Those Who Minister Out of Their Abundance

And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.
— Luke 8:2,3

When our ministry purchased a large facility in the city of Moscow, we had one year to pay off the entire building, or it would revert to the hands of the seller. We had paid a very large deposit, and by faith we were believing to completely pay off the balance on time so we wouldn’t lose our total investment.

The deadline for paying off the balance approached. The Moscow church and our ministry partners had given generously, but we still lacked what we needed to finish retiring the debt on the building.

It was exactly at this time that God spoke to a pastor of a large church in the United States and told him, “You have a lot of money in your church bank account right now, and Rick Renner and his ministry are believing for the finances to pay off their building. What good is your money in this account when they need it in Moscow? If you’ll give what I tell you to give, I’ll multiply it to you more times than you can ever begin to imagine.”

In obedience to the Lord, this pastor met with his board of directors, who unanimously voted to give a gift of $700,000 for the Moscow Good News Church building. They had no idea that this was the exact balance owed on the building. The pastor purchased a plane ticket and was soon on his way to Moscow. The following Sunday, he stood on the platform in our auditorium and said, “The Lord has sent me here to give you a $700,000 check for your new church facility!” Then he handed us the check, not knowing that he was handing the exact amount needed to completely pay off the balance on the building.

What words could ever be sufficient to express how grateful we were to this pastor and his church for this phenomenal act of generosity? And how can we ever appropriately thank all the partners who have sowed their finances for so many years into the work of our ministry?

My wife and I and our team may be the ones who are doing the actual work on the front lines of the ministry, but we can only do that work because of the resources entrusted to us by faithful partners. When we all stand before Jesus to be rewarded for what we have done for Him in this life, our partners will be as richly rewarded as those of us who worked on the front lines, for they financially empowered us to do the job!

You see, even though my wife and our team are anointed to lead this work, there would be no television outreach if we had no partners to pay for it. There would be no church-planting, church-strengthening organization if there was no financial support to underwrite the costs involved in this work. There would be no missions support for pastors and evangelists in these less fortunate nations if there were no people who designated monies for this special purpose. Although we are called and anointed to lead this thrilling work, others must be just as called and anointed to support it with their finances. That is why I say that all of us are truly working together to see God’s purposes for this ministry accomplished.

I could write an entire book about the miraculous provision we have seen God supply for our ministry over the years. But when I stand back and review the times God has come through in miraculous ways to empower us financially, one thing is clear: His supernatural provision has primarily been delivered through the hands of men.

This is the principal way God provides financial support for the work of the ministry. He uses people — those who work very hard at their jobs, who earn a living at their profession, who believe Him for promotions and bonuses, and who love Him so much that they consecrate a certain portion of their income or assets for the advancement of God’s Kingdom.

God also used people to supply money for the expenses of Jesus’ ministry, although money to pay taxes was once miraculously provided through the mouth of a fish (see Matthew 17:27). In Luke 8:2 and 3, we find that Jesus had ministry partners who gave of their own substance to support His ministry while He was on the earth. Those verses say, “And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.”

Notice that Luke 8:3 says that these women “…ministered unto him of their substance.” The word “ministered” is the Greek word diakoneo. As noted earlier (see August 21), the word diakoneo comes from the Greek word diakonos, the Greek word for a servant whose primary responsibility is to serve food and wait on tables. It presents a picture of a waiter or waitress who painstakingly attends to the needs, wishes, and desires of his or her client. It was these servants’ supreme task to professionally please clients; therefore, the servants served honorably, pleasurably, and in a fashion that made the people they waited on feel as if they were nobility.

Luke uses this word to picture the attitude of the women who served Jesus by financially giving to Jesus’ ministry. These women believed it was their God-given assignment to painstakingly attend to the needs, wishes, and desires of Jesus. Their supreme task was to provide what He and His disciples needed to fulfill their ministry without hindrance. Furthermore, the tense used in the original Greek indisputably means that these women did this task consistently and regularly; in other words, they habitually donated money to Jesus’ ministry. They were faithful partners on whom Jesus could rely.

The verse goes on to say that these women ministered unto Him of their “substance.” The word “substance” is the Greek word huparchontos, which is the word for goods, possessions, or property. The word huparchontos would only be used to describe individuals of great wealth who possessed large fortunes or enormous assets. This lets us know that these were wealthy women.

The King James Version says these women “…ministered unto him of their substance.” But in Greek, it actually says out of their substance. This implies that these very wealthy women may have donated funds out of the income they earned on properties they owned.

But precisely who were these wealthy women who supported Jesus’ ministry? Let’s look very carefully at Luke 8:2,3 to see what we can find out about these women whom God used to financially support Jesus’ ministry.

1. ‘Certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities’

First, Luke 8:2 tells us about “…certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities.…” This was an unnamed group of women whom Jesus had healed from various sicknesses or delivered from demonic powers. Afterward, these women supported His ministry with their financial substance.

Notice that this verse says these women “…had been healed of evil spirits.…” The word “healed” is the Greek word therapeuo, an old Greek word from which we get the work therapy. This carries the idea of repeated actions, such as a patient who visits a physician over and over until the desired cure is obtained. This seems to suggest that these women had been so severely demonized that although they were helped when they first came to Jesus, they had to keep coming back again and again until, finally, they were completely freed. It may have been Jesus’ constant, tender, compassionate attention that caused them to have such grateful hearts, producing in these women a firm commitment to support His ministry with their finances.

The verse also says that they were healed of “infirmities.” The word “infirmities” is the Greek word astheneia, which emphatically depicts physical frailties, weaknesses, sicknesses, or a state of ill health. The word “healed” (therapeuo) is applied both to the women’s deliverance from demonic spirits and to their freedom from illnesses. Just as the Greek suggests frequent visits were made to Jesus before they were finally and completely delivered from demon powers, it also implies that these women made recurring visits to Jesus before they found total relief from their physical maladies. The use of this word therapeuo lets us know, then, that it can sometimes take time before a healing is completely manifested in a person’s life.

No wonder these women were such avid financial partners with Jesus’ ministry! It was through His compassionate touch that they were set free from demons and restored to full health!

It is simply a fact that the best partners in the world are those whose lives have been changed by one’s ministry. These women are vivid examples of people with grateful hearts who want to do what they can financially so the ministry that helped them can reach out and touch others’ lives as well.

2. ‘Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils’

After mentioning the first unnamed group of female supporters, Luke now gives the first recognizable name in this group of women. He says in verse 2, “…Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils.”

Many tales have been told about Mary Magdalene working in the prostitution business before she met Jesus. However, there isn’t a single New Testament source that records Mary Magdalene as a former prostitute. One thing is clear, though: She was possessed with an entire infestation of demons before Jesus touched her life. Both Luke 8:2 and Mark 16:9 affirm that she had been delivered of seven demons.

When Luke tells us of Mary, he identifies her as one “…out of whom went seven devils.” The Greek word for the phrase “out of whom went” is exerchomai, a compound of the word ex, meaning out, as to make an exit, and the word erchomai, meaning to go. But when these are compounded together, forming the word exerchomai, it takes on the meaning to go out, to drive out, or even to escape.

The word exerchomai implies that these demons may have been so entrenched in Mary that Jesus had to literally drive them out of her. It is possible that when these seven spirits left her body, they literally fled in order to escape the fierce pressure Jesus was exercising on them. Once they were gone, Mary was freed.

The Bible has no concrete record of Mary’s deliverance from these seven demons. However, it does let us know she was so thankful for what Jesus had done for her that she remained committed to Him to the very end of His ministry. Mary was present at the crucifixion (John 19:25). After the crucifixion when Jesus’ body was being prepared for burial, Mary was among those who prepared His body for burial (Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47; Luke 23:55). She was among the first to see the empty tomb (John 20:1), and she was the first to see Jesus after His resurrection (John 20:13-17). Finally, she was the first to preach that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead (John 20:18).

Evidently Mary Magdalene was also a wealthy woman who used her money to financially support Jesus’ ministry, for she is listed in Luke 8:2,3 along with the other well-to-do women who gave out of their assets to support Jesus’ ministry.

3. ‘Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward’

As Luke continues to name the affluent women who financially supported Jesus’ ministry, he tells us next of “…Joanna, the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward…” (v. 3).

Luke gives us very important insight into this Joanna by informing us that she was the wife of Chuza, who was the “steward” of Herod. The word “steward” is the Greek word epitropos. This word signifies a person who has been entrusted with the guardianship or supervision of another person’s belongings. This was no low-level servant; rather, Chuza was a high-level dignitary who had authority to make decisions on behalf of Herod in regard to his personal fortunes. One of the rare uses of this word in the Greek Old Testament Septuagint is where it is used to describe Joseph’s oversight of Potiphar’s household.

The fact that Chuza held such a prominent position in Herod’s household tells us that he was highly educated and was accustomed to managing massive sums of money. As the chief manager of Herod’s personal fortune, Chuza served as the king’s chief adviser regarding his personal financial matters. No doubt, a man in this position had many opportunities to increase his own personal wealth as well, for he lived in the atmosphere of affluence and had many high-ranking political connections as Herod’s steward. Some have speculated that Chuza may have been the nobleman of John 4:46-53 whose son was healed by Jesus.

Chuza’s wife was Joanna — a woman whose life had been dramatically touched, affected, and changed by Jesus. If Chuza was the nobleman of John 4:46-53, as some suggest, it is easy to imagine how grateful Joanna would have been to Jesus for saving her child from death. Certainly a person so impacted would want to use her fortune to make sure others could receive the same touch of God.

The Bible doesn’t tell us how Joanna made her first connection with Jesus, but it apparently changed her life. After that encounter, she saw it as part of her responsibility to give of her personal substance to financially support Jesus’ ministry. Joanna was also with Mary Magdalene and the other women who visited and discovered the empty tomb after Jesus’ resurrection (see Luke 24:10), which lets us know that she was faithful to Jesus to the very end.

