Read:
Ephesians 5:2
2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Also Read:
1 Corinthians 3:11
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
One day while I was at work some Jehovah's witnesses came to my home. My wife was unloading her car when they approached her. They asked if they could talk with her for a while about what they believed, but my wife said, "no, I'm a Christian, but my husband would love to talk with you..lol. My wife set me up. She wanted me to convert them. She set a time for Monday, and I thought this would be a good time just to listen to what they had to say and see where they were coming from. I made some coffee and here they came right on time. He was in a wheel chair and was pulling himself up on to my porch and to my front door. I reached down to help him but he insisted that he was alright and he would make it by himself. He had a young convert with him who was probably in his early twenty's. I pulled a couple of chairs out for them, and got them something to drink while I sat there and just listened to him talk. Being in bible college I studied about all of the different types of other religions, cults etc. and was prepared. They came to my house for about a month, and after hearing him talk for that whole month, he asked me if I had any questions? As I took another sip of my coffee, I said, "Yes, I have a few questions. First of all, I want to bring to the table who Charles Taze Russell really was, and how the prophecy of 1914 which claimed that Jesus would personally establish His kingdom then never came to pass as the prophecy claimed it would. While still in his teens and without formal theological education, Russell organized a Bible class whose members eventually made him "pastor." Before 1914, the Watchtower was predicting that God's Kingdom was to be set up on earth (not in heaven) in 1914! He said, " I'll have to look that up. Any other questions? Yes! Also, why did the Jehovah's witnesses take out the word God in John 1:1 and insert "a god" in there? He couldn't answer me, and that young kid was so confused as to what to say. He looked at me with such a hurt and said, "You protestant Christians are not who you claim to be! He began to proceed by telling me how he lost his legs. He told me that when he was in his teens, he got involved in a train accident and lost both of his legs. He told me that not one Christian from his church came to visit him, but one day he heard a knock on the door and there stood the Jehovah's witnesses extending their love to him. I was deeply touched by what he said, and told him that I am so sorry that this happened. I did pray with the two of them in Jesus name, and I told him that I understand your hurt, but there are Christians out there that do extend the love of Christ to the hurting. He got upset and told his convert to pack up and get out of here. I helped him out the door. Crippled love? How many of us as Christians reach out to a hurting generation. I know that I need to do more of this, and it's a shame for us to let the hurting reach out to crippled religions because they are doing more than we are concerning this. I want to exhort us today to reach out to the hurting. They are all around, and we can find ministry in a million places if we just open our eyes.
Prayer:
Lord forgive us. As Christians we've done all but walk in love to a hurting generation. Help us to walk in love and show forth your heart to those around us. We long to be the church that you desire for us to be. Turn our crippled love to a pure love in your name we pray. Amen.
by Keith Edwards
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
May 21st Devotional
Read:
Ezra 3:3
3 Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices.
Also:
1 Corinthians 3:11
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Have you ever faced situations in your life where you just said, "man! I don't know if I can go on?" We'll I have and still do at times. One thing that I learned through tough times is that it's not the foundation of myself that is going to get me through those hard times. It's the foundation of Christ Jesus that's going to carry me through. In Ezra 3:3 the first 50,000 Jews came back to Jerusalem after a 70year bondage in captivity. It was under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua. Zerubbabel was a great righteous governor, and Joshua was a High Priest. Then 80 years later Ezra came with another 3,000 Jews to Jerusalem in the rebuilding of the temple. Then we have Nehemiah some years later to rebuild the wall. One thing I want us to see is that when the first 50,000 Jews got to Jerusalem in Ezra 3:3, they didn't have anything built as of yet, but they had hope. All they had was an altar. They placed the altar upon the foundation when they got there, and they offered burnt offerings to the Lord. You may be at a place today where you are just tired and worn out by life, but you can say with me, "All I have is an altar!" It's more than just having an altar. We need to praise God with the realization that we have a foundation that is unshakable. It is the foundation of Christ Jesus, and Christ is the sure foundation that absolutely cannot be shaken. There are times in my life as a christian that I have to place my faith and trust upon that foundation, and when I find myself at a place of no hope, I turn my focus upon that sure foundation which is Jesus Christ. My friend, don't lose focus. If you do, you can praise and worship God now upon that beautiful foundation that is a powerful and unshakeable foundation. Many of you fight the feeling of not having things in your life complete. You may be at a place where you missed it and feel like you had to take a dead end road to nowhere. Think about this with me for a moment. The Jews felt that way. When they got there everything was in ruins, and the temple of Jerusalem was totally destroyed. All you may have is a little altar. This is enough my friend, and the altar is your heart before the Lord almighty. Look up to Him today, and trust in His foundation that absolutely cannot be shaken. Notice that the Jews didn't even have Jerusalem built as of yet, but they understood the need for restoration of worship. We need revelation upon the foundation for the situation that we are facing. In the middle of restoration in our life, whether it is financial, physical, or emotional, we can stay focused on the one and only, Christ Jesus.
