So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. (John 11:6)

Has God trusted you with His silence— a silence that has great meaning? God’s silences are actually His answers. Just think of those days of absolute silence in the home at Bethany! Is there anything comparable to those days in your life? Can God trust you like that, or are you still asking Him for a visible answer? God will give you the very blessings you ask if you refuse to go any further without them, but His silence is the sign that He is bringing you into an even more wonderful understanding of Himself. Are you mourning before God because you have not had an audible response? When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible— with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, then praise Him— He is bringing you into the mainstream of His purposes. The actual evidence of the answer in time is simply a matter of God’s sovereignty. Time is nothing to God. For a while you may have said, “I asked God to give me bread, but He gave me a stone instead” (see Matthew 7:9). He did not give you a stone, and today you find that He gave you the “bread of life” (John 6:35).

A wonderful thing about God’s silence is that His stillness is contagious— it gets into you, causing you to become perfectly confident so that you can honestly say, “I know that God has heard me.” His silence is the very proof that He has. As long as you have the idea that God will always bless you in answer to prayer, He will do it, but He will never give you the grace of His silence. If Jesus Christ is bringing you into the understanding that prayer is for the glorifying of His Father, then He will give you the first sign of His intimacy— silence.

The other day there was another reeeally good one on Romans 6:13, you will want to take two minutes to read it!

“But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 5:20)

Wow, how in the world can our righteousness exceed that of the teachers of the religious law? We typically think, “Well, if we love justice, mercy, and truth, and don’t just pay the tithes and wear the right stuff and study the Scriptures and all do all those religious practices, then our righteousness exceeds theirs.” This is all good and well, but if we have sinned, and we all have, what is our righteousness? It is “filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6) Our righteousness will exceed that of the teachers of the religious law if we have the imputed righteousness of Christ! This is because Christ’s righteousness is complete! Notice that from this verse, Christ continues on to magnify the law (Isaiah 42:21), so that we would realize our sinful, needy state; we need His imputed righteousness!

Check out how the Epistles exposit righteousness:

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. (Philippians 3:8-9)

For they [the nation Israel] being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (Romans 10:3-4)

Now, THIS is the kicker!

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)

The word “propitiation” used here (Strong’s 2435) means, “A sin offering, covering,” and comes from a similar word that means, “I have mercy on; I pardon; I forgive.” He was the atonement (the book of Hebrews exposes this topic thoroughly). These words express that the required penalty for the sins of the whole world was satisfied in Him. In Him. Did He sin? No. But the penalty for sin was satisfied in Him! And that’s where the great transaction took place:

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)

Did we do any righteousness to earn our status? No, but just as our sin was credited to Christ’s account, His righteousness was granted to be credited to the account of anyone who will receive the gift, by repentance and faith! The requirement of God’s perfect law is satisfied in Christ!!!! Woooo! Now you can’t make up stuff like that!

Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds, and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

Why will they praise our Father in heaven? Because we do good works? Because we are good? No, but that the Father exemplifies His gracious, merciful love, the love that He showed on the cross, in us. They see our gratitude expressed to God through the good works we were created for but previously could never accomplish. We see God as a God worth living for, in good times and bad, and we see His blessings. All the while, men observe, and ultimately will glorify God, whether now or later.

Here’s the exposition of the fulfillment of this Scripture:

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:4-10)

Something worth noting: most of these believers are not persecuted because they believe in Jesus. No, that is not a crime worthy of death. Their crime is that they share. Dear friends, what is holding you and I back from sharing with the same tenacity that our brethren are in third world countries? Why do we wait till there is a high price to pay before we even consider sharing the Gospel? How do we know that we will share it in the hard times if we don’t take advantage of the good times? I know, we get so caught up in our own lives, I know we do. But maybe in our daily Scripture reading, we should be like the writers of the epistles. Have you noticed how everything is told in light of the Gospel, and ultimately brought back to that point? Maybe we should be daily reminding ourselves of the wonder of the Gospel.

Maybe, instead of constantly trying to improve ourselves and make ourselves “better Christians,” we should take heed to Christ’s warning to the Ephesian church, and remember our first love. Did you notice that in Hebrews 6, after it says “moving on from the foundation,” it goes on into a deeper exposition of the Gospel? Maybe we’re never supposed to get past the Gospel, but deeper into it. Maybe that’s what the Ephesian church missed, and possibly us, too.

