God takes the matter of worship very seriously. It is not a light thing to come into God’s house, a place blessed with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified’” (Leviticus 10:3).
In John 20, we read the story of Mary Magdalene, who epitomizes the Bride whose heart is totally given to Christ. Apparently a woman of means, she ministered to the needs of Jesus with love and affection along with the other Mary’s in his life. She did this out of sheer gratitude, for the Bible says Jesus had cast out seven demons from her (see Luke 8:2).
The death and resurrection of Jesus are central truths of our Christian faith. The miraculous resurrection of Jesus gives assurance to Christians that he really is the Son of God.
“Jesus said to [Martha], ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’” (John 11:25-26). And my question for you is, do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life?
I believe the greatest devotion of the Christian is practiced on the front lines, in the heat of battle, with fires raging all around. In fact, I know many believers whose devotion has been strengthened in the midst of hectic activity and spiritual warfare. They don’t have to be on a mountaintop to love him with a whole heart; they don’t need to live in some isolated village to yearn for his coming. They have learned to love Jesus as passionately during their drive to work as when they are in their prayer closet.
“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44).
The Bride of Christ is to live in continual, joyful expectation of his imminent return because he may come at any moment. Jesus warned, however, that in the last days evil ministers will infiltrate the Church in an effort to put the Bride to sleep. They will attempt to take away her heart of love for her Bridegroom by claiming, “[The] Master is delaying his coming” (24:48).
The Word of God bears witness to the fact that afflictions teach us to bend our knees and cry out to the Lord in all our problems and troubles.
“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word” (Psalm 119:67).
“I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me” (119:75).
“Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted” (Psalm 107:17).
According to the dictionary, a fool is someone who lacks judgment or good sense — one who makes silly mistakes. He does his own thing without thinking of the consequences.
A young pastor called me, ready to quit the ministry. The Lord had been using him in a wonderful way, but now he was discouraged, feeling worthless, useless, no good to God at all. When he called me, he was devastated over some decisions he had made and indicated that he was ready to give up. He was angry at God and when he talked with me, I sensed that he expected me to be angry with him. But he was so broken and beaten down that I felt only God’s love and compassion for him.
In John 13, Jesus took a towel and a basin and washed the feet of his disciples.
“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). After he had washed their feet, he asked them, “Do you know what I’ve just done for you?” In other words, “Do you understand the spiritual significance of foot washing?”
I believe when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, he was teaching a profound lesson on how to obtain unity of fellowship within the Body of Christ.
“O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children” (Isaiah 54:11-13, KJV).