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Pastor Ray's Devotionals/Romancing the Soul

August 2
John 18:36
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

The Lord's Kingdom is neither political nor "of this world." Jesus also said, speaking of believers, "...for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world" (John 17:14).

It's quite a balancing act, living in this world, working, interacting with people, finding enjoyment in the arts, taking advantage of progress, appreciating the world around us—and yet, staying true to the Kingdom of God. But Jesus says it can be done. He said that we can live in the world, but not be of the world, because the world is not where His kingdom is. If we truly enter into His kingdom, and live there by the power of the Holy Spirit and the strength of His Word, then we can achieve what appears to be nearly impossible.

Jesus and His disciples posed a threat to the established political order. Pilate was trying to figure out, what kind of king is this Jesus? The reality is, Christianity ultimately turned the world upside down. Yet, the early believers made no attempt to conquer paganism or overthrow Judaism by reacting blow by blow to others' fears and threats. Instead, they outthought, outprayed and outlived the unbelievers.

Their weapons were spiritual not fleshly. They did not hold protests or boycotts; they did not put on a campaign to unseat the emperor. Instead, they prayed and preached and proclaimed the message of Christ and Him crucified on the cross for our sin, and of His Resurrection from the dead.

They knew, believed, and experienced the message that had the power to change lives! And as a result, they dramatically impacted their world and generations to come. In the end, they prevailed. Where is the Roman empire today? Yet the Church of Jesus Christ lives and continues to thrive and grow around the world.

God prevails, because He so loved the world that He gave His only Son, and He empowers us with His Spirit. That is how the world is changed.

August 3
Acts 17:11
“Now the Bereans were of more noble character … for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

When the apostle Paul visited the synagogue in Berea, he found a group of people who were deeply interested in studying Scripture.  In fact, they met daily to study and compare Scripture to Paul’s teaching.  They never took what he taught for granted, nor accepted it blindly.  They deliberated, researched, discussed, and prayed over it all.  And Paul was not in the least offended or put off by their diligence and vigilance.  Instead, he commended them and called them “noble.”

God’s Word can stand the challenges of skeptics, or the doubts of those who faith wavers.  The bible holds the secrets to life.  It tells about the best friend the human race has ever known.  It is the best guide to human conduct, and answers questions like what will happen in the future?  Who am I? Why am I here?  What is my purpose?

We study and try to be intelligent about everything else in our world. We read novels, study newspapers and magazine and the internet.  We listen to the radio by the hour and know the names of sports figures and movie stars, yet most of us—even believers—do not know all the books of the Bible!

We need to read the Bible daily, and personally, asking the Lord to speak to us through His Word.  If you open your heart, ask His Spirit to teach you, and do like the Bereans—read and study daily—I can promise, you will experience God!

August 4
Hebrews 11: 24-25
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.

Remember the story of the infant, Moses, born into a perilous political situation?  His mother hid him for three months, then sealed him in a waterproof basket and sent him down the river, praying that his life would be spared.
Imagine, after growing up in luxury, wealth and power, what he must have felt when he realized that his true identity lay with an oppressed and enslaved people.  Moes faced an identity crisis.  Born a Hebrew, yet reared as an Egyptian prince.  In Pharaoh’s court, as a favored grandson, his life was gilded by wealth and power. We know that he chose his own people, but did he make that noble decision all on his own?  I don’t believe so.
God opened Moses’ eyes and his heart.  When Moses saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, the truth so overwhelmed him that he reacted violently.  “He looked this way and that way,” the Bible tells us, “and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.”  Realizing he could be punished with death, Moses fled to the wilderness.
The book of Hebrews tells us that, “By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer the affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.”
Faith gave Moses new eyes to see the truth and a tender heart to respond.  But he hardly behaved like a hero. By faith, Moses identified with his people, but beyond that, he didn’t really know what to do—which is exactly where God wanted him.  He allowed Moses to be stuck out in the desert for forty years; meanwhile Pharaoh died, and his successors increased the oppression of his people.  Moses raised a family, grew old and no doubt wondered many times what his time in Egypt was all about.
Until one day, God appeared to him in burning bush.  A consuming fire that didn’t consume, the flame of God’s presence, His passion — and now His purposes, revealed to Moses after all these years. 
By faith, Moses chose to see the truth of his own identity—and God did the rest.  We can always trust our Lord to “do the rest.”

