Category: Grace

Spiritual Vision

Posted on by Dorci

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  Acts 1:8

“One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”  John 9:25

Up until the very moment I was saved, I had always believed two things: that God and satan were equal powers at opposite ends of the spectrum of good and evil, and that abortion was acceptable.

spiritual visionBut the second I believed in Christ and was filled with the Holy Spirit, my spiritual eyes were opened and I knew those things I had believed were lies.

In Christ, through the Holy Spirit, we have been given a second set of eyes, if you will, that gives us the vision to see, to walk, to know, to trust, in the Spirit. That spiritual vision allows us to see the truth that is Christ, and to walk this journey in the light of God.

We have a choice every day to use only the eyes in our head by feeding our flesh, or to use the spiritual eyes of our hearts by feeding our spirit.

While on the island of Patmos, John wrote that he was in the Spirit as he was given a revelation of Jesus Christ, a vision of Him in all His glory in the heavenly realm.  He saw Him dressed in holy robes with a golden sash, eyes blazing like fire, feet like bronze glowing in a furnace, voice like the sound of rushing waters, a face like the sun shining in all its brilliance.  He was the One Who had the authority to hold the angels and the churches in his hand, and also the keys of death and Hades. 

When John wept because no one was found worthy to break the seals and open the scroll that would unleash the timely events of the future of all things, an elder comforted him with this, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”  Revelation 5:5

When we, too, are walking in the Spirit – praying, worshipping, taking in the Word of God, obeying, forgiving, fellowshipping, loving – our spiritual vision will become clearer, and our foundations stronger.  We will see Christ for who He is, high and exalted, with authority over all things.  We will believe and experience the depth of His power and love in our lives, along with His wisdom and discernment, and no puny trial will take us down.

It’s easy, though, with all that goes on in our busy lives to forget to feed the spiritual life, and then our dim, human eyesight prevails again, the flesh follows it, and we revert back to seeing and living and believing like the world.

We see (and judge) others by how they look outwardly instead of by the beauty of their souls.  We see them through their worldly wealth or poverty instead of by the riches of their inherent value as one made in the image of God.  We see them through their sins instead of as people whom Christ died for and who are in need of prayer and a Savior.

John told us that “…anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.” 1 John 2:11

We can choose, instead, to see with our spiritual eyes – the vision we’ve been given through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Just as we’ll see and know Christ more clearly, we’ll see others through His eyes, the spiritual lens of His grace and mercy and forgiveness.

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24

Holy Spirit, please interrupt our busyness and remind us to seek you in all we do. Remind us to stay in prayer about all things at all times; remind us to be thankful; remind us to feed on the bread of your Word; remind us to fellowship with other believers, that we might encourage and be encouraged.  Help us to see with the unique vision You give us, to love You, Your people, and even those who consider us their enemies.  Help us to walk in You, that we might grow in faith and grace, and not stumble when the enemy comes.Help us to be disciplined to allow Your light to shine through us in this ever-darkening world.  Help us to discern Your still, small voice, that we might follow You on our constantly winding journeys, that we might one day hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

In Jesus’ Precious Name, Amen.

No Greater Freedom

Posted on by Dorci

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
John 8:36

Daniel knew it in the lions’ den, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew it in the fire, David knew it in the wilderness, Paul knew it in chains, John knew it on the island of Patmos, Pastor Saeed Abedini knows it in prison, and countless others know it under communist rule, tyrannical regimes, intense persecution… No matter what circumstances we face directly around us or in the world, no one can chain our spirits once Christ has set us free.

And there is no greater freedom than that.

Happy freedom day, no matter where you are!

Love: Food, Drink…and Burning Coals?

Posted on by Dorci

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary:

‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. (Proverbs 25:21-22)’

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Romans 12:9-21

The term “to heap burning coals on someone’s head,” is not, as it might seem at first glance, an act of vengeance. It’s actually an act of kindness. People needed to keep their home’s fire burning during the night to cook food in the morning. If it died out, they would go to a neighbor and ask for live coals to relight their fire. The neighbor would have to get out of bed and give some of their own fire’s coals. The coals would be heaped into a container on the person’s head to carry home.

