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“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.”

1 Timothy 1:12–14

One of the great privileges of my life was spending some time with Dr. Lee Roberson in his later years. When Dr. Roberson gave his life to God, he meant it! As a young man, he turned down a lucrative recording contract to preach the gospel. Then after more than fifty years of ministry as a pastor, he became an evangelist, traveling across the country well into his nineties, reaching the lost and challenging Christians to be active in their service for Christ. He was greatly talented, but the most important characteristic of his life was that Dr. Roberson was faithful in using his talents for God.

The importance of faithful, diligent, consistent service for the Lord cannot be overstated. The greatest need of our day is not more talent, but more faithfulness. The world measures success by how much is accomplished in things that can be measured. God measures success by how much is accomplished in things that truly matter. “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).

God needs nothing from us. His abilities and resources are not improved by the contributions that we can offer. He graciously allows us to be part of His work despite our inability to do anything at all for Him apart from His power. What He wants from us is consistent, dedicated, devoted, faithful service. Whatever gifts and talents God has given you will mean nothing if you are not faithful to use them for Him. As Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. used to say, “The greatest ability is dependability.”

“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 15:57–58

The Christian life is not meant to be a life of ease where nothing ever goes wrong. It is a life of work, labor, sacrifice, and effort. We constantly face challenges and are tempted to indulge in discouragement and complaining. There are days when we may wonder, like Elijah, if we are the only ones left who are being faithful. There are days when we may feel, like Gideon, that we have been given an impossible task. There are days when we weep like Hannah when it seems our greatest desires will never be realized.

But on every day, regardless of our circumstances, we should be faithful in our service. And God calls us to be abounding—overflowing—not just doing the bare minimum required to get by. Many times we are tempted to complain and gripe about the obstacles we face. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Christ does not say, ‘Murmur at your cross.’ That is the very reverse of taking it up. As long as a man is alive, and out of hell, he cannot have any cause to complain. Be he where he may,—be he placed in the most abject position conceivable,—the man is better off than he deserves to be. Let not a single murmur, then, ever escape our lips.”

When we complain, we reveal a lack of faith in the rewards that God has promised. The writer of Hebrews, after listing many great men and women of faith concludes, “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise” (Hebrews 11:39). The fact that we may never in this life receive rewards does not mean God will fail to see our work bear fruit.

“Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Greet one another with an holy kiss. All the saints salute you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen”

2 Corinthians 13:11–14

Professional athletes have all kinds of support—nutritional, financial, and medical, as well as trainers for every aspect of their on and off field lives. Recently, the Houston Astros hired their former All-Star third baseman Morgan Ensberg to their minor league staff as a “mindset coach.” His assignment to make sure that coaches, staff, and players throughout the organization are all on the same page. The fact that a massive organization dedicated to winning baseball games thinks this is an important investment, highlights the importance of the way we think.

The work of God is greatly hindered by unnecessary divisions among God’s people. While there are certainly times when we must take a stand and even break with someone over a doctrinal issue, we should never be eager for divisions. In pleading with two members of the church at Philippi to work together, Paul wrote, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). There are as many different opinions and ideas as there are people, but if each one of us puts what God thinks (which we find in the pages of His Word) ahead of what we think, we will find it easy to be in harmony with each other. This was one of the most important characteristics of the early church in Jerusalem. Over and over in Acts we read statements like this one: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1).

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 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:”

Romans 8:1–3

One of the rights we enjoy as citizens of the United States that not everyone in the world has is a legal protection against being tried twice for the same crime. The prohibition against “double jeopardy” is found in the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. The principle, which apparently dates back to ancient Roman law, holds that once having been acquitted of a criminal charge, a person can never again face punishment for it.

When we accept the salvation from sin Christ offers to us through grace, it changes our legal standing. No longer are we in jeopardy because of our sin. Though Satan still accuses us to God, the righteousness of Christ which is applied to our account is all that God sees. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).

Many Christians are held back from being as fruitful and productive for God as they should be because of guilt over something they did or failed to do in the past. While there may be ongoing repercussions and consequences from past sins, there is no more guilt. We can never be judged for sins that are covered by the blood of Jesus. “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).

“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

2 Peter 1:3–4

Though most of us now take it for granted, the ability to get directions from a GPS system in our cars or on our phones has revolutionized travel. Not that long ago, it was common to see a traveler on the side of the road with a large map, trying to determine the right path to take. Now, not only can we be given turn-by-turn directions, but many systems will even reroute you around a traffic jam or accident, finding a faster route to your destination. These GPS systems are able to do that because they have a massive amount of information available to them, which they use to provide guidance.

God knows far more than any man or program. The Bible contains all of the guidance that we need to live as victorious Christians in a manner that is pleasing to God. Though it does not give us specific roads to drive on, it does tell us what our goal and destination should be, and how to get there. The obstacles, challenges, and decisions we face will not derail those who are following the leading of the Holy Spirit. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). The problem comes in when we think that we know better, or want to go our own way rather than following the instructions. If I turn right every time the GPS tells me to turn left, I will soon find myself far off course.

“Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.”

John 12:30–33

I read a wonderful story about a missionary to Zimbabwe who was trying diligently to witness to a man who had no interest in the gospel. When the man continued to refuse to listen to the message, the missionary offered to give him a New Testament. The uninterested man replied that he would just use the pages to roll his cigarettes and smoke them. The missionary said, “Well at least promise to read the pages before you smoke them!” The man agreed.

Fifteen years passed before the two men met again, and this time it was at a preaching conference. The once lost man who had declared his intention to smoke the pages of the Bible was now an effective evangelist. In his message, he gave his testimony and told the story of being given a New Testament. “I smoked Matthew and I smoked Mark and I smoked Luke. But when I got to John 3:16, I couldn’t smoke anymore. My life was changed from that moment.”

