Paul said: "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses." (1 Timothy 6:12). And near the end of his ministry the apostle could boast, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:" (2 Timothy 4:7).
“The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep... The sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:2-3, NLT).
We all need guidance for decisions in life. Yet in a world as chaotic as ours, getting good guidance isn’t always simple or easy. Jesus says it’s different for Christians. He makes it clear in the above passage that his followers— “his own sheep”—know his voice and “come to him.” The picture is of a Good Shepherd providing his sheep with all the oversight and care they need.
Let me tell you about two men I knew. Both are converted drug addicts and alcoholics, and at one time they led horrible lives. Both are married with children – and while they were addicted, they had problems with lust, pornography and adultery. They were con artists, trying to fool their wives and families about everything, hustling and conning their way through life.
Something is missing in our midst. It is gone, and we need to bring it back. A single church can’t make this happen; the whole body of Christ has to unite together in one spirit and seek God to bring it about. I’m talking about the power of Christ to change and transform people who are in tremendous need. We all have friends and neighbors and people we don’t yet know who are hurting
The Bible says it is possible for every believer to see the Lord’s glory. In fact, God says he will reveal his glory to all who seek him for it. Why is it important for us to see and understand God’s glory? It is because the revelation of his glory is meant to equip his people for the storms of life. According to Paul, this revelation “is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified” (Acts 20:32).
Daniel testified, “Behold, a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands” (Daniel 10:10). The word for “touched” here means to “violently seize upon.” Daniel was saying, in essence, “When God placed his hand on me, it put me on my face. His touch gave me an urgency to pray, to seek him with all that’s in me.”
God tells us he has put everything created under the feet of man. Consider this passage from Hebrews:
“What are mere mortals that you should think about them, or a son of man that you should care for him? Yet you made them only a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them authority over all things. Now when it says all things, it means nothing is left out. But we have not yet seen all things put under their authority!” (Hebrews 2:6-8, NLT).
“As they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto (Jesus), Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
I have a question for you: What can God’s people do in times of impending judgment to move the heart of the Lord?
We’re seeing natural calamities on such a scale as never before: tidal waves, hurricanes, fires, floods, droughts. I think of the world-shaking devastation wrought by the tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, earthquakes in India and Pakistan.
How quickly we forget God’s great deliverances in our lives. How easily we take for granted the miracles he performed in our past. Yet the Bible tells us over and over, “Remember your deliverances.”
We’re so like the disciples. They didn’t understand Christ’s miracles when he supernaturally fed thousands with just a few loaves and fishes. Jesus performed this miracle twice, feeding 5,000 people one time and a crowd of 4,000 the next. Yet, just a few days later, the disciples had dropped these events from memory.
