You Can Count on It

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

“You can count on it!” I heard my dear pastor, Dr. Richard Strauss, say that a million times about the Word of God. Well, several hundred times, at least. Have you found that to be true? 

Are you weary? Maybe you’ve had a rough time of it as of late, and right at this moment you’re faint. Here’s a word for you, “He gives power to the faint” [Isaiah 40.29]. Take this promise to the Promiser and ask Him to honor it. He will, you can count on it.

Are you hungry for God, seeking a closer walk with Him? Here’s your word, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied” [Matthew 5.6]. You can count on that one too.

Are you distressed, burdened by a heavy load of sin? Oh, dear one, listen to this promise for you, “I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins” [Isaiah 43.25]. Take that one to the bank, it’s His promise to you. 

Are you thinking you have been forsaken by God? Do you think He has withdrawn His love from you? Here’s a great promise, “The mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but My steadfast love shall not depart from you” [Isaiah 54.10]. Be sure to count on that one!

The Apostle Peter said that we have received a boatload of great and precious promises that enable us to share God’s divine nature and escape the world’s corruption [see 2 Peter 1.4]. Feast on that today. And remember: it’s God’s Word. You can count on it!

Remember Your word to Your servant, in which You have made me hope. Psalm 119.49

We Live in God

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Do you want to live in the perfect house for your soul? Your first question may be, “Well, how much would that cost?” Have I got good news for you! You can put your checkbook away because there’s no monetary transaction needed. That’s because the house I’m referring to is God Himself. The price of living in God is loving and serving Him forever. 

What a house it is. It is well stocked with enough spiritual food to last a lifetime. When you are weary, it is the perfect place to rest. It even comes with clothing; it’s filled with garments of righteousness of every size. And talk about a view, everywhere you look, heaven is in view. 

One more thing about this house: it’s a place of safety and security. It will last forever! When all other houses have melted away, this house remains imperishable; self-existent as God, because it is God… “we live in Him and He lives in us.”

And God has given us His Spirit as proof that we live in Him and He in us. 1 John 4.13 [emphasis mine]

Christ Follower? Then Imitate Christ!

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

If one claims to be a Christ follower, then I say, “Imitate Christ!” There are many reasons for doing so, but today, I offer you three:

Imitate Christ for your sake. Do you want to be spiritually healthy? Do you want to enjoy a robust, growing grace? Do you want deep rooted joy? Then, drink deeply of Christ's love and imitate Him. There is nothing as able to assist you in walking directly to heaven as bearing the image of Jesus. You are most happy when you are like Jesus. 

Imitate Christ for religion’s sake. True religion has been fiercely attacked by cruel enemies, but it has not been nearly as wounded by them as by hypocritical religionists. There is no weapon as deadly as a Judas-kiss. Inconsistent Christ followers have hurt the Gospel to a far greater degree that sneering critics or boisterous heretics.

Imitate Christ for Christ’s sake. Is His name precious to you? Is His kingdom dear to you? Is His glory first and foremost in your life? Are you longing for lost souls to be His? Then imitate Christ. Be a “letter (of Christ)… known and read by all men” [2 Corinthians 3.2-3].

Whoever says he abides in Him [Christ] ought to walk in the same way in which He walked. 1 John 2.6

It’s OK to Hate Sin

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Let’s get real for a moment; it’s OK to hate sin. Go ahead, say it, “I hate sin.” You should feel a little better now. Just think what mischief sin has caused you. It has blinded you from the beauty of the Savior. It has stopped your ears that you could not hear the Lord’s tender invitations. It has poisoned the very life of your being. It has made your heart “deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.” [Jeremiah 17.9]

When sin had done its work in you, before divine grace intervened, you were an heir of wrath just like others [Ephesians 2.3]. After His grace, you were “washed, sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” [1 Corinthians 6.11].

It’s OK to hate sin. Look back and trace its deadly work. We were dead in our trespasses and sin, and would have been lost had omnipotent love not intervened to redeem us. Even so, sin is an active enemy, intently searching for ways to harm us and drag us down. 

It’s OK to hate sin, unless you’re looking for trouble. If you want your path covered with thorns, then just stop hating sin. But if you want a holy walk, and to live a happy life and die a peaceful death, then keep hating sin right up to the end. 

Love God with all your heart, honor Him, and hate sin. By the way, there is no better cure for sin than daily communion with Christ. If you stay close to Him, it’s impossible for you to be at peace with sin! 

O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Psalm 97.10

Victorious and Preserved to this Day

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Have you heard about the optimist who fell off a 10-story building? Passing the 5th floor he said, “So far so good!”