The power of the message God has given us to take to the world is not found in our ability, our personality, or our charisma. It is found in the story of the crucifixion, for the cross is the measure of God’s amazing love for the world. When we substitute that message with anything else, we are weakening the power of our witness to the lost. Paul reminded the Corinthians of his ministry in their city this way: “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

Matthew 7:13–14

Perhaps you have seen an artistic depiction of the teaching of Jesus on the broad way and the narrow way. Often artists will portray a wide, well-paved road leading through the middle of a valley while far off on the side there is a narrow winding path leading up the mountainside. That is a gripping image, but the reality is that sometimes the “narrow way” runs directly next to the “broad way,” only going the opposite direction. To use another analogy, sometimes God’s children must follow Him by “swimming upstream” against the current of the world.

It reminds me of the joke about an elderly man who was driving home when his cell phone rang. His wife said, “Herman, I just heard on the news that there’s a car going the wrong direction on the freeway Please be careful!”

“It’s not just one car,” said Herman. “There are hundreds of them!” If we are committed to following God, then the world will view us as going in the wrong direction. The world’s children and God’s children should not agree, because we do not have a common goal.

Many Christians wrongly think that if they will just tone down the message of the gospel to make it less offensive, they will have a greater impact on the world. But we must be committed to pleasing God, not to making friends of the world. “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19).

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.”

Galatians 5:1–3

In April of 2016 the crew of a fishing and sightseeing boat was scouting the waters not far off the coast of California. They were looking for whales or other large marine animals when they spotted a large leatherback sea turtle that was struggling, entangled in a large mass of kelp. One of the crew members who had grown up in Hawaii and whose family often rescued turtles there jumped into the water and cut the seaweed from around the turtle’s flippers. Released from the restrictions, the turtle dove and swam rapidly away.

The freedom that God gives to us as His children is not a license to do whatever we choose, but the liberty to do what He has commanded. When we wallow in the things of the world, seeking our pleasure and meaning outside of God’s will, we may think that we are free, but in truth we are simply entangled by the deceitfulness of sin—and our walk will be hindered. The things God calls and commands us to do cannot be done while sin restricts our mobility.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). The allure of sin during the moment of temptation obscures the chains that always follow. We need to be mindful of our high calling and purpose as God’s children and not be entangled with sin.

“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

Malachi 3:8-10

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to excuse disobedience? We catch it in our children more than we do in ourselves, but that isn’t always because we are less guilty. We also have a tendency to disobey the Lord. The people in Malachi’s day were no different. They excused their disobedience with feigned ignorance. They knew God’s law required them to bring a tithe, but when they were told they were robbing God, they acted shocked. “Wherein have we robbed thee?”

Whether it is in how we manage our finances, or any other area of life, we are given the choice—we can either do what God instructs, or we can decide to go our own way. Invariably going our own way leads to sad consequences. Though many view God’s laws as meant to deprive us of things that are enjoyable, they are actually intended to protect us from things that are damaging.

The indisputable fact, declared in the Bible and proven for thousands of years, is that when we do what God says we will be blessed. Though those blessings take many forms, and sometimes are not the ones that people expect, they are certain. “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” (James 1:25).

Yet too often rather than yielding to God’s instructions, we think that we can still receive His blessings while going our own way. That never works. As one old preacher said, “Don’t sow wild oats and then pray for crop failure.” If we wish to enjoy the bountiful blessings of God on our lives, our families, and our work, we simply must do as He commands.

“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”

Proverbs 3:7–10

I read a beautiful story from a missionary to Africa who told about a young man who knocked on his door one day. When he answered the door, he found the man holding a large fish. He said, “Missionary, you taught us what tithing is, so I have brought my tithe.” The missionary took the fish and then asked, “So where are the other nine fish?” The man smiled and said, “They are still in the river. I’m going back to catch them now!”

When it comes to our time, our money, and our talents, God is to come first. Because of His greatness and glory, He should occupy the position of priority and preeminence in our lives. He should not and will not come last and accept the scraps and leftovers. He commanded that the Israelites bring sacrifices that were the very best that they had: “But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you” (Leviticus 22:20).

Of course God does not need anything that we have, and everything we have is a result of His grace and belongs to Him. The thing that is important is that we demonstrate His place of honor and importance in our lives when we put Him first. The Christian who claims to love God and put Him first but does not give, serve, and help in His work does not love Him as He deserves and demands. It is not in our speech but in our actions that we demonstrate the depth of our devotion to Him.

“I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.”

Psalm 50:9–12

I heard about a preacher during the Great Depression who was walking down the street of a Midwest city. He saw a little boy with his face pressed up against the glass of a store, looking longingly at the candy displayed in the window. The preacher didn’t have a lot of money, but he wanted to do something for the boy so he took him inside and bought a small bag of candy. But when the preacher asked the boy for a piece, he shouted, “No! It’s mine!” and ran out of the store.

Too often we treat God similarly. Rather than acknowledging Him as both the source and rightful owner of everything we have, we insist that it is ours and regard the Bible commands on giving as an unfair imposition. What a tragedy! Our names may be on the house deed, the car title, or the bank account, but God is the owner. “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).

Rather than clinging tightly to every dime and every possession, we should be generous and grateful that God has made it possible for us to contribute to His work. It is an amazing measure of His grace that He first provides us the ability to give and then rewards us with blessings when we give back to Him part of what He has already given us.

“If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

Ephesians 4:21–24

The great pioneer missionary Adoniram Judson suffered enormous hardship and loss during more than thirty years of faithful service in Burma (modern day Myanmar). He buried two wives and numerous children. He was persecuted, imprisoned, and tortured. He labored for more than six years before seeing his first convert. It took him years to translate the Bible into the very difficult Burmese language. Yet Judson did not consider himself to have reached a high level in the Christian life. When someone compared him to the Apostle Paul Judson responded, “I do not want to be like a Paul...or any mere man. I want to be like Christ. I want to follow Him only, copy His teachings, drink in His Spirit, and place my feet in His footprints. Oh, to be more like Christ!”

The world does not need better educated and trained Christians. The world does not need Christians who fit in better and don’t make waves with their beliefs. What it needs is Christians who are less like the world and more like Jesus. The sacrificial life of Christ is the pattern we are meant to follow. “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). He is the standard by which we will be measured and evaluated for our service, and He is the example that we are meant to emulate. The more that we focus our efforts on following His steps, the more powerful and effective our lives will be.

“Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.”