prayer:
Lord we come in your precious name, the name that is above every name. We place our praise and worship today upon that powerful foundation. We know Lord that the foundation consists of your name and your blood. We appropriate you blood upon the situation we are facing today, and we look to
you in a deeper way for restoration in our lives. Holy Spirit teach us today about that great foundation. Lord we acknowledge you as we stand in all of you. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.
by Keith Edwards
Ezra 3:3
3 Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices.
Also:
1 Corinthians 3:11
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Have you ever faced situations in your life where you just said, "man! I don't know if I can go on?" We'll I have and still do at times. One thing that I learned through tough times is that it's not the foundation of myself that is going to get me through those hard times. It's the foundation of Christ Jesus that's going to carry me through. In Ezra 3:3 the first 50,000 Jews came back to Jerusalem after a 70year bondage in captivity. It was under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua. Zerubbabel was a great righteous governor, and Joshua was a High Priest. Then 80 years later Ezra came with another 3,000 Jews to Jerusalem in the rebuilding of the temple. Then we have Nehemiah some years later to rebuild the wall. One thing I want us to see is that when the first 50,000 Jews got to Jerusalem in Ezra 3:3, they didn't have anything built as of yet, but they had hope. All they had was an altar. They placed the altar upon the foundation when they got there, and they offered burnt offerings to the Lord. You may be at a place today where you are just tired and worn out by life, but you can say with me, "All I have is an altar!" It's more than just having an altar. We need to praise God with the realization that we have a foundation that is unshakable. It is the foundation of Christ Jesus, and Christ is the sure foundation that absolutely cannot be shaken. There are times in my life as a christian that I have to place my faith and trust upon that foundation, and when I find myself at a place of no hope, I turn my focus upon that sure foundation which is Jesus Christ. My friend, don't lose focus. If you do, you can praise and worship God now upon that beautiful foundation that is a powerful and unshakeable foundation. Many of you fight the feeling of not having things in your life complete. You may be at a place where you missed it and feel like you had to take a dead end road to nowhere. Think about this with me for a moment. The Jews felt that way. When they got there everything was in ruins, and the temple of Jerusalem was totally destroyed. All you may have is a little altar. This is enough my friend, and the altar is your heart before the Lord almighty. Look up to Him today, and trust in His foundation that absolutely cannot be shaken. Notice that the Jews didn't even have Jerusalem built as of yet, but they understood the need for restoration of worship. We need revelation upon the foundation for the situation that we are facing. In the middle of restoration in our life, whether it is financial, physical, or emotional, we can stay focused on the one and only, Christ Jesus.
prayer:
Lord we come in your precious name, the name that is above every name. We place our praise and worship today upon that powerful foundation. We know Lord that the foundation consists of your name and your blood. We appropriate you blood upon the situation we are facing today, and we look to
you in a deeper way for restoration in our lives. Holy Spirit teach us today about that great foundation. Lord we acknowledge you as we stand in all of you. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.
by Keith Edwards
Thursday, May 20, 2010
May 20th Devotional
Read:
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come and will not delay.
