answered, Paul accepted his suffering as a gift, and gloried in God’s sufficient grace. “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). The Lord does not promise us ease and comfort, but He does promise us His grace.

“And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:59–62

When the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in 1775, they unanimously elected John Hancock from Massachusetts as their president. He presided over the representatives of the colonies as they debated the proper response to England. As the war had already begun, they soon set a course of declaring America as an independent nation. After Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence was revised and passed, Hancock placed his large, flourishing signature on the document. According to some accounts he claimed that “King George would be able to read it without his spectacles.” John Hancock literally put his life on the line by signing his name.

The Lord calls us to follow Him regardless of the cost. He does not call us to serve Him only when it is easy or convenient, nor is He honored if we abandon our work for Him in the face of opposition. The changing culture around us may mean that one day soon, being a committed Christian who wants to believe and practice what the Bible says will be regarded as not just old-fashioned or bigoted, but as criminal. Already many have been sued or fired for taking a stand for what they believe. Is your faith strong enough and your commitment to stand firm enough to overcome persecution? “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10).

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

1 Peter 1:3–5

Many Christians are besieged with doubt and uncertainty regarding their salvation. Yet no one who has truly entered God’s family should ever fear leaving it—it is impossible. We are not saved by our own work, but by grace alone. If our salvation depended on us then we would risk losing it, but since salvation is all of God, the keeping of those who come to Him is also completely His responsibility. That is a responsibility He never fails to meet.

Preaching on this wonderful truth of eternal security, H. A. Ironside said, “You may have heard of the Irishman who was converted but was seized with a dreadful fear that some day he might commit some great sin and lose his soul, that he might be lost after all, and he trembled at the thought. He went to a meeting and heard the words read, ‘Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.’ ‘Glory to God!’ the man shouted, “Whoever heard of a man drowning with his head that high above water?”

Rather than living with fear, the child of God can live with confidence. Our family relationship allows us access to Him, and we should claim it in faith. “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). Do not allow the devil to cripple your work for God by causing you to doubt what He has promised regarding your destiny.

“And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”

Genesis 15:13–16

We live in a society marked by impatience. We want what we want, and we want it right now. I read recently that several large companies are testing same day delivery options for their customers who are willing to pay for the privilege. It seems likely there will be a large market for this service because we have become accustomed to instant satisfaction. There are some who seem to regard thinking about next week as “long-term planning.”

God works on a very different schedule. He exists outside of time, and there is no hurry or haste in His program. Peter wrote, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8). Because of that, God is not in a hurry. He is looking at the future in a different way than we do, and His plans encompass hundreds and even thousands of years.

What does that mean for us in a rushed and hurried world? It means that we can relax and trust God with the timing of His plans. We are not ready today for what He has for us to do tomorrow—otherwise He would give it to us today. Instead of worrying about the future, we should trust in His wisdom and care.

“Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.”

Exodus 6:6–8

All of us have had the unpleasant experience of having someone we trusted let us down. Perhaps it was something as simple as a friend not showing up to give you a ride or failing to return a book you lent them. Perhaps it was a serious breach of trust in a marriage or a financial relationship that left devastation. The reason people fail to keep their word to us—and if we’re honest the reason we sometimes fail to keep our word to others—is because of our nature. We are sinners, and sinners fail to do what is right from time to time.

By contrast, when God was making promises to Moses for the Israelites, He was speaking of things that seemed to be impossible. There was no hope humanly speaking of changing Pharaoh’s mind. The slave labor of the Israelites was a valuable resource for Egypt and would not be willingly abandoned. The military might of Egypt meant no revolt could hope to succeed. Yet what God promised happened exactly as He said—because the promise was based on His unfailing nature. God’s character is to fulfill the promises that He makes, and we can always trust that He will.

“And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”

Genesis 18:17–19

I read about a man who was preparing to leave for an important business trip when he realized that one of his suits was badly in need of cleaning. Remembering that there was a cleaners with a huge “One Hour Dry Cleaning” sign, he drove across town to drop off his suit. As he filled out his ticket, he told the clerk, “I’ll come back in an hour on my way to the airport to pick this up.” “Oh no,” she said, “It won’t be ready until next Thursday.” Somewhat taken back he pointed out the sign hanging over the door. “That’s just the name of the business,” she responded. “We don’t do dry cleaning in an hour!”

Though it is true that our character is even more important than our reputation, it is still important that we maintain our testimony. It should never be truly said of a child of God that he or she cannot be counted on to do what is right. Others should learn from their interactions with us that we live up to our “advertising” in terms of our lives matching what we say we believe.