Jeremiah 29:12–14

The Israelites who were taken to Babylon as captives were suffering because they had disobeyed God's commands regarding the Sabbath. Rather than trusting Him to provide a bountiful harvest, they continued to plant every year. Just as God had warned them before they entered the Promised Land, they were conquered and taken away as a result. “Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths” (Leviticus 26:34).

But when it seemed that all hope was lost and they would never be able to return to their homeland, God commanded the prophet Jeremiah to send them a message. Though they had ignored God’s warning of the coming judgment, now Jeremiah told them that God still had a plan and purpose for their future—and that if they would repent and turn back to Him, He would restore them.

There are many Christians who are enduring hardship because of sins or mistakes they have made, though, of course, not all suffering is a result of sin. But rather than being discouraged and thinking things will never change for the better, they need to remember the eternal promise of God. He never gives up on us, and He never forsakes us. If we turn to Him, He will forgive and restore.

“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.”

Lamentations 3:21-25

When the Children of Israel were in the wilderness, the vast population faced a crucial food shortage. God responded by sending them manna to eat. The food miraculously appeared six mornings each week (extra manna fell and was gathered on the sixth day so they would not have to work on the Sabbath) for the entire time until they crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Each morning there was new manna. If they tried to keep it overnight during the week, it would go bad.

Just as the manna fell morning after morning, God’s mercy is renewable from an inexhaustible supply—it is new each and every morning. As long as the sun continues to come up, as long as God’s children continue to need Him, His mercy will be there for us. “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 136:1). No matter how much trouble we face, we will never have a problem that God cannot meet. And because of His mercy, kindness, and love for us, we can be confident that He will act.

Jeremiah knew what it was to suffer greatly and face hard times. His message to the people of Israel warning of impending judgment was so unpopular that he was thrown into jail. Then his nation was conquered by a foreign army and many of the people carried away as captives to Babylon. Yet through it all, Jeremiah remained faithful because he knew God was unfailing in mercy.

“Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.”

1 Corinthians 4:8–10

I heard about an elderly concert pianist who had been touring and playing with leading orchestras around the world for decades. As he waited in the dressing room before a performance, another pianist who was sharing the program with him entered. He hurried over to the famed musician and said, “You probably don’t remember me, but some years ago I played for you and when I was finished, I asked if you thought I had what it took to become a concert pianist. You told me I didn’t, but I kept on anyway, and here I am.” The older man responded, “I told everyone who auditioned for me that they didn’t have what it took. I knew the ones who did have what it took wouldn’t stop!”

Although I don’t recommend discouragement as a great mentoring tool, it is true that anyone who has accomplished anything meaningful and lasting has had to face and overcome criticism and condemnation from others. This is true in the world, and it is true in God’s work as well. While it would be nice to think that others would recognize the effort and motivation in laboring for the Lord, often that is not the case. The reality is that criticism doesn’t matter. We should consider what critics have to say, and make any needed changes. But we should never allow critics to determine our direction or our attitude as we continue on God’s path.

“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

1 Peter 5:5–7

In his book 101 More Hymn Stories, Kenneth Osbeck describes the birth of the hymn “God Will Take Care of You”: “The Reverend W. Stillman Martin, a well-known Baptist evangelist, was invited to preach at a church some distance from the Bible school. That Sunday morning, Mrs. Martin became suddenly ill, making it impossible for her to accompany her husband to his speaking engagement. Mr. Martin seriously considered canceling his speaking assignment, since it would be needful for him to be gone from her for a considerable time. Just then, however, their young son spoke up and said, ‘Father, don’t you think that if God wants you to preach today, He will take care of Mother while you are away?’”

Martin kept his speaking engagement, and that afternoon, feeling much better, his wife Civilla wrote the words to a poem praising God’s love and care for His children. When he returned home, Martin sat down at their organ and worked out the music to go with it, and before they went to bed that evening, the hymn was complete. Later that year it appeared in print for the first time, and for more than one hundred years it has been encouraging God’s people.

There are often times when people feel sympathy for a hardship or trial, but are unable to do anything to help. That never happens to God! He has the resources to meet every need, and while He does not promise to take away every pain, He never leaves us to bear our burdens alone.

“Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.”

Psalm 48:11–14

During World War II when the Germans launched their bombing campaign against England, the Blitz took a terrible toll on English civilians. The massive waves of planes dropped their bombs indiscriminately, hoping to demoralize the English people. As a result of the campaign of terror, Operation Pied Piper was launched to move tens of thousands of children out of the cities and into the countryside where they would be safer.

Trains rolled out of London and other large cities day after day, carrying the children away from their homes. Some were able to stay with relatives, but many ended up spending years with total strangers. It is said that a reporter at one point asked a young boy standing on a platform getting ready to board a train if he knew where he was going. “No,” the boy replied without fear, “But the king does!”

Although the path that we walk through this world is not always visible to our eyes, it is not hidden from God. He knows exactly what is coming—what we will face and how we will respond. “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10). Many Christians go off course when they don’t see God working immediately. Rather than trusting Him to work in His time, they take matters into their own hands. That route always leads to trouble. But we will never regret trusting and following God.

“Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.”

Jeremiah 29:5–7

As Christians, we recognize that eternity matters more than the present, and that we are part of a kingdom that is not of this world. Though Paul was a citizen of the Roman Empire with all of the rights that came with that position, he wrote, “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). First and foremost we are children of God, and that should always be our priority.

However, we also live in this world. God told Jeremiah to send instructions to the Israelites living in captivity in Babylon that while they were there, they should build homes and plant gardens. Babylon was not God’s ultimate plan for His people. One day He would touch the heart of Cyrus to send the captives back to Israel. But that was in the future, and in the meantime, God wanted them to be good and productive people who made the place where they were living better by being there.

The same principle applies for us. The fact that we are God’s people should not just change how we live on Sundays, but every day. We need to be shining lights and examples of God’s goodness. George Washington wrote, “We are persuaded that good Christians will always be good citizens, and that where righteousness prevails among individuals, the Nation will be great and happy.”

