Body

Devotions

Living a Life That Counts

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

If you think you are too ordinary to be used by God, listen carefully: God is not going to do his last-days work through big-name evangelists or pastors. They alone will not be able to handle the great moving of his Spirit. God is going to need every homemaker, teenager, elderly person and all who love him to carry out his mighty work.

This end-time army is going to be made up of Christians who have been weaned from “bread alone.” God said through Moses, “Man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

Bread stands for all natural, material things necessary for this life: food, shelter, clothes, labor, wages. In other words, those earthly things we need that are not evil in themselves.

Multitudes of Christians live only for the things of this life. Their lives are wrapped up in their job, their house, paying the bills. All their prayers are focused only on their needs — they are living on bread alone.

God is raising up a people who are focused on his will for this midnight hour! They want to be ready and prepared in heart because God is poised to release his great, final outpouring!  

John the Baptist went forth “to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17). Paul spoke of being “prepared for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21). And Samuel told Israel that God would do a new thing for them if they would “prepare [their] hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only” (1 Samuel 7:3).

When God pours out his Holy Spirit on the world, people who do not know him will be desperate to find someone to help them. When God sees you are ready, he will bring great opportunities your way and you will see his glory come alive in you in this final hour! 

God’s Great Provision

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

A man once told me, “After I give ten percent of my income to God, I do whatever I please with the rest. And I expect God to bless me as he promised — because I tithed.”

My experience has shown that if a person is grudging with his giving, he will also be grudging with his time, his energy and his work for the Lord. But I want to tell you, if you are stingy with God, he will be stingy with you. By that, I mean that you are cutting yourself off from God’s blessing by your actions and your attitude.

Our attitude should be, “How much of myself can I give to my Lord?” Our joy should be in how much we can give, not in how much we can keep for ourselves.

We read in the Word, “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich” (Proverbs 11:24-25). The fact is, the more strength and energy you spend for God, the more he will pour back into you. 

The apostle Paul experienced every emotion and trial that we experience, yet through it all he had a revelation of the resources available to him. When he was overwhelmed, his faith laid hold of all he needed to bring him through with victory! He drew on the resources of his heavenly Father and rebounded again and again with new faith and new strength to go on.

In making the commitment to give yourself wholeheartedly to the work of God, you are putting yourself in a position of being blessed. If you are thinking about giving up, I encourage you to stay in the battle, for it is in the heat of warfare that God comes to you generously, showering you with his resources and strength. Only those who are involved in the battle receive his great provision!

The Good Treasure of the Heart

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

The words you speak reflect what is in your heart! “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).

Whenever I said something naughty as a child, my mother washed out my mouth with soap. But it wasn’t my mouth that needed cleansing, it was my heart. You see, your tongue speaks only what is in your heart. Jesus said that loose, careless, evil talk can come only from an evil, unclean heart.

As believers, we have not yet taken seriously what our Lord has said about taming our tongues. He has made it a heart issue — a matter of life and death. Not only does your careless tongue discount all your supposed spirituality, it also makes you face the indisputable fact that your heart is unclean, defiled.

If you engage in gossip, unkind remarks, criticism, lying, filthy language, angry outbursts, you can be certain that something in your heart has not been dealt with by the Holy Spirit. Jesus gives this matter serious thought when he says, “If you are careless with your tongue — quarreling, complaining, murmuring, tattling — you have a serious heart problem and it goes very deep.”

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure bring forth evil things” (Matthew 12:35).

No minister or Christian is exempt from this warning of the Lord. Jesus says to check your heart and find out why you still speak carelessly. Do not be casual about the words you speak. When the Holy Spirit convicts you of something you have said, I urge you to repent and then allow him to turn your negative words into blessing. Cursing and blessing cannot proceed out of the same mouth (see James 3:10).

The secret to getting victory over your tongue is knowing him! Draw close to his presence and let him reveal what is in your heart.

For Those Who Love God

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

God never intended for us, as his children, to be spiritual paupers, poor in the things of the Lord. On the contrary, he wants us to be his bountiful servants who enjoy a revelation of all the great provisions he has prepared for us!

“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

Paul is telling us, “Our forefathers could not begin to comprehend all the great provisions God prepared. It never entered into their imagination. But there is no reason for us to be blind about these things, to go about not knowing what is ours. Our eyes must see, our ears must hear, it must enter into our hearts and minds. Because we are the people for whom God has prepared it all and the Holy Spirit has revealed it to us!”

“Now we have received ... the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. ... But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God ... because they are spiritually discerned” (2:12 and 14).

The Bible says we are to seek him for the revelation of his great provision but I believe most Christians have not honestly faced the power of these promises. We have read them many times, but they are simply dead letters to us. We need to cry out, “Lord, reveal to me what you have prepared, so I can claim them for your glory.”

Do not be easily discouraged or weary in well-doing. Spend time with your Father and let his promises penetrate your heart, filling you with faith and hope!  

Out of the Pit

Gary Wilkerson

Do you ever feel as though you have fallen into a pit? Your “pit” could be a difficult relationship, a financial hole, an illness that you have fought for a long time. Your once close walk with Christ might seem like a distant dream and you are tempted to fall back into an old sin habit or unhealthy life pattern. Well, be encouraged! God has something powerful to say to you about where you are.

Joseph’s story in Genesis 37 tells us a lot about pits. In fact, two words are repeated throughout the Genesis narrative regarding Joseph: dream and pit. Almost every time Joseph had a dream it led to a pit; the first time was when he dreamed about ruling over his brothers. In his youthful enthusiasm, he shared his dream with them, but it didn’t go well. These men became so consumed with rage that they threw their little brother into a pit. However, God used this as a means of accelerating the process in placing Joseph in a position to achieve his kingdom purposes. Joseph was chosen! 

Think about the incredible trajectory of the life of this teen-aged shepherd, this dreamer, who became second-in-command of the world’s greatest empire. His path to fulfilling God’s objectives was not smooth, but along the way he was willing to endure every test faithfully as God strategically positioned him for his destiny.

Many believers are afraid to dream in faith. They would rather stay in their present pit than risk a move to higher ground. They know there is a cost to following God, a sacrifice that involves the unknown, and they tremble at having to pay it.

I encourage you to pick up the dream God has given you! Ask the Father to exchange your fear for faith and to use you in spite of your lingering anxiety. He will delight in your faith and you will be on his path to greatness.