I heard Todd Friel say something not too long ago, and would like to share it, because there’s a lot of wisdom in it: “The Gospel isn’t the thing that just gets us saved, it’s the thing that grows us in sanctification. And the more we dwell on that, and the more we ponder that, and the more we think about that, the more it is going to cause us to have joy, and then it is gonna be demonstrated on the outside, with things like confession of sin, being and encourager, and forgiving others even when they have sinned against us even in the worst way imaginable.” That’s profound, isn’t it? And you know what? It’s true!

So why do I read about the sufferings of the church around the world? I tell you, sometimes they are really, really hard to read, and they often seem like the same things over and over, but they are so real to those experiencing them! But why should I read them, as someone on the other side of the world? For one thing, to obey Hebrews 13:3 and remember my brethren and lift them up in prayer. For another thing, it brings me back to something…

When I read their stories, I am struck that in the midst of our greatest sufferings, God is still sovereign. He has supreme and independent power; nothing can stop Him, and nothing is too difficult for Him. Knowing that He is with His children when they suffer makes me think of each individual’s suffering in light of this fact. All heirs of Christ are appointed to afflictions (1 Thessalonians 3:3, Romans 8:17), but surely, just as we partake of His sufferings, we will partake of His resurrection (Philippians 3:9-11). God’s ways are so far above ours, that it is difficult at first for us to comprehend how He can be glorified in our weaknesses and sufferings. But a relatively new lesson for me is that when a wretch such as I has assurance that Christ’s completed work has made me righteous before God, and this standing before God does not go away in suffering, I become a greater display of God’s grace. This glorifies God in the presence of believers and unbelievers, and of angels and demons; they see that nothing separates me from God, that God works His will through the worst of my circumstances, and that Christ’s sacrifice does not cease to be sufficient for me. “For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:15) As I read these stories of precious brothers and sisters, I see that not only have they learned to trust God in a fuller sense through their sufferings, but that each of their trials was something that God trusted them with. They are counted worthy, of whom the world is not worthy, to share in the sufferings of Christ (Hebrews 11 and Philippians 1:29).

God is sovereign through the suffering of His children. He works not merely in spite of evil, but through it. He does not orchestrate the evils that cause us suffering, but He planned that He would be glorified through things we never imagined a holy, loving God could be glorified through. The more I observe His character, the more I see that He will display His glory, in any way He wills. Just when Satan thinks he has hindered God’s will, God reveals a greater plan that no man could have ever thought of. It is cases like these that replicate, in small ways, Christ’s ultimate victory.

Unlike any other worldview in the world, I can look at suffering and see the hand of a Good and Mighty God. How ironic is that? How phenomenal it is!

Only the Lord knows how many souls are impacted by His work in all of these believers, but we do know that their lives are never out of His hand. When God said in Isaiah 41:10, “I will uphold you with My righteous right hand,” He really meant it. Even if we are confused and downcast at first when the storms of life come, we soon see, along with our brothers and sisters on the other side of the world, that God is never helpless. He is with us, even when we suffer, and He is always working all things in our lives out for His glory. One thing is for sure: when He opens a door, no one can shut it, and when He shuts a door, no one can open it (Revelation 3:7). I pray that in everything, even the inevitable sufferings and persecutions for every child of God, we would come to know more and more the truth of this Scripture:

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21, NLT)

Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, NKJV)

This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:15-17, NKJV)

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. (Ephesians 1:3-11, NLT)

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2, NKJV)

All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. (2 Corinthians 4:15, NLT)

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21, NLT)

Isn’t that so cool? I mean, as I said in a recent post,

“We always think by default that God is glorified in the big things we would label as “victories,” but here and in so many other places we see that God is glorified when He proves that it’s not our works of righteousness that get us good with Him, but Him displaying His vast, immeasurable kindness toward us: His grace! We cannot boast, but in the cross of Christ, because that is our ONLY righteousness! I don’t know about you, but to me that’s totally awesome!”

I mean, by God’s grace we have right standing with Him, so when the world sees us, they don’t say, “Gee, that person is really moral and upright, I can see why God loves them,” but rather, “Whoa, they say they’re chief of sinners, but they’re so happy because God saved them anyway. And look, they just want to live to please God, and He’s the one empowering them to do it!”