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

John 14:1–3

I read about a little girl who was taking a walk with her father on a night when there were no clouds and the stars were shining brightly. Looking up at the twinkling lights she exclaimed, “Oh Daddy, if the wrong side of Heaven is so beautiful, what must the right side be!” We are told perhaps less than we would like about Heaven in the Word of God, but we are assured that it is wonderful and perfect. And because of the salvation freely offered to us by God’s grace, it is our eternal destination.

The reality is that with our finite minds, we are incapable of understanding what the timeless perfection of Heaven will truly be like. It exceeds the scope of our imaginations. “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

However limited our ability to grasp the wonders of Heaven may be, there is this sure and certain thing that we are promised—we will be eternally in the very presence of God, free forever from sin, sickness, death, disease and tears. David said, “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15). The promise of Heaven is given to us as a source of hope and comfort. God knows the challenges and burdens we face, so He offers us the hope of eternity with Him.

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

1 Corinthians 2:14–16

In 1995 the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which contains one of the most extensive art collections in the world, held a most unusual exhibit. More than forty paintings, all belonging to the museum, were placed on display in the Rembrandt/Not Rembrandt exhibition. Less than half of them were definitely attributed to the famous artist. The majority had once been thought to be painted by Rembrandt, but later proved through careful research to be either imitations by others or outright forgeries. The museum said, “The purpose of this exhibition is to demystify through educational displays the kind of research that goes on at a museum like the Metropolitan by demonstrating the different approaches art historian and conservators take.”

Since the Garden of Eden, Satan has been offering counterfeits to God’s truth—and generation after generation, people continue to “buy” the fake rather than holding to and valuing what is real. The simple fact is that we cannot discern between God’s truth and Satan’s lies without the help of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who holds up the absolute standard of Scripture, calling to our remembrance what God has actually said. The Holy Spirit is the one who gives us discernment and equips us to determine truth from falsehood. Often people will talk about being guided by their conscience or their heart, but those are untrustworthy guides. Instead we must rely on the Word of God as illuminated and applied to our thinking through the Spirit to make wise spiritual judgments.

“And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken. Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,”

2 Chronicles 33:10–12

Though we are saved by grace and made part of God’s family, we will not be perfected into the image of Christ until we see the Lord. All of us do things we should not and fail to do things we should. When we sin, God corrects us. He uses the truth of His Word, the conviction of the Holy Spirit, the wise counsel of friends, and the circumstances of life to try to turn our hearts back to Him. If, however, we refuse to respond and continue on in our sin, God does not just overlook it and allow us to continue. He will increase His efforts to get our attention, knowing that chastening is often required before we will let go of the sins we cling to and turn back to Him.

This was the case for Manasseh. Though his father was the godly king Hezekiah, Manasseh became a devoted idol worshiper. He ignored the warnings of the prophets, and it was not until he had lost his throne and his kingdom that he was willing to repent.

There is a warning in the retelling of the story of the Children of Israel regarding our refusal to heed God’s correction. “When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God” (Psalm 78:34). God loves us too much to allow sin in our lives to continue without responding.

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 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. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.”

2 Corinthians 4:3–5

The highly lethal Ebola virus has been known for many years, but a major outbreak in 2014 created a global health scare. As hundreds of patients in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia contracted the deadly disease, the local health care facilities were quickly overrun. International groups like the World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders set up emergency treatment in the effected areas. They did everything possible to let people know that help was available. Though thousands died, many tens of thousands were saved as the worst cases were isolated and treated. Nearly three years passed before the outbreak was finally considered to be fully controlled.

There has been a raging sin virus spreading throughout the world since the Garden of Eden. It is 100 percent deadly, and there is only one hope of a cure. Yet far too often God’s children, having received the cure of salvation for themselves, fail to do their part to shine the light of the gospel into the darkness of the world. It is a tragedy because we are God’s only plan for reaching the lost. He does not send angels to carry the message. Instead He commands us to do it. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). We are the only hope for a lost and dying world.

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”

1 John 4:1–3

A few years ago a Pew Forum survey revealed that a majority of Americans believe that most or all religions are equally effective in getting people to Heaven. The most shocking finding was that more than half of those who identified themselves as evangelical Christians agreed—despite the clear teaching of the Bible, and of many of their churches, that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. The disdain for the concept of absolute truth that has permeated our society has infected much of the church as well. However, the truth is not altered or affected by whether it is believed. It remains unchanging.

The first temptation began with Satan questioning God’s Word. “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1). And ever since that moment, the truth of what God has declared has been under attack. These attacks take many forms, and in our day the widespread acceptance of false doctrines and beliefs as equivalent to the truth has made many Christians reluctant to stand and declare, “Thus saith the Lord.” The truth has never relied on being popular for its foundation—it is based on the nature of God, and like Him it never changes.

“When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south.”

Psalm 126:1–4

According to a study done in 2012 by the Barna Group, 84 percent of non-Christians knew someone who professed to be a believer, but only 15 percent said the lifestyles of the Christians were noticeably different in a positive way. God’s plan is not for His children to blend in and be indistinguishable from the world, but for us to stand out. “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).

The reality is that the picture of God that the world has is largely formed, not from the revealed truth of Scripture, but from the lives of those who wear His name. And while we realize that not all professing Christians are truly believers, we must also recognize our responsibility to maintain a testimony and lifestyle that reflects glory and honor to our Heavenly Father. We do a great disservice to God and those around us when we drag the holy name we have been given through the mud by our conduct.

When Nathan confronted David over his sin with Bathsheba, the prophet pointed out that David had not just disgraced himself. “Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die” (2 Samuel 12:14). We must live up to the privilege of wearing God’s name.

“But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.”

Galatians 1:11–14

Salvation is a completely transformative experience. Even those of us who were saved at a young age—before being deeply involved with the sinful habits of others who were saved later in life—are totally changed, because we received a new nature. Paul wrote, “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). Salvation changes every part of our lives.

There has never been a more fervent enemy of the cause of Christ than the Apostle Paul. He did everything in his power to stamp out the new religion and to harm the followers of Jesus Christ. There were no limits to what Paul would do or where he would go to persecute Christians. When he saw Jesus, Paul was making a trip of more than one hundred miles to Damascus to keep Christianity from spreading there. From that moment on, he dedicated his life to a new cause.