I’m a pretty optimistic guy. I don’t think I’m overly optimistic, maybe a pragmatic optimist, but, for the most part, I tend to look on the brighter side of life. Some Christ followers, though, are prone to the dark side of everything. You hear it when they talk more about what they have gone through than what God has done for them. You’ve heard them, haven't you? Continual conflicts. Deep afflictions. Unfortunate adversities. You hardly ever hear them reference the mercy and help that God provides for them.

A Christ follower whose soul is healthy, will joyously say, "I will not speak about myself, but to the honor of my God. He took me out of a pit filled with miry clay and planted my feet solidly on a rock. He put a new song in my mouth, which can’t stop singing His praise. The Lord has done great things for me—I am glad” [adapted from Psalm 40.2-3; 126.3].

That’s the best review of experiences that any child of God can offer. Sure, we endure trials and difficulties. But, it’s also true that the Lord delivers us from them all [Psalm 34.19]. Sure, we have sin. But we also have an all-sufficient Savior who delivers us from its dominion [1 John 1.9].

Like Pilgrim (in Pilgrim’s Progress), we can’t deny that we have been through the Slough of Despond and the Valley of Humiliation, but how equally egregious to forget that we have come through them safely and profitably. We don’t remain there, thanks to our Almighty Helper and Leader, who has, "brought us out to a place of abundance” [Psalm 66.12].

Hear the psalmist cry out, “Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!” [Psalm 66.1-3a]. The deeper our problems, the louder our praise to God. He has brought us to victory and preserved us to this day.

The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Psalm 126.3

Live to the Lord

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t just save people and then take them home to heaven? We kind of joked around about that in Bible College saying things like, “I’d love to have a save ‘em and slay ‘em ministry.” But if you really think about it, God could do that if He wanted to. There isn’t a special preparation for immortality that requires us to linger here. If the Lord wanted to, He could change us from imperfection to perfection and take us to heaven at once.

So, why then are we here? Would God keep His children out of paradise on a whim? Would He savor that we wrestle with life a little longer? Why is the army of God still on the battlefield when one word might give them the victory? Why are His children still wandering here and there when a single word would bring them into their hope of heaven?

The answer is really simple — we are here to "live to the Lord;” as sowers of the good Seed, as heralds announcing salvation from God, as “the salt of the earth” blessing to the world, as workmen desiring to take as many people to heaven with us as we can. We’re here to glorify Christ in our daily living.  

We’re here so, let’s fulfills our purpose. Live zealous, useful, holy lives, to "the praise of His glorious grace” [Ephesian 1.6].

If we live, we live to the Lord… Romans 14.8a

Don't Miss the Spirit's Blessings

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

It’s impossible to overestimate the consequences of the Holy Spirit’s filling of the soul. Life, comfort, purity, power, and peace are among the many precious blessings of His presence. Many of His blessings are highlighted by the symbols of the Holy Spirit that we find in Scripture. Here are a few of them:

As purifying water - He cleanses us from the power of sin and sets us apart to holiness, enabling us to do what pleases the Lord.

As fire, He sets us ablaze, enabling us to offer our souls as a living sacrifice to God.

As dove, He descends upon the chosen and bears witness to their sonship by working in them a filial spirit by which we cry, "Abba, Father.”

As wind, He performs the quickening operations by which the spiritual is animated and sustained.

Oh, that we would be filled with the Spirit each and every day.

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. John 14.16-17

Religion Reality Check

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Yesterday in my devotional reading, I read through the book of James. I’ve always liked James because it is a practical book and offers a penetrating assessment of true faith (religion). I mean, how practical can you get: Don’t merely study the Bible—obey it; Don’t talk like the world—keep your speech pure; Don’t just claim a love for God, live a holy life; Don’t just say you’re religious, demonstrate sacrificial love. James puts it right out there — a shallow claim to Christianity means nothing to God. God wants a walk that matches the talk. Along with your claim of Christianity, He wants to see godly attitudes and deeds. 

The Apostle John said the same thing, “The one who says he abides in [Christ] ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.  . . .  The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes" [1 John 2:6, 10-11]. A true Christ follower walks in the light and demonstrates it with loving deeds to others.  

It’s difficult to get a definition of religion from our culture. When you do, it’s so broad that almost any belief system qualifies for it. But God the Holy Spirit inspired James to describe religion from His perspective — a pure, undefiled religion. Any religion that doesn’t produce holiness and sacrificial love doesn’t cut it. 

Here’s a religion reality check for you this morning: Do you flee from sin and reach out to those in need? If you do, your religion is pure. True religion produces holiness and sacrificial love.

