My Daily Dose of Courage

And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”  (John 6:65) The ministry we have (if it is authentic ministry) is from heaven, and it is not our own. Its value is not found in what we can do for God, but what He can do through us once we give up our own ideas and present ourselves to Him a living sacrifice. Activity is not life, and work could be the sign that we have no intimate connection with the Father at all. Our methods, degrees, organizations, committees, and gatherings may well betray an independence from God and a leaning toward our own understanding. Intimacy with the Lord will always be the sign of God's servants and anointed ministry. Above all things, we must draw near to Him!   The Holy Spirit is the only true Teacher and Minister in the New Testament Church. He is the One who fills and empowers us to serve God acceptably, and any efforts to minister the Gospel without Him are futile at ...

. . . casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ . .   . (2 Corinthians 10:5) Worry is wrestling with our thoughts, but the Lord calls us to wrestle in prayer, and there is a huge difference between the two. If we pray and worry, we are double-minded, and we cannot expect to receive anything from God, because worry is an expression of fear, while prayer is an expression of faith. God responds to our prayers and our faith, not our worries and fears. Scripture tells me to take every thought captive and make it a prisoner of my devotion to Jesus Christ, and I can only do that in prayer. My thoughts alone will always lead me astray, until I learn by strict discipline to drag them kicking and screaming before the throne of God. My faith feeds on prayer, and that is where I find victory over my fears. So, when it comes to all that concerns me, I will remember ...

But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me."  (Mark 14:6) Let everything and everyone else alone and follow Jesus. Others may not understand or approve of your worship and your deep devotion to Christ but worship Him anyway. Every concern – no matter how legitimate – must be joyfully ignored when it competes with worshiping our Lord in spirit and truth.    Once we believe that He knows all things, and all things are established and consist in Him, we receive the attitude of a child who looks to his parents without the slightest doubt that all is well. With that attitude, we can enter the Kingdom, and we come to know the King.    Let us not hurt the Lord by seeking to do “Christian work,” all the while overlooking Christ. May worshiping the Lord be our highest priority — our life. Let it be said that we have found the highest place at the feet of Jesus.   Let's Pray  -  Father, give us the confidence to ...

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.  (James 1:5-8) We all lack wisdom, so this instruction is for every believer. James simply wants us to recognize the fact that we are desperately in need the Lord's wisdom, and he directs us to come to Him and ask for it. This "asking" must be based on faith, and the strength of our faith is found in our relationship with God. Those who are close to God believe God. The saint who walks closely with the Lord asks in faith, because he walks by faith. Those who do not walk by faith will ask and still doubt, because they do not know the Lord well enough to trust and obey Him.   James calls those who doubt God ...

And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”  (Mark 14:3-9)   One of the hardest things for a Christian worker to do is to keep the focus on Jesus and off the world and the wor...

Now Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" And Saul answered, "I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore, I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do." Then Samuel said: "Why then do you ask me, seeing the LORD has departed from you and has become your enemy?"  (1 Samuel 28:15-16) Saul could no longer go to God in prayer. After years of refusing to walk uprightly, the Lord had withdrawn from him, and he was left to his own devices and the consequences of his sin. Saul took drastic measures to save himself, but he would not be able to cover the tracks of decades of recklessness and pride. He saw the end coming, and he could do nothing to stop it, because God refused the repentance he sought, though he sought it with tears. How sad!   Note how many Christians are like Saul – hiding beh...

“ I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”  (John 15:5) When Jesus says we can do "nothing" without Him, He's not suggesting we are unable to do things independently, just nothing of eternal or spiritual significance. It is quite possible for us to set and reach goals, to make names for ourselves, or even to become successful without God. Empires, nations, fortunes, and great legacies have been built by folks who have never taken a second to acknowledge the Lord, and many magnanimous feats have been accomplished without a single prayer being lifted to heaven.    Jesus, though, is looking toward the day when the works and words of every man and woman will be judged according to God’s holy standard — and His standard is Christ. Nothing short of perfection will withstand His white-hot scrutiny. The sharp two-edged sword that proceeds from His mouth will separate the worthy from the worthless...

Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.”  (John 5:19)   "It's not about me!" These are some of the most important words I speak to myself, and they open my ears to all the Lord is saying. Once I realize the world does not revolve around me, what I think, and what others think of me, I am ready to receive the life and perspective of the Lord.  Once my feelings and my agenda are set aside, and I find myself at the feet of Jesus, the Lord can have an honest conversation with me that will change my life from an earthly one to a heavenly one. When I wake up tomorrow, I must start the whole process again, "It's not about me!" — because my flesh and my pride will never relent as long as I live. Dying to myself is a day-by-day, moment-by-moment, conversation-by-conversation thing — and so is coming alive in Chr...