August 6
Romans 5:20
“Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more…”


What greater example of God’s pursuing love is found than in this verse?  God gave us the law, not merely to give us moral guidelines for living —He knew we couldn’t live up to His law. But rather, He teaches us through the law just how far we are from ever achieving perfection and total obedience.  We simply can’t do it!  We’re too human!

So, in light of the standard of the law, our sins increase.  If we are willing to be truthful and not live in denial, our awareness increases.  Our sin abounds!  But the great news is that “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”  Our sins give God the astonishing opportunity to demonstrate His nature and character more profoundly than the law can ever do. Our failure to live under the law gives God the opportunity to extend His love toward us; even while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Grace abounds to undeserving sinners! The greater the sin, the greater the grace needed. But God's grace offers much more than forgiveness. We are offered deliverance (freedom) from the power of sin and death.  Grace restores our relationship and communion with God. We are given the ability to live the abundant life that Jesus promised to all who follow Him.

In the midst of our worst sins, God sends His Holy Spirit to teach us, convict us, and drive us toward Him.  And then He pours out His grace.

“I’m not surprised by vice. I’m surprised by virtue. Classical Christianity has always had a negative view of human nature…people are broken and fallen and frail. People plod along and make mistakes. But there is a message to all guilt-ridden humanity: there is saving grace and there can be release from that guilt, shame and sin.” — Michael Cromartie

August 7
1 Corinthians 9:19
Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.  I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Paul had a goal in life:  to serve God and lead others to faith.  He was never willing to water down the Gospel, nor preach a “cheap” salvation.  He never advocated compromise.  But, he was committed to removing cultural and social barriers that might get in the way of the truth.  In other words, some things are just not important to get in the way of the gospel!

In my life, the first real example I witnessed of this attitude was through the early Jesus movement, when a few church leaders, like Pastor Chuck Smith, rose above their personal tastes and prejudices, and accepted the long haired hippie types and the music that came with them into their churches.  Chuck admits that he wasn’t too thrilled at the prospect at first, but his wife, with a heart of deep compassion for these lost kids, convinced him to open his heart and his church.

A young woman in our church set out on her first cross cultural mission trip this summer. She later said one of the greatest lessons she learned was the importance of adapting her dress style (from southern California beach to a more modest, conservative style) and food tastes to accommodate her hosts.  She said she ate more strange things in a few weeks than she had in her whole life— but she also learned the value of respecting the culture in which she was ministering, and how much more receptive people are to your message when you do so.

All around us, every day, we can find opportunities to “die to ourselves” and adapt to the will of God as we learn to respect and love other people in their own cultures and worlds.  Sometimes it means stepping out of our comfort zones.  More often, it means not passing judgment on personal tastes in music, worship styles, dietary preferences, dress, hair-styles and a host of other “non-issues” unless they seriously cross the moral guidance of Scripture.  It mostly means totally abandoning ourselves to God’s will, with a goal to live out His great commandments:   “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind… love your neighbor as yourself'”  (Matthew 22: 37-40).  And, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations."(Matthew 28:19-20).

August 8
Matthew 22:37-38
“Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.'”

I realized recently that I am not satisfied with being the pastor of a church of believers, or even of a community of followers of Jesus.  Because I know that all of us are capable of believing and of following, without being passionately in love—and according to Jesus, that’s just not enough.  Not enough to satisfy what He calls the “first and greatest commandment,” and not enough  to satisfy our deepest needs.

We can follow all the other commandments of God, and yet, if we neglect to keep the most important one, we might as well break all the others! Loving the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, and all your strength, is more important than anything else.

The truth is, though we can strive and push and exert every possible effort to be good, to follow doctrine, to do all the right things, it is a passionate, sincere love for God that inspires and gives us the strength to do anything at all.

What if you just aren’t feeling it?  That’s why Jesus came.  He bridges the gap between us and the Father.  He lives in us and pours His love in our hearts. He teaches us to love.  “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

It always come backs to LOVE, the greatest commandment of all.