4. ‘Susanna, and many others’

This is the only reference to Susanna in the New Testament, and we know nothing more of her, except that she ministered to Jesus out of her substance. This implies that she was another wealthy woman who used her personal resources to support Jesus’ ministry.

Susanna is listed with “many others” who supported the ministry of Jesus. The word “many” is from the Greek word polus, which means very many and speaks of a great quantity. So in addition to these women whom Luke specifically names, there were also many others who supported Jesus faithfully with their personal finances. These were givers who considered it their responsibility, their service, and their assignment to make sure the needs of Jesus’ growing ministry were financially supplied.

We rightly focus on Jesus and the great works He did while on earth. But think of the reward that is laid up in Heaven for Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and all the others who gave of their substance so that those life-changing meetings could take place! Today these individuals are experiencing rich rewards because they gave of their personal income to help advance the ministry of Jesus. They were His ministry partners — and in Heaven, they share in the rewards for the results reaped by Jesus’ ministry.

If your life has been touched and changed by a specific ministry, it is right for you to desire to give to that ministry to show your gratefulness and to make sure others receive the same touch you received. So when God calls you to be a ministry partner, never forget that what you do is vitally important. The gifts you give from your personal income and assets can make an eternal difference in other people’s lives.

Please don’t let it bother you if your name is never put on a building or if people never know that you were a big giver to a ministry. Instead, rejoice that you are among the “many others” who gave to Jesus’ ministry but were not mentioned by name. Most importantly, never forget that Jesus knows who you are and what you have done and that an eternal reward is awaiting you!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve You with my income and assets. I only want to give more and more with each passing year. Please give me wisdom to know how to increase my personal wealth so I can become an even bigger giver to the Kingdom of God. It isn’t important to me that other people know what I’ve done, for I know that You see the seed I’ve sown and will reward me for what I have done. Help me to never use funds designated for Your work on anything else, Lord, but rather to make the advancement of Your Kingdom the highest priority in my life.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that I am a significant giver to the Kingdom of God. God’s Word promises financial blessings to His children. Since I am God’s child, I have a right to be financially blessed. From the financial resources that God entrusts to me, I purpose to be a major giver and a source of great blessing to the work of the ministry. Souls are waiting to hear the Gospel message, and I am going to use the resources God gives me to make sure the life-changing message of Jesus Christ reaches as many people as possible!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Is it a desire of your heart to be a big giver to the work of God? What ministry has God used to touch your life so dramatically that you want to serve that ministry with your finances?

2. What ministry or ministries do you support with your finances right now? Can you write down five reasons why you sow into these particular ministries?

3. Are you satisfied in your heart that you are giving to these ministries as often as God desires you to give? Or is it time for you to believe God for the financial ability to rise to a whole new level of giving?

The Fields Are White Unto Harvest

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; or they are white already to harvest.
— John 4:35

Once Denise and I and our team traveled by bus to conduct massive evangelistic campaigns in eight of the largest cities in the nation of Ukraine. Because we had been on television for many years in those particular eight cities, we were anticipating that thousands of people would attend these meetings.

As we drove through the vast wheat fields in eastern Ukraine, the golden wheat waved this way and that as the gentle, late-summer winds blew across the landscape. It was so beautiful that Denise and I asked the driver to stop so we could get out of the bus and walk through the beautiful golden fields. As we stood in the midst of those gorgeous shelves of golden grain, we thought of the vast, spiritual harvest fields of the former Soviet Union where God had called our family and ministry. Of course, we were especially thinking about the harvest of souls we were praying to see in those upcoming meetings.

As we stood in the middle of those beautiful fields of wheat, we looked at each other and quoted Jesus’ words in John 4:35, which says, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”

When Jesus spoke these words, He was just outside the city of Sychar in Samaria. His disciples had gone to the city to find food, and Jesus had just met the woman at the well (see John 4:1-27).

Jesus’ encounter with this woman was life-transforming. He spent a significant amount of time talking to her about her personal life, answering her spiritual questions, and treating her with a level of dignity that had rarely been afforded to her. It was the first seed Jesus ever sowed into the heart of a Samaritan. The woman was so moved by His compassion that when she returned to her village, she told the people, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” (John 4:29).

This woman so enthusiastically shared her testimony of Jesus that the entire village of Sychar went out of the city to find Him (John 4:30). Thus, from the moment Jesus first sowed His seed into the heart of this Samaritan woman to the time He reaped His first major harvest among the Samaritans would only be a matter of hours. This was indeed quite remarkable. Certainly it often takes quite a period of time to reap a sizable harvest of souls in any new region of the world.

As the village of Sychar went out to meet Jesus, He and His disciples were on the outskirts of the city, where He was speaking to them about doing the work of God. From Jesus’ words, it seems likely that He and His followers were standing near a wheat field at the time, similar to the one my wife and I stood in that day in the nation of Ukraine.

As Jesus was speaking to His disciples, He was apparently standing in a position that enabled Him to have a wide view of the nearby wheat fields. Meanwhile, His disciples were so focused on what He was telling them that they were unaware of the streams of people coming from the village and making their way through the fields to where they were located. It was at this moment that Jesus told the disciples, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest.…”

Naturally speaking, it should take a minimum of four months for seed to be reaped as a full-grown harvest. But that time frame didn’t apply in the case of the Samaritan woman. Seed had been sown into her heart just a short time earlier — yet it was already time to reap! That is why Jesus told his disciples, “…Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”

When the disciples turned around and looked, they could see multitudes pushing through the vast wheat field as they made their way to Jesus. It must have been an amazing sight to the disciples. After all, this Samaritan woman had gone to her town only a few hours earlier, and already there was such a large response to her testimony! Jesus had only sown seed into one Samaritan woman’s heart, but He was already reaping a massive harvest of souls.

I want you to notice that Jesus said that “…they are white already to harvest.” Jesus was not referring to the unripe wheat fields, but to the people who were coming to see Him. One scholar has noted that workers in small villages were known to wear white workers’ garments. This village of workers was so affected by the Samaritan woman’s testimony that they dropped what they were doing and immediately went to see Jesus, still dressed in their white workers’ garments. When the Lord saw a crowd of people coming toward Him dressed in white, He didn’t see white garments; He saw a harvest that was white and ready to be reaped among the Samaritans.

As the crowd approached Jesus, He told the disciples, “And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth” (John 4:36,37).

Jesus was the One who sowed the first seed into the heart of the Samaritan woman, but now it was time to reap — and it requires many more hands to reap than it does to sow. Jesus was the Sower, but the harvest could not be fully reaped and retained without the help of His disciples. Jesus felt great joy as He watched this harvest of souls coming in so quickly. However, now it would also be the disciples’ great joy to help Jesus swing the sickle and bring these souls to God. Jesus sowed the seed, but it was essential for the disciples to help Him reap.

In John 4:38, Jesus said, “I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.” Jesus alone had sown the seed into the heart of the woman at the well. At the time He did this, His disciples were in the village looking for food. But now the disciples were privileged to participate in a huge reaping extravaganza for which they had done no work at all! They were literally entering into a harvest that was white and ready to be reaped because Jesus had taken the time to sow seed into a single person’s heart.

Spiritual harvest often comes more quickly than natural harvests. It may take four months for wheat to be ready to be reaped. However, don’t think that it will always take a long time before you see people respond to the Word you sow into their hearts. The souls of men are often ready to be reaped for the Kingdom of God very quickly after the initial sowing.

Also, please don’t think that your role in sowing seed is small and insignificant. Remember, Jesus sowed a single seed into the heart of one person, yet that isolated, solitary event produced a harvest so huge that an entire village came to Jesus Christ. In the same way, the seed you sow into someone’s heart today may be the very seed that produces the next massive harvest for the Kingdom of God!

So the next time you find yourself talking to someone about Jesus Christ or sharing the truths of God’s Word with a stranger, don’t allow the devil to tell you that you’re wasting your time. You may be planting the very seed that will bring salvation to an entire group of people. And when the harvest is ready to be reaped, don’t be threatened by people who join you in the reaping process of what you have sown. Harvests always require more reapers than sowers, so be thankful that one plants and others come alongside to help you reap!

As Denise and I finally stood on the stage to preach to the vast crowds that attended those meetings in Ukraine, I thanked God for giving us the awesome privilege of preaching to such huge numbers of people. But I also thanked Him for every single person who uses his or her own private life as a pulpit to share the seed of God’s Word with people on the street and at work. Regardless of how or where the seed of God’s Word is sown by believers, every seed sown is powerful and has an eternal effect. Never forget that fact as you go through your day using YOUR life as a pulpit for sowing the life-changing seed of the Gospel!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I never realized the power that one single seed could make on such a large group of people. I have mistakenly thought that witnessing to one person was not as important as preaching to multitudes. Please forgive me for overlooking the power of a single seed sown into the human heart. Holy Spirit, I want to be ready when the harvest comes in — and that includes having enough friends and coworkers on hand to pitch in and help. So I ask You to dispatch a group of ready and willing workers who can step into the harvest field and assist me in bringing in the sheaves!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that the seed I sow into people’s hearts has the power to bring great change to entire groups of people. Every time I share the Word of God with people who don’t know the Lord, a seed is planted in their hearts and minds that has the power to revolutionize their lives, their families, their friends, and even their entire cities. Every person I touch has the potential of taking the Gospel message further, thus creating a larger harvest for the Kingdom of God. Therefore, I am bold to speak to anyone whenever I see an open door of opportunity to tell the Good News of Jesus Christ!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Can you think of a true-life story of how one person’s testimony affected a nation or an entire group of people? Who was that person?

2. Can you recall a time when the words someone spoke to you brought tremendous change into your life? Who was that person? What did he or she tell you? What changes came about in your life as a result of those words?