The best way to develop a reputation for dependability is to simply do what we say we will do—over and over and over again. Each of us should desire to have the reputation of Abraham, as God described him as a person who could be trusted to do what was right.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

In Bible times, the fields were often worked and loads carried by oxen. To distribute the weight of the farm equipment or wagons, wooden yokes were made to fit over the shoulders of a team of two oxen. If you ever see an old wooden yoke you will find it quite large. And if you try to pick one up, you will find that it is very heavy. And if a yoke were not made properly, it would greatly irritate the animal wearing it so that they would find it nearly impossible to work.

Jesus did not promise His followers that they would be freed from wearing a yoke. God has service for Him that each of us is to carry out—if not there would be no reason not to take us to Heaven immediately upon our salvation. Rather Jesus promised that when we came to Him we would find that His yoke rests easy upon us, and we will not be burdened by His service.

Many people “burn out” after they have served God for a period of time. Where once they were faithful to do His work, now they find it burdensome and have laid it aside. What is the problem? Though there are many reasons, one of biggest is that too many Christians try to work for God in their own strength. Jesus said that we are to learn of Him, which speaks to a growing and deepening relationship. When we work in His strength, we will not find the burdens more than we can bear. Instead we will find rest, even while we labor and wear the yoke.

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Romans 8:2–4

So many people all around the world think that if they can do enough good things or follow the moral law laid out in the Bible or other religious teachings that will make them acceptable in God’s sight. The reality, however, is that no amount of doing good or following laws, no matter how sincere or diligent can remove the stain of sin that each of us carry from the moment of our birth.

Charles Spurgeon highlighted the reason for the law’s inability when he said, “The law, as originally given to Adam, a perfect man, had he carried it out, would have glorified God, and would have produced in him a perfect life. But we are not in the same position towards God as Adam was, and we are not free from the taint of evil as he was. We have fallen.”

The same principle that applies to our salvation applies to our Christian life as well. There is no way that we can walk in the Christian life as God commands in our own strength. Even after salvation and the new nature, we lack the ability to overcome sin. It is only as we walk in the Spirit, obeying the Word and receiving His power that we can live in victory. This is not an option—it is a requirement. But if we work to obey God by following the law in our strength we are doomed to failure.

“If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them? Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt; The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid.”

Deuteronomy 7:17–19

Winston Churchill was famous for his ability as a public speaker to grab an audience and inspire them. One of his most famous addresses was given at the boarding school he had attended as a boy, Harrow School, which had been badly damaged by German bombers during the Blitz on London. Churchill knew that he was speaking to a nation facing a powerful foe as well as to the young boys seated before him. At the conclusion of his address, Churchill said, “This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

The Christian life is a battle, not a pleasure cruise. And in those battles, we often face powerful foes. The temptation we face is to focus on our enemies rather than on God, and when we give in to that temptation, we will find our hearts filled with fear. This is what happened to the Israelites when they heard the report from the ten spies about the giants in the land. Despite what Joshua and Caleb said, they refused to trust God. Fear, and the disobedience that followed because of it kept Israel in the wilderness for forty years, without the victory God would have given.

“Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:”

Jeremiah 32:17–19

The first and most visible evidence of the power of God that any of us experience is His creation. Despite the efforts of scientists and educators to convince people otherwise, there is proof of God everywhere we look in our world. The precise distance of the earth from the sun and the precise angle of the earth’s tilt on its axis are both required for life to exist. Change either by a tiny amount, and we would either burn up or freeze and there would be no life. Yet we are told to believe that it is all a matter of random chance over the passing of billions of years. How foolish! Jeremiah described creation as the result of God’s “stretched out arm.”

Recently as I was thinking on this passage from Jeremiah, I was reminded of another place where God’s arms were stretched out—in the death of Jesus on the cross. The nails could not have held the Son of God. A single word from the lips of the One who created everything by speaking it into existence would have freed Him. Yet that word never came. “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

“For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

Deuteronomy 7:6–8

We often speak of the Israelites as God’s chosen people because that is the way that He referred to them. Long before there was a nation at all, God called Abraham to leave his home and country and journey to a new land. It would be hundreds of years before Israel could truly be called a nation, but God was faithful to keep that promise. When He chooses a people, He follows through with His promises to them.

But the nation of Israel is not the only chosen people referred to in Scripture. The New Testament uses the same language to describe Christians. We are not a random group, but rather a specific and identified body of followers of Jesus Christ. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Like the Israelites, there is much we have been promised that we have not yet received. But every promise of God is faithful and true, and we can count on it coming to pass, no matter how long it may take.

“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.”

Galatians 5:13–15

I read a story written by a doctor in which he described having to give a man a terminal diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. It was his last appointment of the day, and after the patient left, the doctor prepared to go home. When he reached the parking lot, he saw an elderly man with the hood of his car raised. As he got closer the doctor realized someone was on the ground underneath the car working on the engine. In a moment he realized it was his patient. When the car started and the elderly man drove away, the doctor asked what the patient had been doing. “Helping out,” the answer came. “My cancer didn’t say I couldn’t help someone who needed it.”