August 9
Psalm 121:7-8
“The Lord will keep you from all harm-- he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”

The Delany sisters, Bessie and Sadie, each lived over 100 years.  In their book, The Delany Sisters’ Book of Everyday Wisdom, they wrote about their beloved “Papa,” a former slave, who was elected the first black bishop of the Episcopal Church of America.  In 1918 he was asked to be a guest preacher at a church in Raleigh, Virginia. His family considered the invitation a great honor, so all ten children and his wife attended.  Even though Papa was the guest of honor, his family was sent to the back balcony. Bessie recalls, “They made us sit where the slaves had been made to sit.  And then we were not given the privilege of Communion.”
When the story appeared in the sisters’ first book, they received a formal letter of apology from the congregation of that church.  Bessie writes, “We were so touched that they apologized a full seventy-five years later.  Now that’s God’s work.”
Seventy-five years!  Decades over which bitterness and resentment could have hardened these women’s hearts.  But something insulated them from such destructive emotions.  Something motivated them to live free, productive, lives, each following her passion. “We set aside time everyday to talk to the Lord, Sadie wrote.  “After all, He has to manage the whole world and He’s never too busy for us!”

These two women lived with the knowledge that God loves them and always worked all things for good in their lives.  Bessie recalled “When we walk into our house—whether we’re coming back from a long trip or just from seeing our neighbors—the first thing we say is, ‘Praise the Lord.’  We do that to thank Him for watching over us.”
Two black women growing up in an era when that meant two strikes against them, could almost have been excused for resenting their circumstances and harboring ill feelings.  But Bessie and Sadie, trusting in God’s love and provision, lived abundantly, successfully and accomplished amazing things during their century on earth.  They are examples to us all.

August 10
Matthew 13:22
“Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”

A friend of mine mutters to himself at least once a month that paper work is a plot of the devil.  He is referring to the endless stack of forms and papers to fill out, sign, copy, file, triplicate, email, and fax necessary to accomplish just about anything, from traveling to going to school —to just living!

The “cares of the world” can certainly be catastrophic events that frighten us and take away our peace.  But I think almost worse is the daily grind of details and annoyances like broken cars, malfunctioning computers, bills, appointments…you get the idea.  These things keep us on the run, keep us uptight and worried and harried – until we forget that God is in control. 

The cares of the world can choke out the blessings of the Word.  They can keep us so distracted and fretful that we forget all the promises and blessings God has for us in His Word. Like Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

The distractions of this world can be put in perspective when you “fix your eyes upon Jesus” (Hebrews 12:20) and remember the words of a beloved hymn:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.


1.    Words & Music: Helen H. Lemmel, 1922

August 14
Acts 19: 23-41
“…this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.”

Those were the accusing words of a silversmith named Demetrius in the city of Ephesus, about the apostle Paul. Demetrius made silver shrines of the goddess Artemis, and, by his own admission, made a good income from this little business.  Now along came Paul and some of his helpers preaching the Gospel, telling people about the one true God, and Demetrius saw his livelihood threatened. He gathered a few local business leaders around him and started talking about Paul and stirring up trouble. “Soon the whole city was in an uproar” (19:29).

The uproar was not just about business. Below the surface, the true reason for the dissension and unrest disturbing the city was the demonic stranglehold Paul encountered. The city was entrenched in evil, and being held in bondage.  Paul knew what he was up against—and he attacked the stronghold with the most powerful weapons ever known.  Within two years, the enemy stronghold was demolished! 

It was under these circumstances that Paul wrote his powerful letter to the Ephesians, exhorting them to: “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6: 11-12).

Paul knew who the real enemy is—and he knew the power of prayer.  He fought the opposition through prayer and proclaiming the truth, standing fast against the spiritual forces that bound that city. 

We can debate, protest and shout our opinions to the world, but only if we are “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6: 18), will we see evil demolished and bondage broken.

August 17
Acts 19:30
“Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him.”

The city was in an uproar, demonic influence stirring up an angry mob.  People were shouting, threatening, ready to take out their disturbing emotions on someone.  The funny thing is, “Most of the people did not even know why they were there” (Acts 19:32). Bu they wanted to hurt someone – especially anyone who represented God and stood up to their false gods.  It was a dangerous place to be a Christian—but Paul didn’t care.  He was ready to defend hi faith under all circumstances.

What moved Paul?  What motivated him? What is the difference between Paul and you and me? I have to ask myself, could I demonstrate the courage and strength of convictions he did?

I believe that Paul was capable of such courage because one fine day he allowed God’s love to totally rule his heart and life.