3. Is that person aware of how God changed your life as a result of the seed he or she sowed into your heart? If you’ve never shared the impact that person’s words had on you, don’t you think it would be appropriate for you to do so?

Exercise Thyself Unto Godliness

…Exercise thyself rather unto godliness.
— 1 Timothy 4:7

At the time I am writing this book, our apartment in Moscow frequently looks like an athletic club. Our three sons and their friends regularly fill our living room to do pushups, sit-ups, and weightlifting to develop their muscles and attain the form they desire. As a result of their hard work, commitment, and consistency, their muscles are getting bigger and bigger, and their bodies are nearly the ideal for young men their age.

Every morning, my wife gets up at the crack of dawn to walk up the seven flights of stairs in our Moscow apartment building a minimum of six times. Once she reaches the top, she takes the elevator back to the first floor and starts up the 210 steps to the seventh floor once more. Multiply that times six, and you’ll find that Denise walks up 1,260 steps every morning of her life. When she finishes those 1,260 steps, she comes huffing and puffing into the apartment with a look of elation, thrilled that she accomplished her goal. Needless to say, she is in super shape!

We don’t own an automobile in the city of Moscow where we live, so I walk many of the places I need to go. Because it’s difficult to take care of an automobile in this massive city, most people in Moscow don’t own automobiles, so I fit right into the crowd as I walk and walk. As a result of continual walking through the streets of this gigantic city, my lower legs are muscular and strong.

It takes hard work to get in good physical shape, and it takes a commitment to maintain a good physical condition. In the same way, it also takes hard work and commitment to maintain a good spiritual condition. Anyone who wants to get into good spiritual shape has to be diligent to exercise himself spiritually. This is why the apostle Paul told Timothy, “…Exercise thyself rather unto godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7).

The word “exercise” is the Greek word gumnadzo, and it literally meant to exercise while stark naked or to exercise in the nude. It is a word that was developed from the word gumnos, the Greek word that is literally translated naked. It is from these words that the English words gym or gymnasium are derived.

I realize that it may seem strange to our minds that Paul would use such a word, but to Timothy, this was a very powerful and graphic picture. You see, the word gumnadzo (“exercise”) was only used to describe the professional athletes of that day. By using this word, Paul was conveying a message to Timothy that was absolutely clear to the younger man.

As noted earlier (see November 4), Timothy was the senior pastor of the world’s largest church during the first century. As pastor of such a massive church, he was working very hard. Nevertheless, Paul urged Timothy not to fantasize about things ever getting easier but instead to joyfully dive into the work with all his strength and might.

This may not have been the message Timothy wanted to hear. But instead of falsely telling the younger man that a day would come when things got easier, Paul admonished him to “exercise unto godliness.” And when Timothy saw the word “exercise,” he knew exactly what Paul was telling him. Professional athletes and their activities were quite famous in Timothy’s day.

The word “exercise” (gumnadzo) was only used to describe the professional combat sports of boxing, wrestling, and pankration (see June 9 to read more about these ancient athletic sports). These athletes wanted the freedom to move their muscles without hindrance, and they didn’t want to wear any items of clothing that an opponent could grab hold of to take them down. For these reasons, they exercised and competed naked.

These combat sports were so ferocious that when each competition ended, one of the competitors was usually dead. Knowing that a stiff, life-or-death battle awaited them, these athletes exercised and exercised and exercised to get themselves into the best possible physical condition. This included submitting themselves to self-imposed hardships in order to make themselves tougher. For instance, because the actual games usually occurred during the blistering hot temperatures of summer, the athletes trained in extremely hot temperatures so they could become acclimated to intense heat. And in order to become hardened to brutality, they would deliberately ask other athletes and trainers to viciously beat them. In this way, they could learn to take as much abuse as possible without allowing it to affect their performance in case they were wounded during the actual games.

Rather than look for the easy way out, these combat-sport athletes stripped off all laziness, all comfort, and even all their clothes so they could energetically exercise and drive themselves nonstop toward physical perfection. Only those who were the most fit would survive and win the games, so they approached hardship as a positive occurrence — an opportunity to develop their mental resilience, their stamina, their courage, their physique, and their staying power. To these professional athletes, hardship was a good thing, for if they properly responded to it, it could only make them better and, in the end, help them live a longer life!

This was exactly the message Paul was giving to Timothy when he told him to “…exercise thyself rather unto godliness.” Paul was telling the younger minister, “Don’t run from the challenges before you or spend your time hoping to find an easier route for completing a very difficult task. Instead, strip yourself of all mentalities that would hinder your growth, and embrace this difficult time as an opportunity to spiritually exercise and to develop yourself in the Lord.” Paul knew what would happen if Timothy stripped wrong attitudes from his life and approached these challenges with the right attitude: The hardships he faced wouldn’t hurt him but rather would assist in developing him and making him stronger.

But notice that Paul said, “…exercise thyself rather unto godliness.” The word “godliness” is the Greek word eusebeia, a Greek word that describes piety, godliness, or a radical, fanatical devotion. In other words, Paul was telling Timothy, “Don’t do just the average that others would do and get an average result. Put your whole heart and soul into developing yourself to the maximum level.”

Our commitment to spiritual development is to be so intense that we literally exercise and exercise and exercise ourselves to the point of a radical, fanatical devotion to God. We must be as committed to our spiritual development as those professional Greek athletes were to their physical development.

Just as physical muscles are developed only through exercise, hard work, training, and commitment, it takes exercise, hard work, training, and commitment to become fit spiritually as well. This is why Paul urged Timothy to take his moment of hardship as an opportunity to stretch, develop, exercise, and make himself stronger.

Do you hear the Spirit of God speaking to you today? Is He telling you to change the way you are looking at your current hardships? You don’t ever have to be depressed and defeated by the affairs of life. Just change the way you’re looking at the challenges you face. Determine that you are going to use this time in your life to exercise your faith and become stronger in the Lord!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I ask You to help me change the way I’ve been looking at the hardships and challenges in my life. Yes, it’s true that I don’t enjoy them, but since I’m in this time of my life, help me use my time to the maximum by strengthening my faith and exercising myself spiritually. Rather than be broken by this difficult season, I want to come out of it stronger than ever. Holy Spirit, please help me today to change the way I am looking at life. I want to make a firm commitment to exercise myself unto godliness until I am so strong spiritually that nothing in life can stop me from fulfilling the dreams God has put in my heart.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that I am getting stronger and stronger in the Lord. I have made the choice to use everything that comes into my life as an opportunity to exercise my faith and develop myself spiritually. This is not a one-shot reaction, for I am making this my lifetime passion and devotion. I will exercise, train, and do everything I can to become stronger and stronger in the Lord.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. What is the single most difficult issue you are facing in life right now? What is the second most difficult challenge you are facing on a regular basis?

2. How are you responding to the challenges in your life? Are you being paralyzed or broken by the hardships you face, or have you been using them as opportunities to learn, to spiritually exercise, and to develop yourself into a stronger, more resilient believer?

3. What thought processes do you need to change in order to receive great benefit from the hardships you face in life instead of being destroyed by them?

Be Careful of What You Dump On Those Who Are Listening to You!

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.
— Hebrews 12:15

My Grandfather Miller lived on a large parcel of land that was located just outside Tulsa. Right in the middle of his land was a small lake that the local people called “Dead Man’s Lake,” because a dead body had been found at the bottom of the lake many years earlier.

The water in that little lake was muddy red and terribly dirty because the entire lake bed was comprised of red clay. I can remember fishing with my grandfather on the banks of that lake, thinking with great distaste that we were actually going to eat the catfish we pulled out of that filthy water!

That little lake was fed by a notorious little river in Oklahoma called Bird Creek. Not only was Bird Creek known for being muddy, but it was also well-known for the oversized water moccasins that would slither over the branches and debris floating in its waters. This little river was so close to my grandfather’s property that my family would cross over a Bird Creek bridge every time we drove to his house.

Nearly every spring during the Oklahoma tornado season, the waters of Bird Creek would rise during heavy rains. It would rise and rise until, finally, those filthy, stinking waters would spill out of the banks of the river and inundate the entire local area. Of course, whenever the waters of Bird Creek rose, they would also rush into Dead Man’s Lake on my grandfather’s property. The grimy waters would then flood out of the banks of that little lake and literally slime my grandfather’s entire property with gunk and goo.

As a boy, I thought it was fun when my grandfather’s property got flooded because it meant we had to get in our own boat, pull the motor, and ride across highways covered with water in order to reach Grandfather Miller’s house. He and his wife would be standing on the porch, waiting and waving, as we pulled up to the house in our boat.

But when the waters finally receded, the fun was over. Now it was time to clean up the stinking mess left by the flood. Everything in sight was slimed with filth by those rising waters. Believe me, the mess left by a flood was always pretty nasty!

I always think of those messy floods of my boyhood when I read Hebrews 12:15, which says, “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” Earlier we looked at one part of this verse (see September 4), but today I want to take you further so you can see what eventually happens if a person doesn’t surrender his hurts and grievances to the Lord.

As noted earlier, the words “trouble you” in this verse are from the Greek word enochleo, which means to trouble, to harass, or to annoy. It refers to something inside that bothers and upsets you so much that you are constantly pestered by thoughts about it.

The word enochleo pictures a person who is continually troubled, harassed, and annoyed by thoughts of how someone else wronged him. The offended person is now so troubled that he is almost emotionally immobilized. Instead of moving on in life, he gets stuck in the muck of that experience, where he wallows day after day in the memories of what happened to him. If that person doesn’t quickly get a grip on himself, he will eventually fulfill the next part of the verse, which says, “…lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and many be defiled.”

The word “defiled” is the Greek word miaini. It means to spill, to spot, or to stain. Here is what Hebrews 12:15 is telling us: If you are inwardly upset with someone and don’t get rid of those raw emotions, it won’t be too long until you open your mouth and begin to verbalize those ugly inward emotions. As Jesus said, “…Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34).