There are always excuses we can find to avoid serving and helping others. There are always other priorities to which we could devote our time and attention. But if we are to live as Jesus lived and follow in His footsteps, then we must be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to serve. Again and again Jesus gave up time and strength for the sake of others. Though He was God, healing others took a toll on Jesus—a toll He thought worth paying. “And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?” (Mark 5:30). If we see others as Jesus did, as precious people with great needs, we will be more willing to humble ourselves and serve them.

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:”

1 Corinthians 2:1–4

In 1973, after decades of preaching the gospel, Dr. Lee Roberson woke up one morning unable to speak above a whisper. He had to cancel all of his meetings, and for an entire year he was unable to preach in his church. He traveled all over the country to see various specialists, but none of them could help. Finally a local surgeon operated, and after a few week’s recovery, Dr. Roberson was preaching again, which he continued until he was almost ninety-seven years old.

Looking back later, he remarked how greatly God had blessed the church during the year when he could only sit silently on the platform while someone else filled the pulpit. He said it was one of the most blessed years of ministry he had ever known. Attendance, offerings, and conversions increased. Dr. Roberson said, “That just showed this preacher something. It didn’t depend so much on what I was doing. It depended on the working of the power of God through our lives.”

Too many times we rely on our talent and efforts rather than depending on God. The results of our labor for the Lord are not on our shoulders. If we want God’s power and blessing, we must abandon self-reliance. “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6).

“Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them: And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.”

1 Samuel 6:6–8

Because of the wickedness of the sons of Eli and the old priest’s failure to stop them, God gave the Philistines victory over the Israelites in battle. They captured the Ark of the Covenant and placed it in the temples of their gods as part of the spoils of war. God destroyed the idols, making the stone statues bow down before the Ark. And He brought great diseases to the Philistine cities. They quickly realized what was going on and determined to return the Ark to Israel. They remembered the story of God’s judgment on the Egyptians when they would not let the Israelites go in the days of Moses, and did not want to experience His judgment any longer.

Too often we cling to our sin, hardening our hearts against the convicting voice of the Holy Spirit and reproving words of the Bible. We love our sin and do not want to let it go. As a result we suffer the punishment God brings on His children. He loves us too much to allow us to continue in sin. “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:8).

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”

Ephesians 2:1–3

There is no question that our society is filled with evil, and that we are seeing evil not just accepted but actively promoted. Those who hold to the truth are scorned and mocked, and a number of people have faced legal battles for trying to hold to what they believed was right.

It is easy for us to fall into the trap of condemning evil in the world while forgetting that we too were once a part of the world. Even those who were saved at an early age without ever going deep into an obviously sinful lifestyle were dead in their sin. Their outward lives may not have been scarred and marked because of the things they were protected from doing, but they were just as much sinners in need of a Saviour as someone who has lived apart from God in the worst sins the world has to offer.

All of us needed God’s salvation. And those who have not yet received God’s gift are not to be scorned, but to be the objects of both compassion and outreach. We must never forget that Satan is actively working to keep them from recognizing the truth. “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”

Numbers 21:8–9

Though the great preacher Charles Spurgeon was raised in a Christian home, he was still unconverted when one Sunday morning as a teenager, he decided to go to a different church than the one he normally attended. A snowstorm changed his plans, and he stopped at a small church with only a dozen or so people in attendance. The weather had kept the pastor from reaching the church, and an untrained layman filled the pulpit. He preached a simple salvation message from Isaiah 45:22, “Look unto me, and be ye saved.”

Spurgeon later recounted, “Just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart, he said, ‘Young man, you look very miserable. And you will always be miserable—miserable in life and miserable in death—if you don’t obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved.’ Then lifting up his hands, he shouted, ‘Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothing to do but look and live!’ I saw at once the way of salvation. I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard that word, ‘Look!’...the cloud was gone.”

Salvation is not the result of our labors and efforts. It cannot be gained by avoiding evil or by doing good. It is only when we look to Jesus, receiving in faith the free gift of salvation purchased for us by His death on the cross that we find hope for eternity.

“And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.”

Exodus 7:10–12

When God sent Moses to Egypt to free the Israelites from bondage, He did not send Moses to work alone. God sent Aaron, Moses’ older brother, to be his partner and supporter in the work. But there was something far more important God promised, and that was that His powerful hand would be with Moses. Just as He always does, God kept that promise.

Pharaoh had no interest in giving up the benefits of hundreds of thousands of Israelites who worked for him in forced slavery. When Moses confronted him with God’s demand, Pharaoh refused. Before the ten plagues which devastated Egypt and finally forced the reluctant ruler to concede, there was a demonstration of God’s power which should have been all Pharaoh needed. When Aaron’s rod became a snake after he threw it on the ground, Pharaoh’s sorcerers duplicated the feat—but then all their “snakes” were eaten by the one God brought forth.