It is an amazing truth that God’s love is an active, pursuing love.  Right now, no mater where you are, he is actively loving you, pursuing you, desiring to heal you, and bless you beyond you wildest imagination. And the only thing hindering His love from shaping and motivating your life is you!  He is calling you to let go of your struggle against Him.  Give in.  Surrender to His infinite love and His blessed will for your life, and he will take care of the rest,

Paul came to love the lord later in life.  He had grown up Jewish, knew he Law and all the correct doctrine.  Except that he didn’t know God’s love.  He was puffed up with knowledge, but lacking in the Spirit. But the Lord chased him, pursuing him, beating upon the door of Paul’s heart until this zealous, proud man finally surrendered to the infinite, eternal love.

If you are resisting God, as a believer or a non-believer, I urge you to give in.  Let him fill your heart with love and give you the courage to live a meaningful, fulfilling life. 

Paul reminds me of another great man who resisted God for a time. But in the end he wrote these beautiful words: “I came to love you late, O Beauty so ancient and so new; I came to love you late. You were within me and I was outside, where I rushed about wildly searching for you like a monster loose in your beautiful world. You were with me but I was not with you. You called me, you shouted to me, you broke past my deafness. You bathed me in your light, you wrapped me in your splendor, you sent my blindness reeling. You gave out such a delightful fragrance, and I drew it in and came breathing hard after you. I tasted, and it made me hunger and thirst; you touched me, and I burned to know your peace.”
1

1.    Wirt, Sherwood, translator. “The Confessions of St. Augustine in Modern English (Grand rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing), p. 125.

August 18
John 9:6
“He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes.”

What do you think would happen if a preacher did that today? I suppose it would depend upon the results.  If the man was healed, as he was in this case, because it was Jesus performing the act, then everyone might accept the peculiar method.  But there would still be skeptics and critics and people who would say, “That’s just plain weird.”

Jesus healed a lot of people.  But He varied the method.  Not everyone got the mud in the eye. Sometimes He would simply touch someone.  Other times He merely spoke the word. In one case, a woman touched the hem of His garment.  He cast out demons, raised the dead, healed the lame, the sick, the poor, the rich.  But He never did things exactly the same way.

Why?  Because He doesn’t want us getting hung up on a method.  The real emphasis of Jesus’ life and ministry is His message, the proclamation of the Gospel, and of His saving grace.  And even then, He chose a variety of methods to communicate.  He preached to large crowds, He taught small groups, He spoke to individual people at wells, in trees, at weddings, and over meals. He mingled with the religious crowd, as well as “tax collectors and sinners.” Jesus performed miracles and healed people, but He also did less spectacular things like simply talking to children or defending a woman caught in sin.  He told practical parables, filled with spiritual truths, that spoke to people in language they could understand. He also confronted the theologians of His day, challenging them with deep, spiritual concepts such as being “born again” and their own hypocrisy.

Jesus and the apostles varied their approach, led by the Holy Spirit, to keep people from focusing on methods and miracles rather than God.  The Lord will never be boring or even predictable in His loving pursuit of us.  He is creative, and willing to meet each of us where we need to be met, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.  He will speak to us in ways that will surprise, delight, and cause us to realize how much we need Him. So be listening, watching, and anticipating.  The Lord is on the move.

August 19
Acts 20:15-16

"Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' "'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.’”

Appointed a servant.  From the beginning of the apostle Paul’s encounter with Jesus, his role in life was defined.  We know him as an apostle, an evangelist, a persuasive speaker, a brave believer willing to risk persecution, pain, and death for the cause of Christ.  But first and foremost, he was a servant.

Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).   Many of us have eternal life, but do we have ABUNDANT life?  In teaching His disciples how to have an abundant life, Jesus taught two powerful lessons:  Love one another.  Serve one another.

When some people think of a servant, they don’t think of someone they love, but rather of someone who does something because he or she is forced to do it.  It’s an obligation, or a job, or a forced service thrust upon weak, oppressed people.

But Jesus says, “I want to show you a different kind of servant.  One who serves by choice. And with love.”  Without love, service is merely a duty.  Without love, service eventually sours into resentment and bitterness.

It takes strength to serve with love.  It takes strength of faith, strength of character, strength of mind.  Never make the mistake of equating servanthood with weakness.  Jesus was a servant—and He is the most powerful Being to ever walk this earth!  Being a servant truly is being the greatest in God’s kingdom.

