​Recently I met with someone facing a critical life decision. After I gave counsel to this person, they shrugged their shoulders and commented “I guess I will just take my chances and hope things work out all right.”
 

• Life is not about chance.

 

• Destiny is not determined by the toss of a coin or the roll of the dice. Life’s direction and destination is determined by choice.

 
It is an inescapable fact: DECISIONS DETERMINE DESTINY.
 
Joshua fully understood this timeless truth. At the end of his earthly life, Joshua challenged God’s people to make a choice.
 
“Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the lord.”  Joshua 24:15
 
The choice was simple: Israel could choose to serve the Lord or not. Joshua had already made his decision: he and his family would serve the Lord. But what would Israel do? Their choice would have significant consequences.
 

• From firsthand experience with God’s people Joshua knew that decisions determine destiny.

 
Joshua traveled with Israel from the exodus from Egypt to the crossing of the Jordan into the promised land of Canaan. A journey that should have taken a mere fourteen days ended up lasting forty years! How could that have ever happened? I guess they did not have MapQuest and Global Positioning Satellites at their disposal.
 

• A pivotal decision was the difference between two weeks and four decades.  

 
That destiny determining decision was made at the critical crossroads called Kadesh-Barnea. You can study the scenario in Numbers 13 and 14. In summary, Moses instructed twelve tribal leaders to spy out the land and bring back its fruit. God’s plan was for them to go in and take the land God had already given to them by promise. They were told to be courageous.
 
Returning from their covert mission, they showed Moses the fantastic fruit. There were some giants and fortified cities too. But the land belonged to Israel. God assured His people of success if they would trust Him and obey his Word.
 

• To go or not to go was the decision. To live or die was the destiny.

 
 Ten negative spies gave a depressing report. Paralyzed by fear, they personally chose not to go and lobbied the people to say no to God’s go. Two positive spies gave a glowing minority report. Joshua and Caleb were ready to rock and roll. The fruit was ripe for picking and the giants were set up by God for a licking! Fearless and full of faith, they were eager to inherit what God had promised.
 

• Decision time. The bad report was accepted. Good report rejected. No go.

 
The decision to accept the bad report of the majority resulted in God’s judgment. Doubting lead to death in the desert. No milk and honey nut cheerios for the fearful, faithless crowd. The doubters spun their wheels in the wilderness until one after another dropped dead in the burning desert sand.
 
Not only did the doubters die, but their innocent children had to experience their parents’ painful expiration. In addition to this they wasted forty years of their lives in the wilderness because of the faithlessness and foolishness of their fathers.
 

• Our decisions not only affect our destiny, but the destinies of everyone connected to us.

 

• PRINCIPLE: THE MAJORITY CAN BE WRONG!

 
But God remembered Joshua and Caleb. They were spared judgment because they made a different decision. All of God’s people under the age of twenty were also shown mercy and spared. Their destiny would be given another chance when they decided to follow Joshua and Caleb across the river forty years later. 
 
Joshua’s decisions determined his destiny. He physically entered the Promised Land. Jericho, which he conquered, is mentioned in the hall of fame of faith in Hebrews 11. And of course, upon his death, he received his ultimate destiny of eternal fellowship in heaven with the Lord God whom he had served on earth.     
 

• It is an inescapable fact of life: DECISIONS DETERMINE DESTINY.

 
Directions For Making Destiny Decisions
 
1. Search the scripture. Does the decision you want to make line up with the Word of God? Is there biblical backing for the course you wish to take? What scriptural examples are similar to your situation and shed light on the decision you should make?
 
·      Be certain that you have clear direction from God’s Word that this decision is His will for you.
 
2. Seek the Lord. Talk to God about your decision. Spend time alone with Him in prayer. Lay your decision before the Lord. Ask Him what you should do. Make sure you take time to listen for His voice. He will direct you if you seek His direction with all your heart.
 
·      Know in your heart that you have heard the spirit of God say to you, “this is the way, walk in it….. (Isaiah 30:21).
 
           
3. Share with a trusted friend. Bounce your decision off a Christian friend. Inform them of your plans. Then, sit back and receive their honest input. See if they see wisdom in your proposed decision. Remember, the power of agreement is powerful.
 
·      Make your decision with the backing of wise, mature believers in Christ.  
 
4. Step out by faith and walk out your decision. When you have made your choice, carry it out with confidence. Charge forward by faith to fulfill your destiny that this decision determines. You can go forward and fulfill God’s destiny for your life!
 
·      Be bold about the decision you make and the direction you take!
 
WARNING TO THE WISE: Because DECISIONS DETERMINE DESTINY, do not take any major decision lightly. Never make destiny determining decisions when tired, under pressure, burned out, angry, discouraged or depressed. Never delegate your destiny decisions to someone else. Always give serious, thoughtful, prayerful attention to decisions that determine your future.
 
Ø  Are you at a major decision crossroads at this time in your life? Trust the Lord to direct your steps every step of the way. It is not possible for your Heavenly Father to misguide or misdirect you!
 
·      Go ahead with confident faith and make a destiny decision this week.
 
“Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it.”                  Numbers 13:30
 
A Word For Your Week:  DECISIONS DETERMINE DESTINY…CHOICES HAVE CONSEQUENCES.

