STAND IN THE HOUR OF TESTING

“But if you conclude finally that God cannot pardon or save, cannot come to your rescue, this shoots faith through the heart.

Without God's strength, you cannot stand in the hour of testing. The challenge is beyond the stretch of human fortitude.

When you are in the midst of testing, do not give up in despair. Unless your soul flatly denies the power of God, this courier-- faith-- will beat a well-worn path to the throne. Doubt cripples but does not incapacitate faith. Indeed, even as you are disputing the mercy of God and questioning in your mind whether He will come to your rescue, faith will make its way, if haltingly, into His presence. And the message it delivers will be, "If you will, you can make me clean."

The one who abandons faith in the midst of a spiritual drought can be compared to the fool who throws away his pitcher the first day the well is dry.

It has ever been and always will be the Father's will that we trust only Him. He insists we place our confidence in Him. That child is wise who does as his father bids.”

Jesus said that if our faith was the size of the small mustard seed we could move mountains. Do not look down on a small measure of faith, but act with the faith you have and run to the father. He will provide the hope you need in the hour of testing!

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DON'T TRUST IN YOUR OWN STRENGTH

"When we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6).

“Is the Christian's strength in the Lord, and not in himself? Surely then, the person outside of Christ must be a poor, impotent creature, helpless to do anything to effect his own salvation. If a living tree cannot grow without sap from the taproot, how can a rotten stump, which has no root, revive itself of its own accord? In other words, if a Christian imbued with God's grace must continually rely on His strength, then surely the one outside of God's grace, dead in trespasses and sin, can never produce such strength in himself. To be unregenerate is to be impotent.

The philosophy called humanism has long been a suitor to man's pride. It boasts in his natural strength and wisdom, and woos him with promises of great accomplishments now, and heaven later. God Himself has scattered such Babel-builders and proclaimed His preeminence for eternity. Renounce carnal wisdom which cannot perceive spiritual things, and beg wisdom of God, who gives without rebuke (James 1:5).

Here is a word for Christians. Knowing your strength lies wholly in God and not in yourself, remain humble-- even when God is blessing and using you most. God's favor is neither the work of your own hands nor the price of your own worth. How can your boast of what you did not buy? If you embezzle God's strength and credit it to your own account, He will soon call an audit and take back what was His all along.”

I have edited out parts of todays devotion but what remains is from our text and is a powerful teaching.

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GOD'S PLAN FOR PROVISION

"The Christian ought to rely on divine strength because this plan results in the greatest advancement of God's own glory (see Ephesians 1:4, 12)."

“If the provisions were left in our own hands, we would soon be bankrupt merchants. God knows we are weak, like cracked pitchers-- if filled to the brim and set aside, the contents would soon leak out. So He puts us under a flowing fountain of His strength and constantly refills us. This was the provision He made for Israel in the wilderness.”

“If God had given you a lifetime supply of His grace to begin with and left you to handle your own account, you would have thought Him generous indeed. But He is magnified even more by the open account He sets up in your name. Now you must acknowledge not only that your strength comes from God in the first place, but that you are continually in debt for every withdrawal of strength you make throughout your Christian course.”

“When a child travels with his parents, all his expenses are covered by his father-- not himself. Likewise, no saint shall say of heaven when he arrives there, "This is heaven, which I have built by the power of my own might." No, the heavenly Jerusalem is a city "whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:10).”

Hebrews also tells us He is the author and finisher of our faith. It is His provision each day that allows us to move forward, therefor we dare not boast that we somehow are deserving of the glory, honor or praise.

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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF GOD'S STRENGTH

“God uses the conscience to give knowledge of His righteousness to all, so that no one can stand before Him on the Day of Judgment and plead ignorance (Romans 1).”

God alone is the source and sustainer of all life; therefore, it is His constant regenerating power that keeps the conscience alive.

Conscience may be defined as the divine influence at work in man to restrain him from sin. One evidence of its origin is that it always speaks against sin and for righteousness. Therefore, it cannot be the product of our own hearts, which in their fallen state are "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9). God uses the conscience to give some knowledge of His righteousness to all, so that no one can stand before Him on the Day of Judgment to plead ignorance (Romans 1). When you become a Christian and consecrate yourself-- conscience and all-- to Him, the Holy Spirit begins in earnest to perfect you in Christ.