When Paul gave his testimony before King Agrippa he said, “Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come” (Acts 26:22). There is nothing more important than following the will and purpose of God—He saved us so that we can walk in His ways.

“But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Romans 7:23–25

In his poem Aeneid, which details the mythical life of the founder of Rome, Virgil described a cruel and wicked tyrant named King Mezentius who opposed the hero Aeneas. Among the evidences given for his harshness was his practice of tying corpses to those whom he wished to execute but did not wish for them to die quickly. Mezentius’ victims were condemned to carry the dead body around with them until the decay spread and killed them as well.

That is something like the image that Paul uses in describing the old nature that remains with us even after we are saved. While we are given a new nature and a new father, the old remains. Paul described his own struggle with doing what was right: “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Romans 7:19). The body of death, the sin nature, will never leave us until we reach Heaven.

The difference, however, between our experience and King Mezentius’ victims is that we are not doomed to continually fall into sin; in fact, we are destined to victory. God is our deliverer. Ultimately, we will be freed from sin when we are in His presence. In the meantime, He is always faithful when we seek His help: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

“Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.”

Ezekiel 3:17–19

Ed McCully had a wealth of talent and ability. He was a gifted college athlete and a powerful speaker. In fact, he won the Hearst Oratorical Contest in 1949 over ten thousand other student speakers. While studying law at Marquette University, Ed became convinced that God wanted him in ministry. He joined his friend Jim Elliot and began traveling and preaching across America. The two, along with three other friends eventually went to Ecuador, where they were martyred trying to reach a tribe then called the Auca Indians. Ed McCully died at just twenty-eight without the results of ministry that the world would judge successful. But by God’s standard, he did exactly what he should have done with his life and talents.

The Lord does not demand that we produce results, for that is His doing. Paul wrote, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6–7). God demands that we faithfully deliver the message He has given us. That is the vital task we must not fail to perform. Every one of us is surrounded by people who are destined for Hell and need to be warned before it is too late.

“And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it. And Joab answered, The LORD make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?”

1 Chronicles 21:1–3

David was greatly blessed by God during his reign over Israel. The small Jewish state grew into a great power as victory followed victory. Yet later in his life, rather than being grateful for what God had done, David was filled with pride and conducted a census, apparently with the desire to bring honor to himself. In spite of the wise counsel of Joab, David insisted on numbering the people. This counting of the people brought the serious judgment of God, because at heart it was based on the sin of pride.

The temptation of pride has been with us since sin entered the world: “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).

The thing that makes pride so subtle and so destructive is that it is so easy for us to rationalize pride as something else entirely. David could excuse his sin of wanting to rejoice in how big his army was by pointing out the need of a commander to know the number of his troops. But God sees the heart. When we are tempted to excuse our pride, we should instead humble ourselves before God.

“And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.”

1 Samuel 17:38–40

If you read through the Bible and through the history of God’s work in the world, you quickly find that those who God chooses to do His work are not usually the most gifted or best equipped. David was so lightly regarded in his own family that when Samuel told Jesse one of his sons would be the next king, Jesse didn’t even bother to call David in from the fields to be considered. David did not have the military training to take on a soldier, and he found Saul’s armor a poor fit. But what David had was faith that the same God who had protected him and given him success fighting the animals that tried to harm his sheep would give him victory over the giant Goliath.

Too often when we are facing a battle, we focus on our resources, training, abilities, and skills when we should instead be focused on God. It is not up to us to be the source of victory, but instead to trust in the God who has all power. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).

“Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

John 8:42–44

The world tells people they are okay just as they are, and sadly there are many churches echoing this message. The clear denunciation of sin and the fearless demand for repentance that characterized the preaching of the prophets and apostles has been replaced with a soothing message of acceptance. But while this message is popular, it is also deadly, for it leaves people complacent regarding sin.

The reality is that all of us were born with a sinful nature. David wrote, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). The way we are is not acceptable to God because our natural inclination is to follow the selfish desires exhibited by Satan. We sin because we want to sin—it is our nature. It is considered horribly offensive to tell people that they are children of the devil. When Jesus said it, His hearers were so provoked that they tried to kill Him.

Every person born into the world since Adam has been a sinner by nature and by choice. The only hope to break free of the bondage of sin is a new nature that comes when we put our faith in Christ as our Saviour. While it may be easier in the moment to let those around you, who do not know the Lord believe their sin doesn’t matter, the most loving thing you can do is tell them of a Saviour who offers to give them true freedom.

“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

1 Corinthians 10:11–13

Heavyweight boxer James “Quick” Tillis grew up in a poor family in Oklahoma. When he began his professional boxing career, he decided to move to Chicago where he would have better training and publicity opportunities. In the personal account of his life, Tillis wrote, “I got off the bus with two suitcases under my arms in downtown Chicago and stopped in front of the Sears Tower. I put my suitcases down, and I looked up at the Tower and I said to myself, ‘I am going to conquer Chicago.’ When I looked down, the suitcases were gone!”

All of us are tempted to rely on ourselves—to think that we have things together and can make it on our own. That is never true. In fact, it is when we are most self-confident and self-reliant that we are in the greatest danger of failure. The battles we face cannot be won in our own strength. Even the archangel Michael relied on God’s strength rather than his own when confronting Satan. “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee” (Jude 1:9).

God calls us to be victorious, but it is His power that wins the battles, not ours. When our focus is on ourselves and what we can do, we are in a dangerous place.

“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”

Romans 12:3–5

The world around us is filled with voices that encourage us to put ourselves first. Advertising, entertainment, and even the news lift up those who promote themselves. In our day, it is common for people without any notable accomplishments to be famous for no other apparent reason than that they are famous. And this is held up as an achievement. The devil is delighted when we listen to any voice that promotes a message different than God does. Someone described the way the world’s advice conflicts with God’s commands this way:

Appetite says, “Be sensuous, enjoy yourself.”
Education says, “Be resourceful, expand yourself.”
Materialism says, “Be satisfied, please yourself.”
Psychology says, “Be confident, fulfill yourself.”
Humanism says, “Be capable, believe in yourself.”
Pride says, “Be superior, promote yourself.”
God says, “Be wise, humble yourself.”