A fellow minister asked me what I thought was the greatest threat to unity in the body of Christ. Without hesitation, I responded, spiritual maturity.
 
I am absolutely convinced that carnal immaturity is the chief enemy of unity in the church. Immature Christians disrupt and divide churches more than any other factor in the body of Christ.
 
Sin in the church is the fruit of spiritual immaturity.
 
Self-centered, flesh-driven, immature character and conduct within Christ’s ranks keeps the church in a continual state of confusion, conflict, and chaos that Satan applauds. Worst of all, spiritually immature believers, who are hung up on themselves and their needs, hinder our progress in fulfilling the Great Commission to reach multitudes of lost and hurting people outside the four walls of our Christian fellowships (Matthew 28:18-20).
 
According to Webster mature means “having completed natural growth and development, having attained a final or desired state, a state of full development, ripe.”
 
In Ephesians 4:13 Paul speaks of the mature person in Christ.
 
“Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”    
 
The “mature man” Paul alludes to is the one who is fully developed in his spiritual life. He or she is spiritually ripe, having attained the desired state of being like the Lord Jesus Christ. Ripeness is determined by likeness to Christ.
 

• Christlikeness is the ultimate mark of Christian maturity.

 
How interesting it is how you and I think we are mature and everyone else is immature! I mean, come on, you and I get caught in the trap of thinking we are so grown up while others need to grow up. Pretty naïve and arrogant huh?
 
Ø  If we think we have arrived and are fully mature in Christ, we need to back up the faith train and think again! Making that statement shows we are not as mature as we think we are!
 

• Maturity is my personal responsibility. A mark of maturity is to take responsibility for our own lives and let God work on others. I am responsible for me. You are responsible for thee!

 
Please note Paul talks about “the unity of the faith,” and “knowledge of the Son of God.”  The desired end of unity of faith and knowledge of Jesus is “a mature man.” That spiritually mature man or woman will measure up to Christ. His fullness (the quality of His perfect life) will be seen in them.
 
Note again, all of us are to strive for, go after, a style of living until we attain/achieve God’s standard of maturity: being like His Son Jesus Christ. Believers are ripe for God when they stand tall, fully developed in the spirit and likeness of Jesus.
 

• Christian maturity is an ongoing, lifelong process of becoming increasingly like Christ.

 
May I take the liberty of listing ten characteristics of Christian maturity we should all be striving for? Thank you for your permission!   
 

• OVERLOOKS OFFENSE

      Is not easily offended and does not take offense. Matthew 18:17, Proverbs 18:19, Proverbs 19:11.
 

• SLOW TO ANGER   

      Does not allow anger to rule is emotions.  James 1:19-20, Ecclesiastes 7:9,            Proverbs 16:32
 

• DISCERN GOOD AND EVIL

      Seasoned and spiritually wise. Hebrews 5:14, Isaiah 11:3, I Corinthians 2:14
 

• READY TO FORGIVE   

      Forgives others as he has been forgiven. Ephesians 4:31-32, Mark 11:25-26,         Colossians 3:12-14.
 

• SPEAKS HIGHLY OF OTHERS  

      Takes the high road in relationships.  James 4:11, Matthew 7:12. I Peter 2:1
 

• DOES NOT JUDGE 

      Does not pass judgment on others.  Matthew 7:1-5, Romans 2:1, Romans 14:13,    James 4:12
 

• HUMBLE SPIRIT AND ATTITUDE  

      Serves others with a humble, self-sacrificing servant’s heart after the example of   Jesus. Philippians 2:3-11, I Peter 5:5-6
 

• HOLDS HIS TONGUE

      Watches his words. James 3, James 1:26, I Peter 3:10, Proverbs 21:23,
      Proverbs 18:21
 
 

• SELF CONTROL

      Disciplines every area of life. Galatians 5:22-23, I Corinthians 9:24-27
 

• ADVANCES THROUGH ADVERSITY

      Turns trials into triumphs. Finds God’s treasure in life’s trials. James 1:2-4, 12,
       I Peter 1:6-9, 4:12-13.
 
Ø  Imagine what the body of Christ would look like if we all grew up and practiced these marks of maturity. I vote for it!!!
 

• Spiritual growth is measured by maturity in Christ.

 
Ø  How is your life measuring up to the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
Ø  Is there some room in your spirit and heart for maturity?
 
There certainly is in mine. With God’s help through His Word and the Holy Spirit, and the assistance of godly people, I purpose to strive each day to grow up, mature, and be more like the Lord of my life.
 
Let’s grow up folks and win the world to Christ!
 
“For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness for he is a babe. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”                                           Hebrews 5:13-14
 
A Word For Your Week: Make it your life goal to be mature like Jesus Christ
 

If you answered no, you have another problem...you are not telling the truth!
 
All of us, including Steve Roll, from time to time, are plagued with impatience with our Christian journey. Patience with the process of walking with the Lord by faith is not the strong suit of most believers.
 
Honestly, you and I want everything our way, on our timetable while we walk with God.
 

• Israel had an impatience problem.