This is love. We are to go our of our way to bless our enemies even when it’s an inconvenience, even if we don’t feel like it, and even when it causes us a degree of suffering. In this way we introduce our enemies to the love of Christ, and bring the kingdom of heaven to their door. It is, after all, God’s loving kindness that brings us all to repentance.

Grace and Peace,

Gifts > Talents

Posted on by Dorci

“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.

If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” Romans 12:4-8

If you knew me very well you might think it funny that I have a strong desire to encourage people.  I don’t feel encouraged a lot of the time.  I feel a lot of other things like exhausted, frustrated, distressed and sometimes depressed.

But through all that haze of human struggle God has given me a gift of encouragement. That, to me, is amazing.

God delights to show Himself strong where we are weak.

And because it’s very obviously not my nature, but God’s, He gets all the glory.

Once the Holy Spirit placed that gift in my heart, it was up to me to yield myself to Him and allow Him to shine that light of encouragement through me.  And yet sometimes all I have to do is walk through a check-out line.

I was doing just that once years ago when I was a fairly new believer.  The store was crazy busy, all the lines were long, and I stood in one of them holding my new pair of shoes.

I finally…finally…finally reached the front of the line, and the poor cashier looked frazzled.  Her head was down, finishing up from the last customer. As she looked up and into my eyes, she stopped, smiled, chuckled a bit and said, “I felt better when I saw your face.”

Now, it was not me and it certainly was not my face, per se.  There were plenty of other perfectly nice faces that had gone through that line, and there was nothing about mine in particular that would comfort this overworked girl, except that it was the face of someone who was in love with Jesus and had been given the gift of encouragement.

It was the Holy Spirit, graciously and mercifully using that gift to shine His light of comfort from one of His children to, quite possibly, another.

That’s what spiritual gifts are for: the building up of the Body.

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He distributes them to each one, just as He determines.” 1 Corinthians 12:7-11

So, lest any of us think we have no spiritual gifts, God’s Word tells us that if we are part of the body of Christ – if He is our Lord – then the Spirit has given each of us at least one gift for the benefit of the body. It’s not to keep for ourselves and it’s not to hide, but to share.

The Church is weakened when all its members are not fully using their God-given gifts for the benefit of one another.

 

One issue is that many times talents and gifts are misunderstood, and human talents are being used rather than spiritual gifts. Gifts of the Spirit are being minimized in favor of works of the flesh; pride is trumping humility and submissiveness to the Spirit of God.  And when that happens, the church becomes nothing more than a sing-a-long, but not true praise; nothing more than an inspirational teaching, though not Spirit-inspired; nothing more than a religious duty, but not actual worship. And we all suffer for it.

Human talents rely on our own personal knowledge, practice, understanding, strength and power.

Spiritual gifts are given and used strictly by the power of the Holy Spirit and our yieldedness to Him.  

God can give gifts to complement the talents He’s given us, but His gifts still work solely in the power of the Spirit.  

Gifts are given to us, not because of who we are, but in spite of it.

The Church needs our gifts.  We are each a brick in the Church of God with Christ as its Cornerstone.  Remove just one and though the foundation stands, the building falters.

If you don’t know what your gift or gifts are, I encourage you to pray and ask the Lord to show you. There are some tools that, with prayer, can help you find your spiritual gifts.  This is one: http://www.spiritualgiftstest.com/

And once you find your gift(s), ask the Lord to show you how He would have you use it for the building up of the body.  Beside our personal relationship with Christ, being used by the Lord and fulfilling His plan for us is perhaps the most rewarding blessing on this earth.

And may I add – let’s encourage each other in our gifts and allow ourselves to be built up by one another. We need each other right now, and we need the gifts God’s given to all of us.  There may be darker days coming for believers than we’ve seen in recent headlines and we need every spiritual gift to prepare and empower us and spur us on to victory.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”  1 Thessalonians 5:11

Grace and Peace,

The God of All Restoration

Posted on by Dorci

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10-11

I’ve been reading through 1 Peter again, but this time more through the eyes of Peter.  Precious Peter.

The man who was given three chances to pray along with Jesus on the night He was betrayed, instead fell asleep and three times fell into temptation.