According to Jesus, what you are full of is exactly what you will talk about! If you’re filled with joy, then joy will come out of your mouth. But if you’re filled with bitterness, anger, disappointment, frustration, or rage, then eventually those attitudes are going to show up in the words you speak! Like a rising river, what is inside you — if not corrected by the Spirit of God — will eventually flood out of the banks of your soul and spill out of your mouth, adversely affecting everyone around you.

This is what happens when we fail to deal with our hearts and instead allow wrong attitudes to fester inside us. Eventually we will begin to “run at the mouth” and say bad things about someone else, which has a devastating effect on those who hear us. As our negative attitudes rage out of control, our words taint, spot, soil, and ruin the way our listeners perceive the person we are speaking of. Thus, by permitting our mouths to be the spout for the mess that festers inside us, we end up sliming other people with our own stinking attitudes and destructive words.

Let me give you an example of how one person’s root of bitterness can result in many being defiled. Suppose a father who has always loved his church becomes offended by something that happened in the church. Rather than go to the Lord, release the offense, and forgive, this father goes home and fumes about what happened. The longer he fumes about it, the more angry he becomes. As his anger grows, he starts venting and talking about how upset he is with that church!

Prior to this, this father’s children loved their church. But day after day, they listen to their father rage about how bad the pastor is, how badly their father has been treated, and so on. The father doesn’t realize it, but his words are having a profoundly negative effect on his children. Soon the children begin to feel what their father feels. They see what he sees and believe what he believes. Although no one in the church has ever wronged any of these children, it isn’t long before they are carrying the same bitter feelings toward the church that their father carries.

In this case, the children have been tainted, stained, and spotted by a father who should have gone to the Cross and allowed the Spirit of God to liberate him from those bitter emotions. Instead, he opened his mouth and dumped his bitterness on his family. Now he’s not the only one who has an attitude problem; he has imparted his bad attitude to his children as well. And the truth is, if his children have a negative attitude toward the church when they grow up, much of the blame will be laid at that father’s feet because he didn’t keep his mouth shut and act more mature.

What a pity to dump all your negative garbage on your friends and loved ones, defiling them with a spiritual problem that may hound them for years. How much better it would be for you to go to the Cross and deal with it rather than open the spout and let a flood of filth and slime defile those around you!

It may seem hard to keep your mouth shut and to go to the Lord when you’re dealing with a difficult attitude challenge. But it is much easier to take this route than to spew a lot of garbage that you’ll later have to clean up! So I urge you today to let the Holy Spirit help you overcome your inward struggles. As you do, you will keep yourself free of bitterness and make sure others around you are not defiled by ugly words that you are tempted to speak!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, please help me refrain from speaking words today that will negatively affect other people. I am so sorry for the times I’ve “run at the mouth” and said things I shouldn’t have said. I realize how wrong this is and how I’ve stained other people’s opinions because I didn’t control my mouth and emotions. I am turning to You for help, and I’m asking You to help me control my tongue as I deal with these issues that have festered inside me. Holy Spirit, please help me to overcome the flesh and to allow You to have Your way in me!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that I carefully monitor the condition of my heart and regulate what comes out of my mouth. Because my words are seasoned with grace, those who are near me today will be positively impacted. I speak words of kindness, and I refrain from speaking ugly words that I would later regret. My heart is clean toward others, and my mouth speaks only words that build up and edify those who are listening.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Have you ever been guilty of “running at the mouth” — saying ugly things that negatively affected the people who were listening to you? Did you leave your listeners in better shape because of what you said, or did you “slime” them with your bad attitude?

2. Can you think of an example of parents who ruined their children’s opinion of a pastor or church because the parents refused to keep their mouths shut and to control their tongues?

3. Is the Holy Spirit speaking to you today about certain attitudes in you that need to change? If so, what are those attitudes? Who are the individuals in your life whom you need to forgive?

Nothing Shall Separate You From the Love of God

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
— Romans 8:38,39

When the apostle Paul wrote the above verses, he had been facing grueling times because he was a Christian. He had suffered rejection from friends, persecution from the government, and had spent many months of his life in an isolated prison cell. But regardless of what people or the circumstances of life did to him, Paul had discovered a vital truth: Nothing that occurs in this life has the power to separate a believer from the love of God.

That is why Paul said, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38,39).

Notice that Paul said, “For I am persuaded.…” The word “persuaded” is the Greek word peitho. It means to be persuaded, to be convinced, or to be swayed from one opinion to the opinion held by another. This word describes a person who has been coaxed from a particular conviction to embrace a different one. Furthermore, the Greek tense implies that this was a persuasion that had occurred to Paul in the past but is still so strong that it continues to be his conviction in the present. He was persuaded, and he continues to be persuaded. It could therefore be translated, “For I have been persuaded, and I remain convinced.…”

The word “death” is the Greek word thanatos, the Greek word for physical death, but it can also be used to depict mortal danger or a dangerous circumstance. In this case, Paul’s primary meaning is that the love of God is so strong, even physical death cannot separate us from His divine love. Death may separate us from the earth and from people we love, but it is impossible for death to separate us from the love of God, for God’s love doesn’t stop with the cessation of life.

It is a fact that many believers feel overwhelmed by the situations they face in life. In fact, they often feel so confused and weighed down that they wonder if God is still near to them. This is precisely why Paul adds that even life cannot separate a believer from the love of Jesus Christ.

Just as the word thanatos describes physical death, this particular word for “life,” the Greek word zoe, refers to physical life. Paul uses this word to let us know that neither the cessation of one’s physical life nor the complex issues and events related to one’s life on this earth are strong enough to separate a believer from the love of God.

Next, Paul lets us know that no spiritual being, good or bad, has enough power to separate us from God’s love. The word “angels” is the Greek word angelos, which refers to brilliant, spiritual, angelic beings. Such angelic beings are extraordinarily strong, as is evidenced by hundreds of scriptures in both the Old and New Testament.

The word “principalities” is from the word archai. This is the same word that Paul uses in Ephesians 6:12, where he describes the rank and file of the devil’s kingdom. The word archai is the plural for archos, the Greek word for a ruler or one who has long held a lofty position of power. The plural version of this word depicts an entire group of high-ranking demon spirits that have held their positions of power since the most ancient times. Although angels and demonic powers are indeed strong, they are not strong enough to disconnect a believer from God’s love.

Paul also mentions “powers.” This is taken from the word dunamis, which is the Greek word that sometimes depicted the powerful governments of men. Certainly Paul had been arrested, bound, and restricted by evil governments on many occasions, but none of these actions were ever sufficiently powerful to separate him from the love of God. A jail cell may have separated Paul from other believers. However, even in the deepest, darkest, most gruesome prison cell, Paul tangibly felt and personally experienced the love of God.

In addition to these points Paul has already mentioned, he uses the phrase “things present” to let us know that nothing that currently exists is able to prevent a person from experiencing God’s love. The words “things present” are derived from the Greek word enistemi, a compound of the words en and histemi. The word en means in, and the word histemi means to stand. Thus, when these two words are joined to form the word enistemi, the new word describes something that is presently standing in its place. In this case, it means nothing presently existing or nothing that currently stands is sufficient to separate a believer from the all-powerful presence of God’s love.

But Paul doesn’t stop with the things that presently exist. He goes on to say that “things to come” are also not able to separate a believer from the love of God. The Greek word used here is from the word mello, and it describes events that will occur in the future. These are things that haven’t happened yet, but will take place in the days and years to come. Paul has already said that nothing currently existing is strong enough to separate a believer from the love of God. Now he boldly declares that nothing will ever happen in the future that will contain enough power to hinder a believer from knowing and experiencing God’s love.

As he continues, Paul also declares that neither “height, nor depth” shall be able to separate us from the love of God. The word “height” is the Greek word hupsuma, which expresses the notion of something that is overhead. It would include anything that is lofty, such as the sky and the heavens above. The word “depth” is the word bathos, the Greek word that expresses the notion of something that is exceedingly deep, like the deepest, darkest parts of the sea. Now Paul uses these illustrations to say that nothing in the sky or in the deepest parts of the earth has the power to keep one of God’s children from knowing and experiencing His love.

To make sure absolutely everything is included in this comprehensive list, Paul adds “any other creature” to the list. The word “creature” is the Greek word ktisis, and it categorically refers to all created things in both the physical and spiritual worlds. Absolutely nothing in either of these spheres “…shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The words “shall be able” is from the word dunamai, which describes strength, capacity, or ability. The word “separate” is the Greek word choridzo, meaning to sunder, to sever, to disunite, to tear apart, to disconnect, to cut off, to disengage, or to withdraw. Notice that Paul says that nothing is capable of tearing a believer “from” the love of God. The word “from” is the Greek word apo, which means away and implies distance. This clearly means that there is nothing that can put distance between a believer and his Heavenly Father.

In light of the meanings of these Greek words in Romans 8:38 and 39, an interpretive translation of this verse could read:

“I have been persuaded, and I remain convinced, that neither death, nor the complications that often arise in life, nor powerful angelic beings, nor even an entire group of high-ranking demonic spirits, nor anything that currently exists, nor anything that could potentially happen in the future, nor any political power, nor anything in the highest heavens, nor anything that resides in the deepest depths, nor anything that has ever been created is capable of disconnecting us from the love of God or of putting any distance between us and the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Never forget this message Paul proclaimed. Nothing in this world has enough power to disconnect you from the love of God. No angel, no demon, no government, no creature — and no mistake of your own making — will ever be capable of cutting you off from the love of God. God’s love is greater than man will ever be able to comprehend. It reaches to the highest mountain, and it penetrates to the lowest parts of the earth. Regardless of what you are facing in your life today, God’s love is with you — and nothing will ever be able to disconnect you from this awesome, powerful, all-consuming love!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I am so thankful for Your love that never fails me and never deserts me. I am filled with gratitude that nothing in this world has the power to disconnect me from Your awesome, powerful, life-changing love. In moments when I feel overwhelmed by circumstances or problems, I ask that You give me a special awareness of Your unfailing love in my life.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that God’s love is with me and never leaves me. There is nothing that can happen in this world or in my life to disconnect me from His awesome, powerful, wonder-working, life-transforming love. I walk through each day in peace because I know that the Lord loves me. I have been persuaded, and I remained absolutely convinced, that nothing can separate me from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ my Lord!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1.  Can you think of a time in your life when, in the midst of facing a seemingly hopeless situation, you were intensely aware that the love of God was with you? When was that time in your life?