 
The Bible tells us in Numbers 21:4 “And the people became impatient because of the journey.” Numbers 21:4
 
On the way to the Promised Land (a promised, prosperous land from God who keeps promises!), God’s chosen people lost their patience. In the context of our verse for this week, Israel spoke against God and their leader Moses (verse 5). Their impatience with the journey caused them to question the Lord and His servant.
 
Time and time again, as you follow their journey, Israel’s impatience caused problems for Moses and reaped negative consequences for the people. Their lack of faith, fear of the future and impatience caused them to wander in the wilderness for forty years until the unbelieving, impatient generation died off. (See Numbers 13-14).
 
The Israelis paid a horrific price for impatience.  
 

• Before you and I judge Israel, it is a fact that you and I, like Israel, have an uncanny ability to torpedo God’s very best for us through the spirit of impatience.  

 
We fail to persevere through the process that matures our faith and makes us like Christ.
 
We wimp out when we should hang in there with the Lord’s perfect plan for our life. The perfecting (making whole, complete, mature, lacking nothing) of our faith is a process that requires patience and endurance. No patience…. No perfection.
 
You and I can become impatient with pursuing a college degree, impatient with the dating, engagement and marrying process, impatient with receiving a promotion, impatient with servers in restaurants, impatient with rush hour traffic on the highway, impatient with word processers (like the one I am writing on now!), impatient with healing, restoration, provision or direction etc.
 
We are tempted to become impatient when we experience setbacks, when progress crawls at a snail’s pace, when another Christian’s journey appears to be progressing faster than ours, when the harvest of our labor is less than expected, or when other people wonder why our life isn’t showing more fruitfulness and success. 
           
The fact you and I must face with faith is this: Our times are in God’s hands, not ours (Psalm 31:15).   
 
Ø  Meditate upon, chew on this thought for a moment: Who are you and I to be impatient with God’s plan for our lives? How dare we suggest that our Lord does not know what He is doing because we become impatient with the process? God, and God alone, knows the beginning from the end and the end from the beginning.
 
So, who am I to dictate the direction and duration of my faith walk with Him? He, not me, planned everyday of my life before even the first day existed (Psalm 139:16). This type of erroneous thinking that I know better than God sounds arrogant and presumptuous, doesn’t it?
 

• Being patient with our journey requires faith. II Corinthians 5:17 declares “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Our faith walk is a walk of faith.

 
Walking by sight instead of faith always creates impatience. Why? Because we do not see what the eye of faith trusts God for. Impatience with our Christian journey says something about the maturity of our faith. Immaturity breeds impatience. Maturity cultivates a consistent patience with God and His plan for our life.
 

• Good news! You and I can be patient (YES PATIENT!) with our Christian journey because our Heavenly Father knows where He is leading us and knows how to get us there.

 
Questions We Need To Answer
 
v Do you trust God with your journey? 100% trust His plan?
v Do you believe God is at work when it doesn’t look like it?
v Do you trust God’s timing? Do you believe His timing is perfect?
v Do you believe you can grow through a slow growth season? Slow growth is not no growth. Slow growth is solid growth.
v Do you believe that God has a way of working all things together for your good?
v Do others say you are patient with your faith?
v Do you rejoice and enjoy the life in Christ journey you are on?
                       

• The Christian life is a faith walk with God that spans a lifetime.

 
So, how is your journey going? Are you plagued with destination disease…or are you enjoying each step of your walk with Christ?  Be patient, yes patient, very patient, with God’s process of perfecting your faith and enriching your journey with Jesus.
 

• Patience with God’s plan always pays temporal and eternal dividends!   

 
“In your patience (endurance) possess your souls.” Luke 21:19 (KJV)
 
A Word For Your Week: Be patient with

​HOPE.
 
A four-letter word that stirs the heart of every person who has walked on the earth.
 

• The Bible has a lot to say about hope.

 
For example, God’s chosen people were experiencing extremely challenging times.
 
An oppressive, culture crushing captivity clouded the sunshine of hope for God’s people. Hauled off in chains by the cruel Babylonians, the Israelites found themselves homeless, helpless and hopeless. It looked like the future held little hope for the people of God.
 
Enter Jeremiah with a word from the Lord. A timely, encouraging word about a hopeful future. 
 
“For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares, the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.”               Jeremiah 29:11
 
Speaking directly to the exiled Jews through His prophet Jeremiah, the Lord declared that He had a plan for His people that included prosperity and success. God’s plan excluded calamity and disaster while insuring them of a hopeful future.
 

• The message was clear and game changing: God was not finished with His people. There was hope for a new and better day.

 
Jeremiah’s hopeful words were just what the doctor ordered. First and foremost, the Jewish people needed reassured that there would be a future life for them. Down-trodden, destitute and desperate, they needed something to hope for, a hope-filled word to hold on to.  
 

• Judah needed a promise from God that would stimulate hope in their hearts. Hope for the future would help them hang in there until God delivered them from the Babylonians.

 
How about you? Do you see a hopeful future? Or is your future clouded with hopelessness? Do the daily headlines cause the flame of your hope to flicker? Do you need a fresh, bright ray of hope today?
 

• When I counsel with hurting people, the first thing they need is hope: sincere, genuine hope that God really cares and He can and will heal, restore and renew their lives.   