There are times as Christians when we have to wait patiently for something to come to pass in our lives. Many believe that you can just snap your finger and boom! there it is. sometimes God does bring forth a miracle or answer right away, but sometimes it may take some time to materialize in the natural. Notice here in Habakkuk that God tells him that the vision will come at an appointed time. Habakkuk is really upset about what is going on, and he starts questioning God about why is this happening to your people? Where are you Lord? Why are the wicked prospering and we are just out there in the cold it feels like? I think that Habakkuk's' name says it all. His name means to embrace. Whatever we face in life we need to embrace Christ in the middle of the things that come our way. The greatest weapon the enemy throws our way is darts of thoughts and speculations in our thinking. I know that I have had these kind of thoughts come my way over the thirty years of knowing God. If God is really real then why does God allow evil in the world? If God really exists then why does He seem to ignore you? If God really exists then......and on and on it goes. There's nothing wrong with being real with God and asking Him questions that are in your heart, but we don't want to let the devil steal the word from our heart by speculations and questions that keeps us from embracing the cross each and every day. I want to encourage us to embrace Christ Jesus today in your devotion. Embrace the cross like never before in a world that is much like the world that Habakkuk was in the middle of. Embrace His love and His ways today, and remember, God will bring our visions and our dreams to pass at the appointed time.
Prayer:
Lord, help us today to be real with you. Help us to ask you questions from our heart, but not let the questions take over our devotion with you. Sometimes Lord we don't understand why you do the things you do the way you do them, but we worship you today with a whole heart. We wait patiently today for you to help us in every area, and we thank you for the mercy and grace in the middle of you perfecting that which concerns us, Amen.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come and will not delay.
There are times as Christians when we have to wait patiently for something to come to pass in our lives. Many believe that you can just snap your finger and boom! there it is. sometimes God does bring forth a miracle or answer right away, but sometimes it may take some time to materialize in the natural. Notice here in Habakkuk that God tells him that the vision will come at an appointed time. Habakkuk is really upset about what is going on, and he starts questioning God about why is this happening to your people? Where are you Lord? Why are the wicked prospering and we are just out there in the cold it feels like? I think that Habakkuk's' name says it all. His name means to embrace. Whatever we face in life we need to embrace Christ in the middle of the things that come our way. The greatest weapon the enemy throws our way is darts of thoughts and speculations in our thinking. I know that I have had these kind of thoughts come my way over the thirty years of knowing God. If God is really real then why does God allow evil in the world? If God really exists then why does He seem to ignore you? If God really exists then......and on and on it goes. There's nothing wrong with being real with God and asking Him questions that are in your heart, but we don't want to let the devil steal the word from our heart by speculations and questions that keeps us from embracing the cross each and every day. I want to encourage us to embrace Christ Jesus today in your devotion. Embrace the cross like never before in a world that is much like the world that Habakkuk was in the middle of. Embrace His love and His ways today, and remember, God will bring our visions and our dreams to pass at the appointed time.
Prayer:
Lord, help us today to be real with you. Help us to ask you questions from our heart, but not let the questions take over our devotion with you. Sometimes Lord we don't understand why you do the things you do the way you do them, but we worship you today with a whole heart. We wait patiently today for you to help us in every area, and we thank you for the mercy and grace in the middle of you perfecting that which concerns us, Amen.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
May 19th Devotional
Read:
Proverbs 18:10
The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run in to it and they are saved.
