My Daily Dose of Courage

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”  (Isaiah 6:8)   This is the holy pattern for God’s ministers. We must not simply go but be sent – for we cannot reveal the true and living God to others until we ourselves have seen Him and receive His approval. We must not send ourselves, for it is not our interest we are standing for, but His. Isaiah understood this, and he responded with a sincere purpose to go and to glorify the God he had just seen. May it be the same for every one of us who wish to be known as servants of God. May we wait until we have seen, heard, and commissioned by the Lord before we go.   There are three witnesses of every man or woman called to the ministry — the Lord Himself, the minster himself or herself, and the elders of the church. This is the pattern in the New Testament, and it is the third requirement that is most likely to be neglected. Many are convinced th...

Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.  (James 5:9-11)   Certainly, we live in tough times. But times have always been difficult, and they always will be, for we are truly pilgrims and strangers on earth. The Lord would have us to be examples and instruments of His grace and mercy amid our circumstances, whatever they are. That is what it means to be His witnesses.   Can He trust you to stand with Him well in the hard and dry season?   Endurance and perseverance are very precious attributes for the believer. They are so much more than the will to outlast our difficult seasons; they are a display of God's grace and ...

He must increase, but I must decrease.  (John 3:30)   But you, do not be called “Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.  (Matthew 23:8)   The Holy Spirit is the only Teacher in the Church of Jesus Christ. The ONLY Teacher. We may teach — and well we should if we are called — but the Spirit is the only Person with the authority from above to teach the Word and reveal the Father and the Son in our hearts. Ministers of the Gospel do well to remember and receive this truth. This affords us the freedom to leave the results of our service to God, because we have been obedient to share the Word as He has directed.   Pastors and teachers are not responsible to make men understand or love the Lord, nor are we responsible for their growth and maturity in spiritual things. We do not have any lordship whatever over another person’s faith; that is between them and the Lord. The more we decrease, the sooner we decrease, the more purposef...

Remove falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God.  (Proverbs 30:8-9)   Some people have a way of distorting the value of money and esteeming it more than they should. There is a dangerous tendency to look to our financial resources before we look to heaven, and that can bring all manner of stress and hardship. Every lesson God teaches us has this in mind — that we no longer depend on ourselves or anything other than Him — especially our money.   The church is a supernatural enterprise, and every resource she needs is in Jesus Christ and nowhere else. As the Word tells us, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and all our needs are met in Him. The church and the Christian life are heavenly things, and their supply must be heavenly also, lest we become something God never...

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."  (John 15:5) The Lord will never use a person working in his or her own strength or sense of righteousness, and no one makes a real difference in the world until they stop trying to make a difference. We can expect to receive nothing from the Lord, until we realize the only thing we have to offer God is emptiness.   It is doubtful the Lord will fill anyone who is not empty, or that he will help anyone who is not helpless. The Lord does not come alongside us to make our dreams come true or to satisfy our wants. He is after something much more profound – brokenness. Jesus laid down the prerogatives of His deity and became broken bread and poured-out wine for us. We must do the same for Him.   . . .  for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  (Matthew 11:29)   Our Lord tells us to pick up our ...

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  (1 Corinthians 6:19)   If people are going to see the beauty of the Lord, they are going to see it in us. Therefore, we must choose to be true to the One who redeemed us by shedding His own blood, and remember we do not belong to ourselves, but to Him exclusively. Christ has given us His Spirit to dwell in our hearts — not as a guest, but as Master of the house; and that house must be well kept if we want Him to abide. The life given by Holy Spirit is the only distinction between the children of God and all other religious people. Only He can impart and reveal the things of God and Christ to us. He provides the power for victorious living, bringing spiritual vitality, health, holiness, and wholeness to every saint He fills. We must never grieve Him by continuing to sin, or by ignoring or limiting Him in our lives or our fellowship. ...

“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”  (1 Corinthians 15:55) Jesus won the ultimate victory over sin and Satan by His life, death, and resurrection, and we are the recipients of all the benefits of our Lord's triumph. Yet, sin is still the primary enemy of the heaven-bound saint, and we must not be foolish enough to ignore that fact. The very principle of sin (not just the act) is an affront to everything the Lord is, says, and does; therefore, that sin principle must be rooted out with a superior principle —  “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”     Even before sin entered the DNA of humanity, the Lord had a plan for our redemption, and that good plan was manifested in time and in Jesus Christ. Sin was exposed and defeated by His death on the cross; and by His resurrection from the dead, death itself lost its terrifying power. Therefore, we can emphatically ask,  “O, death, where is your sting?...