God’s glory abounds where His grace abounds; are we praising God for His goodness, or are we trying to live better because we think God’s glory is dependent on our performance? In the large Ephesians passage quoted above (I put it in the NLT for easy reading), did you notice that the subject is always “GOD! GOD! GOD!” God be praised, God blessed us, God chose us, God sent His Son, God is kind, God is gracious, God forgave us, God revealed His plan, God will redeem the world, God works everything according to His will!

I mean, grace is just so amazing! God’s the one who chose that He’d send His Son as a ransom for our sin; all we did was receive the gift! And that gift is available to every human being on the face of this earth! We’re nobody special; God offers His grace to anyone who will receive! All the glory and praise be to God!

We don’t stand in a moral system; we stand in the grace of God. What is again so amazing about this is even if we don’t get the miracle we hoped for, even if we aren’t perfect, even if we don’t meet our expectations, God’s grace is constant, it is strong, and it is strongest in our weakness. I mean, if we were perfect, the world could assume we were just exceptional folks. But, we are perfected forever, but still being sanctified. God’s grace is evident there! And, His grace gives us eternal comfort and hope. (2 Thessalonians 2:16)

2 Corinthians 4:15 says, “all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.” It says this in the same paragraph that says we are “hard-pressed, but not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” How amazing! We always think by default that God is glorified in the big things we would label as “victories,” but here and in so many other places we see that God is glorified when He proves that it’s not our works of righteousness that get us good with Him, but Him displaying His vast, immeasurable kindness toward us: His grace! We cannot boast, but in the cross of Christ, because that is our ONLY righteousness! I don’t know about you, but to me that’s totally awesome!

I wanted to share with you a video of Matt Chandler, a pastor in Texas, who you may have heard of because back in 2009 it was discovered he had serious brain cancer. I just cannot do a justice to tell you anymore than what Matt says himself in this video, taken after his diagnosis and before his first surgery. I can’t embed it, but you can watch it here. If you want to know more of the story, go here. Matt said in the first video, “Now, in an area where it’s not a big win, I get to show that He’s enough! He’s counted me worthy to point to Him in this!”

I remember also Helen Roseveare, the English missionary-doctor to the Belgian Congo in the 1950s and 60s, who suffered greatly during the violence of the Simba rebellion, but in one night she was beaten and raped so badly that she lost her back teeth, and when her glasses broke, she couldn’t even see to defend herself. She had never doubted God before, but in that moment, she felt forsaken. But in the midst of the horror, she suddenly knew that God was right there with her. In the crux of her torture, the Lord spoke to her heart, not with words, but this message: “Can you thank Me for trusting you with this, even if I never tell you why?” This shocked her; she had always thought that she was the one who should trust God, but here God was saying that He trusted her with this suffering, and He wanted her to thank Him. Knowing and accepting this gave her a new peace that allowed her to bear it.

That’s faith. That’s the kind of faith that I want; to prove before angels and men that God’s grace is truly sufficient; that I’m not preserved by my own strength but by God’s creative hand. That even in the deep depths of the curse of this world, God is still sovereign, still gracious.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2)

Isn’t it so awesome? Check out this great video of the song “How He Loves” by the David Crowder Band with excerpts of messages from Matt Chandler and John Piper.

When we ignore God or forget to put Him first, He does not throw Himself in our faces, but whispers to our hearts, reminding us of the right way.

When we are klutzy, stupid, and weak, God bears with us, and keeps fertilizing us, and reminding us of His words.

How He loves us! And you know what is so incredible about that love? He believes in us! He believes that we can overcome our weaknesses, if we will give Him our hearts. His love for us NEVER fails. Even if we are faithless. Even if everybody else fails. And this love demands that He be jealous for our love–so that we can come to Him as little children, ready to rely fully on the love our Father has for us, holding nothing back, trusting Him fully. Do we have qualms? Maybe at first, but when we let out that big breath and take the step to reach out for the Father’s outstretched hand, we are not far from realizing that His strength and His love really is enough for us, and He will never let us go.