Imagine yourself right now standing upon a huge tower. It’s dark and you can’t see a thing. You have truly repented and turned your life over to the Lord, but now you feel like He has abandoned you. Then you feel like there is no hope when all of the sudden, God says to you, “child you are mine. I have placed you child upon this tower of my name, of my character, and who I am within you. Stand in me and let your hope so trust in the fact that my name needs to be a revelation of who you are in me and who you are standing upon.” Then as the darkness subsides, you look and see that the tower that you are standing upon starts to lean. You hear God speak to you again that He is your balance. He is your rock and your foundation. The foundation and the tower is strong and mighty. Nothing can separate us from that place in God. Then you see the tower stand in an upright position. How many times do we start losing sight of what God did for us on the cross. How many times do we feel unbalance as a Christian and we feel like God has abandoned us. It’s all about revelation. The greek definition here for name in proverbs is shem and it means the character and reputation of God. The greek word for tower here is milgda and it means to be elevated to a high place. We are elevated and lifted in His name, his character, His might. For he is Jehovah, Elohim our Creator, El Elyon most High God, Adonai our Master, Elroi God Who Sees, El Shaddai God Almighty, Jehovah Ezer the Lord our Helper, Jehovah Jireh the Lord Will Provide, Jehovah Rapha the Lord our Healer, Jehovah Roi the Lord our Shepherd. He is our banner, our peace, and His name can be trusted as we stand upon his foundation, upon His tower, and in His name has been given to us by the Spirit of His trust. His name is the very revelation that we need to have when we enter into worship, prayer, and that devotion with Him everyday, and when that revelation is mixed with the spirit of Christ in that moment of revelation is a power of the choice of our will that starts instilling foundation in our soul. It will renew our mind, heal our emotions, and set our will on course to the things of God, and when we see ourselves lean upon our own name at times, we should look to Him to straighten us in the right position of revelation of who we are in Him and who He is in us. Oh! Friend it’s a much powerful place to stand upon His name. It will tear down faulty little foundations that we might have placed in our soul, and God will take out things and put good sound doctrine within us. Then as you are standing upon that tower you hear the Lord ask you, “Is that tears in your eyes?” and you feel the Holy Spirit wrap His arms around you and comfort you. You feel healing taking place. It’s a place like no other place. As you go through each day remember to stand in His name in your Christian walk. Remember to let God hold you when you need to be held. Let’s be elevated and lifted up in His name.
Prayer:
Lord we come to you in your name. Help us to see us how you see us. Righteous by the blood of Your Son, delivered by the power of the cross, and set free by trusting in you. Help us Lord to submit to you upon that tower so that we can walk in holiness, purity, and be the salt of this earth to those that don’t know you. Give us revelation of the very rock and foundation that we have within us. Amen
Proverbs 18:10
The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run in to it and they are saved.
Imagine yourself right now standing upon a huge tower. It’s dark and you can’t see a thing. You have truly repented and turned your life over to the Lord, but now you feel like He has abandoned you. Then you feel like there is no hope when all of the sudden, God says to you, “child you are mine. I have placed you child upon this tower of my name, of my character, and who I am within you. Stand in me and let your hope so trust in the fact that my name needs to be a revelation of who you are in me and who you are standing upon.” Then as the darkness subsides, you look and see that the tower that you are standing upon starts to lean. You hear God speak to you again that He is your balance. He is your rock and your foundation. The foundation and the tower is strong and mighty. Nothing can separate us from that place in God. Then you see the tower stand in an upright position. How many times do we start losing sight of what God did for us on the cross. How many times do we feel unbalance as a Christian and we feel like God has abandoned us. It’s all about revelation. The greek definition here for name in proverbs is shem and it means the character and reputation of God. The greek word for tower here is milgda and it means to be elevated to a high place. We are elevated and lifted in His name, his character, His might. For he is Jehovah, Elohim our Creator, El Elyon most High God, Adonai our Master, Elroi God Who Sees, El Shaddai God Almighty, Jehovah Ezer the Lord our Helper, Jehovah Jireh the Lord Will Provide, Jehovah Rapha the Lord our Healer, Jehovah Roi the Lord our Shepherd. He is our banner, our peace, and His name can be trusted as we stand upon his foundation, upon His tower, and in His name has been given to us by the Spirit of His trust. His name is the very revelation that we need to have when we enter into worship, prayer, and that devotion with Him everyday, and when that revelation is mixed with the spirit of Christ in that moment of revelation is a power of the choice of our will that starts instilling foundation in our soul. It will renew our mind, heal our emotions, and set our will on course to the things of God, and when we see ourselves lean upon our own name at times, we should look to Him to straighten us in the right position of revelation of who we are in Him and who He is in us. Oh! Friend it’s a much powerful place to stand upon His name. It will tear down faulty little foundations that we might have placed in our soul, and God will take out things and put good sound doctrine within us. Then as you are standing upon that tower you hear the Lord ask you, “Is that tears in your eyes?” and you feel the Holy Spirit wrap His arms around you and comfort you. You feel healing taking place. It’s a place like no other place. As you go through each day remember to stand in His name in your Christian walk. Remember to let God hold you when you need to be held. Let’s be elevated and lifted up in His name.