“A Christian man is the most free lord of all and subject to none; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to everyone.” — Martin Luther

August 22
"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."  Ecclesiastes 1:2

In a short story titled “Araby” by James Joyce,  (from “The Dubliners”), a young boy embarks on a quest to attend the local bazaar and buy a gift for a girl he yearns to impress.  When he finally arrives, the booths were closing, the money was being counted, and the hired help was ready to go home.  Cold, dark  indifference shoved aside the romantic images his mind had conjured up of what the bazaar was supposed to be like. Where was the fun?  The romance?  In the end, he suffers a shocking revelation: “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.”1

That’s the sad solution a lot of people reach when their life seems to stop in its tracks, and all the fun they thought they were having seems so foolish, empty.  The bazaar-like life people create for themselves threatens to end like all bazaars do – with the lights out, the workers tired of putting on a happy face, and nothing left but coins to count and dirt to sweep away.  The rest—the glitter, the promise of romance and fast fun—it’s all manufactured for a brief moment, until the vanity of it all is revealed and we are sickened by our self-deception.

We are a society driven by pleasure and the need to escape.  The same man who cried out “All is vanity!” also wrote of his life, “Whatever my eyes desired, I did not keep from them.  I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure”  (King Solomon, Ecclesiastes 2:10). Are we so different today?

Our pleasure/entertainment driven society provides endless means of escape.  Movies, theater, restaurants unlimited, television with 100 channels, the Internet... everything imaginable is available, and there appears to be no reason at all to withhold any pleasure desired by our eyes.  We could spend twenty-four hours a day living in a fantasy world. 

Modern technology has only served to turn the same old sins into more convenient ones.  Nothing much has changed about human nature. 

God wants us to enjoy life.  To appreciate beauty and talent, and art.  But He gave a context for pleasure that has depth, meaning, and purpose for our lives.  His pleasure is not empty. It is rich with love, joy, peace and the fruits of His Spirit. We have a choice.  We can drink the crystal clear waters of heavenly love—or we can settle for the murky waters of temporary joy, and lose our source of beauty, goodness, and truth—treasures the human soul longs to possess.
1. Joyce, James, “Dubliners” (New York, NY: The Modern Library, 1993), p. 35.

August 23
Acts 20: 35-38
I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "  And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.

A certain church got rid of their pastor.  When asked why, a spokesman said, “Because he kept telling us that we’re going to hell.” 

The questioner asked, “What does the new guy say?”

“Oh, he keeps telling us we’re going to hell too.”

“Well, what’s the difference?’

“The difference is that when the first one said it, he sounded glad about it. But when this pastor says it, he lets you know that it’s breaking his heart.”

That is the kind of ministry and witness that Paul exemplified.  Truth taught without compromise, but with deep, sacrificial, unconditional love.  If we thought about the people to whom we have tried to be a witness of our faith, would they respond with tears and sadness if we disappeared out of their lives?  Or they would they be glad to be rid of a self-righteous person more intent on being right and “holier” than on being a loving friend or relative?

When the Word of God is given with love, and the Christ-like life lived without hypocrisy or pride, then the Holy Spirit can reach hearts that are not hardened by suspicion or defensiveness.

“You must support the weak,” Paul said.  And isn’t that just about all of us?  We are all weak.  All sinners. All needing to be saved by grace.

August 24
1 Peter 1:7
“These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold.”

Oh to have more faith!  If only we could give up worry, anxiety, and fear and live in confidence that God has it all under control. If the medication we take is any indication, we are a people plagued by anxiety.  Antidepressants, anti-anxiety, antacids, and pain relievers are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in our society. While some of this simply reflects our human condition, a lot of it can attributed to a society lacking in a living, life-altering faith.

So how do we learn to have greater faith?  Faith is an interesting substance.  You can’t get it by sitting in a Bible study.  You don’t learn it just by talking about it.  You certainly can’t get it by just hoping and thinking and wishing for it.  But you can pray for it—and then watch out for what happens!

Faith, like muscle, is developed by being used!  The more you exercise a muscle, the stronger it gets.  The more you are forced to live by faith, the more you are stretched and challenged, the stronger your faith grows.  That’s what Peter meant in the verse above.  Your faith is more precious than gold.  It will enrich your life more than any amount of money or precious items.  Your faith is God’s gift to you, one that He desires to strengthen and enlarge, so that He can bless your life.