 

• When people feel hopeless, they begin to feel helpless.

 
Hopeless people often feel that God has forgotten them. As they sit on the ash heap of their personal misery, they think God does not have a plan for their lives. Loss of hope leads to discouragement, depression and despair. 
           

• Hopelessness and helplessness can tempt you and me to look to other sources for hope and help.

 
THINK ABOUT IT. Is your hope for provision based on a human handout, a benevolent bailout, or do you look to God’s hand to provide for your every need? Is your hope for protection, safety and security based on polished, politically correct rhetoric and governmental agencies?  Or do you trust in Almighty God to keep you secure and deliver you from all evil? How about your relationships? Is your hope and expectation of healthy, mutually satisfying relationships based on what man does, or what God can do in people’s hearts?
 

• People can cope when they have hope.

 
Christian hope is a “living hope” because of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead! (I Peter 1:3). Born-again believers possess the hope of hopes. Alive in Christ, Christians are destined for heaven! If you are seeking hope, seek the resurrected Savior. You and I are never without help when our hope is in God.
 

• A hopeless end or an endless hope…the choice is ours. 

           
Here are several ways you can have hope for your future.
 
Ø  Start your day by confessing your hope in Jesus Christ.
Ø  Saturate your mind and spirit with Gods’ hope-filled promises.
Ø  Stop listening to society’s hopeless doomsayers.
Ø  Surround yourself with hope inspiring people.
Ø  Believe that God causes all things, including challenging times like these, to work for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Ø  Remember God’s faithfulness to you and your family in the past.
Ø  Regularly thank God for the hope you have in His Son.
Ø  Expect God to do remarkable things in your life today!
 

• If your hope is fading, grab hold of the Gospel rope of hope and hold on!

 

• God’s plans are always good plans. His plans for a great future and a eternal hope include you.

 
My friend, focus your faith. Look up to the Lord. Hang your hope on Jesus Christ. Re-affirm your hope in Him. Expect God to fulfill His Word to give you a hopeful and prosperous future.
 

• Remember when God’s only Son, Jesus Christ was born in a manger in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago, hope was born too!  

           
“To whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”              Colossians 1:27
 
“The Lord is my portion says my soul. Therefore, I have hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.”                        Lamentations 3:24-25
 
“My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; my stronghold, I shall not be shaken.”                                       Psalm 62:5-6
 
“Why are you in despair, Oh my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me: Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.”
                                                                                                                           Psalm 42:11
A Word For Your Week: Hope for today and the future is found in faith in Jesus Christ. 
 
 

​There are many things in our constantly shifting and changing culture that can move us, making you and me feel insecure.  
 

• Negative news can move us.
• Economic downturns can move us.
• Political upheavals can move us.
• Terrorist activity can move us.
• Personal setbacks can move us.
• Sudden reversals can move us.
• Negative health reports can move us. 
• Broken relationships can move us.
• Satan’s assaults can move us.

 
So, what do we do to not be moved by these and other things that move and shake up so many people? 
 
In the God’s Word, the Bible, David has good news for all who want to be immovable in a lost world on the move whose movement is away from God and His Word. 
 
 “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people, from this time forth and forever.”  Psalm 125:1-2
 

• Those who “trust in the Lord” are the people who cannot be moved. If we want to be immovable and unshaken, we must place our faith in God and His unshakable, unmovable Word. 

 
The key to being immovable is trust. Trust in the Lord. When you and I put our faith in the Lord, we are like Mount Zion, God’s Holy City, which cannot be moved. Please note the word is “cannot be moved.” Mount Zion refers to Jerusalem in the Old Testament and “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” in the New Testament (Hebrews 12:22).
 
 Metaphorically, Mount Zion is where God resides. Think about it for a moment.  Who or what is big or bad enough to move God’s habitation? The answer is…no one nor anything. Mount Zion is rock solid and immovable. In addition to being unmovable, Zion is eternal. It lasts forever and does not change though everything else does. 
            

• Jerusalem is a rock solid, immovable city because of the seven mountains that surround it. Seven is the number for God and perfection in His Kingdom. David uses this picture of protection and security to reveal to us that as the mountains surround Jerusalem, “so the Lord surrounds His people.”  Did you catch what David just said? The Psalmist said that God surrounds His people. 

 
Wow! Incredible! Blows my tiny little mind! The Lord God Almighty. The Creator of the universe. Our Heavenly Father who raised His only Son from the dead to save all who believe. The Holy One and His heavenly host surrounds everyone who puts their faith in Him. People of faith are immovable because God surrounds and secures them. 
 
In the Roll household we have a surround sound system in our family room. When it is in operation mode, the soundtrack from the movie we are watching envelopes our family. When the woofer is on, the sound wraps itself around us and even vibrates the house! We are so absorbed and surrounded by sound, that nothing can move us from watching the movie on the television. 
            
The surrounding sound is cool. But being surrounded by God is absolutely awesome! 
 

• Bottom line, not being moved (“cannot be moved”) is all about trust. 

 
TRUST IN THE LORD. You and I are immovable when our trust is in God. He surrounds us with His love, care, might, strength, power and protection when we trust in Him. Conversely, we are movable and shakable when we do not trust in Him. Our lives can be shaken up when we look away from the Lord and allow our faith to be shaken. 
 

