The Shield of Faith!
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
— Ephesians 6:16
When Paul wrote his letter to the church of Ephesus, he gave a full description of the spiritual weaponry God has provided for every believer. In Ephesians 6:16, he referred to the shield of faith. He said, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
With the imagery of a Roman soldier before him, Paul used the Roman soldier’s shield to illustrate the shield of faith that God has provided for you and me. The word “shield” is the Greek word thureos, which was used by the Greeks and Romans to depict an oblong door that was wide in width and long in length. The reason the Roman soldiers used this word to describe their battle shields was that the shields were door-shaped. They were wide in width and long in length; just like the door of a house.
Because it was wide and long, this shield completely covered the Roman soldier! This is why the Holy Spirit chose to use the word thureos as the illustration of faith. He is telling us that God has given us enough faith to make certain we are completely covered for every situation — just like the shield that completely covered a Roman soldier!
In Romans 12:3, Paul wrote, “…God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” How much faith has God given you? He has given you enough faith to make sure you are covered for any event that comes along in life!
So you don’t need to worry or fret that God has given more faith to others than He has given to you. Rest assured in the fact that God has imparted enough faith to you to make sure you are covered from head to toe! That faith, like a wide and long shield, is adequate to cover any need that will ever come along in your life!
In the majority of cases, the Roman soldier’s shield was composed of multiple layers of thick animal hide that had been tightly woven together. Usually six layers of animal hide were specially tanned and then woven together so tightly that they became nearly as strong as steel. One piece of leather is tough, but imagine how tough and durable six layers of leather would be! Because of how it was made, the shield of the Roman soldier was extremely tough and exceptionally durable!
However, the Roman soldier’s leather shield could become stiff and breakable over a period of time if it wasn’t properly taken care of. Therefore, it was necessary for him to know how to take care of it.
In order to keep those shields in good shape, the soldiers were given a daily schedule to maintain excellent condition of their shields. Each morning when the soldier was awakened, he would reach for a small vial of oil. After saturating a piece of cloth with oil, he would begin to rub, rub, and rub that heavy ointment into the leather portion of the shield to keep it soft, supple, and pliable.
Any soldier who neglected this daily application of oil and allowed his shield to go without the necessary care was in effect inviting certain death. If not correctly cared for and properly maintained, the leather portion of the shield would harden, crack when put under pressure, and finally fall to pieces. Therefore, the end result of a soldier’s failure to care for his shield was the loss of his own life.
Paul says that this shield is representative of our faith. This tells us that our faith, like the shield in Paul’s illustration, requires frequent anointings of the Holy Spirit. Without a fresh touch of God’s Spirit upon our lives, our faith will become hard, stiff, and brittle.
What happens when you ignore your faith and allow it to go undeveloped? What is the result of never seeking a fresh anointing of God’s Spirit to come upon your life? When a challenge comes your way, your faith won’t be soft, supple, and pliable enough to stand up under attack. A faith that is ignored nearly always breaks and falls to pieces in the midst of confrontation.
So don’t assume that your faith is always in top-notch shape! Instead, play it safe and assume that your faith always needs a fresh anointing. By taking this approach, you will always seek to do what is necessary to keep your faith alive, active, and well!
My Prayer for Today
Lord, I want to thank You for giving me spiritual weapons! Today I am especially grateful that You have equipped me with a shield of faith that covers me from head to toe. Because You have been so gracious to provide everything I need, there is never a reason that Satan’s fiery darts should get through to me. So I ask You to help me hold my faith up high, keep it out in front, and march forward without any fear of what Satan might try to do to me!
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
My Confession for Today
I confess that I am dressed in the whole armor of God! There isn’t a part of me that hasn’t been covered by the spiritual weaponry God has placed at my disposal. My shield of faith is working fine! It is anointed; it is strong; it is ready for any confrontation; and it will cause any dart that the enemy tries to throw at me to ricochet off without doing harm!
I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!
Questions to Answer
1. If you were really honest with God and yourself, how would you evaluate the way you maintain, develop, use, and grow in your faith? Are you using your faith as you once did, or have you slowly backed away from the strong stance of faith you once possessed?
2. When an attack comes against you, do you stand strong in the face of it, or do you tend to fall to pieces? If your answer is the latter, what does this tell you about the way you are maintaining your faith?
3. What do you think you need to do to keep your faith in top-notch shape?
How Would You Like To Receive a Fresh Anointing?
…I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
— Psalm 92:10
How would you like to receive a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit on your life today? If your answer is yes, why don’t you go before the Great Anointer and allow Him to give you that fresh anointing? This is precisely what David was referring to when he said, “…I shall be anointed with fresh oil” (Psalm 92:10).
The word “anoint” that is used primarily in the Old Testament Septuagint and the Greek New Testament comes from the Greek word chrio. This word originally denoted the smearing or rubbing of oil or perfume upon an individual. For example, if a patient came to see his physician because he had sore muscles, the physician would pour oil upon his own hands; then he would begin to deeply rub that oil into the sore muscles of his patient. That penetrating application of oil would be denoted by the Greek word chrio. So technically speaking, the word “anoint” has to do with the rubbing or smearing of oil upon someone else.
When I hear the word “anoint,” I immediately think not only of the oil, but of the hands of the Anointer! Oil was very expensive in biblical times; therefore, rather than tip the bottle of oil downward and freely pour it upon the recipient, a person would first pour the oil into his hands and then apply it to the other person. For this reason, I refer to the anointing as a “hands-on” situation. It took someone’s hands to apply the oil.
