Wholly Following God

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 live? 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 was a man known for one supreme attribute — he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. This was true of him as a young man and in his old age. He 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 some who stand out above the rest, who seem larger, stronger, and more dynamic than others. Daniel, Abraham, David, Moses, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Elijah, and Ruth come to mind. What was their secret? What did they have in common? Like Caleb, they wholly followed the Lord when everyone else opted for something other and something less.

 

Do you “wholly” follow the Lord? Is that what others would say? Is that what the Lord would say?

 

Let’s Pray – Dear Father, thank You for giving Your children a different spirit from those in the world. May we walk closely with You, and may it be known that we have made the choice to follow Jesus wherever He leads. We will wholly follow You, Lord. Amen.

Brokenness and Submission

. . . 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 and by submitting to His will. What a remarkable relationship they shared — so remarkable, that the death of the Son brought glory and praise to the Father. Could we be called 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 give to Him and the saints despite our sufferings!

 

Every Christian must make peace with suffering. This is a difficult and exquisite truth — we must die to live, and we must be crucified with Christ if we wish to receive resurrection life. The Lord will only rise in us when we lay our lives down, and He will only fill us when we are empty. If we say we see, we are still blind, and our earthly riches only make us poorer. These are the things we come to understand once we set our hearts toward heaven, and this is how we learn obedience and become more like Jesus — through suffering.

 

Let's Pray - Dear God, I am willing to go through all that is necessary to arrive at Christ-likeness. Help me to see every difficulty as an opportunity to give You glory. In Jesus' name, Amen.

A Life Laid Down

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 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 and changed, who pick up their cross, and walk in repentance. I see 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 and be glorified.

 

Jesus has a value system that is quite different from many of those in the church. For instance, it is taught that prosperity and physical health are the signs of a robust faith. Others teach that our words are containers of faith, and we can have what we confess. They also teach that the Bible's promises are ours to claim, and we can have what it says we can have. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and Jesus is still seeking those who will die to themselves, sell what they have, boast in their weakness, and accept the chastening of a holy Father.

 

We have nothing, and we can do nothing apart from Jesus. In Him, we have everything, and all things are possible. The Christian life is a matter of focusing on Christ and coming to Him on His terms. 

 

" . . .  sell what you have . . . and come, follow Me."

 

Let's Pray - Dear Lord, I lay down my life, so that Jesus Christ may rise and glorify You through my sacrifice. I will be sure to give You all the glory and honor You deserve. I consider that an honor and my life's work. Amen.

Strengthen Your Brothers

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. He uses pride so effectively, because we almost never detect it in ourselves until it is 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 speaking pridefully, and that is Satan's territory. Peter was about to learn the most painful lesson of his life — pride comes before a fall.

 

Jesus never ceases to pray for us, and He prayed for Peter. The power of His love and His prayers is infinitely greater than hell's hateful schemes. Satan's attempt to destroy Peter would fail, and the Lord would soon restore his disciple. Peter would be baptized in the Holy Spirit, and that baptism would be his armor against the pride that was nearly his undoing. He would never again give Satan the right to claim any dominion in his life, and he would intercede for others the way Christ did for him. 

 

"Strengthen your brethren."

 

Let's Pray - Precious King, please forgive me for my arrogance and pride. I want to see and hear the words You speak to me, so I humble myself in Your sight. Thank You, Jesus, for always interceding on my behalf. Amen.

Repentance and Conversion

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 was not 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 buy and sell. This entrepreneurial spirit is present 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 we are saved because we made a confession of faith and prayed the "sinner's prayer." Then we were baptized in water and joined a Bible-believing church. We may have also stopped doing certain things, stopped going certain places, or stopped keeping company with certain folks. Yet, that alone is not true conversion. Salvation is a sovereign work of the Lord, and nothing we do can bring about the new birth found in Jesus alone — He did it all! Eternal life is a most precious gift of God, and the only true measure of salvation is the indwelling Holy Spirit, given to each of us who truly receives life from God. 

 

Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. (Romans 8:9)

 

May the Lord Himself sanctify you, may your endurance and your good works prove that you really are God's child, and may there be no doubt that you are truly saved by grace and through faith. Amen.

 

Let's Pray - Father, may I not fall short of repentance. Forgive me for coming to You on any other basis than the shed Blood of Jesus Christ. Thank You and Amen.

The Will of God

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 all things, and to realize all the world has to offer is fading away. Those things are temporal and superficial, but we are spiritual, and the Lord has saved us for His eternal purpose. When we reckon ourselves to be citizens of heaven first, our value system changes dramatically, and our eyes focus on that which matters to God, not men. This new outlook makes us strange and ill-fitted for the world, but precious and useful to Christ, who teaches us to glorify His Father — our Father. So, let the world pass away in all its futility, while we turn our hearts to God. May the Eternal King of Glory receive our worship now and forever. Amen.

 

But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.  (1 Corinthians 7:29-31)

 

Let's Pray - Father God, give me the perspective of heaven, so I might see what You see and love what You love. I lay down my wisdom to receive Yours. Fill me with Your Spirit and lead me in the way I should go. In Jesus, Amen.

 

Jesus is Alive

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 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, even those who have not seen, yet believed. We are that people, a holy nation of believers 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 we know we will. So, we serve Him who we cannot see as though we do. While today we see as in a poorly-lit room, one day we will see Him clearly, face to face — and this we know, because we have received the testimony of the fathers of our faith, even the scriptures. By faith we stand, we believe, and one day we'll see. Amen.

 

Let's Pray - Father God, I am looking forward to the day when I will see You face-to-face. May the reality of the Resurrection be the source of my strength and determination to live a holy and acceptable life before You. Jesus is alive, and He is alive in me! Amen.