Prayer:
Lord we come to you in your name. Help us to see us how you see us. Righteous by the blood of Your Son, delivered by the power of the cross, and set free by trusting in you. Help us Lord to submit to you upon that tower so that we can walk in holiness, purity, and be the salt of this earth to those that don’t know you. Give us revelation of the very rock and foundation that we have within us. Amen
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
May 18th Devotional
Read:
Matthew 25:40
40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
I can remember back about ten years ago my wife and I was involved with helping the homeless. It was through our church we were members at. My wife is very good with that, and she flows in that type of ministry, but this is not really what I wanted to do I said to myself. Well, I knew the Lord was about to show me something. In this program we would minister to them, feed them, and then we would guide them to the showers that the church had there designated for the homeless. The one homeless person that I got to help had MS, so it took a while to walk him down, what I thought was the longest hallway ever. I helped him to the showers and waited on him outside the door there. I began to hear him yelling for help. I was out there just doing a little praying. I don't remember exactly what I was praying about, it might have been somewhere along the lines of "Lord I want to know your will" lol. Anyway, he still was yelling as I was in my own little world with the Lord. I then peeked in the door and saw him trying to put on his socks. I immediately ran to him and grabbed the socks. I told him that I would help him get his socks on. As I pulled one of the socks on, I heard a voice speak right through me, "You've done it to the least of these you've done it unto me." I felt the Holy Spirit so strongly in that room. I helped him get his socks and shoes on and lead him back to the cafeteria for more ministry. The Lord taught me something that Friday night. How many times do we get caught up in the hype of church things. We love the programs and the worship music. We maybe love the preaching and the teaching. There's nothing wrong with these things when our heart is right, but Sometimes we love the things of God more than the giver of those things. Oh! that we may hear the heartbeat of God today like never before. We are always praying for God's will and get frustrated because we can't seem to "hear" His voice when He specifically told us His will. James 1:27 tells us that Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. Jesus wants us to have His heart and to have His heart is to be concerned for the poor, to have a heart for lost souls, and to care for the orphanage and widows. When we do this God will move us to that place that we earnestly pray for. These things will never be forgotten in God's eyes, and when judgment day comes for the righteous these things will be brought to our attention. We will have bad motives judged as well. We all have them. We need to have the heart for the very things that Jesus has a heart for. I want to challenge you today. Find a ministry to feed the poor or do something along these lines. I need to do more of this myself. When we have a heart for these things we have the very heartbeat of God. It may be helping a homeless man put his socks on, or it could be giving a meal to a homeless person, or it could be getting a glass of water to someone who is thirsty. There is ministry all around us. We just have to open our eyes.