2.  Hasn’t God always been faithful to you? Why don’t you take a few minutes today to remember several times in your life when God’s love brought you through a very difficult circumstance?

3.  Can you think of some individuals who are currently facing hardships and need to be reminded that God’s love will not fail them? Wouldn’t it be a good idea to write them a note, call them, or stop by to personally see them and remind them of God’s unfailing love?

Present Your Bodies a Living Sacrifice

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies
a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
— Romans 12:1

When Mary’s days of purification were finished after the miraculous birth of Jesus, Luke 2:22 tells us that Mary and Joseph brought their son to Jerusalem to dedicate Him to the Lord. It says, “And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord.”

Mary and Joseph came to Jerusalem with the express purpose “to present” the young Jesus to God. To make such a journey to Jerusalem required finances to pay for the journey itself and to purchase the turtledoves and pigeons that would be offered to God at the time they presented Jesus. This was no casual, accidental, haphazard, unplanned event. Presenting Jesus to the Lord in the temple was a serious occasion, as it was for all males in Israel. Such an event was planned in advance and done with great reverence toward God. Thus, it was a very hallowed, consecrated, holy moment as Joseph and Mary approached the Temple at the time set for Jesus’ dedication.

Luke 2:22 says that Joseph and Mary came “…to present him to the Lord.” The word “present” comes from the Greek word paristimi, which is a compound of the words para and istimi. The prefix para means alongside, and the word istimi means to place. When these two words are compounded together, the new word means to place beside; to place at one’s disposal; to surrender; to offer, as to offer a sacrifice to God; or to present, as to present a special offering to God. This word undoubtedly communicates the fact that Mary and Joseph were coming to the Temple on this day to intentionally place their newborn son into God’s close care. They were dedicating and entrusting Him into God’s protection. They were surrendering Him to God’s supervision and making a pledge that this new baby boy was God’s possession and that God could therefore use Him however He wished.

This Greek word paristimi (“present”) is precisely the same word that Paul used in Romans 12:1, when he wrote, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” The fact that Paul used this same word sheds some very important light on Romans 12:1.

First, we know that Paul was very earnest when he wrote Romans 12:1 because he began by solemnly telling them, “I beseech you.…” The word “beseech” comes from the Greek word parakaleo. As noted in other Sparkling Gems, the word parakaleo is a Greek compound of the words para and kaleo. The word para means alongside, and the word kaleo means to call or to beckon. When these two words are compounded together, the new word pictures one who comes alongside someone else, as close as he can get, and then begins to passionately call out, plead, beckon, beg, and beseech that other person to do something on his behalf.

In many places, the word parakaleo is used to depict a person who is earnestly praying. Therefore, the word parakaleo is also a word that can depict a person who is sincerely expressing his heart to God in prayer. In light of this fact, one Greek scholar says that it is almost as if the apostle Paul dropped to his knees in this verse and began to prayerfully plead for his Roman readers to hear his petition. His heartfelt request was that they would present their bodies a living sacrifice to God.

It must be noted that the word parakaleo also described what military commanders did before they sent their troops into battle. After summoning the troops together, their commander would beseech or exhort them as he warned them of the realities of warfare. The commander would describe in detail what they were going to face in their battle; then he’d urge them to keep on fighting bravely until the victory was won. All of this is included in the word parakaleo.

This is very significant in the context of Romans 12:1. Paul was urging believers to dedicate their bodies to God. However, Paul knew that when a believer makes the decision to dedicate his body to God, the carnal nature may respond by going to war against the spirit. The flesh just doesn’t want to submit to the law of God or to do what God wishes. So when Paul besought his readers to yield their bodies to God, he was also warning them that such an action might stir up a battle in the flesh.

The carnal nature has long been the driving force for what is done with the body; therefore, it will most likely rebel when it is told to submit to God’s control. This is why anyone who decides to present and dedicate his body to God must be ready and willing to fight the battle with the flesh until victory is achieved.

As mentioned earlier, Paul uses the Greek word paristimi when he says we are to “present” our bodies as a living sacrifice. This is exactly the same word used in Luke 2:22 to depict that moment when Jesus’ parents presented baby Jesus to God in the Temple at Jerusalem. Just as Jesus’ dedication was no casual, accidental, haphazard, unplanned event, now Paul is telling us that the presentation of our bodies to God is a serious occurrence in our lives. This is no light affair, but one that should be done in a very hallowed, consecrated, and serious manner. It is a crucial, historical moment in our lives when we intentionally place ourselves in God’s close care. We surrender ourselves and all that we are to God’s supervision, making a solemn pledge that we are His and that He can therefore use us in whatever way He wishes.

You may wrongly assume that because you are a believer, this act of surrender has already occurred. But just because you are a believer does not mean that you have completely surrendered your body to God. If becoming a believer automatically caused this act of surrender to take place, Paul wouldn’t have found it necessary to earnestly urge the Roman believers to do it.

Notice that we are to present ourselves as a “living sacrifice.” In the Old Testament, an animal sacrifice would be offered upon the altar. Because the animal was dead, it could only be presented to the Lord once as a sacrificial offering.

But in the New Testament, we are urged to present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. This implies that we must live in a continual state of surrender and consecration. Our commitment may begin with a momentous, “once-and-for-all” decision, but it must be followed with a daily decision to keep on surrendering ourselves to the Lord. Thus, we must see every day of our lives as another day — another opportunity — to yield our lives to God.

Each new day necessitates new surrender and consecration. What you surrendered to God yesterday is already old. Today is a new day and demands a new and higher level of consecration.

Therefore, as you awake each morning, train yourself to begin your day with a prayer of consecration in which you solemnly and in holy reverence present yourself and all that you are to God’s purposes. Don’t assume that because you did it yesterday, you don’t need to do it today. What you did yesterday remains in yesterday’s sphere. Each new day beckons you to take a step closer to the Lord and to make a commitment more serious than the one you made before.

Have you willfully, deliberately, and intentionally presented your body to God? Just as Jesus’ parents brought Him to the Temple to present Him to the Lord, God is asking you to reverently come into His Presence to offer yourself as a living sacrifice to be used for His purposes. If you haven’t ever taken this step of faith, are you ready to take it now? The carnal nature may declare war when you make the decision to surrender completely to the Lord, so be prepared to deal with the flesh. Just determine that you will not stop until the victory has been won!

Today is the day to surrender yourself into the hands of God. Don’t wait until tomorrow — and don’t depend on what you did yesterday. This is a new day, and God is calling you to surrender yourself anew. So don’t let ANYTHING hold you back from taking this step of faith right now!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, today I am surrendering myself as a living sacrifice to be used in whatever way You choose. I know You are beckoning me to come higher and closer than ever before, so right now I approach You with great reverence and surrender myself more fully to You. With all my heart I vow to give You my soul, my emotions, my spirit, my body, and everything else that I am and that I possess. I want to live for You and to serve You for the rest of my life. Starting today, I yield to You completely. When You speak, I will do exactly what You tell me to do. 

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that I am surrendered to the purposes of God. I daily consecrate myself to God — to do what He wants and to live a life that is pleasing to Him. My flesh may try to wage war against this consecration, but I take authority over my flesh and I tell it what to do. My body does not control me. Instead, I control it, using it as my instrument to do whatever God asks me to do. Every day when I awake, I renew my consecration and personal commitment to serve God with all my heart. I am His completely, and I will obey whatever His Spirit prompts me to do.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Has there been a moment in your life when you seriously consecrated yourself more fully to God’s purposes? When was that moment? How did this deeper commitment affect your life?

2. Do you daily consecrate yourself to the Lord? If the answer is no, how long has it been since you dropped to your knees and reverently surrendered your life, your mind, your emotions, your talents, your money, your family, your job, your friends, your plans, and all that you are to the Lord?

3. Would God say that you live your life like a “living sacrifice”?

A Great and Effectual Door

For a great door and effectual is opened unto me,
and there are many adversaries.
— 1 Corinthians 16:9

Just after the collapse of the Soviet Union, through a series of very remarkable events, I found myself sitting in the central office for the national television station of a large country that had once been a part of the former Soviet Republic. A contract was laid on the table before me that gave me the privilege to broadcast the Gospel to that entire nation every day on prime-time television.

As the conversation with these national television leaders progressed, I learned that this was the first time such a door of opportunity had ever been opened to anyone since the fall of communism in the Soviet Union. As I sat and looked at the contract that lay on the table before me, I thought of Paul’s words in First Corinthians 16:9, where he said, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me.…”

Just as Paul once stood before a great and effectual door, at that moment I was also standing before a great door of opportunity that God was entrusting into our hands. But let’s talk for a moment about Paul’s situation. Where was he when this great and effectual door opened to him?

After Paul had waited many years for the extremely pagan city of Ephesus to open up wide for the preaching of the Gospel, the atmosphere of Ephesus was finally starting to change. Previous resistance was crumbling, and Paul’s prayers were finally being answered as the Gospel message began to conquer the city of Ephesus. First Corinthians 16:8 lets us know that Paul was in Ephesus at the time he wrote his first letter to the Corinthian church. He wrote, “But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.”

