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Devotions

The Absolute Mercy of God

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, vile wickedness ruled and God was not pleased. He sent two angels to Sodom to warn Lot, the nephew of Abraham, of the destruction ahead. Lot was a righteous man (see Genesis 18:19) who lived in this city full of rampant evil and God wanted to alert him to the upcoming annihilation of Sodom so that he could escape with his family.

Lot was hesitant to get out of the city, so the angels literally took him and his family by the hand and led them away from the destruction. “The Lord being merciful to him … they brought him out and set him outside the city” (Genesis 19:16). It is important to note that even though Lot was righteous and God saw something great in him, he was delivered because of the Father’s mercy.

In the church today are righteous people who serve God and live moral lives. Yet, it is only because of the blood of Jesus Christ and not because of any goodness or morality the Lord has seen in them that they are rescued. Think about when you were saved. The Spirit of God took you by the hand, pulled you out of your sins and set you outside the reach of wickedness and rebellion. He brought you out of judgment — out of Sodom — and led you far away from destruction.

We talk about the terrible sins of Sodom but looking around our world today, we see the sins of our society mounting to heaven. Sensuality, immorality and evil are growing bolder and bolder, unrestrained almost to the point of being unimaginable. How is it that we are not swallowed up in it? Why have we not been carried away with the moral landslide?

I tell you, it is all because of the absolute mercy of God! “But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth” (Psalm 86:15).

Beloved, search God’s Word and believe all he has said about his mercy toward you.

The Complete Work of Faith

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

The devil loves to tell you that you’re no good, useless, weak. He tells you that you are a total failure and will never measure up to God’s standard. On top of that, he wants to convince you that God is angry with you.

These are all lies that come straight from the pit of hell! The enemy of your soul is determined to undermine your relationship with your heavenly Father and sidetrack you from the purpose for which you are called and anointed. Since you know Satan is a liar, let’s look at proof that Jesus has made you worthy by his sacrifice on the cross.

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:14).

The Father has made us fit, worthy, qualified in character “to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints.” What Jesus did on the cross qualifies you for eternal inheritance, and if God has qualified you for eternal life, he will make you fit in character as well.

You cannot obtain the righteousness of Christ by working for it, but you can obtain it by believing in it and trusting God for it. Not only are you saved by faith but you are sanctified by faith, justified by faith, healed by faith, kept by faith. It all happens by faith in what the Savior has done.

Don’t make the mistake of listening to Satan’s lies about your walk with Jesus. Truly, you are worthy because of his sacrifice; his love endures forever! You can stand before all of heaven and earth in full assurance and confidence.  

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Clinging to God

Gary Wilkerson

Jesus’ followers were gathered together in the Upper Room when the Holy Spirit came and filled everyone in the place (see Acts 2:1-4). As a crowd gathered outside, Peter was emboldened by the Spirit to preach and three thousand people came to Christ (see Acts 2:41).

Following this historic spiritual awakening, Peter and John were walking to the Temple when they encountered a crippled beggar. As the man pleaded for alms, Peter told him, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” (Acts 3:6). Instantly the beggar was healed.

This miracle had a riveting effect: “While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico” (3:11). The healed man “clung” to Peter and John; it was as if he was saying, “God’s presence is real. I have been here for years, begging for help, but I never experienced anything like this. God has stirred my soul beyond anything I’ve ever known.”

God loves to be clung to. He loves a heart that pursues him and cries, “Lord, your glory is too great to let it pass by. I cling to the hope you give me — hope for healing, for transformation, for your presence in my life and my world.”

In verse 11, all the people were astounded and came to see what had happened. When God manifests his glory, the greatness of his power demands the attention of everyone around. If such a miracle were to happen in your local church, there would not be room enough to accommodate the throngs that would come to observe and be a part of it. You see, people are hungry for the touch of God in their lives, believers and nonbelievers alike. Everyone wants to experience newness of life, something that is real.

God has placed all his majesty, glory and power in one source: Christ. Because of his transforming power, you can experience his presence and live a victorious life that gives forth a testimony to all those around you.

A Cure for Your Anxiety

Jim Cymbala

Spiritual maladies can have a negative influence on everyone around us and on our ability to witness for Christ. Many people plod through their days with a sour, irritable spirit that is corrosive to themselves and others.

“An anxious heart weighs a man down” (Proverbs 12:25). This is not pop psychology, but the truth of God’s Word. We can’t run the race of life while weighed down by a bitter spirit. Constant worry robs many people of the spiritual resources God gladly provides. Eventually, anxiety crushes us under its weight.

The word for “anxious” is translated in the King James Version as “heaviness,” vividly depicting the burdensome effect worry has on us. Anxiety has taken a terrible toll on many people in the Body of Christ. Instead of walking by faith, we are prone to walk by worry. Our spirits trudge wearily through life instead of soaring like an eagle, as God promised they would. We are spiritually grounded by anxiety, which only worsens our situation.

Also, there is the “crushed spirit” of deep sorrow. The apostle Paul cautioned the believers at Corinth to comfort an erring brother who had been reprimanded by the church. This brother had repented of his sin, and Paul was concerned that he might now be “overwhelmed by excessive sorrow” (2 Corinthians 2:7). Another time, Paul expressed gratitude that God had kept an ailing associate minister from dying, sparing the apostle “sorrow upon sorrow” (Philippians 2:27). Paul knew the numbing and disabling effect of a heart swamped by sorrow.

God offers a cure for these maladies and it is simply the joy of the Lord. Real joy is not mere happiness, a feeling that fluctuates with our circumstances. Rather, it is a deep, inner delight in God that only the Holy Spirit can produce. This divine joy is more than medicine, it is our strength! “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

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.

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Avoiding the Sin of Doubt

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

Asaph, a Levite, was a chief singer and leader of King David’s choral worshipers; in fact, he is credited with writing eleven of the Psalms. He was a very close friend to David and the two loved being in the house of God together. Yet, in spite of his tremendous calling and blessings, Asaph confessed, “But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped” (Psalm 73:2).

Now, we know Asaph was a pure-hearted man who believed God was good. In fact, he began his discourse in this psalm by saying, “Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart” (73:1).

Yet, in the very next verse Asaph confesses that he almost slipped. Why did he declare this? He notes that he saw the wicked around him prospering while they neglected God’s commands and it would have been easy for Asaph to wonder why God didn’t “balance the books,” so to speak.

Have you ever wondered why blessings are being heaped on people who live duplicitous lives? Perhaps you’ve seen an ungodly coworker rewarded instead of you or an unconverted neighbor acquire material things while you struggled to make ends meet.

It can be very easy for suffering Christians to slide into a grievous sin — the sin of doubt. They may think, “I’ve been living right but all my strictness and diligence to study God’s Word, my praising and worshiping, have been in vain. In spite of all I do, I still suffer.”

Beloved, that is when you must be careful. When your trial comes upon you, when you’re grieving or discouraged, you need to guard your heart against slipping into doubt. Don’t let your faith or your confidence be shaken. God is still on the throne.  Get your eyes off your trials and put your eyes on the Lord himself. God will help you to love him and never slip into unbelief.

Asaph saw that he had almost slipped but he held on to proclaim, “I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all Your works” (73:28). And you can do the same!