Devotions

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

The Bible tells us very clearly that in these last days, the Church of Jesus Christ faces the wrath of an enraged devil. Satan knows his time is short and he is bent on devouring God’s people (see Revelation 12:12). Where does the devil direct his wrath? He is taking aim at families all over the world and his goal is simple: bring ruin and destruction to every home he possibly can.

Jesus referred to this demonic work when he described Satan, saying, “He was a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). Indeed, we see the enemy’s destructive plan against the very first family — it was the devil who entered Cain and convinced him to kill his brother Abel.

There comes a time when certain life situations are beyond human hope and someone has to get to Jesus! In the gospel of John, we find such a family in crisis: “There was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum” (John 4:46). This was a family of distinction, perhaps even royalty, yet a spirit of death hung over the home. But someone in that troubled family knew who Jesus was and had heard of his miraculous power. In desperation, the father took it upon himself to get to the Lord and Scripture tells us, “When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him” (4:47).

This nobleman was determined and when he got through to Jesus, he “implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death” (4:47). What a marvelous picture of intercession; this man set aside everything to seek the Lord. And then Christ spoke a word to him, which the man believed (see John 4:50), and he received his miracle!

Fervent, aggressive prayer combats Satan’s destructive aims to ruin your family. Pray in faith, believing that you will receive a miracle.

“We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open” (2 Corinthians 6:11). Paul is speaking to a church that is coming into a new season. They have a good and glorious history, but they have also endured some trials and difficulties.

Everyone reading this has something in common with everyone else: it’s called the flesh — that thing that causes you to fall short of God’s best. The church at Corinth was full of what Paul called carnality — sexual immorality, divisions among them — but Paul assures them that his heart is wide open to them.

I love that. Paul challenges them and wants to correct them, but he also longs to see growth and maturity take place in them. In verse 12 he says, “You are not restricted by us.” In other words, he is telling them that no limitations are on them and they are free to go all out for Jesus.

In the same way, we are not to be people of small faith, restricting the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Paul goes on to say in verse 12, “But you are restricted by your own affections.” What is keeping you limited? What is keeping you moderate, even ho-hum in your faith? Why are you not seeing an explosion of faith and zeal in your life?

Perhaps you have been wounded — who hasn’t? — and this keeps you from moving deeper into the things of the Lord. But the Word says, “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters” (6:18). A father gives direction and speaks blessing over your life. He calls forth great things in you and gives you an inheritance.

“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God” (7:1). As you take hold of the promises of God, you can have renewed fellowship with Christ that causes you to walk in reverence and holiness in a way you have never experienced before!

One of the important secrets to obtaining the blessing of God is giving! When Moses was giving his final instructions and farewell address to the Israelites, he gave specific instructions about something called “the third-year tithe.” Unlike the regular tithe, or ten percent annual offering, the third-year tithe was reserved for a different purpose.

“At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands” (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).

It is important to see what God was doing here. Every third year, the towns of Israel became huge storage centers for the tithes of this agricultural nation. Because the priests from the tribe of Levi were not allowed to own land, God insisted that the people provide for them in a special way. But that was not all. This tithe was also earmarked for the vulnerable and underprivileged among them.

What a marvelous, compassionate God we serve. He always has a special place in his heart for the weak, brokenhearted and rejected among his people. Compassion and concern for the downtrodden is rooted in the very heart of our Creator.

However, there was even more to the third-year tithe than supplying for the priests and the needy. Israel was to give generously “so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.” It seems that the act of joyfully giving to others actually opened up the windows of heaven so that the people themselves could be blessed.

God still wants to do extraordinary things for his followers who imitate him in compassionate giving. This is a profound truth that we would do well to apply to our daily living.

Jim Cymbala began the Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small, rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is a longtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson.

In the early years of the Church, a great persecution took place. During that awful period, the apostle John was taken prisoner and sent to Rome before being banished to the Isle of Patmos to die. Patmos was a small, desolate place inhabited by only a few other prisoners who had been exiled there.

When John disembarked at Patmos, he was left stranded, forsaken, isolated. He would later write, “I am banished to Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” (see Revelation 1:9).

Why was John, a disciple of Jesus, given such a sentence? And why was Rome, the world’s ruling power, desperate to isolate him from civilization? Clearly, Rome considered him a threat, as he was obviously renowned among both Jews and Gentiles.

Now, John would be looked upon as a failure. If he were measured by the current standards of success, he would be considered worth nothing: he had no congregation, no church building, no money, no vehicle, no house, no decent clothes.

But how wrong everyone would be! Something incredible happened to John after his first few days on Patmos. He made a decision that impacted the entire church world for eternity. Simply put, John died to all his own plans and thought of ministry. As far as he knew, his exile on Patmos was his final lot but he determined to worship God. “I’m going to walk in the Spirit and give myself to seeking the face of God. Now I have time to get to know him as I never have.”

John’s life was reduced to a single focus: Jesus Christ alone. And he said, in essence, “All I will ever need is prayer, worship and communion with Lord.” It was there on Patmos that John learned to be dependent on the voice of Holy Spirit. And the good news is that later, John was given his freedom and his writings became an anointed light to the world.  

You don’t need to be isolated in order to give yourself wholly to communion with the Lord. God will meet you right where you are, at any time of day or night, if you will just call out to him.

Daniel testified, “Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands” (Daniel 10:10). The word for “touched” here means to violently seize upon. Daniel was saying, “When God placed his hand on me, it put me on my face; his touch filled me with an urgency to seek him with all that is in me.”

God-touched servants have an intimate relationship with Lord. They receive revelations from heaven and enjoy a walk with Christ that few others do. Whenever God touches someone’s life, that person often falls to his knees and he becomes a person of prayer, driven to seek the Lord. I’ve often wondered why God touches only certain people with this urgency. Why do some servants become hungry seekers after him while other faithful people go on their way?  

Daniel, a devoted servant, was touched by God in a supernatural way. There were many other good, pious people serving the Lord in Daniel’s day. These included Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and tens of thousands of other Israelites who maintained their faith while enslaved in Babylon.

So, why did God lay his hand on Daniel and touch him as he did? Why was this one man able to see and hear things no one else could? “I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision” (Daniel 10:7). The vision Daniel saw was Jesus himself, clear and vivid. In fact, it was the same vision given to John on the Isle of Patmos (see Revelation 1:13-15).

The Lord revealed himself to Daniel in the way he did because this young man was consumed with a passion to know God’s heart. Also, God decided the time had come to deliver a message to lost humanity and he needed a voice to speak his message.

The Lord is looking for those today who are consumed with knowing him and will grieve over the moral condition in our society — while also eagerly looking for Christ’s coming.