{ Day 171 }

Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. —Acts 14:23

Jesus knew that His disciples' hearts had become accustomed to His physical presence as He gazed into their eyes and communicated His affection, beauty, and stunning wisdom to them every day. He knew that once He had died and ascended, fasting would help them recover some of the wonderful reality that they had experienced with Him in His physical presence with them. Christ knew that once He was gone, the disciples' desire, longing, and lovesickness for Him would cause them to mourn to be close to Him as in the days that He walked with them. That hunger to recover that same sense of closeness to Him would prove to be a key to their intimacy, power, anointing, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Only Jesus could have thought of the unique paradigm to respond to spiritual lovesickness. Jesus combined the two seemingly divergent ideas into one.

{ PRAYER STARTER }

Jesus, I cannot imagine the emptiness Your disciples felt when You left them to return to heaven. But that emptiness drew them into a new experience of fellowship with Your precious Holy Spirit. Let that experience be mine, Lord, and reveal Yourself through Your Spirit to my longing heart.

No other religion in the world has ever linked
fasting to lovesickness.

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Slippery Faith

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith-.-.-.-and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. —Romans 4:20-21

The word translated "stagger" from the Greek means to "doubt or hesitate." Abraham did not slide back and forth between faith and fear—two mutually exclusive expectations. You cannot have faith and fear in the same heart. One drives out the other. You do not have to rebuke fear or overcome fear. Have faith in God and fear not.

Abraham was fully persuaded. Some Christians are not fully persuaded about anything—that their spouse is the right one, that their church is the right one, or their choice for lunch is the right one.

Stop wading in the shallow flatlands of weak spiritual experience and launch out into the deep. Be fully persuaded that the God you serve is able to perform what He has promised!

Lord, I am persuaded that You are able to save
my lost loved ones. Lord, I am persuaded
that Your plans for me are good and
not evil. Lord, I am persuaded that
You will protect me from all harm.
Amen.

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Why Do I Have Enemies?

God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart. —2 Chronicles 32:31

When Jesus said, "Love your enemies," He assumed that we would have one or more, and most people do. Sadly, many, if not most of them, will be from within the community of faith. Certainly Jesus assumed this, and nothing has really changed. Much persecution comes from those who claim to believe in God as much as you do. And yet the issues between you may not be theological. You enemy may simply not like you!

The origin of such enmity may be explained almost entirely in terms of the flesh. For example, your enemy may just not be able to cope with your being the way you are or with your being on a particular side of a certain question or issue. It is usually no fault of your own.

They could be angry with God for blessing you or for putting you where you are. You have that prestigious job. It pays well. You are admired by your boss and the people in your office. God has blessed you with certain talents and gifts. There will always be someone who will be jealous and seek to bring you down. If you have been blessed with a good reputation, do not be surprised if someone resents it. Unfortunately, your enemy doesn't know that he or she is probably actually angry with God.

The ultimate reason you and I have an enemy is that it fits God's purpose. Why? It is what we need. It helps to humble us lest we take ourselves too seriously. An enemy shows us what we are like.

So don't be angry with your enemy! It is God who is at work on your heart!

Excerpted from Total Forgiveness (Charisma House, 2002).

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Passing the Torch

2 Timothy 2:1-21 It was 1996, and Atlanta was hosting the summer Olympics. Runners carried the Olympic torch from the West Coast to Atlanta. Different runners were chosen for the major cities to run several miles with the torch, and then it was passed to the next runner. Our neighborhood was excited because the runners were going to pass the torch just a couple of blocks from our neighborhood. We all turned out en masse to see this meaningful event. It was thrilling to see one runner hand the torch to another.

Paul talks in this passage about passing the torch of the gospel to faithful men. He says, "And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (v. 2).

One of the joys we have as parents is now seeing our three sons serving the Lord and teaching others the truths of God's Word. John also had this joy and writes, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth" (3 John 4).

As we pass the torch of the truth of God's Word on to our spiritual and physical children, we must also pray they will walk in those truths. The impartation of truth is key in kingdom living, but walking in those truths is what pleases God most. We must walk our talk, not just talk the walk.

The moment the Olympic torch was passed from one runner to the next, the next runner began instantly to run with the torch. My prayer is today that whatever I have been able to teach others will inspire them not only to retain such truths, but to walk in these truths and live a life that glorifies our heavenly Father.

Lord, strengthen everyone I have shared Your truths with and help them to apply these truths and walk in these truths. Help them to run the race of life well and always glorify You in both word and deed.

READ: Jeremiah 42:1-44:23; 2 Timothy 2:1-21; Psalm 92:1-93:5; Proverbs 26:3-5

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The Cleansing Process

There is a huge difference between justification and sanctification. Justification is salvation from eternal death, whereas sanctification is the process of holiness.

We were justified the moment we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. At that moment, our old self died and we became a brand-new created being, inwardly possessing the nature of Jesus. We were immediately justified in the eyes of God and all unrighteousness was eradicated from our spirit. We had nothing to do with this. We didn't earn it, nor did our "goodness" deserve it. It was freely given by God's grace.

However, the moment we were born again, the work of sanctification (holiness) began. This was when what was done on the inside of us, in our spirit, started working its way to the outside, into our behavior. Paul says it like this: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12, NKJV). What we must not forget is that sanctification (holiness) is also a gift of God's grace. But this time we have a part in the process and need to work in conjunction with it.

Beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1, NKJV)

God's gift of grace supplies us with the power to cleanse ourselves! We cleanse ourselves from all filthiness inwardly and outwardly, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. So even though grace is a free gift, we have to cooperate with its empowerment to produce the fruit of holiness in our lives. Grace not only justified us but also now empowers us to serve God acceptably with holy fear.

Let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. (Hebrews 12:28, NKJV)

Marked by boldness and passion, John Bevere delivers uncompromising truth through his award-winning curriculum and best-selling books now available in over sixty languages. His newest book is Extraordinary: The Life You're Meant to Live. More information is available at www.ExtraordinaryOnline.org.

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