Love never fails.   (Romans 13:8) Let love be without hypocrisy.  (Hebrews 13:1)   God is love, and we cannot love apart from Him. His love is unique and unfathomably profound. It is beyond what we can give or appreciate, and it is best expressed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, our love must mirror His love, or we are merely hypocrites — bad actors. Love embraces good and rejects evil, it is kind, generous, consistent, durable, and humble. It takes action, overcomes obstacles, and manifests in service to others. It gives more than it takes. Love is alive, active, pure, and it has no agenda. We must love freely, and withholding love is not an option — it is not ours to withhold.   Our Father knows the difference between love and everything else. True love looks like Jesus, it harkens to Jesus, it honors and glorifies Jesus, it worships Jesus, and it imitates Jesus. It is not churchy or religious, not soulish, not formal, nor is it cold,...

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.  (Romans 12:17-18) The only Teacher is Jesus Christ, and His life is made real to and in us only by the Holy Spirit. No amount of well-intentioned striving will ever achieve the goal of wholeness, holiness, and health in Him — we must be filled with the Holy Spirit. This truth is central to our understanding of the scriptures. Yet, it is the stumbling block that frustrates so many — that is, we have no chance of doing what the Bible instructs until we surrender and exchange our strength for the Lord’s. Only then can we successfully obey the instruction in this verse— and obey it we must.   It is not good enough to be good citizens of earth, but we must first be good citizens of heaven. God's standards are nothing like the world's, and there is no possibility of reaching them by striving to be good Christians — we must die t...

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  (Romans 12:21)   We must not assume that we come easily into the realm of righteous living without first overcoming many obstacles, both within us and outside us. Christian behavior is derived from Christian character which is developed over time and with much attention and care. Our new (spiritual) nature is firmly established as our dominant nature by the painstaking process of putting the old man to death, and then we must guard the gains we've made with much effort and diligence. This is a difficult and glorious process which is to end in our sanctification and oneness with Christ -- and in Him, we become one with the Father. Amen.   True Christian character is revealed in the tireless war it wages against the forces of evil all around it. It understands that the battle for life and righteousness is the Lord's, and the victory is at hand, no matter the present circumstance. It knows that the earth is the Lord'...

“ . . . though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things He suffered."  (Hebrews 5:8) It never dawned on me that Jesus had things to learn. I always assumed that because He was God, He knew everything there was to know. Yet the scriptures teach He emptied Himself of the privileges and prerogatives of His deity, and became like us in every way, yet without sin (Philippians 2:5-11). Jesus humbled Himself to the lowly status of a child, student, and servant – and the method the Father used to train and mature Him included suffering,waiting, and serving. Only then was He able to receive the mantle of High Priest, which was the Father’s purpose for Him.   I point these things out so we might realize the marvelous hand of God in our lives, even in things that hurt and things we don’t understand. When we begin to view our sufferings in light the eternal weight of glory God has for us, we are able to endure them with a joy that blesses God and confounds the world. Most impo...

Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God.   (Joshua 14:8) How do you want to be remembered? What would those who know you best say about you and the life you lived? Most importantly, what would Jesus say? Since we will surely give an account for our lives, what should our testimony be, and how do we live in a way that we will one day hear the Lord say, “Well done . . .”?    Caleb didn’t just follow God, but he wholly followed God, and that fact differentiated him from others. The Bible is filled with stories of God’s people — yet, there are those who stand out above the rest, those who seem larger, stronger, more dynamic than others. Daniel, Abraham, David, Moses, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Elijah, and Ruth come to mind immediately. What was their secret? What did they have in common? Like Caleb, they followed the Lord when everyone else opted for something other and something less.  Do you “wholly”...

. . . though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.   (Hebrews 5:8)   Jesus humbled Himself, and He became our High Priest. He glorified the Father by receiving His sufferings willingly. What a remarkable relationship they shared — so much so, that the death of the Son brought glory and praise to the Father. Could the Lord be calling us to die to ourselves as Jesus did?    Perhaps the Lord allows just enough stress in our lives to drive us to our knees with cries of brokenness and submission. It may feel like defeat, but the child of God prays to the Father who is able to save us from death, and to bring us joy for every tear we shed. And truly, the Lord is glorified by the wonderful service we render to Him even through our sufferings!   Every Christian must make peace with the place suffering plays in our lives. This is a difficult and exquisite truth — we must die to live, and we must be crucified with Christ if we wish t...

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”  (Matthew 19:21) I meet so many folks who believe there is a God, that God is good, that it would be best and right for them to follow after God with their whole heart, that the Bible is true, etc. But I meet few who get these beliefs out of their heads and into their hearts – too few who are truly converted, changed, who pick up their cross, and walk in repentance. I witness so much ministry born out of the goodness of men's hearts instead of the brokenness and weakness that God honors. Successful ministry is never a matter of what men say or do, or how many are in attendance; but it is the fruit of a life laid down, so that Christ may rise up and be glorified.   Jesus has a value system that is very different from many of those in the church. For instance, we have been taught to believe that prosperity and physical health are...