The purpose of the Christian life is not self satisfaction. When we look around us and hold ourselves up as the standard of measurement, we are missing the point. Worse, we are falling into the trap of pride that inevitably leads to a downfall. Instead, we need to view ourselves the way God does—as valuable members of His work because of the gifts and abilities that He has given us. When we do that, we will not lift up ourselves, but instead will lift up the Lord. The view that we take of our role in God’s plan determines whether or not we will be found faithful and humble.

“Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.”

Ezra 5:1–2

When the children of Israel returned from the seventy years of captivity in Babylon, one of the first things they did was to build a new altar on the site of Solomon’s Temple which had been destroyed, and then lay the foundations for a new Temple. But it was not long before work on the Temple was abandoned as the people focused on their own homes. God sent prophets to rebuke the people, and remind them to complete the task that they had begun. “Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?” (Haggai 1:4). Finally almost twenty years after work was begun, the second Temple was completed and dedicated.

In this story, there is a powerful reminder for us of the importance of maintaining proper priorities. There will always be competing claims and interests—more things to do than time and resources will allow. This reality forces all of us to make choices day after day. And those choices reveal what we value most.

It is not our words that declare our hearts, but our actions. When the people of Israel relaxed in their finished homes while the Temple still lay in ruins, they were showing that their declarations of love for God were not genuine. If you examine where you spend your time and your money, it will be clear what you value most. The things of God must come first if we are to please and honor Him with our lives.

“And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?”

Zechariah 3:1–2

The prophet Zechariah was given a most unusual vision. He saw the spiritual leader of the Jewish people, the high priest Joshua, being directly resisted by Satan. There is constant spiritual warfare to discourage and defeat Christians who are trying to do something for God. Satan does not just sit back idly while we move forward in the Christian life. All those who are trying to reach the lost, grow in grace, and be a positive influence on others will face opposition.

Our goal should be to do so much for God, that we attract the attention of Satan. Luke records the story of seven young men, sons of a Jewish priest named Sceva, who decided to gain notoriety for themselves by trying to cast out demons. When they meet with a demon possessed man, the evil spirit was not impressed. “And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” (Acts 19:15–16).

The devil does not need to resist those who are doing nothing. It is only those who are moving forward in God’s work who get his attention. But there is good news. Zechariah’s vision also showed that when Satan tried to resist Joshua, God was there standing up for His servant. When we face opposition from the devil, we can always count on God to defend and encourage us to keep on doing right.

“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

Revelation 12:9–10

One of the most powerful tools of modern political campaigns is what is referred to as “opposition research.” There are huge companies that do nothing but look into the lives of opposition candidates. For a price, they will hire employees to follow candidates to public events and record them in hopes of catching a mistake or something that can be used for negative ads. Huge files reaching thousands of pages are put together of past statements, business deals, personal lives, and failures. Anything that might be used to make a voter turn against a candidate is considered fair game in the world of opposition research.

As Christians we face a dedicated and persistent enemy who is continually throwing accusations against us. Because we still sin even after we are saved, he does not even have to make false accusations—the truth is bad enough. Satan makes these accusations against us to God, and he makes them to us as well, attempting to keep us from living in freedom and victory. Yet against every one of these charges, there is a defense, for Jesus Himself serves as our attorney. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). Satan cannot bring us into defeat and guilt over sins Christ has forgiven as long as we claim the protection and defense provided by our Saviour.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

2 Corinthians 10:3–6

What people think determines how they feel and how they act. In the 1970s, a Stanford professor named David Rosenhan conducted an experiment. He and several other healthy subjects checked themselves into mental institutions. They then tried to convince the staff that they were normal. They did not exhibit any characteristics of mental illness or abnormal behavior, but on average it took nearly three weeks for them to be released. Even then many of the facilities insisted on putting a continuing treatment plan in place before allowing them to leave. Why did they respond that way? Because they were convinced there was a problem and found evidence to support their belief.

The Christian life requires proper thinking if we are to live as God intends. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). Victory does not begin on the outside, but on the inside with our thoughts. The way that we view every part of life—worship, work, family, others—is determined by how we think about those things. God has given us His Word, not to carry to church on Sundays and then set aside, but instead to guide, control, and fill our thinking. “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8).

“Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.”

Zechariah 3:3–5

Edward Mote grew up in an ungodly home in England where the Bible was not read or the truth taught. But when he was a teenager, Mote heard the gospel and was saved. He worked for many years as a cabinetmaker before becoming a pastor later in his life. One day while he walked to work at the cabinet shop he owned, Mote began composing a hymn in his head. Throughout the day he added verses, and by the end of the day “The Solid Rock” was complete. The last stanza says:

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

There are multiplied benefits of our salvation, but none of them are greater than the fact that our sins are taken away, and we are clothed with a new nature that is righteous in the eyes of God. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). The standing we have with God is not based in any way on our own merit, for even the best that we can do falls hopelessly short of God’s standard of perfection. But when we put on the perfect righteousness of Jesus in salvation, God views us as fit to enter into His presence.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”

1 Peter 5:8–10

One of the most selective and exclusive units in the entire US military is the honor guard for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. Those who are chosen for this honor man their posts day and night in all kinds of weather. They stand guard during freezing snowstorms, howling hurricanes, and driving rain. Their commitment to the job is complete, and it is summed up by the Sentinel’s Creed:

“My dedication to this sacred duty is total and whole-hearted. In the responsibility bestowed on me never will I falter. And with dignity and perseverance my standard will remain perfection. Through the years of diligence and praise and the discomfort of the elements, I will walk my tour in humble reverence to the best of my ability. It is he who commands the respect I protect, his bravery that made us so proud. Surrounded by well-meaning crowds by day, alone in the thoughtful peace of night, this soldier will in honored glory rest under my eternal vigilance.”