“God delights to increase the faith of His children. Our faith, which is feeble at first, is developed and strengthened more and more by us. We ought, instead of wanting no trials before victory, no exercise for patience, to be willing to take them from God's hand as a means. I say - and say it deliberately - trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes defeats, are the very food of faith.” —George Mueller

August 28
Revelation 2:5
“Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

The most powerful witness you can give to the world is your personal testimony and how you live it. Whenever you share your testimony of what God has done in your life, and how He has changed you, you are the world’s greatest authority on the subject!  It is one thing you can speak of with confidence.

It is always good to remember from where we came.  Many of us can recall a time when we thought we were at the height of our games.  Do you remember feeling like you had it together, or like you could handle life just fine on your own?  You didn’t need God – after all, He’s a crutch!  You bet He’s a crutch – for most of us He’s the ambulance that saves our lives.

Once you’ve been a Christian awhile and you know your sins are forgiven and you have more or less figured out how you should live, it’s easy to forget.  To forget that we are all sinners, and if our sins are not so obvious to the world, they still deceive our hearts through pride or deceit or self-delusion.

So Jesus reminds us, that it’s good to stop once in awhile and remember what He has done for us, and to go back to the first works we did when we first were saved:  to love Him with all our hearts, minds and souls.

August 30
Joshua 1:3
“I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.”
The Lord made this astounding promise to the children of Israel, and as a young Bible student, I wondered at the hugeness of it.  “Every place…,” God told them.  When I prayed about how this applies to our lives today, I came across a commentary by one of my favorite Bible teachers, J. Vernon McGee.  I never forgot what he wrote and I would like to share it with you here:
“God has given them the land. The land is theirs, but their enjoyment of it depends upon their taking possession of it. That part of the land upon which they walked would belong to them. Comparatively speaking, we have been told in Ephesians 1:3 that we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. Unfortunately, very few Christians lay hold of the spiritual blessings that belong to them… Although God gave Israel the Promised Land, they never possessed all of it. As a matter of fact, Israel got very little of the land.

“Many Christians today are like Israel in that they are blessed with all spiritual blessings and yet they die like bums in a doorway without claiming those blessings as their own. What a tragedy that is. The Book of Joshua is going to tell us how to lay hold of our possessions…Because there will be conflict, we are told in Ephesians 6 to put on the whole armor of God. We have a spiritual enemy fighting against us. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).  Ours is a spiritual enemy.
“We will have to wear the whole armor of God. The victory has to be won. However, you and I don’t get the victory; the Lord Jesus gets the victory. We will get what Israel got—deliverance and possessions.  Every victory Israel gained was given by God. If you and I ever win a victory, He will win it for us. We will, by faith, enter into these wonderful possessions…God gave Israel 300,000 square miles of land and the most they ever claimed was 30,000 square miles. They did not do very well, did they? They took possession of about one-tenth of what God had given them. That is about the same amount of spiritual possessions claimed by believers today.”  (J. Vernon McGee’s commentary).
 
Sometimes being able to “possess” what God has for us seems impossible, overwhelming…out of reach.  But God made a promise to Joshua, and then He gave him the means and encouragement to accomplish it: “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you”  (Joshua 1:5).

As I said, I have never forgotten this lesson.  I hope I never will.

August 31
Hebrews 11:8
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”

Imagine yourself in Abraham’s position.  He wasn’t a young man with few ties or responsibilities. It wasn’t easy to pick up stakes and relocate.  He was 75 years old when God said to him, “Abraham, I’ve got a whole new and exciting adventure for you.”

Abraham took a risk, leaving all behind.  He had grasped an important principle: the goal is not to be comfortable and build a kingdom here on earth, then work towards retirement. Abraham regarded himself as a sojourner and a pilgrim passing through, following God on a remarkable journey of faith toward the ultimate goal, his eternal heavenly home.

Abraham lived solely by faith.  He had to, or he wouldn’t have been able to follow God so faithfully.  The Bible even describes Abraham as a friend of God (2 Chronicles 20:7), undoubtedly because he talked with God regularly.  He trusted God and listened to Him.  So one day when God told him he was going on a journey to a new place called the Promised Land, Abraham went.  He trusted his friend, his God, and he had no fear of obeying Him, no matter how great and unimaginable the adventure may be.