This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1.27

Entrust Your Soul to God

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

The best way I know to handle real life, the good and, especially, the bad, is to entrust your soul to God. The British missionary of the 1950s, Geoffrey Bull (1921-1999), is one of best examples I know that demonstrates this principle. He was a missionary to Tibet when it was taken over by the Communist Chinese. He was imprisoned under the guise of being a spy, and for three years and two months, he was mercilessly punished. Solitary confinement. Brainwashing. Beatings. Stress positions. Starvation. 

During his affliction, he prayed that the Lord would help him remember Scripture, recognize Christ’s peace, and triumph over doubt, fear, loneliness, fatigue, and pain. (There are many books about Bull’s life. His autobiography, When Iron Gates Yield, is a good one.)

Peter encouraged all Christ followers who experience trials and tribulations to entrust their lives to God’s care. The Greek word translated entrust, is a banking term meaning, to deposit for safekeeping. As one who personally knew about persecution, Peter could speak about a sovereign God who could be trusted to do “what is right.” And since every Christ follower will, at one time or another, face a barrage of difficulties, it’s only logical that Peter exhorts us to entrust ourselves to God during those times.

It is much easier to respond to life’s difficulties if we have resolved, with God’s help, of course, to entrust everything to Him. Then we can face whatever God allows calmly and confidently, rather than with worry and fear.

Take time to review your commitment to God. Ask Him to point out anything that you need to entrust to Him. Then, by faith, take that step and give it all to God.

Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.  1 Peter 4.19

Open Doors

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Paul was committed to God’s mission, so he passionately reached his world with the Gospel. As a slave to God, he said to Titus, “I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen…”  His passion and determination proved effective. Many lives were transformed through the influence of this man and his ministry team. And, honestly, his influence is still impacting people today. 

He demonstrated what Jesus had instructed His followers to do: “…make disciples of all the nations,” instructing them to observe everything Christ commanded [Matthew 28.19]. God certainly was with Paul and enabled him to do his part in the divine mission.  

Without the aid of the Internet, radio and TV, Twitter, FaceBook, or even a blog, Paul trained others to share the truth of Scripture. Even with limited means, he was effective because he took his mission seriously, and went after it with all his heart.

God has not rescinded His mission. The effective door of opportunity that Paul had is open for us too. We have been tasked with telling the nations about redemption through Christ’s blood and resurrection. And, compared with Paul, we have communication capabilities far beyond anything he could have imagined, which provide worldwide access. How tragic, then, that we get too busy and fail to obey God’s command!

I think we are on the brink — a critical moment in the history of the church. Doors of opportunity are wide open to share the Good News through a variety of ways. As true Christ followers, we are under orders to carry out the Great Commission of Christ. Let’s get busy. And be careful that neither the cares of life nor apathy keeps us from obedience.

But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.  1 Corinthians 16.8-9

It’s God’s Work

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Have you ever felt discouraged after talking with people about Christ and it seems that no one listens? I’ve had people say they have given up trying to witness because it’s like “casting pearls before swine.” I don’t think that is the best application of that verse, but I get it. 

I took several classes on Personal Evangelism in Bible College and Seminary. The professors would often invite gifted evangelists to speak to the class. To hear them talk about it, evangelism is easy. They’re the kind of people who get on an airplane and, after take-off, everyone on board accepts Christ before the plane touches the ground. When they get on an elevator on the 25th floor of a building, everyone in the elevator accepts Christ before getting to the ground floor. It’s just not like that with me.

If a farmer quit farming after a crop failure, there’d be little food on our tables. Thankfully, he has enough bumper crops to make it worth the effort, so, he plants again. We must do the same. Just keep planting the seed. One day, someone will get it and believe. Then you’ll see the joy of someone coming to faith in Christ. That’s rejoicing time, right there [see Luke 15.7].

Conversion is not our job. Conversion doesn’t come through our persuasive words or clever arguments. Conversion comes when the Lord has prepared the heart of a person to receive the Gospel. Sometimes, our part is to sow the seed of the Gospel. Sometimes, we water what has already been planted. Sometimes, we do a little weeding. And sometimes, we get to reap where others have sown and watered and weeded. Still, it is God who does the work of conversion.

So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 1 Corinthians 3.7

Why Is My Life So Hard?

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

I write a by-monthly article for our town’s newspaper. I solicit questions from townsfolk through eMails, phone calls, and snail-mail. The name of the column is, Religion in the News/Ask Pastor Rick. There’s a question asked quite often that comes in a variety of ways. I’ve reduced them into one question for today’s eDevotion: Why is my life so hard?

