Devotions

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4). Jesus is speaking here of a sheep that has been in the fold. Clearly, this represents a member of Christ’s flock, one that has been well fed and led by a loving shepherd. Yet this sheep had become lost so the shepherd has gone out looking for it.

Note what Jesus says about the shepherd here: “[He goes] after the one which is lost until he finds it.” God never gives up on anyone who belongs to him and has gone astray. Instead, the Shepherd goes out to find that sheep, embraces it, and brings it back into the shelter.

David testified, “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there” (Psalm 139:8). Simply put, you can go so far into sin that you come to the very brink of hell, and he will still pursue you.

We have all heard the expression “hell on earth.” That is what life is like for those who run from God; their “bed in hell” is an awful condition. It means to be captivated by sin, drifting further and further from the Lord, eventually falling into a nagging fear of being lost forever.

You may have made your bed in hell, but you are not too deep in sin for Jesus to reach you and receive you with open arms. “When [Jesus] has found [the sheep], he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing” (Luke 15:5). When the shepherd finds the lost, injured sheep, he does not take it back to the fold right away. According to the parable, he carries the wounded creature into his house. Then he calls all his friends and neighbors together, exclaiming, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” (15:6).

It does not matter what you have done, how far you may have strayed. Once the Shepherd brings you back, you are redeemed in full and he rejoices over you!

When Peter and the disciples saw what took place at Pentecost, Peter immediately stood up and declared, “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel … ‘I will pour out My Spirit in those days’” (Acts 2:16, 18). Likewise, we are able to see in Scripture what the Holy Spirit is doing in these last days — indeed, in this late hour.

The prophet Malachi offers a two-fold prophecy: First, he speaks to the ungodly, materialistic, secular, pleasure-mad world. And second, he speaks to those who love and fear the Lord.

Malachi warned the godless nations, “Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble” (Malachi 4:1). If ever there was a day like a burning oven, when everything the world over is “hot” — economically, socially, spiritually — it is today. This great nation is slowly pushing God completely out of our courts, our schools, our society, saying, “We are the greatest, mightiest, wealthiest nation on earth, and we have achieved it all on our own.”

Such arrogance! But beneath all the bravado is an underlying fear and gloom. Even God’s people tremble at what they see. However, Malachi had a second prophecy for those who fear the Lord, the overcoming church, a message of gladness and hope. Christians will experience collateral damage from the coming day of “burning.” That cannot be helped. But God has sent a word that will keep his people through the hard times. 

We are told that “the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings” (4:2). In the darkest hour, when things look hopeless, Jesus is going to rise in greater revelation than at any time in history. And the world is going to witness his saving and keeping power in all its glory. Jesus Christ will rise up and he will shine as a healing Sun, brighter than in all past generations, and God’s people will experience a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit — with signs, wonders, and miracles (see Acts 4:29-30).

Encourage yourself in the Lord today and thank him for his anointing on your life.

Jesus was ministering to a great multitude when the people began to get hungry. He took his disciple Philip aside and asked him an important question: “Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?’” (John 6:5-6).

Jesus was saying, “Look, thousands of hungry people are here. How are we going to feed them? What do you think we should do?” How incredibly loving of the Lord. He knew all along what he would do; the verse tells us so. Yet, he was trying to teach Philip something important and the lesson he wanted to impart has great significance to us today.

Our world is teetering on a precipice unprecedented in history. The present upheaval comes at a time when Christians everywhere are facing trials as never before. Multitudes sit up at night trying to figure out answers to their problems: “Maybe this will work. No, wait. Maybe that will solve it. No, that won’t work, either. What am I going to do?”

When Jesus posed his question to Philip, the disciples did not have just a bread problem, they had a bakery problem, a money problem, a distribution problem, a transportation problem, and a time problem. Add it all up and they had problems they could not even imagine. In fact, their situation was absolutely impossible.

Beloved, consider that in the midst of your impossible situation, Jesus would come to you asking, “What are we going to do about this?” He knows exactly what he is going to do; he has a plan. Yet he also wants to know how you, his servant, will face your difficulties.

Philip’s correct answer would have been, “Jesus, you are God! Nothing is impossible with you, so I am giving this problem to you right now. It is no longer mine, but yours.”

That is the response Jesus is looking for from us. I pray that you have the kind of faith that rests in the Father’s care and trusts him to come through for you in his own way and time. He can be trusted absolutely!

When we look at Abraham in the Old Testament, we witness a man whose life was so filled with the presence of God that even the heathen around him recognized the difference between their lives and his: “Abimelech … spoke to Abraham, saying, ‘God is with you in all that you do’” (Genesis 21:22). This heathen king was saying, “There is something different about you, Abraham. Surely God is with you wherever you go.”

In another example of the presence of God, an angel told Gideon, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” (Judges 6:12). And the Lord himself told Gideon, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” (6:14). Gideon considered himself a coward, but God called him a “mighty man of valor.” The Lord wanted to prove what one can do when his presence is with that person — even if the person considers himself to be insignificant.

God makes a special promise to those he loves, as we see in this word to Isaiah: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God. The Holy One of Israel, your Savior” (Isaiah 43:1-3).

What a wonderful promise. When the Lord’s presence abides on you, you can go through the fires of life and not just survive, but you will be kept and protected through it all.

These accounts from the Old Testament are not just dead-letter stories. They are meant to encourage us to trust God for his presence at all times. Like Abraham, Gideon, Isaiah and many others, we have a powerful testimony of what God’s presence has done for us.

I encourage you today to seek the Lord’s presence and allow him to guide your steps, open doors, move obstacles, and lift your cares and fears.

Jesus came as one blood sacrifice, and the blood of this Lamb has power. Power to cleanse, power to heal, and millions upon millions around the world have experienced the glory and the power of this cleansing blood of Jesus Christ.

We serve the living Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Ask the Holy Spirit to come and speak to your heart in that still, small voice. If you don't know Christ, that's what Easter is all about. I want you to take a step as the prodigal son did: he walked back to the father.

First of all, I want you to know that there's no sin that anyone has ever committed that’s so horrible or so wicked that it can't be forgiven. God doesn't turn anybody down. Secondly, I ask you—once you've confessed your sins and believed in the cleansing power of Jesus Christ’s blood—don't go back to them. Give them over, and don't let the devil haunt you with them because those sins are under the blood of Christ.

Some of you live in condemnation. You live in fear. Believe that this lamb was slain for you, and your sin was laid on his shoulder. He carried your sin, and he paid the price for that, and there's nothing you can do to work it through. So, right now, just lay it down. Then when these thoughts come back to hound you, say, “Jesus is my righteousness. Christ is my righteousness. Christ is my righteousness.”

When Satan comes and lies to you, when he tells you that you still have some devil in you or whatever he says. Right now, just say back: “Christ is my righteousness.”

Say it right now. “Christ is my righteousness.”

Glory be to God. He is our righteousness. We deserved hell, and he gave us heaven because we trust in him.

I want you to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart if you've drifted from him and want to come back to his love and grace on this Easter. The Bible says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved. I believe that. I believe that with all my heart.