prayer:
Lord we come to you in humbleness now. Forgive us Lord if we are doing everything but what you commanded us to do. We pray Lord that we would hear your voice concerning your heart like never before. We long to follow you Lord, and to seek your face and not just your hand. We long to stretch out our love to even the very least in the worlds eyes. Help us to open our eyes to what we need to do in Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Matthew 25:40
40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
I can remember back about ten years ago my wife and I was involved with helping the homeless. It was through our church we were members at. My wife is very good with that, and she flows in that type of ministry, but this is not really what I wanted to do I said to myself. Well, I knew the Lord was about to show me something. In this program we would minister to them, feed them, and then we would guide them to the showers that the church had there designated for the homeless. The one homeless person that I got to help had MS, so it took a while to walk him down, what I thought was the longest hallway ever. I helped him to the showers and waited on him outside the door there. I began to hear him yelling for help. I was out there just doing a little praying. I don't remember exactly what I was praying about, it might have been somewhere along the lines of "Lord I want to know your will" lol. Anyway, he still was yelling as I was in my own little world with the Lord. I then peeked in the door and saw him trying to put on his socks. I immediately ran to him and grabbed the socks. I told him that I would help him get his socks on. As I pulled one of the socks on, I heard a voice speak right through me, "You've done it to the least of these you've done it unto me." I felt the Holy Spirit so strongly in that room. I helped him get his socks and shoes on and lead him back to the cafeteria for more ministry. The Lord taught me something that Friday night. How many times do we get caught up in the hype of church things. We love the programs and the worship music. We maybe love the preaching and the teaching. There's nothing wrong with these things when our heart is right, but Sometimes we love the things of God more than the giver of those things. Oh! that we may hear the heartbeat of God today like never before. We are always praying for God's will and get frustrated because we can't seem to "hear" His voice when He specifically told us His will. James 1:27 tells us that Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. Jesus wants us to have His heart and to have His heart is to be concerned for the poor, to have a heart for lost souls, and to care for the orphanage and widows. When we do this God will move us to that place that we earnestly pray for. These things will never be forgotten in God's eyes, and when judgment day comes for the righteous these things will be brought to our attention. We will have bad motives judged as well. We all have them. We need to have the heart for the very things that Jesus has a heart for. I want to challenge you today. Find a ministry to feed the poor or do something along these lines. I need to do more of this myself. When we have a heart for these things we have the very heartbeat of God. It may be helping a homeless man put his socks on, or it could be giving a meal to a homeless person, or it could be getting a glass of water to someone who is thirsty. There is ministry all around us. We just have to open our eyes.
prayer:
Lord we come to you in humbleness now. Forgive us Lord if we are doing everything but what you commanded us to do. We pray Lord that we would hear your voice concerning your heart like never before. We long to follow you Lord, and to seek your face and not just your hand. We long to stretch out our love to even the very least in the worlds eyes. Help us to open our eyes to what we need to do in Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Keith Edwards May 16th Devotional
Read:
Judges 7:2
"And the Lord said unto Gideon 'The people that are with thee are TOO MANY for Me to give the Midianites into their hands..."
What a predicament...to have too much for God to work! Most would blame not having enough for their not working; but God here blames having TOO MUCH for His not working! And that is exactly where Gideon found himself. From living in a cave to leading as a captain, Gideon had done everything right in preparation for this national deliverance God was about to work through him.
1) He had become officially right with God - 6:17-23
2) He had, in his new rightstanding, brought down his family's idol - 6:25-32
3) He had received and responded to the Holy Ghost (in an Old testament way) - 6:34
4) He had affirmed through two divine signs that this calling was truly of God - 6:36-40
But there was another event that took place between #3 and #4 that was not of Gideon's doing: people from all over Israel began to rally to his side. As Gideon had responded to the Holy Ghost by blowing a trumpet, the people responded to the trumpet and began to naturally amass an army. Now what could be wrong with that? Not a thing...except that what began by the Spirit was now being finished in the flesh!
In our zeal for the Lord, our imagination (of course under the more spiritually sounding tag of an "open vision" or the "discerning of spirits") often takes over from the Holy Ghost that which He has started; and we usually end up adding way more to the "mix" than God originally intended. We mean well! We really only wanted to help! Like Namaan, we just thought it ought to happen this way or that (II Kings 5:11).
Nevertheless, God said to Gideon "You've got too much for Me to work"!
I wonder if He might be saying that to the American Church?! I wonder if through the years of abundant "revelation", proseprity and freedom, we believers in this country have accumulated way too many "accessories" for the worship and work of the Lord?!
If we have, then before the "revival" move, we can like Gideon expect a "downsizing" move, where God whittles away at the excess add-ons of our ministries and lives until we are left with only that which He originally called us and graced us to walk with and in!
Let this word from the life of Gideon be like a spotlight on our multiple "irons in the fire" for God; and let it be a great release from the stress of trying to maintain more than we were meant to carry out! And let it finally be a great big "governor" on our zealous engines; so that we never again outrun and overshoot God in His working out of His will in our lives and thus have to carry the burden of "TOO MUCH" in our own strength.