• Movement in life does not mean I have to be moved.  

 
As a Christian, I choose to not be moved because I choose Christ. If I truly believe what I say I believe, I cannot be moved because Jesus is the immovable rock of my life. He alone is my rock and my salvation (Psalm 62). All the power of hell can come against me to try and move me away from God. But Satan’s feeble, futile attempts to shake me up fail every time because I put my faith in my unshakable, immovable Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  
 

• My fellow Christian, where is your trust today? Are you being moved by things that should not be moving you? Or are you standing firm in faith, immovable in Christ? 

 

• When tempted to be moved by something other than God’s Word, boldly declare “I will not be moved because I trust in the Lord.”  

            
“My soul waits in silence for God only, for my hope is in Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken.”                                         Psalm 62:5-6
 
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.”                                                    Matthew 7:24-25
 
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, IMMOVABLE, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”            I Corinthians 15:58
 
A Word For Your Week: Do not be moved by what moves other people. 

Judges 8:4 is one of those verses in the Word of God that grabs my soul big time!
 
“Then Gideon and the three hundred men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary but pursuing.” Judges 8:4
 
“Weary but pursuing” is one of those phrases to me.
 
Background and scenario. Study Judges 6-8:  Gideon, called a “valiant warrior” by God, tried to wiggle out of his call to deliver the nation of Israel from her enemies. His personal protests were of no avail. The Lord promised to be with Gideon. God would glorify Himself through Gideon’s small, but mighty army of 300 warriors. Though outnumbered and outgunned (they had swords didn’t they!), they tore down altars of false worship, routing and defeating 120,000 enemy soldiers.
 

• In Judges 8, Gideon and his army, though tired from numerous battles, kept pursuing their enemy until they were thoroughly defeated. The victory was astonishing. Even more amazing was the fact that Gideon and company, bone weary from fighting, physically fatigued and emotionally spent, kept after the enemy until the mission was complete.  

 
Point: Weariness did not keep Gideon and God’s army from winning. Though tired, they pursued the enemy until their adversaries were defeated.
 
As I read my Bible, Gideon and his 300 men did not have a shot of Red Bull to hype them up while making war on their enemy. They pursued their adversary without a caffeine fix. Bottom line: the soldiers were tired from fighting. But tiredness did not stop them from completing their mission.
 
They pursued the fleeing enemy army until they were thoroughly destroyed, no longer a threat to God’s people.
 
Though “weary but pursuing,” Gideon’s army relied on God’s strength to complete their objective.
 
Let us be honest. Life is tiring. You and I become weary at times as we journey through this life. And all the readers said AMEN! Someone commented “Tired men run the world.”  Maybe that is why we have so many less than wise decisions, policies and programs because “tired men” make them. Just a thought.  
 
“Weary but pursuing” challenges me to evaluate my commitment to God’s plan for my life. I have counseled with people who check out on God’s best for them because they are tired. Countless I have heard in the counseling setting “I am so tired I want to quit.”
           

• I submit that we start losing when we surrender to tiredness. You and I stop winning when we cave in to weariness. 

 
Think with me for a moment. Athletes tire, but that does not deter them from competing for the prize. Business people are weary week after week, but they do not quit doing business. Parents can be worn out in a hurry raising their offspring, but they always rise up to the occasion to take care of their children. Evil men and women become weary too, but being tired does not keep them from disseminating evil.
 
·      Weary and not pursuing gets us nowhere. Weary and pursuing, with God’s help, takes us somewhere.
 
So, how do you and I keep on winning though weary? Jesus invites His weary ones to come to Him to receive rest.
 
            “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart: and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My load is light.”           Matthew 11:28-30.
 
Christians keep winning though weary by seeking and receiving rest from the Lord. The Lord renews us for each and every round of battle. As we yoke up with Jesus, we learn from Him how to be restful in our souls as we fight the good fight of faith.
 
Certainly, Jesus was weary when He went to die on the Cross. Tired beyond tired through the torturous suffering He endured, the Lord secured salvation for you and me. His shed blood and the glorious resurrection from the dead sealed the deal.
 
Though weary, Jesus was victorious! “Weary but pursuing” His Father’s will, Jesus won!!!
 
Like Jesus, Christians become weary but are victorious winners in Christ!
 
How To Win Though Weary
 

• Realize weariness is part of life. Do not deny it…do not cover it.
• Recognize what makes you weary and when you reach your tired limits.
• Regularly retreat to find spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional rest in the Lord.
• Refuse to quit simply because you are tired. Take your tired to Jesus.
• Run to win. Run your race in the renewing strength of the Lord.
• Resolve to fulfill God’s good, acceptable and perfect will and plan for your life.
• Rejoice that God makes us winners though weary!

 
Currently tired? Worn out? Weary? Seek refreshing from the Lord…. then keep winning in Jesus’ name!
 
“And do not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.“                                                                                               Galatians 6:9
 
“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”                                  Hebrews 6:11-12
 
A Word For Your Week: Keep pursuing God’s will and plan for your life in the renewing power of the Holy Spirit.  
 

A few years ago, I drove by a church bulletin board that posted the message Battle On!

