David was a man after God's heart who was living in a dark and difficult time. Our generation is also one that is growing darker, and God is raising up a people of extraordinary faith. God wants to feed His church with bread from heaven, cleanse our hearts, and equip us for spiritual warfare with the sword of His Spirit.
The Church of Jesus Christ is called to make a difference in our society. In days like this when there seems to be such little hope that righteousness will prevail, God will always have a remnant to raise up a testimony to bring glory to His Name. God will use the weakest of us to show His supernatural power. Our prayer must be God shake us, fill us and give us boldness to speak to those who don’t know you.
Satan has an aggressive agenda against the body of Christ and the family. Many are depressed, our kids are suicidal and cutting themselves, substance abuse is commonplace, etc. It is time that we as Christians, like Jesus, take a stand and declare, "Not in my house!"
Some of us have faced difficulties in the past year or the beginning of this one. They can seem to push us to the edge. The enemy wants to keep pushing until we get to the place that it seems hopeless. God has a high place for each of us and the enemy wants to cause us to fall from this place. When Jesus was faced with a situation that could push him off the cliff, he passed right through the crowd (Luke 4:30). The same spirit that lives in Jesus lives in us. Don’t be a Christian pushover! Jesus will come and interfere with these situations and difficulties in your life. He is doing this for our good to free you from the bondage of the enemy. Jesus will step in to your life and say “Its enough!” He came to destroy sin and the works of the enemy. The enemy intends evil but God in his breakthrough power intends the best for your life.
At the time of Jesus's birth, Herod was disturbed and sought to have him killed. In our generation we are starting to see a similar turn against the gospel. Sin is no longer called sin. It is even called good and glorified. Bible-believing faith-filled Christians are becoming the minority. When persecution comes, what is our response? Initially it can be anger, but in Jesus we see that we are to act in love and keep on with the ministry to which he has called us.
We all have blind spots but God sees beyond our outward façade. He is able to see those things in our heart that will to take us down and make us turn away from Him. We must ask God for the grace to walk humbly before Him and allow Him to deal with anything that will take our strength away. As we begin the new year may our ears be attentive to His warnings and may our heart humbly obey His Word.
The Christmas narrative tells of an angel coming to some shepherds and sharing the Good News of a Savior being born. The shepherds heard the message, went to see the baby, then told everyone about Him. We too must hear the gospel message afresh and renew our astonishment at what Jesus has done. We will see the power of the gospel to miraculously change lives, and we'll be so astounded that we can't help but tell people about it.
The Creator of Heaven and Earth invites us to know Him. Yet in a prosperous society like ours, pursuing God can be a challenge. Busyness and self pursuits can start to take priority over God. Life doesn't always go as we hope though. Tough times are inevitable. It is in these hardships that knowing God will give us the strength and faith that we need. God loves you as much as He loves His Son Jesus. It is His delight to hold your hand and walk with you through difficult circumstances.