Paul’s accomplishment in Ephesus was no doubt one of his greatest works, if not the greatest. During the three years that he lived and worked in Ephesus, Paul established one of the greatest churches in world history. The revival that swept through the city was so massive that the church of Ephesus soon became the largest and most influential church in the first century.

Just as I have felt on so many occasions, Paul was keenly aware at this time that a door had opened to him that had never been opened to anyone else in human history. Notice that he wrote, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me….” The words “unto me” come from the Greek word moi, which means uniquely to me. This was a moment when Paul was standing in the midst of an apostle’s dreams. A city was falling to the Gospel; darkness was being driven out; and the church was being established.

Paul referred to this unique, unprecedented opportunity as “a great door and effectual.” The word “great” is the Greek word mega, which always speaks of something that is huge or massive. The word “door” is the word thura. This is the Greek word for a door, but Paul uses it here as a metaphor to describe a unique opportunity.

Paul said that this huge door of opportunity “opened” to him. This word “opened” comes from the Greek word anoigo, which means to open. However, it must be noted that the tense Paul uses doesn’t describe a door that is starting to open, but rather a door that is already standing wide open. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. The doors were wide open. Paul had complete and total access to the city of Ephesus.

Paul called this unique opportunity not only a “great” door, but also an “effectual” door. The word “effectual” is the Greek word energes, from which we get the word energy. But as used in New Testament Greek, the word energes describes something that is forceful, effective, active, or powerful. Paul declared that when this door opened to him and to the Gospel, it created a divine release of God’s power that immediately began to engulf the city of Ephesus.

But notice what else often accompanies a great and effectual door of opportunity. Paul went on to say, “A great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.” The word “adversaries” comes from the word antikeimai, a compound of the words anti and keimai. The word anti means against, and the word keimai means to lie, as with something that is lying around.

When these two words are compounded together, they express the idea of hostile forces that are standing in opposition to someone. These forces are literally lying all around, pitted against a common foe and just waiting for the opportunity to strike! These sneaky, sinister powers lie in wait to deceive, attack, or pry away another’s opportunity in order to steal it for themselves.

Anytime we find ourselves standing before a rare door of opportunity, people with impure motives and jealousy will appear on the scene to see how they can steal the victory we worked so hard to achieve. Paul was very aware (as I have been on many occasions in my own ministry) that there were deceptive people opposed to him who would have loved to remove him and steal the place God had given him in Ephesus.

Through the years that Denise and I have worked on the front lines of the Gospel, we’ve had a myriad of experiences with sinister people who saw our success as their opportunity. The television opportunity I mentioned earlier is just one of our many great and effectual doors for which we are so grateful. But like the apostle Paul, whenever we have stood before a great and effectual door that uniquely opened to us, the Spirit of God has made us very aware that our success was envied and coveted by others who wanted to steal it for themselves. Through these experiences, God has taught us to be wary of those who might want to take advantage of us.

You see, jealousy and covetousness in others is an unfortunate reality that often manifests when God opens a door of opportunity for you. That’s why it is so imperative that you learn how to be discerning. Those with impure motives have a way of showing up wherever people are being blessed, so don’t be surprised if it happens to you. If you’re not careful, these individuals will try to steal the victory away from you after you have worked hard to achieve it.

So if you find that God has set a unique door of opportunity before you, walk through that door by faith, expecting the power of God to be mightily released. Meanwhile, however, don’t forget to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. He will warn you if someone tries to sneak up from behind to steal what God has dropped into your hands!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I ask You to set a great and effectual door of opportunity before me. Please help me recognize when that door opens, for I desire to truly appreciate what You are doing in my life. At the same time, I need You to help me be spiritually discerning so I can differentiate my true friends from opportunists who might come to take advantage of me and steal this victory from my life. Give me spiritually discerning eyes to help me see who is and isn’t with me whenever a great and effectual door is uniquely opened to me for Your purposes.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that God is setting a great and effectual door before me! I have prayed and waited for this day to come, and now is the time when God is opening that door to me. I don’t take this unique time lightly. Rather, I am grateful to God for counting me faithful to receive such a rare and special opportunity. Because God’s Spirit works in me, I am able to recognize those whom God has sent to help and those whom Satan has sent to hinder.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Have you ever had a moment in your life when you realized a great and effectual door of opportunity was being given to you that had never been given to any other person you knew?

2. How did it affect you when you realized that you were standing in the midst of such a God-ordained opportunity?

3. Have you ever been taken advantage of by opportunists with impure motives who showed up when you became successful? Did you listen when the Holy Spirit spoke to your heart and tried to warn you about these opportunists?

Withdraw From Every Disorderly Brother

Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
— 2 Thessalonians 3:6

Many years ago Denise and I worked with a young man who was very skilled in music and who had a stage presence that was simply electrifying. However, in his personal life, things were completely out of order. Not only did he make a constant string of unwise decisions for himself, but those horrendous decisions were detrimentally affecting many people’s lives.

As pastors, we saw what this man did; we heard about the effect his behavior was having on other people; and we counseled people who had been abused by him. But because he was so talented and had such a strong stage presence, people ignored his chronic bad behavior, overlooking it as if it were just a minor flaw in his life and revering him as someone “great.”

After many months of prayer, I had a strong “knowing” from the Holy Spirit that this young man was headed for serious trouble. I met with him to discuss his future, but he ignored my advice and pressed onward with his destructive behavior. I was left with no choice but to call my young leadership team together and tell them, “I know that you love this man. But because he lives such a rebellious life, refuses to listen to anyone in authority, and keeps making such bad choices in his life, I am asking that you withdraw from him and stop investing your time and energy in that friendship.”

What my young team didn’t know was that this young man had gone so far off track, he had begun committing criminal actions. As a pastor, I couldn’t divulge everything I knew, so I asked my leadership team to trust me and submit to me in this matter by withdrawing from any further fellowship with him. As difficult as it may have been for them to obey me, I was ordering them to break off their relationship with this young man who was belligerently headed for a major catastrophe. I was sure that if they stayed close to him, he would try to drag them into the crisis with him.

As time passed, our young leaders became exceedingly grateful that I had ordered them to break off their relationship with the young man. Eventually he violated international trade laws and got into such a dangerous situation with the Russian mafia that he went into hiding to keep himself from being murdered. But although he tried to hide, members of the mafia found him, kidnapped him, and held him until they were confident he had the funds to pay the debt he owed them. When he was finally released, he was black and blue from the multiple beatings he had suffered at their hands.

You would think that after experiencing such brutality, this young man would have learned to change his ways. But instead, he persisted in his rebellion to authority and continued to commit grossly wrong actions in his life.

Although this young man was a brother in the Lord, he had never learned to submit to authority and refused to listen to those who could help him. Apparently, the apostle Paul was also aware of people who were unruly and insubordinate in the city of Thessalonica. It is evident that he was disturbed by this problem, for when he wrote his second letter to the Thessalonians, he gave them a stern order: “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us” (2 Thessalonians 3:6).

Notice that Paul says, “Now we command you.…” The word “command” is so strong in the Greek that it leaves no room for misunderstanding. It is the Greek word parangello, which means to order, to charge, or to give a command. All of Paul’s readers would have understood that this was not a suggestion — it was a direct command.

Paul went on to tell them, “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly.…” The word “withdraw” is the Greek word stello, which means to gather up, to pull together, to move oneself, or to withdraw. In some ancient texts, it meant to shorten the sails or to pull in all the loose, flapping sails that would hinder a ship from moving forward at maximum speed. In other places, the word stello was used to picture a runner pulling up the long, dangling ends of his robe so the loose ends wouldn’t hinder him in a foot race.

When Paul used the word stello, the Thessalonians would have immediately understood that he was ordering them to make an inward resolution. He was ordering them to pull themselves together and get rid of all the loose ends that could hinder their spiritual walk, which would include withdrawing from any rebellious Christians who refused to get things right with the Lord. There is no doubt that Paul was explicitly ordering the Thessalonian believers to remove themselves from all such relationships that could adversely affect their own progress with the Lord.

In the next statement, Paul identified the exact group of rebellious believers he was talking about. He told them (and us), “…Withdraw from every brother that walketh disorderly.…”

The words “walketh” is the Greek word peripateo. The word peripateo is very significant in this verse, for it means to walk about or to walk around, giving the impression of one who habitually lives and functions in a certain way. By employing the use of this word, Paul indicated that he wasn’t writing about a believer who makes an occasional mistake in his life; rather, he was categorically referring to those believers who habitually live in a “disorderly” manner.

The word “disorderly” is taken from the Greek word atakeo. The word atakeo was a military term that described a soldier who was out of rank or a soldier who was out of order. It carries the idea of one who is insubordinate or one who is disrespectful of those who have been placed in authority over him.

The word atakeo was also used in Greek society to portray individuals who refused to work and who lived off the goodwill of others. Apparently some of the rebellious people in Thessalonica refused to listen to the church leadership’s command to get a job. Instead, they took advantage of the goodwill of Christians, “sponging off them” whenever they needed some money.

This scenario is very clear as you continue to read Second Thessalonians 3. The word atakeo was also used to depict people who meddled in other people’s affairs. As in the case of the Thessalonians, these loafers had no jobs and therefore had lots of time to interfere in other people’s business. Paul was so against this behavior that he ordered the believers of Thessalonica to withdraw from these habitual loafers.

Paul finished this verse by reminding them that such a chronic loafer was not living “…after the tradition which he received of us.” In the Greek text, the word “tradition” is the word paradidomi, a Greek word that means to personally deliver or to personally transmit something to someone. Paul had personally delivered instruction to the Thessalonians about living responsible lives. No one in Thessalonica could claim ignorance, for Paul had personally taught them. Those who continued to live in this fashion were simply ignoring his instructions. And rather than tolerate their behavior, Paul told them, “Enough is enough!”