Though we do face a powerful enemy in the devil, his power pales in comparison to the power of God. God is more than able to overcome every obstacle and opposition that Satan can offer. God never sweats or calls for reserves or back up. He is never challenged in any way. He has all power and authority, and remains in control, no matter what our circumstances. The battles we face are real, but they are not a threat to God’s overcoming power which is available to us as His children.

“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”

Romans 6:4–6

Some years ago, I received a card from a little girl in our church. She wrote: “Dear Pastor, Thank you for this church and for your preaching. I know that you work very hard to do that stuff. We are very happy to have you here. This year my dad learned not to drink and smoke and how to be nice. Thank you and God bless you. Love, Anna.”

The Lord does not save us simply to change our eternal destiny, though the gift of salvation does change our course from headed toward Hell to headed toward Heaven. But God has plans for us in this life. He intends for us to be changed by our salvation on a practical, day to day level. The fact that we are Christians does not automatically remake our temperament, personality, or character traits, but it should dictate and control the way those are expressed in our daily lives.

The Apostle Paul expressed this Divine goal for each believer when he wrote, “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10). If your life has not been transformed since your salvation, something is very wrong. While no Christian is sinless, we should be sinning less and less as we become more and more like Jesus through our walk with Him.

“And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us. And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.”

Exodus 8:26–28

When the plagues began to inflict serious hardship on Egypt, Pharaoh tried to bargain with Moses. He would let the Israelites worship God, but he didn’t want them to leave the land. He offered Moses a compromise, insisting that the people “shall not go very far away.” This is an offer that Satan makes time and again to God’s people to try to derail them from effective service. He counsels us to serve God, but not to take things too far.

Christians who are on fire for God and are willing to commit their lives to His service will certainly be viewed as strange. If we truly believe what God says and act upon it with our whole hearts, it should not be surprising if the world thinks we have lost our minds. This was the experience Paul had when he was offered the opportunity to defend himself before a Roman governor. “And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad” (Acts 26:24).

God is worthy of our complete and total devotion and obedience. We are commanded to love Him above all else. We are called to give ourselves to His service, even to the point of laying down our lives if necessary. What God commands is never “too far.”

“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

2 Corinthians 6:16–18

Unlike a football field or basketball court where the boundaries are permanently painted, the line markers on the baseball field are made with chalk. This means that over the course of a game the lines—especially around home plate where there is a lot of coming and going—start to get blurred. Often the umpire will take a moment to wipe the dust off the plate so he can clearly see where the boundaries of the strike zone should be. And if the foot traffic is heavy enough, he may even call for the batter's box to be re-chalked so that the places where it is legal for the batter to stand are clearly visible.

The lines in life serve a purpose. This is just as true in important matters as it is in sports. God has given us clear guidelines, both in specific commandments and in specific principles (which apply where there is no commandment.) God has made His way plain to us in His Word. We do sometimes come to difficult choices and decisions that require us to carefully study the Bible to determine which principles apply. But in most cases, the blurring of the lines comes not from a lack of understanding what is right, but from not really wanting to do what we know to be right, and looking for alternatives.

“Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

James 4:2–4

When Willie Nelson was starting out in his musical career, he quickly developed a following among the honky tonks and bars around Fort Worth, Texas, where he would play and sing. Yet nearly every Sunday morning, he could be found teaching Sunday school. Before long, this double life became a problem, and the pastor of his church confronted him regarding his testimony. The pastor explained that he must either give up his class or his lifestyle. Nelson later said, “I decided to stay with the beer joints. The preacher sounded so wrong to me that I quit the Baptist church.”

While many people try to live with one foot in the world and one foot in God’s kingdom, that never works for very long. “And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word” (1 Kings 18:31). Yet too often when that moment of decision comes, we choose the allure of the world over the truth of God.

The world tries to convince us that sin isn’t really so bad, or that God will not be upset if we indulge a little in our carnal desires. But the Bible doesn’t have a “not really all that bad” category. There is right and wrong, good and evil, sin and obedience. The harder we try to cling to the things of the world, the less we are able to follow God.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”

Philippians 4:8–9

Perhaps the most famous battle in history, Waterloo marked the final defeat of Napoleon by the combined British and Prussian armies. Knowing that he would be outnumbered if his two opponents combined their forces, Napoleon had ordered Marshall Emmanuel de Grouchy to attack the Prussian forces who were retreating from an earlier battle. Napoleon believed that this would give him time to deal with the British under Wellington separately before turning his attention back to the Prussians. Grouchy was slow to respond to his orders, and though he carried them out, eventually defeating the Prussian rear-guard, he failed to stop the main column from advancing. They reached the battlefield in the nick of time, and with those reinforcements, Wellington defeated Napoleon.

