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Devotions

A Heart Open to God’s Searchlight

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

I believe repentance is just as much for believers as it is for sinners; Christians who maintain a repentant attitude bring upon themselves God’s special attention. If we walk before the Lord with a repentant heart, we will be inundated with incredible blessings.

A noteworthy characteristic of a repentant heart is a willingness to accept blame for wrongdoing, to say, “Lord, I’m the one who has sinned.”

“For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation” (2 Corinthians 7:10). And John writes, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).

It can be excruciating to admit that we are wrong. We justify our actions and perform all sorts of machinations to escape blame in an effort to divert attention from ourselves. And none of this pleases God.

Being repentant means more than just apologizing or making things right with the person we have wronged. It is also about making things right with God. David exemplifies this for us perfectly — he believed in conducting heart searchings. In the hard discipline of digging out sin in his heart, David cried, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).

David continually opened up his heart to God’s searchlight. He welcomed the examination of the Lord, going so far as to cry, “If I’ve sinned against you in any way and I don’t know it, please reveal it to me. I repent.” “For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight” (Psalm 51:3-4).

Do you need to allow God to search your heart today? Repenting of any hidden sin will keep your heart soft and pliable before him, tender and easily molded by the Holy Spirit.  

God Has No Problem Finding You

Gary Wilkerson

No matter how obscure your surroundings or “unknown” your identity, when God chooses to reveal himself to you, he has no problem finding you. Let’s consider the mother of Samson … the strongest man who ever lived.

“And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.  There was a certain man of Zorah … whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children.  And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, ‘Behold … you shall conceive and bear a son’” (Judges 13:1-3).

For forty years the children of Israel had wandered in the desert, subservient to the Philistines and demoralized in spirit. In the midst of all this chaos and despair lived a faithful, praying woman who knew her God. We see that her husband’s name was Manoah but she was not named — an anonymous servant of the Lord.

Just as happened in the New Testament with a young girl named Mary, Manoah’s wife was visited by an angel, who gave her a striking message: “You’re going to bear a son!”

Manoah’s wife had been very patient during Israel’s time of bondage, shutting herself away in the secret closet with God. Now she received a word from the Lord. Her promised child was not destined to be an ordinary boy, as the angel went on to tell her that he was going to “begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines” (13:5). Then the Lord set forth specific instructions on how the boy was to be brought up and prepared for his special calling. (Read the exciting account of Samson’s life in Judges 13 through 16.)

Samson’s mother believed the promises of God and she trained her son according to the precepts of the Lord. Likewise, today God is looking for patient, devoted servants who will trust him in the most trying of conditions.

Jesus’ Promise for Daily Provision

Carter Conlon

Jesus himself highlighted the importance of the Word when he gave us a specific manner in which to pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:9-11). Notice that he described it as “our daily bread.” There is a daily provision which Jesus promises to give us.

Jesus said it this way in the book of John: “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world” (John 6:48-51).

Jesus was essentially saying, “I am the bread! I am your strength, your vision, your redemption, your freedom. I am your protector and your guide. Everything that you need for life and godliness can be found in me.”

Biblically speaking, I suppose one could say that you are what you eat! If you choose to go on a diet from the Bible, you are going to become weak, and eventually you will end up very confused. Incorrect thoughts will begin to guide you. Then, in your desperation, you will start turning on the television and listening to voices that are not speaking truth. They will stand before you and essentially say, “Look at me! This is what the Christian life looks like. Come, follow me!”

If you are not reading the Word of God — you are not eating this Living Bread — you will end up being deceived at the end of your days.

Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 at the invitation of the founding pastor, David Wilkerson, and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001.

They Were Unbound in the Furnace!

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

We all know the story well. King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of Babylon, summoned every leader from his far-flung empire to gather together to honor false gods. The king erected a huge, golden image and the lavishly attired leaders — governors, princes, magistrates and officials of the provinces — along with all the people of the land were to conform to the king’s decree and bow before the image. And if they did not? An instant sentence of death.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, three exceptional young Hebrew men, had been taken captive and brought to the palace, trained in the language, and appointed as leaders in the government. When King Nebuchadnezzar commanded that everyone bow before his false god, these young men refused. Jealous leaders immediately reported them to the king who flew into a rage and had them brought before him. He thundered, “How dare any member of my own government stand against me in disobedience!”

In those days, violators of the king’s decrees were cast into a burning oven. The king ordered the furnace to be made seven times hotter than usual and challenged Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego again: “Who will deliver you from my hands?” They answered, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.” (Daniel 3:17).

You can be sure these three young men could feel the heat of the white-hot furnace and I’m certain they didn’t want to die. But they had an incredible faith placed in their hearts by the Holy Spirit and they were stalwart, unbending. The king and the royal party watched as the men were bound and thrown into the furnace.

Imagine their amazement when they saw the men walking about on top of the coals — and a fourth Man in the fire! Their bonds fell off and they raised their hands, praising God! Jesus was with them in their crisis and they walked out of the fire as a testimony to all.

You Are About to Be Set Free!

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

The Bible makes it clear that demonic powers are at work laying traps for Christians. Satan is absolutely determined to overthrow every believer who walks in holiness and complete devotion to Jesus Christ. Now understand, Satan is not omnipresent — he cannot be everywhere at once — and he does not know all things. But he does have at his command multitudes of demonic beings, principalities and powers of darkness. And these powers of darkness are laying traps for you. “The wicked have laid a snare for me” (Psalm 119:110). “They have secretly set a snare for me” (Psalm 142:3).

Beloved, the devil is setting a trap for you that you cannot see. Therefore, you must be on guard at all times. He may use wicked people, he may use temptations of the flesh, or he may even use other Christians, but you can be sure Satan is out to trap you into sin. 

If you have fallen prey to his trap and now are living in bondage, you must realize your fall was most likely not premeditated. The devil knew of a weakness in you and he snared you in it. You may continually blame yourself, thinking, “How could I have done such a thing?” But beating yourself up is an absolute waste of time! You will never be able to figure out how you could have been so foolish, blind and reckless, so set your mind back on Jesus because I have incredible news for you. You are about to be set free!

If you have been trapped by the enemy in any way and fallen into his snare, yet you know you love God with your whole heart, the Lord will not allow you to remain the enemy’s victim. Read the Word of God with renewed devotion and ask the Holy Spirit to give you discernment. There is power in the name of Jesus and he will deliver you and protect you!