Month: September 2018

Check the connections!

George Whittenby George Whitten

James 4:7-10 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Over the past month, it seems that we’ve been dealing with different internet issues … and hopefully, these issues will be resolved sooner rather than later. Being that the bulk of our ministry is based upon the internet, it can be problematic at times, especially when you’re suddenly disconnected from the web!

And speaking of being disconnected, one missionary tells of his experience about being assigned a car that would not start without a push. After pondering this problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.

When a new missionary came to take over his station, he proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started. As he was talking, the young missionary picked up the hood only to find that the only trouble was a loose cable. He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and the engine roared to life.

For two years, needless trouble had become routine — but the power was there all along — and the only thing that was needed was a better connection!

So it is for us as believers, we can walk through this life stumbling and struggling … having a loose connection with God — or we can determine to be steadfastly connected to Him — and His unlimited power.

As James clearly says, “Draw near to me, and I will draw near to you,” so we have the choice to be as close or as distant as we want to the King of Kings! God’s decision to be intimate with us was already made when He displayed His love for us through the sacrifice of His Son! Now it’s in our hands … what kind of relationship do we want?

So let’s resolve to spend some time under the hood, double checking those connections, and making whatever adjustments necessary to get better connected to God — and His omnipotent power. Amazingly, if you go through the self-inspection process — you’ll begin going through personal revival — and true revival begins one person at a time — perhaps it’ll be you this weekend!

Your family in the Lord with much agape love

by George Whitten

 

The Good Stubbornness

Jonathan Cahnby Jonathan Cahn

 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58

In the Book of Ruth, Naomi tries to convince her Gentile daughters-in-law Orpah and Ruth not to follow her as she returns to Israel. Orpah finally agrees, but Ruth refuses to go. When Naomi realizes that Ruth is steadfast, she lets Ruth come along. ‘Ahmetz’ is the Hebrew word for ‘steadfast.’ ‘Ahmetz’ can also mean stubborn, obstinate, courageous, fortified and hardened.

We know it’s not good to be stubborn in sin and obstinate against God, but it’s very good to be stubborn in love and obstinate for Him. It’s not enough to follow God; you must be ahmetz in your following. Like Ruth, be characterized in your walk by holy ahmetz. Be stubborn in your commitment, and fortified in your hope. Because if you’re not stubborn about what’s good, the enemy will discourage you from entering the blessing God has for you. Ruth obstinately refused to be discouraged. When the enemy sees that you are ahmetz, he too will give up. Be steadfast in faith, unwavering in hope, and stubborn in love. Be an ahmetz believer, and nothing on earth will keep you from the blessings God has in store.

Today’s Mission – Today, obstinately refuse to allow the enemy to discourage you. Be stubborn in your commitment.

by Jonathan Cahn