It is sad when God made the world He ended His work of creation-- that is, He made no more new species of creatures. Yet to this day He has not ended His work of providence. "My Father continues to work ," Christ said (John 5:17). In other words, He continually preserves and empowers what He has made with strength to be and to act. A work of art, when complete, no longer needs the artist, nor a house the carpenter when the last nail is in place. But God's works on behalf of both the outer and the inner man are never of His hands.

If the Father's work is a preserving one, the Son's is a redemptive one. Both acts are perpetual. Christ did not end His work when He rose from the dead, just as the Father did not end His work when He finished creation. God rested at the end of creation; and Christ when He had wrought eternal redemption and "by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:3). From there He continues the work of intercession for the saint, and thereby keeps him from certain ruin. The entirety of today’s devotion is from the book mentioned below, for I can see now way to abbreviate it.

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THE SOURCE OF THE SAINT'S STRENGTH

“God can overcome His enemies without help from anyone, but His saints cannot so much as defend the smallest outpost without His strong arm.”

The strength of an earthly general relies in his troops, but the strength of the army of God’s people, or holy ones as scripture calls us is the Lord Himself. is God alone.

“One of God's names is "the Strength of Israel" (1 Samuel 15:29).  David is an example of one who knew God’s strength. He wrote, "Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to fight" (Psalm 144:1). The Lord is likewise your strength in your war against sin and Satan.”

We have a choice in every action we take, Do we trust God or not. "Without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5). Paul put it this way: "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God" (2 Corinthians 3:5). “We saints have a reservoir of grace, yet it lies like water at the bottom of a well and will not ascend with all our pumping. First God must prime it with His awakening grace. Then it will gush forth.”

Paul says, "To will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not" (Romans 7:18). Both the will to do and the action which follows are of God. "It is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). God is at the bottom of the ladder, and at the top also, the Author and Finisher, assisting the soul at every rung in its ascent to any holy action. “ 


The majority of today’s material is from our book.

For the complete devotional purchase  'The Christian in Complete Armour daily devotional by Gurnall and Bell.

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Stay On Course to The End

"We have known many who have joined the army of Christ and liked being a soldier for a battle or two, but have soon had enough and ended up deserting."  by William Gurnall

“There are times when a saint is called to trust in a withdrawing God. "[Let him] that walketh in darkness and hath no light trust in the name of the Lord" (Isaiah 50:10). This requires a bold step of faith. We must be willing like Ester to say, "If I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16). “Which leads our faith one step further:  We must declare with Job, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" (Job 13:15). Taking up the cross daily, praying always, watching night and day and never laying aside our armor to indulge ourselves, sends many sorrowful away from Christ.”

In observing many believers in my years as a passionate follower of Jesus the Messiah I have observed many who run to God in response to some crises, or some emotional event, even during great outpouring of His Spirit, but who only seem committed until the cost is to great, the battle to long and the apparent rewards to small. We sometimes promise people that when they come to God all will be well. According the Bible following Jesus puts us in a battle with the world, the flesh and the devil that is not over until we pass into the next life.

If we are going to persevere until the end we must learn to press into His presence and stand on the foundation of His living and written Word. Establishing relationships with people who are passionately in love with Him is helpful, but there are times and seasons where only God can be our Fortress, a true friend who will stay faithful and will not change. Learn to trust Him and know Him so that when the storms come you will not be a stranger to His goodness and care. When the storm surrounds you it will be natural to find your way into His fortress and care. The temptation to find solutions elsewhere are greatest when our relationship with Him is weakest.

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The Christian’s Call to Service

The soldier is summoned to a life of active duty, and so is the Christian. The very nature of the calling precludes a life of ease. If you had thought to be a summer soldier, consider your commission carefully. Your spiritual orders are rigorous. Like the apostle, I would not have you be ignorant on this point and will, therefore, list a few of your directives.

