Doesn't everyone want to know what to do? Yet, there is a second and equally powerful need. To know when to do it. Former chairman of Chrysler, Lee Iacocca, once said, "Even the correct decision is wrong when it was taken too late."
What does real surrender look like? Surrender doesn't mean laying down or throwing up your arms in defeat. Surrendering means wrestling.
Regardless of the state of a man, God is just. In Exodus, He did not demand that Pharoah worship Him, nor those who lived in Egypt. His command to Pharaoh was simply to allow His people the freedom to do so. He knew at the end that Pharoah would allow them to go and do as He commanded. Still, because He is just, He allowed Pharoah to let them go and worship Him before any judgment would be pronounced against the Egyptian king personally, his land, or his people. God is so good that He gave this defiant, earthly king the ability not to do battle with the King of Kings. And in His mercy, He still gives this ability to the kings, presidents, and officials of today. God is not slow in His deliverance, folks. He is deliberate. And He will always win. Our part is to continue to proclaim the message during the waiting.
Christians everywhere are trying to determine what is right and what is not. Our government and media as a whole are crying "foul" against Christians who say anything contrary to their agenda.
The world is screaming, "How could you?" The President of the United States left thousands upon thousands of Americans and innocents in harm's way as he pulled our military out of Afghanistan. The decision to leave behind our people flies in the face of our own military code of "No man left behind."
"We've struck water!" they exclaimed. Isaac's servants had just found [...]
There are times when we have labored, worked, and obeyed. We did the work alone while standing against the mockers and the nay-sayers. We did everything the Lord asked us to do, and then God closes a door. It can feel isolated and cut off. It can seem like a tight, narrow, and limited space. It can even stink! Nothing seems solid. The ground continually moves under your feet. There is no stability for what seems like an eternity.
The power of God is not selfish. The Father did not give the gift of the Holy Spirit to puff up or bring glory to any person or personality. The power of God is holy! It is to empower us to do as Christ did. Jesus himself, after being made manifest at his baptism, the Spirit descended like a dove and remained on Him, with the voice of the Father commending Him, went into the synagogue on the sabbath day and quoted from the book of Isaiah and said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." Luke 4:18-19 John said in 1 John 4:17 that "...as He is, so are we in this world." We live in the power of the Holy Spirit to bring Glory to God by doing the works that He did as unto Him and in His name. If our Christian walk is simply to try and clear our conscience for death, we have missed it. To be born of Him is to live from Him. From the life He has given. From the place we now have in His kingdom and for His purpose and glory. Not our own. It is a place of complete humility, self-denial, and of complete and total surrender. It is a life lived for Him alone. If all we do brings glory only to ourselves or fame and fortune for vain imaginations, we are doomed. Through the Holy Spirit, we have tremendous power to affect our world and all those around us. But we can grieve the Holy Spirit. He can be misrepresented and misused. He is given for the distinct purpose of preaching the gospel, healing the brokenhearted, bringing deliverance to those bound, sight for the blind and liberty for the bruised, and preaching the Lord's favor over your years. That is what we should be busy doing. Jesus instructed us in Matthew 10:8 to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the diseased and drive out demons. He told us He freely gave all of this to us so we could freely give it to others. Let's not waste another day or even another moment. If we say we belong to Jesus, let's get busy looking like we do and bring glory to His wonderful name. Invite the Holy Spirit to baptize you as He did Jesus, and let's turn this world upside down one more time!
King David, a man after God's own heart. What was it about David that garnered such a title? Could it be that he feared no man and only feared God? Could it be that he knew how to worship so entirely that he would dance out of his clothes? Could it be that he wouldn't allow the name of the Lord to be mocked? Though David was deeply flawed, just like we are, and sinned great sins that, to his own admission, were against God, David knew what it was to be desperate for more of God.
Gone are the days of just desiring to live a quiet and peaceful life. A life where you can just freely live, make a living of your choice and raise your family with the values and beliefs you hold dear without interference. Instead, we are daily wakened to the life-draining news and propaganda. Couple that with the onslaught of forced feedings of agenda by social media or any media for that matter.