When you take all these Greek word meanings into account, Second Thessalonians 3:6 could be interpreted to mean:

“Brothers, we give you this command in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Distance yourselves from every brother who routinely lives his life out of order — breaking ranks, violating authority, living the life of a maverick, and perpetually refusing to submit to anyone’s authority. If you’re already entangled with a brother like this, do whatever you must to get free of that relationship. It’s time to tie up all the loose ends with this brother and to inwardly resolve that you are not going to spend time with him any longer. Although he’s a brother, his actions are not in agreement with the teachings you learned from us.”

Paul’s command is very clear: Even though such brothers or sisters are related to us in Christ, we are not to have close fellowship with those who show disrespect for authority and who routinely live their lives out of order. When a believer lives in defiance of God’s Word and God-established authority, we must inwardly resolve to back away so we don’t put our stamp of approval on them by affiliating ourselves with them. Yes, we must continue to love them; nevertheless, there comes a time when we must disassociate from unrepentant, erring believers. As we do, we will help them realize they are wrong and protect our own testimony from being negatively affected.

In light of Paul’s message in Second Thessalonians 3:6, what is God saying to you about your current friendships? Do you closely associate with any individuals who have no regard for the Word of God or respect for God-established authority? If so, do you have a good reason why you maintain an intimate relationship with them? Are these the kind of close friends you need? Could it be that you need to back away from the people in your life who are living in rebellion? Is it time to invest yourself in someone else who loves God’s Word, who is submitted to authority, and who has a heart to prosper under the blessing of the local church?

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I ask You to help me truthfully examine my relationships to determine which of them are helping me and which are hindering me. If any of my relationships are with people who are disorderly or rebellious and unwilling to change, please give me the courage to follow the instructions of Your Word. Holy Spirit, I am depending on You to lead and guide me and to help me do exactly what Jesus wants me to do.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that I carefully guard my life by closely affiliating with people who love God’s Word, respect God-established authority, and act as positive influences in my life. I do not allow myself to be dragged into relationships with people who refuse to seriously walk with God. Those who could negatively influence me are not the people I choose to be my closest friends. Nothing in the world is more important than my walk with God. Since those who are close to me have a tremendous influence on my life, I choose friends who, like me, make their walk with God their greatest priority.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Have you ever maintained close relationships with people who you knew were not good for your spiritual life? Were you negatively affected by this close affiliation as a result?

2. Can you think of someone in your life who is associating too closely with people who have the potential of negatively influencing his or her life? Have you expressed your heartfelt concerns to this person?

3. Have you spent time in prayer, asking God to resolve this situation? If not, why don’t you take a few minutes right now to ask the Lord to work in this situation as He protects your friend or relative from the potential harm you foresee?

A Prayer That God Cannot Answer

For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.…
— 2 Corinthians 12:8,9

Perhaps you’ve heard yourself praying this prayer in a moment of exasperation when dealing with people: “God, I can’t deal with all these people anymore! Please remove all the people from my life who make me lose my peace and joy!”

As long as you live in this world, you will have challenges in your relationships with people. That’s just a part of dealing with human beings. The only way you can be free of challenges with imperfect humans is to die prematurely and go directly to Heaven. But if you intend to live a full life here on planet earth, part of the package includes living with people who are far from perfect and who do things that occasionally surprise and disappoint you.

From Paul’s words in Second Corinthians 12:8, it seems that he had prayed to be delivered of problem people on three different occasions during his ministry. He wanted to be free of these people so desperately that he said, “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice.…”

The word “besought” is the Greek word parakaleo, an intense word that is derived from the Greek words para and kaleo. The word para means alongside, and the word kaleo means to call or to beckon. When compounded together into the word parakaleo, the new word pictures one who comes alongside someone else, as close as he can get, and then begins to passionately call out, plead, beckon, beg, and beseech that other person to do something on his behalf.

In using the word parakaleo in this verse, Paul lets us know that he had passionately asked God to answer this prayer. Paul had drawn as near to God as he possibly could; then once he was in that close position, he earnestly pleaded with God, asking Him to deliver him from that thorn in his flesh and from the messenger of Satan that buffeted and constantly harassed him (see November 9 to learn more about Paul’s thorn in the flesh).

Paul tells us that he asked God to cause this thorn in the flesh to “depart” from him. The word “depart” is the Greek word aphistimi, which means to depart or to remove and as a rule it is used to refer to people rather than things. The use of this Greek word amplifies the fact that Paul was praying to be freed of problem people! He was literally saying, “God, I don’t want to deal with these people anymore. I earnestly ask You to please remove them from my life!”

But here is why God cannot fully answer this kind of prayer: Even if God did remove this particular group of people that caused Paul such trouble, it wouldn’t be long until another group of problem people showed up!

As long as we live in this world, we will have to deal with people whom we don’t enjoy or whom the devil tries to use to steal our joy and peace. If we constantly focus on getting rid of people we don’t like or enjoy, we’ll be praying to be delivered from people for the rest of our lives. As I said earlier, the only way for you to be permanently free of all imperfect-people problems is to go home to be with the Lord!

That’s why the Lord told Paul, “…My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness…” (2 Corinthians 12:9). The word “sufficient” is the Greek word arkeo. This is an old Greek word that means to be sufficient; to be satisfactory; and to give protection, power, and help. In later Greek, it denoted a man who possessed great financial means. This type of person was sufficiently endowed with huge resources that were more than enough for him or for any endeavor he would ever attempt. Hence, he was financially strong or financially sufficient.

This is precisely the word the Lord used when He told Paul, “…My grace is sufficient for thee.…” It was the equivalent of the Lord saying, “My grace is more than enough to protect you, empower you, and help you deal with the problem people you encounter in life. You will find that My grace is completely satisfactory in meeting your need and that it will make you sufficiently strong to deal with these situations.”

Just like Paul, we may occasionally feel exasperated and incapable in our own strength to victoriously cope with troublesome people; nonetheless, the Lord gives us His promise: “…My strength is made perfect in weakness.…” The word “strength” in this verse comes from the Greek word dunamis, the word for dynamic power. This is a strength that always releases sufficient power and possesses the ability to make needed changes. God knew that Paul needed a new surge of divine power that would change his perspective and empower him to successfully overcome his struggles with people.

The Lord continued to tell Paul (and us), “…My strength is made perfect in weakness.…” The word “weakness” in Greek is the word astheneo, which describes a person who feels weak, distressed, unsettled, or needy. If Paul was referring to physical sickness, as some assert, he would have used the word asthenes, which actually describes physical ailments. However, because Paul used the word astheneo and not asthenes in this verse, he confirmed to us again that he was not talking about physical sickness; rather, he was referring to the distressing, unsettling emotions he experienced as a result of the people who were a constant source of conflict for him. The Lord knew that Paul felt insufficient in his own strength to successfully deal with these people.

But if Paul would open his heart to the Lord, God’s promise was that His strength would be made “perfect” in his weakness. Here is the answer that Paul and you and I need when we feel exhausted in dealing with troublesome people and relationships. The word “perfect” is the word teleo, which means perfection, completion, or something that is mature. But the Greek tense used in this verse accentuates continuing action, which is a very important point! It means that this inflow of supernatural, strengthening power is not what God only does sometimes; it is power that God makes available at all times if we will only receive it. The verse could be translated, “My power is constantly being perfected in you whenever you feel weak and needy.…”

This verse could be taken to mean:

“…My grace is more than enough for you. If you’ll receive it, you’ll find that it will sufficiently endow you with more than you need to deal with any situation. My power is always on hand, available to help you in moments when you are weak and needy.…”

So the next time you feel exasperated with people and are tempted to pray to be delivered from them, remember that this is a prayer you really don’t want God to answer exactly like you asked. If He were to permanently remove you from “problem people,” He’d have to take you home early! That is the only way you could ever be permanently freed from people who cause challenges for you.

It’s all right to pray for others to be changed, but never forget that God wants to do a work inside you as well! He wants to change you so that you can successfully live in the midst of imperfect people. If you’ll open your heart to receive what God has for you, He will fill you with His dynamic, supernatural power — divine power that will transform your thinking and inwardly fortify you to live successfully in this world. You’ll be able to cope with the problem people you have to deal with — and you’ll do it all with joy, peace, and victory! God will strengthen you and help you overcome your own weaknesses, making you sufficiently strong to handle every people challenge that ever comes your way!

So instead of constantly asking God to remove all the problem people from your life, why don’t you change the way you are praying? Start asking God to release His power to change you so you can walk in peace and victory even when people fail or disappoint you. If you can learn to appropriate the power of God to deal with people, the devil won’t be able to use people to steal your joy and victory anymore!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I realize today that I’ve been praying the wrong prayer! I’ve been asking You to remove all the problem people from my life; meanwhile, You’ve been wanting to reinforce me with sufficient strength to live with these people victoriously. Forgive me for wanting to run from my challenges. Help me face them bravely and confidently in the power of the Holy Spirit from this day forward. I know You want to give me this power, so I open my heart to receive it right now!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that God’s grace is sufficient for me! When I feel distressed because of what people do to me, I turn to the grace of God and allow the Holy Spirit to fill me with sufficient power to love the unlovely, to be patient with those who act ugly, and to walk in kindness and longsuffering with everyone I encounter throughout the day. My weakness in dealing with people disappears when I yield to the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells inside me!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Have there been moments in your life when you were so exasperated with people that you were tempted to ask God to remove all problem people from your life?

2. Did you honestly think that was a prayer God could answer? Did it dawn on you that God might want to change you so you can live victoriously in the midst of imperfect people?

3. Do you know of anyone who never has problems with people? Since you will have to deal with imperfect people as long as you live on this earth, what kind of changes need to occur in you so you can live in peace with others and stop losing your joy all the time?

What Was Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh?

And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
— 2 Corinthians 12:7

In Second Corinthians 12:7, the apostle Paul writes that he had been given a “thorn in the flesh” because of “the abundance of the revelations” he had received. Today I want us to delve into this verse to discover the identity of this thorn in the flesh and where it came from. Did it come from God, as some assert, or was this thorn personally sent from Satan to impede Paul from making an even greater impact with his ministry?