He had looked into Jesus’ eyes and said he would be the lone faithful holdout among everyone else on earth…and then denied Him the very next day.

He had gone so far as to tell Jesus would rather die with Him than deny Him…then denied Him with an oath.

He had impulsively cut an ear off one of the high priest’s servants when they came to arrest Jesus, and then fell so fast and so hard that that very day he called down curses and emphatically swore on oath that he…did…not…know…the…Man.

And then a rooster crowed, and Jesus stopped everything and looked into his eyes. 

Peter fled, found a solitary place and wept bitterly.

It must have seemed like an eternity from that moment until the moment after Jesus had risen from the dead and met them on the beach with fish frying over a fire and Jesus once again looked him in the eye,  asking him not once, but three times, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” John 21:15-17

 

And three times Peter answered yes.

And in that moment Jesus restored him with his new assignment, saying “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:17) And then the command “Follow Me.” (John 21:19)

And Peter became a fisher of men.

The man who had been so filled with pride before became the man who wrote “be self-controlled.” (1 Peter 1:13)

The man who had let fear rule in his heart is the same man who would later write “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 13:14-17)

Peter knew true suffering.  Those days he spent with guilt and shame, far from his friend, far from God, far from forgiveness, were agonizing. He probably spent much of those days with his head hanging down looking at the ground, or into the sea, as he resigned himself to his old life of fishing for fish.  Jesus was gone; his life with Him was over. Simon Peter discovered there is no greater suffering than to be separated from God.

Maybe circumstances in your life have changed and you’re feeling like a failure.  Maybe they’ve left you on the sidelines. Maybe you think God’s done with you.

Let me tell you something: He isn’t.  He wasn’t done with Peter and He’s not done with you.

He’s using circumstances to mature you, to perfect you, to make you wholly dependent on Him. And when the time is right, with His resurrection power, He will restore you. 

You are His domain, His glory.  He started the work and He will complete it. Hold onto to the hope that Peter discovered was not a vain hope.

Be careful not to fill that heartache with something less than God’s perfect will, something of this earth.  Don’t go back to fishing. Keep waiting and filling your heart with truth, hope and His promises. 

Ultimate restoration will come for all of us who trust in Him when we see our Savior face to face.  As long as we’re on this side of heaven and away from the Lord we will feel a longing to be with Him, to be restored body and soul.  In the meantime, keep following Christ on the narrow road.

He’s coming back soon!

Grace and peace,

 

The Garden of Crushing

Posted on by Dorci

“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’  He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with Him, and He began to be sorrowful and troubled.  Then He said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me’” Matthew 26:36-38

Jesus and the apostles walked around the massive, ancient olive trees, past the cemeteries, to the foot of the mountain and into the garden of Gethsemane.  The word Gethsamane means oil press.

Olives are not just squeezed to make oil, they must be crushed. The better the olive, the better and purer the oil.

Christ walked deep into the garden and allowed the Father to begin to crush Him.

The physician Luke even noted in 22:44 “And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”

He had matured, that is, He had all but finished His work, like the olives that are ready for crushing.  In a garden is where sin entered the world, and there in the garden of Gethsamane would now be the beginning of victory over it.

And there Christ personified the olive oil that was so precious and significant.

In the way it was used as an offering, He would be the sacrifice, once for all.

In the way it was used as currency, He would be the payment for all sins.

In the way it was used to anoint for service, He would anoint His Church.

In the way it was used as fuel for lamps to give light, His Spirit would fill us and make us a light for all the world to see and glorify Him.

In the way it was used to beautify wives, Christ would beautify and prepare His Bride.

In the way the olive branch is a symbol of peace and victory, through Him and His sacrifice there would be peace between God and man, and victory over all sin.

And if there was a shred of doubt left in anyone’s mind about whether or not this was all the Father’s doing —

“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to Him, went out and asked them, ‘Who is it you want?’

‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied.

‘I am He,’ Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, ‘I am He,’ they drew back and fell to the ground.” John 18:3-6

The power of God accomplishes what it will, and when God wants to bring people to their knees, they fall to their knees.  These men who came under their own authority found they had none at all.  All authority rested with God’s Son.