We are tasked with something of great eternal significance by God, and success in this task requires our vigilance. We have an enemy who is dedicated to our destruction, and the very moment that we let down our guard he will strike. The devil doesn’t play fair. He doesn’t wait for us to put our guard up before he attacks. He will take advantage of any opportunity we give him by letting down our guard and slacking in our vigilance.

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.”

Matthew 10:16–18

We were on a tour of Israel and were going to visit the Jordan River. Before we left the tour bus, our guide issued a strong warning for us to stay on the marked path as we made our way to the river’s edge. He explained that because of the past military activity in the area, there was a clear, safe path to walk—but if we strayed from that path, we risked stepping on an old land mine. I can tell you that we walked right in the middle of the path and never even got close to the edge, let alone going off the path!

There are dangers that surround us in the world. As Christians living in America, we have become accustomed to enjoying religious liberty and not facing persecution, but this is not guaranteed to us. Most believers in the world today face at least some level of threat, and many are being killed for their faith every year. The Bible warns us to expect difficulties if we are living as we should. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

There should be no doubt in the minds of those around us that we are Christians. As it was for Daniel, even those who hate us should be forced to acknowledge that our faith is genuine and that nothing will shake it. This requires that we be on guard as we walk through the world, carefully guarding our hearts and minds so that we do not disgrace the name of God.

“For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 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 12:8–10

Sometimes we think that if only our troubles would go away, we would be free from worry. Yet in reality, trouble is a normal part of life in a fallen world, and often the troubles we experience are given and guided by God as a necessary part of our spiritual growth. Hudson Taylor did a great work for God as a missionary in China, reaching tens of thousands with the gospel and challenging Christians around the world to do more for the cause of Christ. But his life was filled with difficulty and opposition. Rather than worrying, Taylor resolved to trust God in every situation.

Taylor wrote, “I am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize the Lord is able to carry out His will, and His will is mine. It makes no matter where He places me, or how. That is rather for Him to consider than for me; for in the easiest positions He must give me His grace, and in the most difficult, His grace is sufficient.”

Nothing that happens to us takes God by surprise or causes Him to have to revise His plans for us. He has perfect knowledge of what is coming, and we can safely trust in His love and goodness to care for us no matter what comes. Most spiritual growth occurs in times of testing and trouble, so rather than worrying when there is trouble, we should look to God’s grace and rest in His care.

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Ephesians 6:11–13

Late in the Second World War when it appeared that the Allied Forces were nearing victory over the Nazis, Germany launched Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein—Operation Watch on the Rhine—leading to what came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge. The German plan was to divide the Allied armies and overwhelm them one at a time. The early days of the attack caught the American and British forces completely off guard. Hundreds of thousands of German soldiers and thousands of tanks and planes rolled forward in a successful surprise attack. Though the Allies eventually were able to recover and drive the Germans back, the battle saw America’s highest casualties in the entire war, largely because of a failure to be prepared for an attack.

Until we reach Heaven, there will never be a day when we will not face spiritual warfare and attacks from the enemy. There will never be a day when we can safely venture out without putting on our armor and preparing for a fight. The devil doesn’t take holidays, and he is perfectly willing to come back day after day, month after month, and even year after year to see if he can catch us with our guard down. We have no hope of standing in victory if we enter the conflict without our armor on. The pieces of armor God has given us for spiritual battle are not academic—they are vitally necessary to our success and survival in the war we face daily.

“Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”

Ephesians 4:25–28

Archimedes was one of the greatest mathematicians and scientists of the ancient world. Many of his discoveries and principles are still in use today even after thousands of years. Archimedes focused much of his effort on discoveries related to improving the way people work. He developed new pulley systems to move heavy objects, a screw system to raise water uphill, and weapons to defend his home city of Syracuse. One of his most famous insights related to working with levers and their power. Archimedes said, “Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth.” Simply put, though a lever offers great increase in strength to move objects, it will not work unless the person using it has a place for his feet.

When Paul warns us not to give the devil room to work in our lives, he is speaking of a similar concept. When we do not immediately fight and resist temptation, we are allowing the devil room to operate in our lives, and he will take full advantage of it. The horrible sin that characterized the end of Lot’s life began with what seemed like a very small decision. “Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom” (Genesis 13:12). The reality is that Satan needs very little room to operate in our lives and destroy our testimony and effectiveness for God’s service. We must not give him a place to stand.

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

James 1:12–15

Starting a few hundred years after the life of Jesus, a new idea arose as different groups began to promote living completely apart from the world. What came to be known as monasteries were established across much of Europe. Groups of men or women would leave the world behind and close themselves inside the walls. There they would work and pray together, apart from the distractions and temptations of the world.

While in theory the idea of escaping the world as a means of protection from temptation sounds good, it overlooks two important facts. First, it is not God’s plan for us to be isolated from the world. The night before His crucifixion Jesus petitioned His Father, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:15–16).

Withdrawing from the world also overlooks the basic reality that the primary source of temptation is not outward but inward. It is not possible to go to a place where we are safe from temptation, because we take “us” with us wherever we go. The battle with sin begins with the desires that we harbor in our hearts, and that is the field of battle on which we overcome the enemy.

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Matthew 28:18–20

The work that God has called and commissioned us to do in the world for Him is not undertaken in our strength and ability, nor can it be done on our own authority. We must regard ourselves as God’s servants, operating under the grant of authority that He has given to us, if we are to carry out our tasks for Him. Whenever we feel inadequate to the challenge, we must return to Him as our source for everything.

The great missionary Hudson Taylor wrote, “It makes no matter where He places me or how. That is rather for Him to consider than for me; for the easiest positions He must give me grace, and in the most difficult, His grace is sufficient. It makes little difference to my servant whether I send him to buy a few cents worth of things, or the most expensive articles. In either case he looks to me. God’s resources are mine, for He is mine.”

It was no accident that Jesus based what we call the Great Commission on the power that His Father had given to Him. It is not in our own name that we work, but in His. And when we do His work in the authority of His name, we have every right and reason to believe that He will empower our work. We have the enduring promise that He will always be with us, no matter what challenges we may face. This is His strength for His work.