Those sins which have lain nearest your heart must now be trampled under your feet. And what courage and resolution this requires! You think Abraham was tested to the limit when called upon to take Isaac, "thine only son... whom thou lovest" (Genesis 22:2), and offer him up with his own hands. Yet what was that to this: "Soul, take the lust which is the child dearest to your heart, your Isaac, the sin from which you intend to gain the greatest pleasure. Lay hands on it and offer it up; pour out its blood before Me; run the sacrificing knife into the very heart of it-- and do it joyfully!"

This is more than the human spirit can bear to hear. Our lust will not lie so patiently on the alter as Isaac, nor as the Lamb brought dumb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7). Our flesh will roar and shriek, rending the heart with its hideous cries. Indeed, who can express the conflict, the wrestlings, the convulsions of spirit we endure before we can put our heart into such a command? Or who can fully recount the cleverness with which such a lust will plead for itself?

When the Spirit convicts you of sin, Satan will try to convince you, "It is such a little one-- spare it." Or he will bribe the soul with a vow of secrecy: "You can keep me and your good reputation, too. I will not be seen in your company to shame you among your neighbors. You may shut me up in the attic of your heart, out of sight, if only you will let me now and then have the wild embraces of your thoughts and affections in secret." 

Today’s devotional is directly from the book, which I will not do often but it is so powerfully stated I see now way to shorten it. Published by Moody Press http://www.moodypublishers.com 

Head and Heart

1/3/2012

"If your heart is not fixed in its purpose, your principles, as good as they may be, will hang loose and be of no more use in the heat of battle than an ill-strung bow. "  William Gurnall
“He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.” (Daniel 11:32 ESV)
Today our study focus is on the depth and intensity our commitment to God. Is it one only of convenience? Is it merely heard knowledge or is it deep down within our being and so rooted in God’s Word that our hearts would dare let it go no matter the storm or fleshly delights offered us?
Gurnall mentions not waiting until the boat is sinking to patch it. We must act daily to cause the very roots of our being to go deep in God and therefor avoid such a thing coming upon us.

Today look to God at every opportunity and if it seems you have none than abandon some other activity for time with the King and His Word. He awaits us if we will but seek Him! He desires even more than we do to have us rooted and grounded with our heart and then our head in Him!For the complete devotional purchase 
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You are Part of Christ Armor

“God Himself underwrites your battle and has appointed His own Son “the captain of [Your] salvation.” Hebrews 2:10 ‘For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.’

The Lord clothes Himself with us. When he comes into our lives we are the vessels though whom he operates and is known in the world and therefor we are in fact a part of His armor.

Three things stand out in our study today.

•    The fearless unflinching bravery of Jesus to pay the price for our sins and to lead us into victory. See John 18:4
•     The reality that both in scripture and in our present world there are many who stand for the Gospel even at the cost of losing all. Hebrews chapter 11 speaks to us of the great Cloud of witnesses, which I would encourage you to read.
•       There will come a day if we endure and overcome when we stand in that celestial city and every tear, will fade in comparison to the joy of being in His presence unhindered by our fleshly body and perceptions.           

       With these truths in mind we can truly fight the good fight of our faith knowing that we are a part of His armor.

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The Christian's Call to Courage

"Who among us has not learned from his own experience that it requires another spirit than the world can give to follow Christ fully?"  by William Gurnall

Orpah in Ruth 1:14 was one example. Many of the people who followed Moses out of Egypt grew tired of the journey quickly and as an old Keith Green song said they longed for the leeks and garlic they had in captivity. Just as WG points out there are many who profess Christ and so few who are actually Christians. There are also many who go into life daily ready to battle the world, the flesh and Satan but few who arrive at the end of the day victorious.

Hardship is a part of everyone's life at some point and we who follow Jesus must request of God that He give us 'holy determination and bravery' or we cannot be the overcomer that we profess or even hope to be.

" The fearful are these who march toward hell Revelation 21:8, the valiant are those take heaven by force, Matthew 11:12.

We must dare to be holy in spite of people, the world around us and any demonic forces which may be at work. 

Remember the Armor of God in Ephesian 6 is not a fanciful picture or illustration but the equipment given us to fight the good fight so that we may become overcomers!

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