Let’s begin looking for the answer to this question by carefully examining Paul’s words in Second Corinthians 12:7. He writes, “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations.…”

The words “exalted above measure” are taken from the Greek word huperairo, a compound of the words huper and airo. The word huper means over, above, and beyond. It depicts something that is way beyond measure and conveys the idea of something that is greater, superior, higher, better, more than a match for, utmost, paramount, or foremost. It could also describe something that is first-rate, first-class, top-notch, unsurpassed, unequaled, and unrivaled by any person or thing. The second part of the word huperairo (“exalted above measure”) means to lift up, to raise, or to be exalted.

When these two Greek words are compounded to form the word huperairo, it speaks of a person who has been supremely exalted. This is a person who has been magnified, increased, and lifted up to a place of great prestige and influence. Although huperairo could be used to express the idea of a person who has haughtily exalted himself, this is not the idea Paul has in mind when he writes this verse. Rather, this is a person who has been greatly honored and recognized due to something he has written, done, or achieved.

Notice that Paul refers to the “abundance of the revelations” that God had given to him. The word “abundance” is the Greek word huperballo, a compound of the word huper, described above, and the word ballo, which means to cast or to throw. But when these two words are compounded to form the word huperballo, it describes something that is phenomenal, extraordinary, unparalleled, or unmatched. It is the picture of an archer who aims for the bull’s eye; but when he releases the string and shoots his arrow, he watches as his arrow flies way over the top of the target. Now Paul uses this word to explain that the revelations he had received were not only unparalleled in quality, but the vast number of them were far beyond what anyone else had ever received.

The word “revelations” is from the Greek word apokalupsis. It refers to something that has been veiled or hidden for a long time and then suddenly, almost instantaneously, becomes clear and visible to the mind or eye. It is like pulling the curtains out of the way so you can see what has always been just outside your window. The scene was always there for you to enjoy, but the curtains blocked your ability to see the real picture. But when the curtains are drawn apart, you can suddenly see what has been hidden from your view. The moment you see beyond the curtain for the first time and observe what has been there all along but not evident to you — that is what the Bible calls a “revelation.”

From Paul’s words in Second Corinthians 12:7, we know that the curtain had been pulled apart and Paul had seen into the spirit realm on many occasions. He’d had an “abundance” of these experiences. It was this “abundance of the revelations” that Paul was preaching as he traversed the regions surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Everywhere he went, he preached what had been divinely revealed to him. As he preached, his power, authority, and fame grew greater and greater. As his authority grew, so did his ability to impact the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Due to these revelations and his boldness to preach them, Paul was unquestionably becoming one of the most influential men of his day.

Now Paul lets us know that Satan was alarmed by the great progress the apostle was making with the Gospel; therefore, the enemy launched an full-scale attack to impede that progress. Satan didn’t want Paul to be recognized or magnified to a greater extent than he already was. Instead, the devil wanted to pull down this man of God — to ruin him, to destroy him, and to discredit the message he preached. Since there was no moral flaw in Paul that Satan could use to destroy him, he inflicted Paul with a “thorn in the flesh.”

The word “thorn” is the Greek word skolops, a word used to describe a dangerously sharp, spiked instrument or tool. However, this word was also used to describe the stake on which an enemy’s head was stuck after being decapitated.

The word skolops gives the impression that this thorn was excruciatingly painful. Some have suggested that the words “in the flesh” refer to a physical sickness, but this is not affirmed by any scripture in the New Testament and should be taken as unsubstantiated conjecture. People have gone so far in their imaginations as to assert that Paul suffered from malaria, epilepsy, eye disease, club feet, or a hunched back. There is nothing in any New Testament scripture to back up such speculations!

One thing is clear, however: Satan wanted Paul’s head on a stake! He wanted to eliminate this man of God and put him completely out of the picture. Instead of referring to sickness, the words “in the flesh” most likely describe a type of event that was a constant source of irritation to the apostle Paul. This event caused him personal distress and kept reoccurring over and over again. For this reason, he referred to it as a “thorn in the flesh.”

Some argue that God sent this thorn in the flesh to keep Paul from being prideful about his many revelations. But there is no reason to debate this issue, for Paul plainly wrote that it was a “…messenger of Satan to buffet me….” The word “messenger” is the Greek word angelos, a word that can describe an angel; one who is sent on a special mission; or a messenger who is dispatched to perform a specific assignment. This “messenger of Satan,” perhaps a demonic angel, was sent directly from Satan himself to buffet Paul and to restrict the progress of his ministry.

This thorn in the flesh categorically did not come from God; otherwise, Paul would have called it a “messenger of God.” Paul himself plainly states that this thorn in the flesh was given to him by a “messenger of Satan” — a special force that had been dispatched to keep Paul from gaining additional status and prestige and to prevent him from taking the Gospel further and higher into the world scene.

Look at the facts: Paul was preaching to kings, governors, and world leaders. He was establishing churches, writing New Testament scriptures, and pushing back the forces of hell. His personal influence was growing, and his impact was increasing day by day. The revelations that God had given him were about to change the course of human history. Fearing that Paul’s influence would grow too great, Satan strategically sent forces who had been instructed to create disturbances to “buffet” the apostle.

The word “buffet” is the Greek word kolaphidzo, a Greek word that comes from the word kolaphos, a word that describes the fist or knuckles. When it becomes the word kolaphidzo, as Paul uses it in Second Corinthians 12:7, it refers to beatings with the fist. The Greek tense describes unending, unrelenting, continuous, repetitious beatings. This means Paul is not telling us of a single event, but of a series of many events. This word kolaphidzo (“buffet”) gives us our greatest insight into the “thorn in the flesh” Paul is writing about in this verse.

As noted earlier (see October 17-30), Paul endured many afflictions during his ministry. Many of the afflictions he faced were due to the religious leaders who so fiercely opposed him. These religious leaders included Jewish leaders who hated him and his message. They also included false brethren who were constantly trying to displace his position of authority in the local churches. Paul was resisted outside the church by leaders of the Jewish faith who hated him. He was also opposed from within the church by those who wanted him out of the picture so they could take his place of prominence.

Thus, the biggest “thorn” in Paul’s life was the fact that he had to deal with these different groups of people who covertly planned the problems and hassles he frequently faced in the ministry. A special messenger from Satan, perhaps even a demonic angel, had been sent to incite these people against Paul.

If you survey the types of ordeals Paul endured, you will see that many of them were orchestrated by these people who wanted to get rid of him. They were so teeming with hatred toward Paul that they wanted to see his head on a stake! These people were the primary source of Paul’s problems and distractions he faced in his life and ministry.

One type of attack Paul experienced at his opponents’ hands were many physical “beatings,” which explains his use of the word kolaphidzo (“buffet”) in this verse. However, Paul was also constantly buffeted, harassed, hassled, and distracted by the negative activities of these people. As a result, he was hindered from focusing on what God had called him to do because of the great amount of time he had to spend defending his apostleship and answering the charges of those who were stirring up trouble against him. These opponents really were a thorn in the flesh for Paul. Their actions were a constant irritant that he had to deal with on an almost daily basis.

In light of these Greek words, consider this fresh interpretation of Paul’s words in Second Corinthians 12:7:

“Because of the phenomenal revelations I have received and on account of the vast number of these revelations that God has entrusted to me — and to hinder the highly visible progress I am making in the Lord’s cause — a special messenger has been sent from Satan to harass me with constant distractions and headaches. There’s no doubt about it! Those whom Satan has stirred up against me want my head on a stake! Satan is using these people to constantly buffet and distract me in an attempt to keep me from reaching a higher level of visibility and recognition and to sidetrack me from preaching my revelations.”

You see, Paul’s thorn in the flesh wasn’t sickness or epilepsy or any other physical malady; it was the people who opposed and irritated him and continually caused him problems! The devil used these people again and again, trying to keep Paul so distracted solving “people problems” that he wouldn’t be able to make any more significant personal or Gospel advancements.

What about you, friend? What do you intend to do about the “thorns” that the devil is using to steal your joy and to sidetrack you from your mission? How do you intend to react to this ongoing disturbance? Paul never allowed people to keep him from fulfilling his divine call, so today I urge you to follow his example. Don’t allow people to stop you! The devil is obviously afraid of you, your gifts, your potential, and your revelations; otherwise, he wouldn’t need to incite people to stir up trouble for you.

More than likely, the opposition you’re facing is a good indication that you’re right on track. So just keep forging ahead toward your God-ordained goal, regardless of the distractions that try to steal your focus!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I ask You to help me remain focused on my goals, even when the devil tries to use people to steal my focus and distract me. Knowing that the devil tries to use people, I ask You to help me equip myself spiritually and mentally so I will be able to keep my eyes on the goal You have given for my life. I choose to forgive those whom the devil uses. I will pray for them to change and to repent for their actions; I will keep my heart free of offense; and I will continue to march full-steam ahead to achieve what God has told me to do! Holy Spirit, please help me stay on track and keep my heart free from all strife!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that Satan is unable to distract me from what God has told me to do. Although the enemy tries very hard to knock me off track, I will not take my eyes off the goals God has given me, nor will I ever stop pursuing those goals until I know they have been achieved. The power of God resides in me. The power of Christ’s resurrection operates in my life. I have all the power I need to shove aside every distraction and to keep pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Are there any people that the devil regularly uses to inflict grief in your life? Do you find their behavior a distraction or an irritant — a “thorn” in your flesh that the devil uses to steal your joy and distract you from your God-given assignment?

2. Have you asked God to give you a strategy to turn these “enemies” in your favor? Have you prayed that they would have a change of heart and repent?

3. What can you do to undergird yourself in order to stay focused and undistracted and to successfully resist these types of assaults?