“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:37–39

Without firing a single arrow or launching a spear, Goliath so intimidated the Israelites that no one in Saul’s army was willing to face him in battle. Goliath ruled over the field of conflict...until a young shepherd named David showed up. David did not care how big Goliath was or how much his spear weighed. David focused on God. He said, “And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hands” (1 Samuel 17:47).

Many times we are defeated without even making an attempt to win a victory. We allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the obstacles we face, and give up without trying. Our certainty of being victorious does not come from a confidence that we have what is needed to overcome any foe, but from our confidence that the love of God is always with us and that He will never leave or forsake us. Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. said, “One man with God makes a majority.”

The devil is a greater foe than we could ever hope to defeat on our own. We cannot outsmart him or trick him. We cannot hope to overpower him. Nothing we can do will bring the victory. The power that we need to win the battle does not come from us—yet we can, if we claim God’s power, defeat even irresistible and overwhelming foes. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.”

John 17:16–19

We take having multiple copies of the Bible for granted, but the Word of God has not always been readily available in a form most people could read. In the 1300s there was no Bible in the English language. The scholar and theologian John Wycliffe set out to change that. Against the wishes of the established state church and much of the government, he labored to translate the Scriptures into the English language. Wycliffe was so despised that after his death from a stroke, his body was dug up, burned and the ashes scattered. But opposition could not stop the power of the Bible or undo the impact of his work.

Hundreds of years later, the poet William Wordsworth honored the life and impact of John Wycliffe with these lines:

“As thou these ashes, little brook, will bear
Into the Avon—Avon to the tide
Of Severn—Severn—to the narrow seas—
Into mid ocean they—this deed accurst
And emblem yields to friends and enemies,
How the bold teacher’s doctrine, sanctified
By Truth, shall spread, through all the world dispersed.”

The Lord has given us in His Word the most powerful tool—the tool of the truth. There is nothing else that has the impact of truth on the lives of men. We live in a culture that denies the very existence of truth, yet the truth remains. No matter how much falsehood fills the world, it cannot overcome the truth. The only way the truth can be defeated is when we choose not to believe it, proclaim it, and apply it to our daily lives.

“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. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

Galatians 5:13–16

The fact that we are Christians with the same Holy Spirit living within should make a church a place of harmony and sweet fellowship. The reality of course, is that sometimes churches can be the most bitter and divisive places. That happens when individual members become more concerned about their own interests, position, and prerogatives than they are about the cause of Christ. Many churches suffer greatly from these battles.

General Robert E. Lee was once asked by Jefferson Davis for his opinion about another officer. Lee praised the man highly. When the meeting concluded, another officer who had been present spoke to Lee in astonishment. “General, do you not know that the man of whom you spoke so highly to President Davis is one of your most bitter enemies and misses no opportunity to malign you?”

“Yes, I know that,” Lee replied. “But the president asked my opinion of him, and I gave him a true answer. He did not ask about the man’s opinion of me.”

We do not have to take up swords against other believers and use our words to harm them. There are times when character must be defended and false charges refuted, but even that can be done in a way that honors God and does not seek to destroy others. We always have a choice in how we respond, and wrong doing by others does not require the same from us.

“But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy.”

1 Thessalonians 2:17–20

Paul knew a few things about facing opposition. His ministry was constantly marked by trouble—false accusations, imprisonment, beatings, shipwreck, and stoning were among the trials that he faced. The Jewish people opposed him because he taught about Jesus as the fulfillment of the law, and the Romans opposed him because they viewed him as a troublemaker. History tells us that Paul was eventually martyred by Nero. Through all of his challenges, there was something that kept Paul from losing his joy and determination—the men and women who had been saved through his ministry.

In our day of instant communication we take being able to keep in touch with people for granted, but in Bible times communication was slow and difficult. When Paul wanted to return to Thessalonica and see the believers there, he found himself hindered by the opposition of Satan. Yet even in the face of disappointment and delay, Paul rejoiced. He knew that the salvation of those who had trusted Christ could never be taken away.

When the disciples came to Jesus, thrilled with the results of their ministry after He had empowered them and sent them out to preach and heal, He told them there was a more permanent joy that should be their focus. “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). Rejoice in that which cannot be taken away.

“And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.”

Romans 4:19–22

I read about a private named Brendan Schweighart who was fighting in the war in Iraq. One day he and his platoon were retrieving a tank when Brendan was hit by a sniper’s bullet. The blow staggered him, but when PFC Schweighart reached safety and checked, he found himself uninjured. The bullet had been stopped by the Bible which he had promised his mother he would carry with him. Our faith, built on and strengthened by the Word of God, is given as our protection. Paul refers to the “shield of faith” (Ephesians 6:16) as a vital part of our armor.

When God promised Abraham a son, he was already old. By the time Isaac was born, the promise had become a physical impossibility—yet it happened just as God said. “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). Faith allowed Abraham to keep going even though the fulfillment of the promise of a son was delayed for many years. The devil is looking for ways to undermine our faith because he knows what a vital role it plays in our defense. He uses setbacks and delays to tell us that God does not care about us, that He has forgotten us, or that He will not keep His promises. The Bible by contrast tells us again and again that we can always count on God. He has never yet failed to do what He promised, and your faith in Him is never misplaced.

“I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Romans 1:14–16

Along with the command to take the good news of salvation to the world, God has given us the only message that has the power to transform lives—the gospel of Jesus Christ. All around us people are trying all sorts of tools for life transformation. They are turning over new leaves, attending training classes, joining recovery programs, seeing counselors...the list goes on. But the only thing that can truly change lost and sinful human nature is the power found in the gospel.

Charles Spurgeon wrote, “In 1857, a day or two before preaching at the Crystal Palace, I went to decide where the platform should be fixed; and, in order to test the acoustic properties of the building, cried in a loud voice, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ In one of the galleries, a workman, who knew nothing of what was being done, heard the words, and they came like a message from heaven to his soul. He was smitten with conviction on account of sin, put down his tools, went home, and there, after a season of spiritual struggling, found peace and life by beholding the Lamb of God.”

The power to see people saved and transformed does not lie in us, but in the message we have been entrusted to deliver. That is our responsibility—not the results. If we are faithful in presenting people with the gospel, God will do the work of saving and remaking their lives.