How can we ever hope to repay the love He’s shown for us? Yet, all He asks for is the little bit we have to give, and He won’t stop believing in us if we trip and slip, just as long as we take His hand to get back up! How He loves us! Look around you and see the little expressions of His love in your life! Set your heart on loving Him back!

I’d like to share a great rendition of an old hymn that I’ve been loving lately, And Can It Be.

One more: Love by Christ Tomlin, with Watota Children’s Choir

Spiritual seekers ask a lot of questions, as do people who wouldn’t consider themselves very spiritual. Two questions in particular are asked frequently by both parties. I would like to systematically address these; so read carefully or else you may learn something.

Question #1: “If there is a God, and if He is loving and all-powerful, why is there so much evil in the world? Why is there suffering?”

Anyone who has ever answered a question knows that it is important to understand the perspective behind the question. Sometimes, even, the best answer is a question. So what is the perspective behind this question? Why is it that we only ask it when things go wrong? Why, on the simple, beautiful days, do we not stop, walk outside, look into the sky and the trees, breath deeply, and ask the nearest person, “If there is a God, and if He is so good and powerful, why is there so much love in the world? Why does He let me have these good things?”

How quick we are to believe that we worked for these good things, things that have been handed to us on a silver platter! We have never worked for the sunshine, the birds’ songs, the simple peace and happiness in life.

Now that we have established some perspective, we are ready to address the question. So, why doesn’t God deal with all the evil in the world, if He is good (and, of course, if He exists)? Let’s consider that for a minute. Now, if God were to destroy any and all evil from the face of the earth… what would happen to you? Would you still be here, or would you have to go with “all the evil?”

If you think you’ll survive it because you’re really not evil, look at what God considers to be evil:
“But there shall by no means enter it (the New Jerusalem) anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (Revelation 21:27)
“But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.” (Revelation 22:15)
God judges men by their works, yes, and we have all done things we know we should not have, but God looks even to our thoughts, considering hate to be murder, lust to be adultery; even if we covet, we have sinned. Maybe you’re “pretty good,” but you are not perfect, and God requires perfection.

Folks, I have news. We see tragedy and disaster all around us a lot, and at some times more than others. And in the midst of them, we feel overwhelmed. But there is coming a day when we will see disaster such as has never been seen before in all of history. Am I saying natural disasters are God’s judgment on the earth? No. I am saying, because of the evil that man has continually allowed into the world, we experience pain and suffering. The first man, having the place of progenitor, committed sin thus bringing natural disasters into the scene. But if you are clothed with the righteousness of Christ Jesus, you have hope for the world which is to come, with no more evil, and therefore no more sorrow or suffering.

So the question for you should change its focus, from “Why is there evil in the world?” to “Where will I be when all evil is obliterated from the earth?” Because there will come a day when God will judge the world in righteousness; there is coming a day when He will punish all evil. But you need to know where you’re going.

And if you realize that you indeed are evil and need to change, you also need to realize that merely cleaning up your life and “getting back on track” won’t clean up your record before a perfect God. And you’ll soon find out that you will keep messing up and tripping up and falling back to the things you never wanted to. Even if you do good for a little while, granted, you will fall back. Unless:

Unless you are born again! When you get to a place where deep within, you not only regret your sin but come broken over your sin–not your self-pity–to God and repent of your ways and decide to trust in the grace of God through Jesus to grant you salvation. His Holy Spirit will fill you and exchange your hardened heart for a heart that desires Him and His ways, and from thence forth you will grow, til you meet Him in heaven.

Which brings us to Question #2:

Question #2, Part 1: “Okay, so do only a few select people make it to this place in the sky called heaven?”

Answer: What exactly is the assumption behind this question? Does it assume that good people make it to heaven? Well, we’ve established that nobody is good. Does it assume that only those who put their faith and trust in Jesus go to heaven? That only those with the correct doctrine go to heaven? Answer:

There is a process, a beginning that needs to be understood firsthand.
1.) All have sin and are bound for hell.
2.) Jesus lived a sinless life in the flesh, then died and went to hell on behalf of the sins of the entire world, then He rose again to give us the power to live in righteousness.
3.) Therefore, if only those with a perfect record can make it to heaven, only those who have Jesus’ record can make it to heaven.

The solution, faith in Jesus Christ, is so simple! Any person, in any culture, in any circumstance, in any time, can put their faith in Jesus Christ, and thus have salvation. For more information on this subject, read this article here).

