God's Word on That

  • A Challenge is Opportunity

    About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God… Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose… But Paul shouted, “We are all here!” (Acts 16:25-28)

    Paul and Silas did not leave their cell because they saw a higher purpose for which they were in prison. How often are we so busy looking for deliverance from our circumstances that we miss God completely? God is looking to do miracles with our challenges, if we will only look for them. Our adverse situations can often be the door of spiritual opportunity for those around us who need it.

    And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

    When God had Paul write this, He meant all things. Therefore in the next challenge you face, tune your spiritual antennae and ask God for discernment to see the real purpose for the adversity.

    Next time you face any adversity, ask God for the reason behind it.

  • Jesus, Our Promise, Our Life

    “Immanuel!” (Matthew 1:23) The name that carries heaven’s assurance that no one who knows and trusts Jesus will ever be without His presence. Jesus is the end of all that is good; the height of all that is life; the depth of all that can be spoken.

    It is because of God that I am in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:30), who has become for me wisdom from God — Jesus is my righteousness, my holiness, and my redemption. Jesus is my Kinsman Redeemer and I owe Him my life.

    A Life of holiness requires us to be able to ask for His promises. Stand on the promise, then; press on and plead the promise – respectfully but continually. Pray not with hope it will be done but with the knowledge it is already done in the spirit realm, and that God will bring it to fruition in the physical realm. Our God is that good!

    The spirit realm is more real than the physical realm. And that’s God’s domain.

  • Jesus, King of Truth

    “Are You the king of the Jews?” (John 18:33) Pilate was only doing his job: protect Roman citizens from uprising, and protect Rome from wanna-be kings. Pilate knew the Jewish leaders had handed Jesus over out of fear of their people. If Rome killed Jesus then the people – who were enamored with Jesus at this time – would blame Rome instead of the Jewish authorities, and all would be happy.

    But Pilate used “king” in terms of a kingdom. “Kingdom” is a weak word, indicating territorial sway or dominion. Jesus wasn’t talking about a set of geographical miles that made up His area of authority. “Kingship” on the other hand is a quality of being, of having authority that centers around Him and in Him, not the land it holds. The “world” is the devil’s domain, the earthly realm. Jesus is king not of this world, but of everything not of this world. His kingship is over all truth and holds all things together. (Colossians 1:17)

    “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 19:19). Pilate had the sign made mostly to annoy the Jewish leaders, and to implicate them in Jesus’ death. But God guided him to write truth. Which is only fitting for the One who came to testify to the truth. (John 18:37) Let us also testify to God’s truth by the way we live our lives.

    For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth (2 Corinthians 13:8).

    We should be beacons of truth in a weary and dismal world.

  • Wash My Feet, Lord

    When Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, Peter – who knew how high above humanity Jesus, the Son of God, was – tried to refuse. But Jesus wasn’t interested in hygiene as much as holiness. (John 13:8-10) Like Peter, we need to know there is a difference between the washing of regeneration and washing for continued fellowship. Our daily contact with evil all around us causes dust of defilement to settle upon us, so the mirror of our conscience is dimmed and the spiritual affections of our hearts are dulled. The initial cleansing of baptism cannot be canceled, and does not need repeating. But we must review our daily walk and clean away the grime of the journey.

    Jesus points out that without obedience (John 14:15), there is no meaning to any virtue (John 15:4). In our spiritual life, a man who has been cleansed from sin need not think all is lost when he sins in his walk through life. He need only confess that sin to be entirely clean again. (1 John 1:9) But remember: sin cannot be forgiven if it is not specifically confessed.

    Let us ask daily for His cleansing Spirit.

  • A Prayer to God for His People

    Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel just as He promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises He gave through His servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us as He was with our fathers. May He never leave us nor forsake us. May He turn our hearts to Him to walk in all His ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations He gave our fathers. And may these words of mine which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that He may uphold the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel [and of His Church] according to each day’s need so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. (1 Kings 8:56-60)

    May my God supply all that you need from His glorious resources in Christ Jesus. And may glory be to our God and our Father for ever and ever, amen! (Philippians 4:19-20)

    There is but one God in this universe… And He cares for you.

  • Faith and Obedience

    Faith and obedience are the two legs with which a Christian walks. Promises which strength our faith and prompt our obedience also enforce our pleas and prayers. Faith confidently expects the fulfillment of the divine word. Obedience is not only a virtue of high importance, it is also the supreme test of faith.

    Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is the faithful God who for a thousand generations keeps His promises and constantly loves those who love Him and who obey His commands. (Deuteronomy 7:9)

    You need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised (Hebrews 10:36). Let us then hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).

    Faith can make miracles happen. Never underestimate the power of His promise.

  • Our Gracious God

    God never stops fulfilling His promises as long as we keep pleading them by faith to cover our needs.

    2 Kings 4:1-7 explains this beautifully. Elisha told the woman to ask for empty jars from her neighbors. “Not just a few” he specifically stated, giving the lower limit but no boundaries on the upper limit. And told her to shut the door to keep out non-helpful wagging tongues that could speak against miracles and cut if off. The oil stopped flowing when all the jars were full. Just like the feeding of the five thousand – when all were full, then the miracle ends.

    The woman only asked for the debt to be paid, but God gave her enough to let them live off the money till the boys grew up. That is a wonderful picture of our generous God!

    On any divine promise we can hang time and eternity, and rely on God to fulfill to the limit any of those promises we claim.

    When God gives, it is always more than enough.

  • God, Our Source of Life

    In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and He was God… He created everything there is. Nothing exists that He didn’t make. Life itself was in Him, and this life gives light to everyone. The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. (John 1:1-5 New Living Translation)

    The Word was first; the Word present to God, God present to the Word. The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one. Everything was created through Him; nothing – not one thing – came into being without Him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out (The Message).

    In the beginning was the One who is called the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God… And with this Word, God created all things. Nothing was made without the Word. Everything that was created received its life from Him, and His life gave light to everyone. The light keeps shining in the dark, and darkness has never put it out. (Contemporary English Version)

    From the beginning God has had His eye on us.

  • How Exactly Do We Know God?

    Some people know God, and some just believe in Him. Knowing is belief beyond doubt. True confidence in the Lord comes to those who have moved beyond their doubts. When we defeat doubt, we can enter into a whole new relationship with God. We need to know beyond a doubt that He will truly help us. Like Job we need to confess regularly our belief that God can do anything.

    “I know that You can do anything, and no one can stop You. You ask, ‘Who is this that questions My wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I. And I was talking about things I did not understand, things far too wonderful for me. (Job 42:1-2).

    Jesus Christ is the answer to knowing God. Jesus stated that anyone who had seen Him had seen the Father (John 14:8-9). Similarly, “If you knew Me you would know My Father also” (John 8:19). Jesus is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being” (Hebrews 1:3). The whole essence of the Christian revelation is that God is best seen in His Son.

    Look at the Son to see the Father.

  • The Size of a Mustard Seed

    The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches (Matthew 13:31-32).

    Matthew 17:20 and Luke 17:6 show us that too often we miss the point of the mustard seed. We think that quantity of faith is the determining factor in getting our prayer requests answered. The mustard seed shows us we all have at least that much faith, and if we learn to employ it, we will see miraculous things happen. Because of Christ Jesus, nothing is impossible for us.

    In Luke 17:6, faith is identified as that which makes a difference in one’s circumstances or surroundings – something to happen vs. something felt. This form of faith opens door to God’s transforming us so we can move mountains.

    It’s not the quantity but the quality of our faith that makes us survive the circumstances around us.