And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.” Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”  (Luke 22:31-34)   Satan constantly works to hurt and hinder the children of God, and pride is his favorite tool against us. He uses pride so effectively, because we almost never detect it in ourselves until it's too late. Every time we claim to be good, to be right, or to be better than anyone else, we give Satan the right to claim that ground on which we choose to stand. That is why the devil asked for access to Peter; he was leaning on his own strength, and that is Satan's territory. Peter was about to learn the most painful lesson of his life — p...

And when Simon saw that the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!  (Acts 8:18-20) Simon believed, but it wasn't enough. He was amazed by the power and glory of God, but his heart remained hard and unrepentant; therefore, he saw the Holy Spirit as a commodity to be bought and sold. This entrepreneurial spirit is entrenched in the church to this very day, and much that masquerades as ministry is the peddling of the Gospel derived from the same counterfeit spirit. It is so much easier to preach power than repentance, because many men want the power of God, but few want to die to themselves and pick up their cross. You see, men must not just believe in God, but repent and be converted – that is true belief.   We suppose ...

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.  (1 John 2:15-17) We suppose the Lord is preparing us for things here on earth; things like success, breakthroughs, the fulfillment of hope and dreams, financial prosperity, marriage, careers, ministry, etc. But that is not true. God is preparing His children for one thing only — heaven. If we are prepared for heaven, we will do well with everything that pertains to this world; but we can gain the whole world and lose our own souls! Those who seek to fit into this world make themselves unfit for eternity; and in spiritual terms, eternity is all that matters.   The scriptures call for us to develop a Christ-centered perspective on...

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”  (John 20:24)   The Gospel of Jesus Christ was not given to angels to communicate and spread. The Lord chose the apostles and the power of their testimony to carry the message all of creation longs to hear — "Jesus is alive!" These are perhaps the most significant words ever spoken — spoken by those who were there, who saw Him, touched Him, spoke with Him after His resurrection, and declared it to us. By faith and faith alone, we believe and receive their witness some 2000 years later.    But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  (Hebrews 11:6)   No effort to discredit the resurrection (and there have been many a furious effort) has succeeded in dampening the fervor of the faithful, ...

And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”   (John 20:26-27)   While it is said that a wise person learns from experience, it is better said that a wise person learns best from someone else's experience! So it was for Thomas, and so it is for us. Thomas would not believe in the Resurrection simply because he was unwilling to accept the testimony of his fellow disciples. Yet, that is exactly how the Lord intended the truth be communicated; not simply according to sight and personal experience, but by the word of faith from those who came before us. Thanks be to God for the powerful testimony of those who have seen the risen Christ. That is how the...

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (John 20:24-25)   “Unless I see . . . I will not believe.”   This is the test of every man and woman as it pertains to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thomas had eyes, but he could not see, because he would not see. A man may have sight, but spiritually speaking, he will never see until the Lord opens the eyes of his heart. Even then, that man must be willing to receive his sight according what God reveals, and He always reveals His Son. Nothing else that matters, except we see Jesus — not miracles, victories, prosperity, healings, etc. None of those things matter to one who has seen the Lord, for all those things and more are found in Him. That is the simplicity a...

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.  (2 Corinthians 2:1-5) God is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. What spirit, and what truth? The spirit of humility, the Spirit given to us as a guarantee that we are His and He is ours, and the truth of God embodied in Jesus Christ. The Lord does not respect what we throw up at Him, but what we lay down before Him. He is not impressed by our talents and gifts, because they are not ours in the first place, but His. Paul understood this, and he absolutely refused to minister in a way that...

“If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:21-22) God's criteria for living well is far from ours. We most often judge our success by earthly possession, fame, influence, and comfort. But the Lord judges the heart! The worldly man is possessed by his possessions, and a man filled with the pleasures and bounty of the world has little or no place for a God who asks us to lay down our lives. Jesus saved us that He might help Himself to our bodies, our minds, and our days! So, we must be sure not to crowd Him out with busy schedules and hearts set on self; and let us not frustrate the life of the Spirit with a pre-occupation with worldly pleasures.   We are all rich in one way or another, because we all have been given free will. What will we do when Jesus brings us to the point of decision,...

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.  (Proverbs 18:21)   So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.   (James 1:19-20)   Jesus tells us His words are spirit and life – much more than syllables and sounds, but they are alive and living and able to accomplish the purposes for which they are spoken. There are no idle words spoken from the mouth of God, and as we mature in Him, there will be fewer and fewer from us. What a marvelous accomplishment it is to become a wise steward of the tongue! Our words are pregnant with meaning and effect, and the Lord will hold us accountable for those words and the intent behind them. Perhaps we should give longer and wiser consideration before we speak.   . . .  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  (Matthew 12:34) Careless words are a...