Maybe you’ve asked that question yourself. Why did I lose my job? Why did God take my spouse from me? Why doesn’t God bless me like some other Christians I know? Why didn’t I get accepted into the college I wanted? Why didn’t I get that promotion? Why doesn’t God heal me so I don’t have to have an operation? If God loves me, why does He let me struggle like this?

This may sound a little earthy, but listen, maybe God doesn’t take away your hardships for the same reason you don’t do your child’s math homework. How will they ever learn quadratic equations if you do the math for them? They need to struggle through it, fail a few times, and learn to overcome the problems. 

It’s the human condition that growth and change come from challenge and pressure. Muscles don’t come from M&Ms. Speed and agility don’t come from watching TV. When we suffer, it’s not because God doesn’t love us, but because He does! He wants us to grow, to be different, to be better. His greatest desire for us is not pleasure and comfort, but that we survive life’s challenges with ever increasing faith. 

Here’s the deal: When you are a Christ follower, God makes all hardships work for you and for Him; for your good and His glory.

That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. Romans 8.28 [The MESSAGE Paraphrase]

Righteous in Christ

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

I mean no disrespect when I say, the Bible is a lot like a good movie. In God’s unfolding, redemptive story, there is foreshadowing. In other words, He gives us a glimpse, a silhouetted outline, of things that are coming, but doesn’t give the plot completely away. 

We see this in the first silhouette of grace and mercy, Genesis 3.15, when God told Satan, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” That was the first hint ever of the Gospel. It foreshadows the cross where Satan gave Jesus a wound, but it ultimately crushed him.

A little later, another silhouette appeared. It’s when God had Adam and Eve remove their fig leaves in order to cover them with more permanent skin garments. An animal had to die in order to provide that covering. That foreshadowed the death of an innocent victim so that a new garment could be worn. That is a theme that runs through the entire Bible. Zechariah 3 is a prime example:

Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes." Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you." Then I said, "Put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by. [3.3-5] 

Zechariah wasn’t just speaking just about clothes in that passage. A few verses down, he explained what God was going to do:

"'... I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.’" [3.8-9] 

It’s a foreshadow, but it’s getting clearer. God is going to cleanse the sins of His people through the “Branch.” 

Who is that Branch? Isaiah said He would come from the “stem of Jesse” [the father of David - Isaiah 11.1]. Paul made is absolutely clear, “Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel” [2 Timothy 2.8].

No more shadows! The light of Jesus caught up with the foreshadow of prophecy. Now, you and I can put on the new garments of righteousness, which only He can provide.

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5.21

Windshields, Not Rearview Mirrors

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

The past belongs in the past. It can't be undone. It can't be changed. Have you got some painful memories back there? Are there things that have scarred you, making life difficult today? Have you done things that cause painful memories? You’re not alone. I, too, remember many stupid things I did in past years. 

Maybe that’s why we resonate with the famous parable about the prodigal son: “The younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living” [Luke 15.13].

Shame and embarrassment persists long after the deed has been done. Many who can’t get over the past develop feelings of self-hatred.

But I’m glad the past can’t be changed — please keep reading before you throw your hands up and declare me insane. Listen, the Lord’s triumphant death and resurrection can’t be changed. God’s “Not Guilty” verdict on our sins can’t be changed. The Father’s love for His wayward children can’t be changed. So, like the prodigal son, wear his ring, join the celebration, and dine on the fatted calf!

The Bible is very clear about one thing: God is more interested in building our future than beating us up for the past. Our failures, our foibles, our fiascoes have been completely and freely forgiven. Let’s honor Christ, then, by looking through the windshield, not the rearview mirror!

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4.13-14

God Values Character

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led two campaigns against Jerusalem. The second one led to the total destruction of the city. Especially heart wrenching was the destruction of the Holy Temple. It’s believed that old Neb ran off with all the treasures of the Temple, including the Ark of the Covenant. The year was 586 BC.

We don’t hear a lot about the first campaign, but we do know some of the things that took place. The year was 605 BC. Nebuchadnezzar, had just conquered Pharaoh Necho at Carchemesh, then turned his eyes on Judah. 

As he was besieging Jerusalem, word came that his father, Nabopolassar had died. To secure his rightful place as heir to the throne, he hastily returned home. But before he did, he appointed Jehoiakim as the puppet king of Judah. Then, to secure the new king’s loyalty, he took some hostages, among them Daniel, Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah. Here’s how it was described in the Bible:

Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding, and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. . . . Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah [Daniel 1:3-4, 6].

His plan was to train the hostages in all the ways of the Chaldeans, then put them in service as his representatives to the Jews. Scholars estimate about 75 hostages, young men; handsome, keen intellect, educated, and with good social graces.