The Lord has given us a number of instructions in His Word. Knowing them is good, but it is not enough. We must actually do the things we are commanded to do. We must execute our orders. Many people fail to accomplish what they should for God because they are not putting what they know and have learned into practice. Bible study and learning what God intends is critical, but it is only the first step of the process. To be who God calls us to be, we must put forth whatever effort and obedience is required to actually do the things He says. In the Upper Room Jesus said, “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:15).

“And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”

Exodus 12:11–13

The custom in Old Testament times was that meals, especially the evening meal, were leisurely times to spend with family and friends. There was a relaxed atmosphere with the day’s work concluded. Shoes would be set aside and feet washed, and then those eating the meal would gather around a low table leaning or reclining while reaching for the food. When God gave Moses the instructions for the Passover, He commanded something very different. This meal was to be eaten standing up with shoes on—because something important was about to happen.

There is a great picture and reminder for us in that instruction. The events and cares of this world may clamor for and even capture our attention, but there is a sure and certain promise—that one day the Lord will return. It is our duty to be continually living in such a way that we are ready for Him and not ashamed when we see Him. Jesus said, “Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping” (Mark 13:35-36).

“And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”

John 12:23–25

Every Christian should have a desire to live a fruitful and productive life for God. The gratitude for His salvation and the desire for obedience to His commands should compel us to seek to be busy about His work. But if we wish to be truly fruitful, there is a necessity—we must die to self. This is where many people are derailed. They want to accomplish things for God, but are not willing to pay the price. There is no way to detour around death to self and still reach the goal of bearing fruit.

One of the great men of faith in history was George Müller. His work (providing for the needs of thousands and thousands of orphans) was carried out and financed completely through faith. Müller refused to seek financial support, instead trusting God to touch the hearts of people to support the work. His faith has challenged people for many years, adding another level of fruitfulness to his direct ministry during his life.

George Müller said, “There was a day when I died, utterly died, died to George Müller, his opinions, preferences, tastes and will, died to the world, its approval or censure, died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends, and since then I have studied to show myself approved unto God.” Each of us must make this choice. If we are willing to die to self, then God will accomplish His harvest in our lives.

“Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will. Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand? Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.”

Job 13:13–16

In the depths of his suffering and despair, when he had lost his possessions and his health, when he had been falsely accused by friends who should have comforted him, and when God was silent, Job maintained his faith. Though he did not have the Bible as we do as a source of instruction and encouragement, Job’s relationship with God was strong enough to withstand the most severe trial of his life when he had to stand alone.

In November of 2017, twenty-six people were murdered during the worship service at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. The pastor, Frank Pomeroy, was out of town that Sunday, and he returned home to conduct funerals for nearly half of his congregation. One of the victims was his fourteen-year-old daughter. Asked how he could explain this tragedy, Pomeroy replied, “I don’t understand, but I know my God does.”

God does not owe us an explanation of what He is doing in our lives, or a justification for the methods He chooses to bring about His will. He is God and we are not. It is our responsibility to trust Him whether we can see His plan or not. God does not stop working just because we cannot see what He is doing. He is still there, lovingly working through the circumstances of our lives to conform us to become more like Jesus. Often it is the things that are most painful in the moment that produce the greatest harvest of God’s work in our lives.

“If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”

John 13:14–17

The false belief that happiness could be found in getting just one more thing than we have now—a newer car, a bigger house, a larger paycheck, a different spouse, or a better church—has been around since the Garden of Eden. Even in a perfect world with no sin and only one restriction, Adam and Eve still looked on the forbidden fruit with longing, and eventually ate it despite God’s command. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Genesis 3:6).

Lasting happiness is never found in getting what God has decreed to be off limits. Instead it is found when we submit our will and our desires to His command, and obey. Dr. John Rice said, “Sin in the Christian brings the smiting of the conscience. It brings the rebuke of the Holy Spirit. No Christian can be a happy Christian, except as he day by day seeks to live in the smile of God’s approval. Godly living does not earn salvation, but it does bring happiness.” True happiness is not discovered by getting forbidden fruit, but rather by simple obedience. God knows better than we do what will promote and what will hinder happiness in our lives, and He only wants what is best for us.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Psalm 103:2–5

In the classic Peanuts Thanksgiving cartoon, Snoopy gets a regular bowl of dog food rather than a holiday meal. He responds, “This isn’t fair. The rest of the world today is eating turkey with all the trimmings, and all I get is dog food.” Then Snoopy stood there and stared at his dog food for a moment, and said, “I guess it could be worse. I could be a turkey.”

The key to being thankful is in remembrance—not just for what we have been given, but for what we have been spared. In our self-esteem focused society, people do not like to consider the true state of man. We build ourselves up so that we feel better, but the reality is that every person born into the world is born into a desperate situation. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

We have been given so much, yet too often our only focus is on what we do not have. Rather than allowing our happiness to be dictated by comparing what we have to what we think we deserve, or to what others have. Such comparison is a recipe for disaster. It quickly leads us not just to be ungrateful for what we have received, but to begin coveting what others have. This path quickly leads to many kinds of sin. There is more than just obedience involved in thankful living. Taking time to remember and give thanks protects us from evil in our own hearts.