“Battle On” struck a responsive chord in my heart.
 
“Battle On” is a battle cry for Christians who fight the good fight of faith in an unbelieving, hostile world. Battling the forces of evil can burn us out if we are not watchful. “Battle On” fired me up to stay refreshed in the Lord and battle on.
 
Our scripture for this week is found in the context of the epic battle between David and Goliath recorded in I Samuel 17.
 
“…for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands. Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.” I Samuel 17:47b-48
 
King Saul and the Israeli army should have easily defeated the Philistines. But an intimidating, trash-talking giant named Goliath showed up to defy Israel and their God. Terrified by Goliath’s mocking taunts, Israel stopped battling. For forty days and nights God’s warriors stood paralyzed on the battle sidelines shaking in their sandals.
 
Enter the shepherd boy David. David sized up Goliath and decided to do battle with the giant. Note what David said and did.
 
Ø  The battle is the Lord’s. Not Saul’s, Israel’s, or David’s.
Ø  God would deliver Goliath into Israel’s hands.
Ø  David refused to retreat when Goliath moved toward him.
Ø  David ran quickly to the battle line to meet Goliath.
 
David took out Goliath with a slingshot and a few stones. He cut off Goliath’s head with the giant’s own sword! Israel prevailed over the Philistines because David battled on in the name of the Lord!
 
A married couple I was counseling confided in me that they felt they were being attacked by the devil. I responded by saying “As Christians, we are constantly under spiritual attack. Satan never backs off. Some attacks are more intense than others while some seasons of spiritual warfare are longer than others. But the battle rages on…everyday. And we must battle back in the name of Jesus Christ.” 
 

• Life is a battle. A fight.  A contest.  A struggle between spiritual forces of good and evil.

 
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
 
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm.”                                             Ephesians 6:11-13
 
You and I must constantly battle for our faith, our family, our friends, our ministry, and our nation.
 
Like David, you and I must run toward the battle, not away from it. Soldiers on active duty are on duty twenty-four seven. As good soldiers of Jesus Christ (I Timothy 2:3-4), Christians stand guard against the enemy and take the battle to the adversary when he attacks. 
 
The battle is the Lord’s and victory belongs to the Lord (Proverbs 21:31). God trains our hands for war and our fingers for battle (Psalm 144:1). The Lord strengthens us for battle, subdues our enemies and makes them turn their backs to us (Psalm 18:39).
 
Our battle cry is the same as David’s: I come against you in the name of the Lord (I Samuel 17:45-47).  
 
How is your battle going? Are you battling on? Are you taking the fight to Satan and his demonic forces? Are you running toward the devil and running him out of your territory? Does the devil tremble because he knows you are not afraid of him?
 
My fellow Christian, battle on! The battle is raging all around us. Battle on. Charge ahead. March onward. Fight forward. No matter what circumstances you are facing, battle on. Resist the pressure and temptation to give in or give up. Battle on!
 
Fight, fight, and fight some more. Refuse retreat. Never surrender ground you have won for the Lord. Stand tall. Do not fall. Do not stall. If you have taken a hit, do not sit. Get up. Rise up with renewed resolve. Battle on!
 
You and I will battle until we take our last breath. There is no option but to battle when the battle is on.
 
Someone reading this devotion really needs to hear the words BATTLE ON.
 
As you and I engage in the firefight of faith, do not fear. Do not faint. Rise up with courageous, confident, overcoming faith in Jesus’ mighty name. Battle on brothers and sisters in Christ.   
 
 Battle on in the name of the Lord!
 
“Fight the good fight of faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”        I Timothy 6:12
 
A Word For Your Week:  The battle is on so BATTLE ON!

Life is a battle. A daily fight.  If you do not think so, you do not have a pulse!
 
God knows life is a fight. It helps me to know that my Heavenly Father knows life is a battle for His children. In the Bible, He shows us how to battle life’s battles and be victorious in Him.
 
Turn to I Samuel 17. Review the smashing victory of the shepherd boy David over the champion warrior of the Philistines Goliath.
 
I cannot help but get excited every time I read how God used David to slay Goliath. Talk about a colossal mismatch! Goliath was a nine-foot tall, seven-hundred-pound menacing, intimidating, boisterously loud, trash-talking enemy of God’s people.
 

• For forty days and nights, Saul and the Israeli army were paralyzed by fear.

 
Not shepherd boy David. Propelled by simple, sincere, strong faith, young David charged the giant with a slingshot, burying a stone in the forehead of the not-too-big-for-God giant. Then, he took Goliath’s own sword and relieved him of his head!
 
How did David win? David did not fight in the name of David, Saul, or Israel. He battled Goliath in the name of the Lord…and everyone knew when he decapitated Goliath and routed the Philistine army that there was a God in Israel to be reckoned with!
 
According to God’s Word through David, THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S. David’s fight was not between him and Goliath. The battle was all about God fighting through David to bring down the God-mocking Philistine giant.
 
 “And that all the assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.” I Samuel17:47
 
·      Like David, when we trust in God to fight for us, we will slay our Goliath’s and win in Him!
           
