Devo idea

THE SECRET OF BRAVERY That you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power. (Eph 1:18-19) A father and his son were talking about Bible stories. His daddy said to him, “Who in the Bible would you think is a brave man? A really brave man?” The answer came back, “Well, Goliath was brave, Daddy.” The father was caught by surprise. “Goliath? You know the story, right? Goliath was the big one, remember? David was the young boy.” “Yeah,” replied the boy. So the father asked again, “Well, who was the brave one?” The boy grew a bit impatient: “Goliath was brave, Daddy.” “Why was Goliath brave?” asked the father, to which the son answered: “Well, David had the Lord. Goliath was all alone.” That’s it, isn’t it? If only we could see that in life, that “we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Rom 8:37). And it doesn’t take bravery to win in this battle. It takes obedience — to rally around the banner, for “when the enemy comes in like a flood, the…Lord will [raise] up a standard against him,” (Isa 59:19). Remember, Christian, “The battle is the Lord’s”(1 Sam 17:47); it’s not ours. Yes, we are called to be strong, but we are called to be strong “in the Lord.” It’s easy to quit, isn’t it? I am naturally a quitter. I remember when I was a kid, I’d buy some of those nice models and bring it home. I’d lay it out on the dining room table and break it off in those little pieces. I’d sand them a bit and maybe I’d even paint it. And then my friends would call me out to play some football or something, and I’d leave it there. And my mother would patiently wait a day, two days, three days. Then finally, she’d say, “Son, aren’t you going to work on that?” “Oh yeah, Mom, I’ll get to it.” And eventually she’d put it into a little box and put it down on a shelf with all the other unfinished models downstairs. If we’re going to be valiant for Christ, we’re going to have to stick to the job. We have to carry on for God. And this is the cry, isn’t it: “Only be strong,” (Josh 1:7). Stand in there! The enemy is fierce. The enemy is strong. We have not been called to a picnic, or a party. It’s a BATTLE! In spite of the hedonistic society in which we live, we are not here to enjoy ourselves. We’re here to fight the good fight of faith, looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of that faith. APPLICATION: The enemy is strong. But our Captain is stronger — infinitely stronger! And He calls on us to stand with Him in the battle. Be strong in the Lord!

WHAT FILLS YOUR HEART? If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Col 3:1-2) The story is told of some missionaries who were going to the South Pacific, to New Guinea. And as they drew near to New Guinea, the captain of the ship said to the leader of this little band of faithful missionaries, “Listen, I really feel badly about this. This land is littered with white graves, tropical disease. It’s hopeless! You’ll never get out of this place alive. I’ll tell you what. I’ll take you, no charge, back to England. I’ll just, just out of my own heart, I’ve got to stop in Australia, and then back to England — I’ll take you because,” he said, “if you go here, you’re going to die.” The missionary calmly said, “I’m not going to die. We’re not going to die here.” The captain asked, “How can you be so sure?” The mission- ary replied, “We died before we ever left England.” And that’s it, isn’t it? You take an athlete that has lived his life for the roar of the crowd, and you put him in a casket — he’s died — and you take the casket by a theatre, an amphitheatre, and the crowd is roaring and clapping. And it doesn’t mean a thing to him, does it, anymore? You see: all the things that are so attractive to the natural man lose their appeal when we’ve been down to the Jordan. Not only have we been separated from the world system — Egypt — but we’ve also been sep- arated to God. God has given us a land flowing with milk and honey, and it’s all for us! Who would settle for the leeks and the onions and the garlic of Egypt? It has been noted that all that food grows on the ground or under the ground: Leeks, onions, garlic, melons, and cucumbers. And you’ve got to grovel to get it. And when you do eat it— well, you’re not with me very long before I can tell where you’ve been feeding: The world. I can smell it on your breath! For the Scripture says, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:34). But to get the food of the land of Canaan, you had to reach up for it. It grew on trees: the fig and the olive and the vine. It was something that was above the earth. It was something special that God had provided for His people. Are you feeding on His Heavenly food? APPLICATION: If your heart is full of Egypt, that’s what you’ll talk about. But if your heart is full of Christ, that’s what you’ll talk about.

DON’T STOP PRAYING! Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us...according to the will of God. (Rom 8:26-27) When we get home to heaven, we’ll see that not a single prayer falls to the ground. Once, I was speaking at a meeting where, right up at the front, there was a young lady sitting dressed all in white. She was so excited about what she had just learned about the Lord that, right after the meeting, she came up to me (with a little padded envelope under her arm). After we introduced ourselves, I said, “Tell me, what’s your story?” You could see she’d had a pretty hard life. “Well,” she said, “I grew up in this neighborhood here. Both of my par- ents died here in drunken stupors. And my husband and I were on the same road. Our favorite activity was pub crawls. There was a fellow in the meeting here who used to witness to me at work, and I had no interest whatsoever — until I came home one day and found my hus- band hanging in the living room. The first call I made was to the police, and the second call I made was to this brother. I said, ‘I’m ready to talk.’ And he came, and he led me to Christ.” She went on, “There’s an old lady in the assembly here, and she took me under her wing. I didn’t know how to be a Christian lady, and she taught me how. I used to go and have tea at her house and she’d talk to me about the Lord. Then one day she asked me, ‘You grew up in this neighborhood. Tell me, what was your maiden name?’” The young lady continued, “When I told her my maiden name, the old sister gasped! She pointed to the sofa and said, ‘You see that sofa? That sofa is soaked with the tears of your grandmother’s prayers, praying for your mother — who ran off and married an unsaved man, and went headlong into a lost eternity.’” Do you see what God did there? He didn’t waste all that grand- mother’s prayers. He just applied them to the grandchild. Nor are your prayers wasted! They are not always answered the way we ask of Him, nor in the time we ask. But in a coming Day as we are touring Heaven, we’ll realize that every prayer the saint has prayed, every sigh, every longing, every tear, every hope and aspiration has reached the heart of God, and He’s taken it very seriously. So what was in that young lady’s padded envelope? It was her grand- mother’s Bible, full of the most beautiful copperplate handwriting. APPLICATION: In a future Day, God will be vindicated in how He responded to our prayers. We’ll see, at laswt, that He knew exactly what He was doing and that He was right on schedule. Trust Him today with your prayers.