“And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.”

Exodus 23:28-30

Many of us remember the childhood experience of “driving” the family car while seated on the lap of a parent or relative. We would tightly grip the wheel with both little hands, while the adult pushed on the gas pedal and brake. They would be right there to steer for us if we started to get off course. The reality was that while we might have wanted to drive the car, we simply weren’t ready for the responsibility involved and didn’t have the skills needed to do so safely. It would take years of physical growth, mental development, and emotional maturity before we were ready to take the wheel.

Often people are frustrated because God is not giving them the things they want—a particular position, a promotion, an opportunity to play a certain role. What they fail to realize is the delay could well be the result of the fact that God knows they are not yet ready to handle that task. We tend to view our strengths, talents, and abilities through a lens that makes us look good, but God knows what is in our heart.

If rather than viewing delay as a judgment or a failure of God to give us what we have coming, we would view that time as a learning experience, we would probably receive new opportunities and open doors more quickly. It is always safe to trust God’s judgment and timing when it comes to our path through life.

“The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God, Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.”

Deuteronomy 1:30–33

When God led the Children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt, He did not just give them freedom. He led them through the wilderness, providing them with everything they needed along the way. The visible symbol of God’s presence with His people was a constant reminder to them that He would meet their needs. In the daytime, when the desert sun was hot, it was seen as a cloud, offering shade and protection. At night, when the cold winds blew, it appeared as a fire, providing warmth. And day by day, when it was time to travel, the cloud led them toward their next destination.

God has not changed. He still has unlimited resources available to meet every need that we have. Yet too often Christians live without accessing what God has promised to provide. We try to make our way on our own, not realizing our inability to orchestrate life alone, and not claiming God’s promised provision. “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not” (James 4:2). It is a tragedy for a child of God to live as if he were an orphan.

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

Hebrews 13:5–6

The evangelist D. L. Moody loved to tell the story of a preacher he knew in Scotland who went once a week to a children’s hospital to try to comfort sick little ones. On one trip, he met a boy of six who was facing having his leg removed. The preacher asked if the boy had anyone to stay with him as he waited for the surgery. The boy explained that his father was dead, and his mother was too ill to leave their home. Feeling sorry for him, the preacher talked about how caring and loving the hospital staff were, trying to find some way to offer him comfort. Then the little boy said, “Jesus will be with me.”

There will never be a day as a Christian when you must face the trials and burdens of life alone. God is always with us, and nothing can separate us from Him or His love. There may be days when we do not feel His presence as we would like, but there will never be days when He is not there.

The delight of experiencing God’s presence in a real way should motivate us to living in such a way that we would not be ashamed if we could physically see Him with us. The reality of His presence should give us a sense of confidence and boldness that equips us to take on whatever threats or challenges would keep us from walking with Him. We should not expect the devil to leave us alone if we are trying to do right, but we should expect victory through God’s power.

“Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.”

Psalm 46:8–11

There is not a great deal of description in the Bible of the emotional state of the Israelites as they left Egypt the night of the first Passover. The final plague, the death of the firstborn of Egypt, had convinced Pharaoh to let them go. After four hundred years, they would be going to the land God had promised Abraham. There must have been enormous elation and gratitude in their hearts. Yet in just a few hours all of that was gone. They faced what seemed to be certain destruction, trapped between the Red Sea and the pursuing Egyptian army.

In that moment, they received one of the most difficult instructions from God—to do nothing. “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever” (Exodus 14:13).

There are certainly times when our action is required, and God does not do for us what He has enabled and equipped us to do for ourselves. But there are also times when we must be patient and wait for God to work. Our understanding of both the present and the future is necessarily limited, but God’s is not. He knows full well what we will face, and what the outcome of His plan for our lives will be.

“Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigneth. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein. Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the LORD, because he cometh to judge the earth. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.”

1 Chronicles 16:31–34

David’s heart was in the right place when he first attempted to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, but his methods were not right. God does not grant exceptions to His commands for good intentions, and David did not follow the instructions Moses had given for transporting this visible symbol of God’s presence among His people. As a result of ignoring the instructions, Uzzah was killed when he reached out to steady the Ark. After some time passed, David set out to do the job using the methods God had laid out. This time the process was successful, and the arrival of the Ark in the Holy City was a time of national praise and rejoicing, where David penned one of his greatest songs of gratitude to God.

Many times it is our moments of failure and judgment that lead to a deeper level of relationship and joy in God’s work in our lives if we look for His hand. F. B. Meyer wrote, “Often God seems to place His children in positions of profound difficulty…It is a platform for the display of His almighty grace and power. He will not only deliver you, but in doing so He will give you a lesson that you will never forget; and to which, in many a psalm and song in after days, you will revert. You will never be able to thank God enough for having done just as He has.”

