Have you ever felt backed into a corner, with the odds stacked against you? In situations like that, Christians too often refuse to acknowledge an important truth. That is, they fail to recognize that God may actually be orchestrating their challenging circumstances.
You may think, No way. God protects me from such things. The world and Satan are doing this to me. Perhaps. Yet maybe, just maybe, God is trying to tell you something—and He first needs to get your attention.
Time and again in Scripture, we see that the Lord uses difficulties to build our faith. It’s easy to trust Him when things go our way. However, God often removes comforts and false securities from our lives to remind us that He is the true source of our strength.
Consider today’s passage, in which Gideon was ready to lead a powerful militia of 32,000 men into battle against the enemy. However, the Lord stepped into the situation two different times, whittling the Israelite army down to less than one percent of its original size. We may have replied, “What? It’s impossible to defeat enemy forces with just 300 men!” That’s probably true; 300 men alone couldn’t do it. But the Lord could.
When the odds are not in your favor, don’t think that God has abandoned you. Your money, your success, and even people you thought were friends may disappear, but those wouldn’t win the battle anyway. Stand your ground and stay focused on the Lord. With everything else stripped away, you’ll be amazed at what your heavenly Father will achieve.
A stunning sunset, a rainbow, the first blooms of spring, and many other displays of nature will elicit strong reactions. In a similar way, God’s holiness is so magnificent that it causes people to respond in various ways.
Isaiah had a vision of the Lord’s moral purity and holiness. When he saw God seated on a throne in all His glorious splendor, the prophet cried out, “Woe is me, for I am ruined!” (Isa. 6:5). A glimpse of divine perfection caused Isaiah to recognize the depths of his own sinful condition and to acknowledge the holiness of God. Peter had a similar reaction when he was in the presence of the Savior. After the Lord miraculously filled the fishing nets to overflowing, the disciple “fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, ‘Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!’” (Luke 5:8). However, the religious leaders of the day had a different attitude. The more they heard Jesus’ preaching and saw His work, the angrier they became.
We are Christ’s ambassadors to a hurting world, and we must always act with love toward others. But sometimes those who are not abiding in Christ will experience what I call “holy heat.” People who have rejected Jesus may act as if we are trying to force them to believe in Him. And Christians living in rebellion toward God may become uncomfortable around those who abide in Jesus; they may even ignore the advice of believers who have loved and advised them for years.
God wants us to live out our faith in love, regardless of others’ reactions. Has your faith permeated the many areas of your life?
God is without sin. There’s no evil in His thoughts, motives, or actions. Because of His holy character, He is against all iniquity. He truly loves the sinner, but He despises sin.
The heavenly Father’s holiness is revealed not only in His moral purity, but also in His separateness from all evil. Because of His righteous character, He cannot tolerate or ignore sin. His justice requires that wrongdoing be paid for, and the only acceptable payment is death (Rom. 6:23).
Only faith in Jesus Christ bridges the gap between holy God and sinful man. The Son of God, having lived a perfect life, died to pay our sin debt in full and provide a way for each of us to have a relationship with righteous God. The heavenly Father, having accepted Jesus’ payment for sin, invites all people to become His children.
First, we must acknowledge we cannot pay for our own sins. Then we must confess our wrongdoing and ask Him to pardon us, based on the fact that Christ fully paid the penalty for our sins after suffering God’s wrath, condemnation, and judgment in our place. God justifies us the moment we receive Jesus as our personal Savior—the Judge of all humanity declares we are no longer guilty. He accepts the transfer of our guilt to His Son, who stood as our substitute.
Pardoned of all our sin. Clothed in Jesus’ righteousness. Made a child of holy God. These are the free gifts the Father gives us once we have accepted Jesus as our Savior through faith in Him. When we give Him our lives, He gives us His. Can you think of a better trade off?
When most people hear the word “church,” the first thing they think of is a certain type of building. But let’s see what Christ said about the church so we can more fully understand its biblical meaning.
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus proclaimed, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (KJV). He obviously had in mind something much greater than a mere architectural structure. In fact, He was referring to the whole body of Christ, which is comprised of all believers worldwide—everyone who has trusted Jesus as personal Savior and is a child of the heavenly Father. The church began on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came and anointed a group of Jesus’ followers (Acts 2). It will continue until an event referred to as the rapture of the church, when every believer in Christ will be caught up to meet Him in the sky (1 Thess. 4:17).
The church is not merely a place for social action or fellowship, though these are important aspects of its ministry. Rather, the church is the entire body of Christ, both corporately and individually filled and enabled by the Holy Spirit to carry out the task designated by Jesus Himself. In other words, the purpose of the church is to bring people to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and to make disciples, instructing them and growing them up in the things of God (Matt. 28:19-20).
Our responsibility is to obey. Have you asked yourself what role you should be playing in the ministry of the church?
How many true friends do you have? At first, a lot of names may come to mind, but the longer you consider the question, the more likely it is that the number will start to dwindle. The reality is, we do not have many genuine friends—the ones who will remain loyal no matter what circumstances arise.
This dependable, intimate closeness is what the Lord wants for us, but it’s a rare treasure. The biblical account of David and Jonathan can help us learn how to foster such a relationship (1 Sam. 18-20). Their story demonstrates that genuine friendships are built upon a foundation of mutual respect, love, and authentic commitment. Today, let’s explore the first component.
For true companionship, each party must appreciate the other’s godly qualities. This starts with an attitude of valuing all people. After all, if Jesus chose to die in their place even before they acknowledged Him as Savior, they must certainly have great worth. But at the same time, the high regard that David and Jonathan had toward one another was greater than mere respect; it revealed admiration for qualities that Scripture commends. These included loyalty to the nation of Israel, courage in battle, and strong faith in God.
Consider the question asked earlier about the people you deem “true friends.” Do these individuals exhibit godly attributes that you respect? And do they, in turn, have admiration for the biblical characteristics they see in you? This mutual, scriptural respect is a necessary foundation for genuine and lasting friendship.