I meet often with people, the majority being confessing Christians, who think the battle is theirs. They are frustrated, depressed, burned out, worn out, and tempted to throw in the proverbial towel. Why? Because they erringly think the fight is all about them.
 
In their estimation the battle is won or lost, according to their attitude, their ability, their cunning, their resources, their gifts, and their experiences. The only problem with this approach to life’s battles is that the battle is not ours. Even if it were, you and I do not have what it takes to win on our own.
 
If you and I try to fight for ourselves or fight to help God out, we will fail.
 
Satan, the devil, the evil one, is like Goliath. As a liar, deceiver, thief and murderer, his strategy is to convince us that we can manage life on our own and we do not need Almighty God to fight for us. Satan’s goal is to slay our soul. Keep us from walking by faith faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
From time to time, professing Christians have asked me “What does the devil want from me?” My family. My work. My prosperity. My health. My relationships. My church. What? My reply is “Satan wants you to stop believing in Jesus.”
 
·      Too often well-meaning Christians fall by the wayside because the spiritual war they are waging in their own power fails. Then they throw in the faith towel, giving up on God and His Word. 
 
   How To Battle In The Name of The Lord
 

• Surrender to Christ’s lordship in your life. Enlist in the Lord’s army. Be a good soldier of Jesus Christ. (II Timothy 2:3-4)
• Daily put on the whole armor of God. Spiritually prepare yourself for battle every day. (Ephesians 6:10-20).
• Cast your cares, anxieties, burdens and fears upon the Lord. (I Peter 5:7).
• Rest in Jesus to lighten life’s load and to make the fight easier. (Matthew 11:28-30).
• Look to the Lord to bring the victory that you need in your life. (Zephaniah 3:14-20).
• Conquer the enemy with confidence in the One who loves you. (Romans 8:31-39).
• REJOICE IN and CELEBRATE THE VICTORIES you experience through faith in Christ! 

 
Ø  God fights for us when we acknowledge that the battle is His.
 
Ø  If you want the right victory, fight the right fight.
 
Fight the good fight of faith (I Timothy 6:6:12). Stand firm in faith in the One who has already won the war for you (I Corinthians 15:55-58). Never forget the battle and victory belongs to the Lord (Proverbs 21:31, Psalm 98:1).
 
My friend, whose battle are you fighting? Yours or the Lord’s?
 
A Word For Your Week: You will not be rattled when you battle in the name of the Lord!
 

​Gross immorality. Perverse sexual sin. Deplorable, despicable, unholy human behavior is polluting and crippling our culture, including segments of the church of Jesus Christ.
 

• Why? Because as a people have lost sight of a holy God who expects His people to live holy lives.

 
In our passage for this week, Peter exhorts and encourages Christians to live a holy life.
 
“But like the Holy One who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your behavior, because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” I Peter 1:15-16
 

• Our God requires that all who represent Him be holy because Hs is holy. Christians belong to God, bear His name and His likeness. You and I are to be holy because He is holy. It is as simple as that.

 
Holy and sanctified means being set apart for something sacred and special. Missionary statesman Oswald J. Sanders, when asked what it meant to be holy replied “Holiness is being like Mr. Jesus.”  As a Theological Seminary graduate and minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for four decades, that is the simplest and most profound definition of holiness I have ever heard.
 

• Being holy is being like Jesus.

 
So, what does it mean in 2024 to be a holy believer in Christ? It means what it has always meant. Christians have been separated from the world system and set apart to serve God and His kingdom while we live on the earth. The apostle John tells us in I John 2:15-17 how the unbelieving world operates.
 
“Do not love the world, or the things in the world; if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.”
 
Lust of the flesh…. lust of the eyes…. and the boastful pride of life equals an unholy lifestyle. Unholy behavior is terribly temporal and will pass away. Holy behavior, being like Mr. Jesus, is eternal and will never pass away.
 

• News Bulletin: Christians are to be different from the unbelieving world that conducts its lifestyle based on pride and lust. If we profess Christ as our Lord and Savior, then our daily lives should reflect the character and conduct of Jesus Christ.

 
My brothers and sisters in the Lord, it really does matter what we look at, who and what we listen to, and what we take into our minds and bodies. God’s moral standards for holy conduct have been given in the Holy Bible to protect us from the dangerous evils and ultimate destruction of an unholy world.
 

• Holiness provides safe boundaries that protect and preserve our spiritual and moral lives.

 
It is high time for Bible-believing, Christ-centered, Holy Spirit empowered people to stop messing around with what God calls unholy.
 
Facts: Pornography is not holy. Fornication is unholy. Sexual affairs are not holy. Perversion is not holy. Pre-marital sex is not holy. Same sex marriage is unholy. Desecration and mutilation of the human body is unholy. Off-color, profane, perverse, blasphemous language is unholy. Secret sin is unholy. Lying to cover the truth is unholy.
 
Believe it or not, there are some who profess Christ as their Savior and Lord indulging in these unholy behaviors as you read this.  
 

• For some believers today, sad to say, the Lord Jesus Christ is no more than a BFF, best friend forever.

 
Jesus calls us His friends in John 15:14-15. He is our forever friend indeed. But first and foremost, as God’s only Son, Jesus is holy. Jesus shed His holy blood on a cruel cross so we could live a holy life in an unholy world.
 