II Kings 10:16
"And he (Jehu) said 'Come with me, and see MY zeal for the Lord..."
Our zeal usually embellishes (sprucing up the truth with extras that are "not so true") God's instructions and words. Yet, only HIS zeal (Isaiah 9:7) can perform His own will!
He started this thing - let Him finish it!
Comment by Keith Edwards:
Today I want us to take heed to this devotional and let God do His perfect work in our life, ministry, and workplace. We have accumlated much here in America and the church, and God wants us to put Him first place in everything. Let's be like Gideon and open our hearts to the Holy Spirit. Lets ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any mixture that we may have, and lets Let Him burn it out of us.
Prayer:
Lord, we desire you and only you today. We ask that you will forgive us for adding to your mighty work by letting things creep up in the body of Christ that is fleshly. We want to be like Gideon and trust you Lord as we fight the good fight of faith as we blow the trumpet in Zion, Amen.
by Joel Hawkins and Keith Edwards
Judges 7:2
"And the Lord said unto Gideon 'The people that are with thee are TOO MANY for Me to give the Midianites into their hands..."
What a predicament...to have too much for God to work! Most would blame not having enough for their not working; but God here blames having TOO MUCH for His not working! And that is exactly where Gideon found himself. From living in a cave to leading as a captain, Gideon had done everything right in preparation for this national deliverance God was about to work through him.
1) He had become officially right with God - 6:17-23
2) He had, in his new rightstanding, brought down his family's idol - 6:25-32
3) He had received and responded to the Holy Ghost (in an Old testament way) - 6:34
4) He had affirmed through two divine signs that this calling was truly of God - 6:36-40
But there was another event that took place between #3 and #4 that was not of Gideon's doing: people from all over Israel began to rally to his side. As Gideon had responded to the Holy Ghost by blowing a trumpet, the people responded to the trumpet and began to naturally amass an army. Now what could be wrong with that? Not a thing...except that what began by the Spirit was now being finished in the flesh!
In our zeal for the Lord, our imagination (of course under the more spiritually sounding tag of an "open vision" or the "discerning of spirits") often takes over from the Holy Ghost that which He has started; and we usually end up adding way more to the "mix" than God originally intended. We mean well! We really only wanted to help! Like Namaan, we just thought it ought to happen this way or that (II Kings 5:11).
Nevertheless, God said to Gideon "You've got too much for Me to work"!
I wonder if He might be saying that to the American Church?! I wonder if through the years of abundant "revelation", proseprity and freedom, we believers in this country have accumulated way too many "accessories" for the worship and work of the Lord?!
If we have, then before the "revival" move, we can like Gideon expect a "downsizing" move, where God whittles away at the excess add-ons of our ministries and lives until we are left with only that which He originally called us and graced us to walk with and in!
Let this word from the life of Gideon be like a spotlight on our multiple "irons in the fire" for God; and let it be a great release from the stress of trying to maintain more than we were meant to carry out! And let it finally be a great big "governor" on our zealous engines; so that we never again outrun and overshoot God in His working out of His will in our lives and thus have to carry the burden of "TOO MUCH" in our own strength.
II Kings 10:16
"And he (Jehu) said 'Come with me, and see MY zeal for the Lord..."
Our zeal usually embellishes (sprucing up the truth with extras that are "not so true") God's instructions and words. Yet, only HIS zeal (Isaiah 9:7) can perform His own will!
He started this thing - let Him finish it!
Comment by Keith Edwards:
Today I want us to take heed to this devotional and let God do His perfect work in our life, ministry, and workplace. We have accumlated much here in America and the church, and God wants us to put Him first place in everything. Let's be like Gideon and open our hearts to the Holy Spirit. Lets ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any mixture that we may have, and lets Let Him burn it out of us.
Prayer:
Lord, we desire you and only you today. We ask that you will forgive us for adding to your mighty work by letting things creep up in the body of Christ that is fleshly. We want to be like Gideon and trust you Lord as we fight the good fight of faith as we blow the trumpet in Zion, Amen.
by Joel Hawkins and Keith Edwards
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