Devotions

God’s Word tells us in no uncertain terms, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14, NKJV).

Here is the truth, plain and simple. Without the holiness that’s imparted by Christ alone—a precious gift we honor by leading a life devoted to obeying his every word—none of us will see the Lord. This refers not just to heaven but to our present life as well. Without holiness, we won’t see God’s presence in our daily walk, our family, our relationships, our witness or our ministry.

It doesn’t matter how many Christian conferences we attend, how many sermons we listen to, how many Bible studies we are involved in. If we harbor a cancerous sin, if the Lord has a controversy with us over our iniquity, then none of our efforts will produce godly fruit. On the contrary, our sin will only grow more contagious and infect everyone around us.

Of course, this issue goes beyond all lusts of the flesh all the way to a corruption of the spirit as well. Paul describes the same destructive sin in this passage when he says, “Nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer” (1 Corinthians 10:10).

Christ has promised to keep you from falling and to give you sin-resisting power if you simply believe what he has said. It is all a matter of faith. Believe him for this godly fear. Pray for it and welcome it. God will keep his word to you. You cannot break free from the death-grip of besetting sin by willpower or by any human effort alone. “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).

Dear saint, will you allow the Holy Spirit to deal with all the lusts you may be harboring? Will you instead seek the escape that God has provided for you?

I urge you to cultivate a holy fear and trust in these last days. It will keep you pure, no matter how loudly wickedness rages around you. It will enable you to walk in God’s holiness, which holds the promise of his enduring presence. Amen!

I have a friend that I’ve known for 20-something years, and he had an amazing ministry. It was growing rapidly. He bought an office building and was adding on to that. People were coming to Christ. He had open doors to preach around the country.

Around this time, some of his prayers seemingly began to go unanswered. He was hoping for certain things to take place in his ministry, and they didn’t. After that, he and his team started having some difficulties. His newsletter following was dropping off, and then the giving for his evangelistic association began to dwindle. He was receiving fewer and fewer invitations to speak around the country. 

Instead of saying “God, you build up, and you tear down. It’s your ministry, whatever you would have for it”, he started to become bitter. Every time I would meet with him for lunch, I could see this shift in him. 

Eventually, my friend left the ministry altogether, and he left it beaten, discouraged and hurt. He tried to mask it with humor, but he had become so cynical that it was difficult to be around him. He’d moved from believing God would do great things to almost believing in nothing from God anymore. He’s not the only one, though. To varying degrees, many of us have allowed disappointment and cynicism to creep up in our heart. 

That bright fire of belief that we once held in our heart has been diminished. The confidence in a God who moves mightily and can raise you up has been weakened. We must remember what Jesus promised us, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, ESV).

When we are beaten down and feel a seed of cynicism taking root, we should turn to this verse: “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

We must not allow bitterness against God to choke his plan in our lives. We must remember his promises and encourage one another to never give up.

Contrary to much of modern-day theology, God never promised us a life without trials and suffering, but rather one in which we would be refined and carefully molded into His image. He never intended for us to settle for the narrow life of living solely for ourselves with affections set on the things of this world, but rather to live with hands outstretched and hearts touched by the infirmities of others.

There are some people who have such an aversion to the idea of hardship that they immediately shut down at the mere mention of it. If they don’t hear a message that makes them happy and assures them that everything is going to be fine, they quickly leave in search of a place where they will hear some good news.

What this displays is an inherent lack of understanding of the ways of God. People ultimately do themselves a great disservice when they pursue God in this way because, in reality, this is good news.

At the core of hardship is the mercy of God.

God is always faithful to strengthen and strategically prepare his people for whatever they will have to face. However, this means that we must be careful to incline our ears to what he is saying. The people who constantly search for a more palatable message will ultimately be excluded from partaking in God’s strength in the days ahead. The Lord imparts this divine strength to believers who are not afraid to listen to what the Holy Spirit is speaking and are therefore able to discern the times.

In this context, I urge you to open your heart, to recognize the fleeting nature of our lives, and to understand that the Lord is issuing a great mercy call to his people, if only they will listen. Only then will we be able to live in a manner that glorifies God and is merciful to others, regardless of the hardships we may face.

^{Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001. In May of 2020 he transitioned into a continuing role as General Overseer of Times Square Church, Inc.}

By the close of the book of Genesis, God had chosen a small, insignificant people to lead. He wanted to raise up a people who would be living examples of his goodness to the heathen world. To bring about such a testimony, God took his people into places that were beyond their control. He isolated Israel in a wilderness where he alone would be their source of life, caring for their every need.

Israel had no power over their survival in that desolate place. They couldn’t control the availability of food or water. They couldn’t control their destination since they had no compasses or maps. How would they eat and drink? Which direction would they go? Where would they end up?

God would do it all for them. He would guide them each day with a miracle cloud, one that glowed at night and dispelled the darkness before them. He would feed them with food from heaven and provide them with water from a rock. Yes, every single need would be supplied by the Lord, and no enemy would be able to defeat them.

“Out of heaven he let you [Israel] hear his voice, that he might instruct you; on earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire” (Deuteronomy 4:36, NKJV).

The nations surrounding ancient Israel were filled with “other gods,” idols made of wood, silver and gold. These gods were unable to love, guide or protect the people who worshipped them. Any one of the nations could look to Israel, though, and see a special people whom God carried through a terrible wilderness. They would see a God who spoke to his people, who loved and felt, who answered prayers and provided miracles. Here was a living God, one who guided his people in every detail of their lives.

God raised up a people who would be trained by him. There had to be a people who lived under his authority, who would trust him completely, giving him full control of every aspect of their lives. That people would become his testimony to the world.