Because of His sacrifice for your and my sin, Jesus deserves to be reverenced, adored and obeyed as the Holy One of God.
           
How To Live A Holy Life In An Unholy World
 

• Worship God as a holy God.                                 Isaiah 6:1-7, Revelation 4:8-11
• See yourself as a holy child of God.                Leviticus 11:44-45, I Peter 2:9-10
• Cleanse yourself from sinful behavior.                                         II Corinthians 7:1
• Flee from youthful lust (Flee means run!).                                II Timothy 2:21-22
• Separate yourself from unholy influences.                             II Corinthians 6:17-18
• Commit yourself to God’s standards for holy living.           I Thessalonians 4:1-8
• Choose to reject the world’s unholy standards.                               I John 2:15-17
• Be an example of a holy man or woman of God to the next generation.

 
Please ask yourself. What does my standard of holiness look like? Am I living a holy life in an unholy world? Or have I been deceived into compromising my convictions regarding what is holy?
 
If you are flirting with unholiness, please get alone with God. Sit in His holy presence. Search your heart with the light of His holy word. Make whatever adjustments to your lifestyle necessary to line your life up with His holy standards.
 
GOOD NEWS! You, yes you, are holy. You can live a holy lifestyle because you belong to a holy God. The Holy Spirit empowers Christians to live a holy life.
 
 “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate says the Lord, and do not touch that which is unclean, and I will welcome you. I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”                      II Corinthians 6:17-18
 
“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”                        II Corinthians 7:1
 
“Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”                                                                                 II Timothy 2:21-22
 
A Word For Your Week: Holy or unholy in an unholy world? You choose.

​I am speaking for myself and hopefully many others who feel the way I do.
I love my country.
I am a red, white, and blue patriot through and through. I proudly served in our military. I hold dear the Constitution of the United States, Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights that clearly lay out the freedoms and principles our nation has stood and fought for nearly two hundred and fifty years.
I am seventy years old. I have witnessed our nation soar to astronomical heights of glory as a bright light, a shining example to the world of how a Bible-based Christian nation can bless humanity. I have also witnessed a frightening, free falling, perilous, shameful ever-darkening descent into evil by a man-based, secular society that rejects the Word of God and all things holy, sacred, truthful, moral, pure and decent.
My spirit is saddened and deeply grieved as I peer across our moral landscape. Satan, enemy of our souls, is winning in many quarters.
I have asked the Lord what can I do to influence my country to return to its Judeo-Christian roots?
The Holy Spirit has directed me to continue to pray, intercede, stand in the gap for America as I have done for fifty years. I sense an urgency to be more fervent than ever before.
Two scriptures are and have been on my heart for the United States.
“If My people who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14.
“Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God is for their salvation.” Romans 10:1.
Note the verses are for the restoration of a nation.
The II Chronicles scripture is conditional. IF man does his part, THEN God will do His part. The Lord is ready to hear, forgive, and heal our land. First, we must humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face and turn from our wicked ways.
I believe Satan and hell trembles when Christians pray. Heaven goes to bat on behalf of those who pray.
Oswald Chambers wrote “The real business of your life as a saved soul is intercessory prayer.”
Prayer should always be the Christian’s first resort, not the last. Intercession, standing in the gap for individuals and our nation is the most important thing you and I can do.
I am not calling for a prayer meeting. I am calling for individual Christians to intercede for our nation regularly with fervent faith for spiritual revival in our land.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, please pray for America every day as part of your daily devotions. Ask God to forgive us of our sins. Weep for precious souls who have lost their way. Pray for the Lord to watch over our nation and deliver us from opportunistic enemies who would take advantage of our moral weakness.
Stand in the gap for those who walk in spiritual darkness.
Pray that their blind eyes will be opened to see the light of Jesus Christ who is the Savior of the world. Ask God to heal the brokenness in our nation’s heart and restore America to love, serve and obey our Creator and Redeemer.
The church corporately must pray for the restoration of our nation. When is the last time your local church prayed for America? God’s people must fall to their knees and seek the Lord. There is tremendous power when believers gather to pray for each other and our nation. Never forget, where two or three are gathered, Jesus is there!
What To Pray For

• A repentant return to righteousness as revealed in the Bible.
• A recognition, reverence and obedience to Almighty God.
• Protection of the innocent and helpless from the womb to the tomb.
• Moral integrity to be the rule, not the exception, in our conduct.
• Return to sexual purity in our relationships according to biblical standards.
• Respect and support for lawful authority and law enforcement.
• Integrity, accountability, honesty and transparency at every level of leadership across our nation.
• Cessation of prejudice and hatred for others because they are different.
• The church of Jesus Christ to make winning lost souls its top priority.

Almighty God hears and answers our prayers. Faithful, fervent, expectant prayer in the name of Jesus really does change things!
Join with me daily to pray for the people of the United States of America to humble themselves and turn to the Lord.
For the sake of our people, our children, and our grandchildren pray fervently to the Lord to spare America and restore our nation.
Revival and renewal through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is our only hope.
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Proverbs 14:34
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen for His own inheritance.” Psalm 33:12
 A Word For Your Week: Pray for America