For we walk by faith, not by sight.   (2 Corinthians 5:7)   Yes, the Lord has cloaked Himself in invisibility, He has hidden Himself from the learned and the wise, and the most intelligent are incapable of understanding Him or His ways. He has chosen simplicity and humility over haughtiness and pride. He is meek and lowly, and we must come to Him as children, or He will not receive us. Therefore, the world and its obsession with itself and its pleasures will never enjoy the fellowship available to those who simply hear and believe; those who embrace the profound and indispensable joy of faith.   No effort to discredit Christ (and there have been many a furious effort) has succeeded in dampening the fervor of the faithful— those of us who have not seen yet believed. We are that people, a holy nation whom the Lord has drawn by His Spirit, and we stand out as bright and shining stars against a backdrop of unbelief and darkness. We have not seen Jesus face to face, but w...

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)   Faith is the life blood of our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is a spiritual concept, born of God in heaven, and it takes a spiritual man or woman to grasp it, possess it, and walk in it. Faith is the simple belief that God exists, and He rewards those who diligently come to Him. Oh, the rewards of the saint who forsakes selfish pursuits to seek out the One who has first sought him!   Is your walk one of faith? Do you pray as one who knows God to be a God of His Word? Who is receiving help from your incessant trips to the prayer closet? Are you praying for others with purpose and diligence? Are your prayers less about you and your things, and increasingly about the will of God and others? When the Lord comes to your prayer closet, will He find you there? And will He find faith? I hope He will!   Let's Pray - Dear Lord, since faith is the one thing that pleases You,...

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.  (James 5:16) Unconfessed sin is unforgiven sin, and a child of God should never bear that burden. Unconfessed sin keeps us from forgiving the sins of others, because we cannot forgive if we are not forgiven. Unconfessed sin will reproduce itself within us, and we will bring bitter and unhealthy fruit to bear if we bury sin in the soil of our hearts.   Come to the Cross today and confess openly to your Lord who already knows and has already made provision. Then, go to a trusted believer who will pray with you and confess to him or her today, as the Word instructs. Now is the time, and there is not a moment to waste. Your healing awaits.    Let's Pray  -  Dear Father, I confess that I fall short of Your glory, and I need the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus increasingly. Thank you for washing...

"Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'"  (John 3:7)   Nicodemus had no reference for Jesus' words, because He worshiped God according to the dictates and traditions of men. When He met God Himself in Jesus, he did not know what to make of Him. Jesus' words were spirit and life, and they were spoken with authority unlike any words Nicodemus had ever heard.   The thought of being born again had never occurred to him, and those words challenged everything he believed. Being a Jew, a man of means, a ruler, and a Pharisee meant little or nothing from this moment forward. The only thing that mattered is what Nicodemus would do with these words,   The same is true of you and me.   “You must be born again."   Witness how rarely you hear these words today. The simplicity of the Gospel offends the sin nature man inherited, so some look to appeal to men without it. They rely on expertise, studies, and "theologies," while aski...

“In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord . . .”   (Isaiah 6:1) Sometimes it is necessary to move others out of the way so we can see the Lord more clearly. If there is any competing personality or interest, we will never see God as we should. We must remove every competing point of focus if we want to receive spiritual sight. So let us set all others aside, purify our hearts, and seek His face.   Do not resist the Lord's hand when He brings and removes people and circumstances in our lives. He is sovereign and knows all things, and His timing and insight are inscrutable. If we resist His hand, we close the windows of heaven and hinder the Holy Spirit. But, if we are obedient to walk with Him, He will show us things greater than we ever imagined. He will show us Jesus, and there is nothing greater than seeing Christ.   For my eyes have seen Your salvation.  (Luke 2:30) Let's Pray   - Lord, open the eyes of my heart, and remove everything that sta...

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.  (Luke 5:11) Jesus was not after fish — He was after Simon. Simon thought his life was about catching fish, but from this point on, it was about Jesus and catching men in the net of the Gospel.   Just like Simon, we will only find true purpose for our lives when we surrender to the Lord and His calling. So, do not be afraid. Leave the boat, the net, the fish, everything and everyone else behind. Respond to the Lord’s calling. Your life is ahead of you, not behind, and it is found in Christ Jesus.   The choice is yours . . . they ...

And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.  (Genesis 32:22-23) Jacob wrestled with God, just as he had been wrestling with every person and situation life had ever presented to him. He was a “born fighter,” even struggling with his twin brother Esau in the womb of his mother, striving to be born first. Then, He wrestled with Esau for the family birthright and Isaac’s blessing. He wrestled with Laban for Rachel and a living for 21 years, and even now, Jacob  was expecting yet another struggle with Esau.   Fighting is all Jacob had ever done, but he did not realize he was only fighting himself. It would be quite a few more years before he learned the only battle that matters is the Lord’s.   At some point, we are all like Jacob —...