Now, we make it to Question #2, Part 2: “Do people in the jungles die and go to hell because they never believed in Jesus?”

So, what about all those people in the middle of nowhere who have never heard the name of Jesus? This seems to bring up a lot of heat, even to the point where some say, “No, you do not absolutely positively have to trust in Jesus Christ for salvation to go to heaven.” To a lot of folks, it may seem that the only other alternative to this solution is that all those aborigines are bound for hell.

Answer:
“Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole… Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10, 12)

So then, is the aborigine bound for hell? Ray Comfort addressed the question very poignantly: “People don’t go to hell because ‘they didn’t believe in Jesus,’ they go to hell because they’ve sinned!” That is what must be established firsthand.

One other point: God has put it in the heart of every man to know Him. He searches to and fro over the earth for hearts that long for Him, rather than for pleasure. God created the earth, the trees, the heavens, and He whispers to us gently of His existence and His interest in our well-being through these small things. He gives us hearts that yearn for love– is this not proof of His existence? Then when the heart, even the heart of the aborigine, recognizes these whispers and these expressions of love from the Creator, and if that heart searches to connect with this Creator and to please Him, honestly, without trying to earn His favor by sacrament or ritual or goodness, God will reveal Himself to that person. I have heard many times of people who first heard the name Jesus from Jesus Himself, who appeared to them while they were crying out for the Creator. God is a God of justice, and also of mercy. And justice and mercy have met at the cross, folks! His mercy extends beyond the reach of man.

This brings me to two points I want to make to believers:
1) We need to pray. Instances like what I just described are miraculous, and surely happen when we pray. Sometimes in the middle of the day, or the night, we will start to feel a deep burden in our spirit and when we say, “God, what is this?” we usually realize it is a burden for someone in need, sometimes for protection over believers but sometimes for lost souls. Sometimes we recognize a little bit of who or what we are praying for, and sometimes we know next to nothing and all that comes out is, “God, break through; God sow Yourself mighty; God, take care of it.” Let’s learn to be sensitive to this and remember to pray for the lost, even those whose names we do not know.

2) We need to preach the gospel! We need to give it to the people around us and we also need to remember to help those who are preaching it to the far corners of the earth! “Why,” you might ask, “when God is so mighty that He can preach it Himself?” I have two answers (yet again) A) because God told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. B) because not every heart recognizes the whispers and call of God in their lives; they choose to ignore it because they’d rather have pleasure or they don’t understand. Thus, when the gospel is preached, in light of the law followed by the grace of God, hearts are convicted and then they understand. Most of the time, the first time a person hears the name of Jesus is from another person. In this way, it seems, when we see a human life transformed, then we know it is real. And it has almost always been people who help and minister to those who were first introduced to Jesus by Himself!

In closing, if anyone wants to check out more about salvation, faith, and grace, discussed briefly above, please read this article. Also read the book of Romans, Luke, and John. When you get a hold of these, read James, Ephesians, and Timothy, and yeah, go ahead and read the whole New Testament! (Don’t be distraught, start one at a time, with the suggestions above. It’s worth an eternity!)

I would like to invite anyone out there, who has an outlet like a blog or anything that reaches more people than this one, or who wants to further this message, to please copy and paste this article and post it on your website, or link to it with a word or thought from you; this is a message people need to hear! Time is short, and the harvest is white! Please do not hesitate; leave a comment and link to where you have helped out!

“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write,
‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’ (Revelation 2:1-7)

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)

Too often, I think, we tend to ask ourselves, “How am I doing in my Christian walk?” instead of, “Jesus, how are things between you and me?” Is our goal to grow in the things of whatever standards we may have set for ourselves or the standards of the Christianized culture around us? Or is our prayer, “Father, what would you have me do? Today, tomorrow, short-term, long term? Is there something that needs improvement? Is there some way I need to change my behavior for the sake of other people? Is there a particular goal You have in mind for me, somewhere You want me to go, someone You want me to talk to? Jesus, I pray You’d lead me past the hesitation.”