“In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.”

2 Kings 20:1–3

Early on Saturday morning, January 13, 2018, thousands of people all across Hawaii were shocked to receive an official warning message on their phones. It said, “Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.” The frightening message was official, but thankfully it was sent in error. About thirty minutes later, people began receiving messages and updates that confirmed there was no attack. But for a period of time, it seemed things were about to become deadly serious.

Here is the reality. Though most people go through life day by day without any real thought that a given day might be their last, none of us know how much time we have. While we hope for a long and active life, and may take steps in that direction, there are no guarantees. We spend a great deal of time and effort in our society working on ways to overlook the fact that life will end, but sooner or later, that day is coming for all of us.

The question we must answer is whether we are living each day in such a way that we are prepared to stand before God. The truth that life will end is meant to motivate and prepare us for effective service and holy living. “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

Luke 1:35–37

I read about a little boy whose father asked him what they learned in Sunday school. The boy launched into a dramatic account of the crossing of the Red Sea, complete with fighter jets, amphibious naval assault craft, and a dramatic bomb strike at the crucial moment. When his dad asked if that was really the way they told the story, the boy replied, “Well not exactly. But I didn’t think you’d believe it if I told you what they said really happened!”

The Christian life cannot be lived without God. Yet too many times we fail to trust in the amazing power we have been given to do His purpose and will in this world. There is great opposition from the devil when we try to do what is right, but that opposition cannot overcome God’s people operating in God’s strength. “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

The problem is that when we try to overcome opposition and obstacles in our own strength, we are certain to fail. None of us have the wisdom, power, and ability to triumph on our own. God never intended us to have that. Instead, He intends for us to rely on Him alone. Then He not only gives us the victory, but He also gets the credit and glory for it, just as He deserves.

“When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs go through Samaria.”

John 4:1–4

In Bible times, Jewish people would go to great lengths to avoid going through Samaria. There was considerable tension between the Jews and the Samaritans, tracing back to the time of the Babylonian captivity. Jesus used a Samaritan in His famous parable to answer the lawyer’s question of who his neighbor was to highlight the actions of a despised person in a situation where others had not done as they should. Yet when Jesus was returning to His home near Galilee, He was compelled to go through Samaria by the reality that there were people in Sychar who needed to hear that the Messiah had come.

When the Bible uses the expression “must needs go” it is a strong statement—a declaration of necessity. This was not a preference or a whim. Instead, Jesus was responding to God’s commission on His life. He had to go there and tell first the woman He met at the well and then the entire town the good news. Jesus was driven by the urgency of reaching people, and before He returned to Heaven He commanded us to take up that mission and make it our priority.

The church today has many good and helpful programs, and I’m thankful for them. But if we are not careful we can lose sight of the vital importance of evangelism. Nothing can substitute for it. Nothing can be allowed to crowd it out or diminish it. Jesus said, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (John 10:16).

“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”

1 John 3:16–18

On October 1, 2017, concert goers at an outdoor venue in Las Vegas, Nevada, were attacked in what became one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history. As bullets flew among the shocked crowds, people rushed for safety, seeking a way to escape. Among the more than twenty thousand who attended the concert were a couple from Tennessee, Sonny and Heather Melton. Sonny placed his body between his wife and the shooter and kept the bullets from reaching her. He was shot, but her life was spared by his sacrifice.

Most of us will, hopefully, never face a life and death choice where we would have to protect someone else with our own bodies. Yet each day we are faced with choices of whether we will live for self or for others. There is no way to emulate the life of Christ without loving others to the point where we are willing to sacrifice for them. “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

We live in a world that glorifies selfishness. The value of sacrifice in God’s eyes is still great, but it is little valued by most of those around us. But we are not called to be like the world, or to be great in their eyes. Instead, we are called to lay down our lives, pick up the cross, and walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

1 John 5:11–13

Though for many of us it has been quite some time since we were in school, vivid memories of those days remain. We remember favorite classes and teachers, maybe a particular field trip or science project, or perhaps concerts or athletic competitions. If you go back to your alma mater now, even though years have passed, somewhere there will be a record of your time there. You can find a transcript of your grades as part of your permanent record. The one thing you cannot do now is change it. What happened was written down and recorded, and it is set.

The grace of God offers us a different approach to a far more important record—our standing with Him. The record we have established is not good. Our sin nature manifests itself even when we are very young. There are no “good” people, only sinners. Though some may be worse than others, all fall short of God’s demand of perfection. That is why we needed Jesus so desperately.

Grace applies the perfect righteousness of the Son of God to our record. Instead of seeing a list of our many faults and failings, God sees us as justified in His sight. What a blessing! Yet, sadly, we often take it for granted. Salvation is so wonderful and so marvelous that we never need another reason to be constantly praising and thanking God for what He has done for us.