While Jesus’s prayers empowered Him, the apostles’ lack of prayer weakened them, again causing Peter and the others to lean on their own devices instead of Christ.  Peter lobbed off the ear of the servant Malchus, and they would all eventually desert their Friend.

After Jesus healed the servant’s ear, He allowed them to bind him and take Him away.

Tomorrow: The Cross.

Is He god or God?

Posted on by Dorci

He had performed miracles, taught in the Synagogues, cast out demons, healed the sick, raised the dead, forgave sin. And if that weren’t enough…

He claimed to be King.

“Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”  Matthew 21:5

He claimed to be the fulfillment of prophecy.

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. Matthew 5:17

He claimed to be the long-awaited Messiah.

“The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’” John 4:25-26

He claimed to be the Son of God.

“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.’” Matthew 16:15-17

He claimed to be the Son of Man.

For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Matthew 12:8

He claimed to be the only way to heaven.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  John 14:6

He claimed to be the King of the Jews.

“Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus said to him, ‘It is as you say.’” Matthew 27:11

Jesus was all that and so much more.  And the Israelites were thrilled, for a while. But they had expectations of their Messiah that were simply not true.

They expected Him to set up an earthly kingdom, to end their suffering, to take over rule and provide for them, to sit on a throne and be their king.

And it’s in those wrong expectations where things went awry.

Things can go awry for us, too, when we conjure up in our minds a god who simply does not exist.  When life happens and what we expect this god of our imaginations – the god we’ve set inside our parameters, in our little box – to be and to do for us does not happen.  When we want God to conform to our image of Him, and we set up this false god as an idol and worship him, and then tragedy strikes, prayers aren’t answered, what we hear is silence, we can begin to shout “crucify Him!”

Oh, we may not use those words.  We may just stop praying, or reading the Bible, or going to church. We may stop trusting, or witnessing, or believing.  We may just stop walking with Him.

Throughout the week we’ll see that the disciples did that very thing.  Instead of listening and learning and believing the truth, even in the face of overwhelming fear, instead of allowing their expectations of a limitless, righteous, holy God Who can never put in a box to be changed, instead of throwing away their pride, they turned back.  They scattered.  They hid themselves in the darkness of the world.

But, there is redemption…

Do You Believe?

Posted on by Dorci

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10

This Friday, March 20, the movie Do You Believe? will open in theatres. It journeys alongside the lives of a dozen people, all struggling and looking for something, but they don’t know what.

Sounds like a lot of people in the world right now. And of course, there is only one answer to all of life’s questions, to its pain, its confusion, its heartache, to the web of our own sin, and that is Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life. “No one comes to the Father except through me” Jesus declared. No one.

But the good news is that anyone, no matter what a person’s religious background, age, color, socioeconomic background or anything else, and no matter what sins a person has done, anyone who believes on the name of Jesus Christ and declares Him as Lord will be forgiven and saved from the eternal punishment of those sins.

Christ says “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Revelation 3:20

Not only will a place be made in heaven for those who believe in God’s Son, but Christ promises to live with us right here, right now, to journey with us and give us hope and peace in the midst of our struggles.

We all know people who are struggling and looking for something but they don’t know what that something is. But we who know Christ do, and we may be the only one who can stand in the gap for them, who can be the bridge between darkness and Light, who can introduce them to the One who is the answer to the questions they’re asking.

Ask the Lord who that person or persons are who He would have you invite not just to see a movie, but to be shown the Way.  Pray ahead of time that the Lord would soften hearts.  Fast and ask the Spirit to break the chains.  And then be bold and ask.

Heck, throw in a big tub of buttered popcorn.

Maybe you are the person who is struggling and looking for answers. Maybe you’ve gone to church all your life, maybe you haven’t stepped foot in one in a long time, maybe never at all.

Please know this: God loves you. His Son, Jesus Christ, loves you, and He desperately wants a relationship with you, so much that He died on the cross for your sins. His grace and mercy are deep and wide enough to reach you no matter how far away you think you are.  He is only one prayer away.

If you can, go see the movie this weekend. And whether you go for yourself or you take someone, come back here and tell me how God spoke to you through it.

Life is short, and none of us knows how much time we have left.  All those who will pass away today didn’t know it yesterday.  We must seize the day.