In this manner, therefore, pray: our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  (Matthew 6:9-10)   These words are the baseline for every prayer the disciple prays. God is our Heavenly Father who loves us, gives us every good and perfect gift, and whose name is to be revered and praised both now and forevermore. The very mention of His name evokes power and fuels the forces of the universe in both the spiritual and natural realm. His kingdom is a present reality for His children, not just an after-death experience. He rules in the hearts of His children, and we recognize His sovereignty over all things. God is King, the universe is His territory, and we are His people. It is our deepest desire to see His will unopposed in our lives and in our world. We establish the superiority of His will over ours, and we work and pray to that end. So, we pray, "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done in this world as it is in hea...

“O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”  (Matthew 26:42) When we say yes to the Lord’s call, the life we enter into is nothing like we thought. No one can predict what the Lord is going to do with or through them. No one knows where our obedience will take us, and we would be wise to count the personal cost. That is because devotion to Christ is an exquisite thing, and it will test every fiber of our being; but in return, it will gain us more than we can imagine, if we endure to the end. Our journey only begins when we pick up our cross and follow Him. This is much more than a "decision" for Christ (remember, you did not choose Him, He chose you); but a daily commitment to laying down our lives, and a refusal to ever take them up again. There is no other way to live for Christ and to serve Him acceptably.    "Lord, Your will be done."   We begin a new and profoundly beautiful life as we learn to trust and obey, espec...

Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.   (Jonah 3:10) The Lord sent Jonah to do what he did not want to do – to preach repentance to the hated Assyrians. It was a ministry of mercy, and so is the message God sends us to preach today. He will send us where we would not go, to speak to a people we naturally care nothing about, and to do what can only be accomplished by our strict obedience to His commands. And when people are saved, we will marvel at God's mercy and the powerful simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ – not our gifting, or programs, or presentations – but the Gospel alone!   Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.  (John 4:9)   Jesus came to preach the Good News, and He was not going to be held back by any restric...

But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.   (Jonah 1:3) Many of us heard the story of "Jonah and the Whale" as children, and we never forgot the image of a man in the belly of a big fish. But this is not a tale about an ancient prophet gone astray; it is  our  story, because there is at least a little "Jonah" in each of us. Who among us hasn't done the opposite of what we knew was right? Who has not rebelled against the Lord's clearly expressed will and run the other way? Who is without sin? Yes, the Book of Jonah is about us; and it is a gift to us, if we will receive it.   We may see Jonah’s disobedience as an extreme case of rebellion, but is it really that rare among Christians? No, it is not! We must obey at once, or we too will experience the firm hand of God's discipline as Jonah did. Many saints today are in the "belly of the fish,” so to speak. Even small degrees of disobedience are drastic in the Lord’s sight, espe...

Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you . (James 4:7) Humility is the most aggressive posture we can take against the wily tactics of Satan. Lowliness is a most formidable spiritual weapon, and the devil has no answer for it, because he cannot humble himself. The saint who is bowed low in submission to Christ cannot be touched by the lies of the accuser, the lust of the flesh, nor the lures of the world. When we fall to our knees and submit ourselves to the Father’s will, a decisive blow is delivered to the forces of hell around us. Down at His feet is the most high place!   Satan will offer you a great number of options, but none of them will involve humility. He will convince you to offer lip service without truly serving others – to feel sorry for your actions, yet, fall short of repentance — to embark on our own mission and call it ministry - to follow our agenda and call it obedience. Yet, the Lord tells us to humble ourselves in the sight of ...

Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.   (Hebrew 2:1) The attention we give to our relationship with God is sweetly expressed in our obedience to the scriptures. The Word is God's love letter to His children, and it is the revelation and counsel of the Lord given exclusively to His church, for we alone hear Him and believe Him at His Word. We are complete in Christ, and our identity is rooted in Him. We are His and He is ours.    When we allow the Word of God to shape our thoughts, we are no longer defenseless against the onslaught of the world's mindset, its aimlessness, confusion, or futility; but we put on the complete armor of God and no weapon formed against us will ever defeat us.    By His Word, we come to know His love, and we are perfected in that love. Even in our weakness, He is strong, and where we fall, He lifts us up. No one can successfully prosecute a charge against God's elect, for it is Go...

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me. And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”   (Luke 10:38-42) One of the most effective tricks of Satan is to get our eyes off Jesus and on work, causes, creeds, religion, our communities, people and their needs, even good things — and we lose the focus the Bible demands we have on the Man, Jesus Christ. You see, the most important place we will ever come to is the feet of Jesus. So, we must learn to sit before Him and value the precious moments of in...