To be named in that elite group could easily have led to pride. But, evidently, it meant nothing to those named Hebrew boys. Their goal was to serve the Lord. While Nebuchadnezzar could train them in the ways of the Babylonians, and offer them influential positions in his kingdom, he couldn’t incite their pride or curb their allegiance to the Lord.

We have a modern Babylon of sorts. It’s a culture captivated by physical beauty and human ability. My encouragement to you this morning is to focus on your character. Whatever gifts and talents God has given you, use them for His glory, not your own. 

Modern Babylon values physical beauty and superior human wherewithal. God values character.

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16.7

The Real Power at Work in Acts

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Author J.B. Phillips, after spending 14 years translating the New Testament, sat back and reflected on his most lasting impressions. He kept returning to the book of Acts and its portrait of an infant church. “The sick are not merely prayed about,” said Phillips. “They are healed, often suddenly and dramatically … Human nature is changed. The fresh air of Heaven blows gustily through these pages.

“The early church lived dangerously, but never before has such a handful of people exerted such widespread influence … To put it shortly, the lasting excitement which follows the reading of the book is this: The thing works!”

“The thing works.” indeed! And there is no guesswork as to how it did. The Scripture points directly and decisively to the power of God, through the Holy Spirit. The author of Acts noted that every major advancement and decision of the early church was made under the Spirit’s guidance. And as a matter of record, Luke mentioned the Holy Spirit 57 times in the book.  

The Spirit personally sent Philip into the desert to meet an Ethiopian [see 8.26-29], set apart missionaries in Antioch [see 13.1-2], guided the first church council [see 15.1-29], and helped plan Paul’s itinerary [see 13.4; 16.6]. 

As presented in Acts, the Spirit was no vague mist but a living person who spoke, guided in decisions and fueled the church with the energy of faith.

How is the Holy Spirit active in your life?

They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” Acts 4,7

Suffering Is Nothing New

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

I don’t want to sound like a killjoy today, but I need to remind you that suffering is not new to children of God. A biblical passage I try to keep in mind comes from the suffering saint Job, “For man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward” [Job 5.7]. Now there’s something you don’t hear often. That needs to be taught to our children and grandchildren, starting yesterday! What we typically hear today is that God has nothing for you but success and prosperity, your best life now! 

OK, here comes the killjoy again, the Bible never promises that! The truth is, that is part of the superficial and skeptical times in which we live. That’s why when hard times come, you hear scores of complaints, questioning God’s goodness. God is not a heavenly bellhop delivering the pleasure and comfort you ordered from room service. He doesn’t exist to make us happy; we exist to bring Him glory!

God hasn’t changed His methodology in suffering. He still uses it to mold humble, useful servants. Throw one of us in any prison and we demand a lawyer. Throw Joseph in an Egyptian prison and he becomes a dream interpreter. Throw Paul in a Roman prison and he writes God inspired Scripture. Throw Corrie ten Boom in a flea infested German prison and she starts Bible studies. Throw John Bunyan in a Bedford Gaol prison and he writes Pilgrim’s Progress.

We must resist the temptation to rethink God when hard times come. They will come. Look deeper. Cling to Him tighter. He's doing something great within you. Suffering is nothing new.

That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens. Romans 8.18-21 (The MESSAGE Paraphrase)

Stand with Confidence

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

I once heard a person say something like this, “I’m supposed to love everybody. And I do. I even love the devil.” I think that’s tolerance gone amuck! But that’s our culture. It deifies tolerance. Listen, neither love the devil nor everything everybody does. That is spiritual nonsense. Sure, Christ followers are commanded to love everyone, even our enemies, but that doesn’t mean we turn our eyes from unrighteousness.

On one occasion, Paul was summoned by a city official who wanted to meet him. A false prophet interrupted them. You can almost see the hair bristle on Paul’s neck when he said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time." And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand” [Acts 13.10-11].

Wow! To borrow a baseball term, Paul really stepped up to the plate, and with grand-slam results. The official was stunned by the display of God’s power and Paul’s boldness, and believed.

Now, I’ve never faced a challenge like the one Paul faced, but there have been a few times in my life that I had to take a firm stand for righteousness. The result was not nearly as dramatic as Paul’s on Cyprus, but I can truthfully say that God honored my faith with near-invincible courage. 

God will do the same for you. When you stand for God, you stand with God. Therefore, you can stand with confidence.

For this reason, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to take a stand whenever evil comes. And when you have done everything you could, you will be able to stand firm.. Ephesians 6.13 (ISV)