In His great grace,

Thankful Thursday – Forgiven

Posted on by Dorci

“When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.’

Jesus answered him, ‘Simon, I have something to tell you.’

‘Tell me, teacher,’ he said.

‘Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?’

Simon replied, ‘I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.’

‘You have judged correctly,’ Jesus said.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.’

Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.'” Luke 7:36-48

Nothing gets by Jesus, right? The Pharisee thought he was talking to himself, but Jesus knew what was in his heart: judgement. Legalism never leaves room for love.

He knew what was in the woman’s heart, too: repentance. She came face to face with the Son of God. His glory and grace, in contrast to her sins, brought her to her knees in repentance and humility so much that it spilled out into her actions without a care what people thought. She worshipped Him with all she had.

I’ve been forgiven for much, too. I’ve been called a fanatic for my faith, and by someone who called himself a Christian. But I don’t care. Christ was fanatical about His love for me as He allowed Himself to be arrested, “tried”, and crucified, all for my sins. My only argument with my critic is that I’m not fanatical enough. Christ gave me His life. Is my all too much to give in return?  Never.

In His Grace,

Be Strong and Courageous

Posted on by Dorci

Moses had just died and was buried, and the time for grieving was over.  The Lord now called Joshua to take his place. The man who’d been Moses’s aide, his servant, the #2 guy, the one who was used to taking orders, would now lead God’s chosen people into the Promised Land.

God began to prepare Joshua for the long and grueling road ahead, and His instruction was carefully studded with these words:

“Be strong and courageous…” Josh 1:6

“Be strong and very courageous…”  Josh 1:7

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Josh 1:9

God didn’t say it just once and move on.  He repeated it, with increasing emphasis, three times.  He wanted Joshua to remember.

The Lord was with Joshua throughout their journey, giving him instruction, instruction that sometimes made no sense at all.  But Joshua had learned to take instruction, to be a humble servant, and humility always makes the best leaders.

It would not be the last time the Lord would remind Joshua to not be afraid.

Sometimes we can read these ancient stories and forget that these were real people.  Joshua was just a man, just a human being with flesh and blood like all of us.  And there were times he was inclined to be afraid, and why the Lord had to periodically remind him not to be.

It’s been eleven years since the Lord spoke to me the words “Be strong and courageous” four times in the span of one month.  The very next month I would begin a journey of health issues, mysterious symptoms and pain, and the Lord has had to remind me many times not to be afraid, that He was with me.

Throughout this journey, He’s blessed me at just the right times – times when I didn’t think I could take one more step – with a message, a teaching, a friend, to remind me to be strong and courageous.

There have been times on this road that I’ve looked back with regret that I wasn’t as strong and courageous as I felt the Lord had called me to be.  But I see that it wasn’t just a call at the beginning of the journey, it’s been what the journey is about.  It’s been about making me strong and courageous, it’s been about strengthening my spiritual muscles, as any trial worth its weight is wont to do.

And without those reminders, those messages, those Spirit-filled whispers of scripture, those perfectly timed words from friends, I would have sunk into quicksand and never come out.

After the Lord finished giving instruction to Joshua, Joshua then turned and gave instruction to God’s people.

“Then they answered Joshua, ‘Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!” Joshua 1:16-18

These are the kinds of friends to have – and to be – especially on the front lines of serving God where the enemy is sometimes the closest.

We need friends to remind us to take courage, to look up, to remind us of our purpose and the reason why God saved us – for our eternity, yes, but also to be a light in this dark world.  We need friends to help us put our hand back on the plow and remind us that “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Cor. 4:17-18

We need friends to remind us that that which is unseen, the Lord Almighty, is the One who strengthens us, and He is with us.  We are not alone.  The clearer our vision settles on God, the stronger and more courageous we’ll be.

There are friends around each one of us who are going through something hard.  Let’s look up from our own struggles every once in a while and be that encouragement.

They may not tell you how much they’re struggling, but if you’re careful to look you’ll see it in their eyes.  If you listen, you’ll hear it in their voice.  And most importantly, if you listen to the Lord, He’ll show you who needs prayer, a kind word, a hug, a cup of coffee or lunch, a friend.

You just may be the one who keeps someone from slipping into the sinking sand.