If we are born-again believers, that means we are not improving our “Christian lifestyle” but are growing in our relationship with Jesus, and from there, with His people. We can’t “improve ourselves,” only grow closer to God. If we merely try to improve ourselves, we’ll start to compare ourselves to other people, by other people, rather than God and His expectations. If we grow in the secret place with our Father, and dare to pray dangerous prayers, we come closer to Him, learn to trust Him, lean on Him, communicate with Him.

While we’re on the subject of “dangerous prayers,” I’d like to put this topic in perspective. Think of how many times Satan has tried to end our lives, even before they began! I mean, think of it, abortion has been on the rise since the 1960s, before then sickness threatened young lives all the time, and Satan tries to steal the children’s hearts in no time at all! He’s tried to take all of our lives physically, but he also tries to get us distracted with our own dreams and ambitions before we seek God’s counsel; he tries to get us discouraged and depressed so we can’t see the potential God’s placed in us; he does everything he can think of to stop us, because he knows God’s plan for us! But think of it, if that’s what Satan is trying to do, that means God has much in store for those who are His children! Not only that, it means that He believes that we can do it! That sounds like good news to me!

If this is the case, dear friends, let’s not take these gifts of breath in vain! Let’s live for Him who died for us! If He promises to uphold us, how then shall we fail? If He believes in us, how then can we fear? Yet when we doubt, He gives us the word we need to grab hold of faith, and when we trip, He lifts us up again.

We must remember from whence we came, at what price we were bought. I have found it helpful to every day think about the day the Lord intervened in my life and everything changed. It helps to remember how helpless you are on your own, and how everything changed when the Holy Spirit filled you and how He sustains you by His grace through the gift of faith. Lord help me to never forget the prayer I prayed that day: “Father, teach me to love.” Wasn’t it love the Ephesian church needed to keep it’s lamp? Though it did all the right stuff and had all the right theology, it forgot from whence it came and forgot to love, the fire it needed to burn.

I would challenge you, if your desire is to shine like a lamp on a stand, to be salt in the earth, to pray dangerous prayers. If you pray for love, you will be continually put in situations outside of your control where you need to decide to sacrifice, even if no one will pay you back, even if you pour yourself out to do it. If you pray for patience, it will be tested and stretched. If you pray for a field, it will be given to you in a form you never imagined. If you pray for justice, you will be fought and pressured by the accuser. If you pray for strength, your greatest weaknesses will rise up. If you pray for victory, you will stare defeat in the face… until it backs down. My Mom was saying recently that the time is so short. For this reason, brethren, don’t let your prayers be limited to the supply of your daily bread. Don’t let your searches be for the passing knowledge of the world. Don’t let your behavior be merely about being good enough. If you’re surrounded by standards you know aren’t God’s, here’s another challenge:

Decide this: I will be different. I will not meet the standards of the world, I will exceed them, simply because I strive for the upward call of Christ. I will be different. I will not be satisfied with the ordinary or the comfortable. I will give when no one sees, love when no one notices, pray when no one knows, serve even if I’m alone. I will fight if I have too, but not for me. To exceed, I will humble myself. His will is my will. When the mountains shake, I will be still. Every care, everything I thought I had to figure out, I will leave up to God. I will seek out those who need to hear God’s word, not so I can minister to them, but just because God asks me to. For I, too, have been bought with a price.

Okay, that’s not a standard I’m suggesting to improve your Christian walk. This is a basic summary of the humble servant’s heart that God values, something every one of us should strive for not to better ourselves but just to please our Master, because we love Him! Dangerous prayers lead us into tight places, but they make this short stay on earth worth it, because we are here to be different. We are not here to “get our theology straight” or to live good lives. We MUST shine with the love of Christ! The love of Christ compels us! Remember what love it was that saved you! Reflect the image in the mirror; it’s gonna be in little baby steps, but God is not measuring the length of our steps or the quality, He’s just asking that we take them!

Remember, love is greater than all knowledge, miracles, tongues, prophecy, faith; love is the fulfillment of the law! And only by the Spirit can we fulfill the law!

Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew that later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right side of God’s throne! So keep your mind on Jesus, who put up with many insults from sinners. Then you won’t get discouraged and give up. (Hebrews 12:1-3, CEV)

Don’t leave this place discouraged, leave encouraged, because God has given you the potential to fulfill His calling! But don’t seek out your own idea of what that calling is; love God and follow His instructions one thing at a time, His way is perfect! Pass the news on!