“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12

Following his success at Kansas, UCLA hired Franklin “Pepper” Rodgers to be their head football coach in 1971. The season started with four straight losses, and alumni and fans loudly expressed their displeasure with the new leader. Later, Rodgers looked back on that painful season, which ended with only two wins and a last place finish in their conference. “My dog was my only true friend,” he wrote. “I told my wife that every man needs at least two good friends. She bought me another dog.”

There are tough times in everyone’s life, and one of the things that make it easier for us to handle difficult days is the presence of a true friend. Much of the pain we experience comes not just from the circumstances, but from the feeling that no one else really knows or cares what we are going through. The Apostle Paul knew this feeling. Late in his life looking back under the direction of the Holy Spirit he wrote to Timothy, “At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge” (2 Timothy 4:16).

While we cannot control whether we have a friend in moments of crisis (though certainly there are things we can do to establish and strengthen friendships), we can control whether we are a true friend to those who are hurting.

“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”

2 Timothy 2:2–4

Isaac Watts wrote some of the most powerful and influential hymns in all of church history. He grew up in the home of a non-comformist pastor. Because his father refused to be part of the official Church of England, he was persecuted and even put in jail twice. When Watts was a baby, his mother would take him to the prison so his father could pray over him. Though religious liberty had increased by the time Watts became a pastor himself as an adult, he never forgot that following Jesus Christ carries a price. In 1709 Isaac Watts wrote these words:

Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own His cause
Or blush to speak His name?

Sure I must fight if I would reign:
Increase my courage, Lord;
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.

The notion that following Christ leads to a life of ease and comfort is attractive, but false. Jesus came into the world with the message of hope and salvation that mankind needed, but that did not mean He was greeted with acceptance and open arms. Instead, He was hated by many and lived without what we consider to be the basic necessities of life for much of His time on Earth. “And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20).

“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

Romans 3:24–26

In 1981, a man named Lenny Chow appeared in the courtroom of Judge Thomas Maloney in Chicago to face a charge of murder. The accused was a hit man for a Chicago gang, and he could have faced the death penalty if convicted. After the judge ruled that a key piece of evidence was unreliable, Chow was acquitted of the charge and set free. What no one knew at the time was that Judge Maloney was a corrupt judge, who had taken a $100,000 bribe to ensure the guilty defendant got off. It was not until ten years later that an FBI undercover sting revealed the plot, and the crooked judge was finally arrested and convicted of taking bribes.

The love of God for us is beyond measure, but His love does not mean that He is willing to overlook our sin. He is a just Judge. The only way that we can come into His holy presence is if our sins have been paid for. No one can bribe God to let them off the hook. But the depth of God’s love meant that He was willing to provide for us a way of salvation. Though the cost was great, Jesus paid it on our behalf, and as a result we can be justified without God sacrificing His perfect justice. “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11).

“But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

2 Timothy 2:20–22

Today there are many pressures for us to become more and more like the world in an effort to reach the world. But this direction is doomed to failure. It will not work to reach the lost, but it will destroy the spiritual health and well-being of those who take that route.

The work to which God has called us is greater than we can do in our power or reach by human philosophy. It is only as we surrender our lives to the Lord as His instruments that He uses us by His power. Rather than borrowing worldly methods or adjusting to sinful lifestyles, we should recognize our need for the filling of the Holy Spirit and strive to live in such a way that we will be clean vessels through which His power will flow.

Charles Spurgeon said, “A church which, in a living way, holds fast the truth once for all delivered to the saints will also separate itself from the ways of the world: in fact, the world and the worldly church will shun it and push it into the place of separation. The more separated we are after our Master’s fashion, the more fit we shall be to do His bidding.” The work of God must be done in the power of God if it is to have a genuine impact, and we cannot expect to have His power unless we are walking in obedience.

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”

2 Corinthians 4:7–10

From the earliest records of human history, man has been making idols and images to worship. The false gods are merely an imitation of the real thing, a diversion designed by Satan to substitute for true worship. But their creation across so many cultures and centuries reveals a truth about the human heart—we have a longing to see something that is greater than we are. Even the most ardent atheist, no matter how much he tries to conceal, has this void of longing inside. God is real, and we need Him.

Because God is invisible, we cannot see Him. “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18). Jesus was only present on the Earth for a few years, and while He was fully and completely God, He did not appear in glory and power except for brief moments. Instead, He revealed God to the world through His actions, His words, and His compassion and love for others. Today, it falls to us to show the world the true nature of God.

Annie Johnson Flint wrote:

We are the only Bible
The careless world will read;
We are the sinner’s gospel,
We are the scoffer’s creed;
We are the Lord’s last message,
Given in deed and word;
What if the type is crooked?
What if the print is blurred?
What if our hands are busy
With other work than His?