Let’s consider this concept in the context of God anointing our lives. God Himself — the Great Anointer — filled His hands with the essence of the Spirit and then laid His mighty hands upon our lives, pressing the Spirit’s power and anointing ever deeper into us. So when we speak of a person who is anointed, we are actually acknowledging that the hand of God is on that person. The strong presence of the anointing that we see or feel is a signal to let us know that God’s hand is personally resting on that individual’s life.
Therefore, if you would like a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit upon your life, you must come before the Great Anointer! He alone can give you what you need. Open your heart to God, and allow Him to lay His hand upon your life in a new way. I guarantee you, a strong anointing will follow!
My Prayer for Today
Lord, I am asking You to lay Your hand upon me in a brand-new way today. Rub the oil of Your Spirit deep into my life — and let the powerful fragrance of the anointing be felt, sensed, and seen by others who are near me. I want to carry Your power and demonstrate the aroma of Your Presence, so please lay Your hand on me today and let the anointing deeply penetrate me!
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
My Confession for Today
I confess that God’s hand is on my life. Because of this, the Spirit of the Lord rests mightily upon me. Just as He anointed Jesus, I am also anointed to preach the Gospel to the poor; to heal the brokenhearted; to preach deliverance to the captives; to give recovery of sight to the blind; and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. I carry the power of Jesus Christ, and I give off the aroma of God’s Presence!
I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!
Questions to Answer
1. Can you recall a moment when you really knew the hand of God came upon you? When that happened, what were the immediate results?
2. How long has it been since you experienced a fresh anointing of the Spirit? Where were you when God’s hand last came upon you in a dramatic and spectacular fashion?
3. If someone were to ask you to explain the anointing to them, what would you say? After thinking about this, try to write your answer down so you’ll be better prepared the next time someone asks you this question.
Don’t Hold Anything Back!
So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.
— 1 Thessalonians 2:8
One common failure among ministers is to teach people the Word yet neglect to model the principles so the people will know how to live it in their personal lives. But true discipleship is not complete until there is an example to follow. When people receive the Word only as an intellectual exercise, their heads may become filled with knowledge, but that knowledge won’t become workable in their lives until they have access to someone who models the message before them.
For example, Jesus modeled His message before His disciples. He lived with them, walked with them, worked with them, traveled with them, and spent nearly every minute of three whole years with them. As a result of working with Jesus so closely, the disciples not only received Jesus’ message, but they also saw the way He lived it as He modeled an example before them.
We know that modeling the Word was also a part of Paul’s teaching style. In First Thessalonians 2:8, the apostle Paul wrote, “…We were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls….” In this statement, Paul gave us the dynamic, life-changing principle that we must teach the Word and use our lives to model the message!
Certainly Paul taught publicly — and there was probably no better teacher than he in New Testament times. He was the “crème-de-la-crème” of New Testament theologians. Paul could have lectured for multiple hours from the vast wealth of information and revelation stored up in his incredible intellect — and I’m sure that from time to time he did this.
But Paul didn’t just lecture and preach. He gave the people not only the Gospel, but also his own soul. His “soul” was his life, his emotions, his view of things, his lifestyle. He lived so openly before the Church that he was able to model his message before them.
Paul even told the Thessalonians, “For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us…” (2 Thessalonians 3:7). The words “ye ought” are taken from the Greek word dei — a strong word indicating the Thessalonians understood that Paul was giving them compelling advice they should obey. In other words, Paul’s readers understood that even though the apostle did not directly command them to obey, they were to strictly follow the advice he was giving them.
Paul continues to tell the Thessalonians, “…Ye ought to follow us.…” The word “follow” is the Greek word mimeomai, an old Greek word for an actor or a mimic. Therefore, Paul’s command to “follow” isn’t referring to a casual type of following; rather, it implies an intentional study of the life, deeds, actions, and thoughts of another person in an attempt to fully understand that person and then to replicate his attributes in one’s own life. This type of following enables one to think like his subject, walk like his subject, mimic his subject’s movements, make the vocal intonations of his subject, and to act like his subject in a masterful way. However, this can only be achieved by those seriously committed to the act of replication. Mimicking, replicating, and acting like another person are the results of true discipleship.
When you put all these words together, Second Thessalonians 3:7 could be translated:
“It would behoove you to follow our example — to imitate and mimic us with the goal of replicating what you observe in our lives….”
Paul was committed to sharing not only the Word, but his life with those to whom he ministered. He told the elders from Ephesus, “And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house” (Acts 20:20). From his testimony in this verse, we know that Paul publicly taught the Word; however, he also showed the people he taught how to live the Word! He gave them the entire package, which was the Word and his life combined together!
When the Word is packaged with a personal, living example, it is powerful! Nothing is more powerful than a message backed up by a person who applies that message to his daily life.
There is an unfortunate alarm among Christian leaders that if their followers become too familiar with them, the people will lose respect for them and their anointing. However, Jesus’ disciples were very familiar with His lifestyle, and it didn’t hurt their respect or honor for Him at all. Quite the contrary, Jesus’ life became the greatest message He ever preached to His disciples!
Paul also wasn’t fearful that the Thessalonians would lose respect by knowing him too well. Quite the contrary, he urged them to follow him and his lifestyle so closely that they would be able to duplicate his life themselves. The personal example of his own life showed them that they could walk in the power of the Word just as he was doing. Watching the Word work in Paul’s life only made the message that much more powerful to the Thessalonians.
As you work with new believers or people who are under your spiritual influence, be sure to let them get close enough to see that the Word you preach really works. It’s great to give them Bible lessons, but they need an example they can follow. If you are concerned that allowing people to get close to you will affect their respect for you, then you need to be honest about those areas of your life that you fear may discredit you in their eyes!
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you walk in the reality of what you preach and teach. Ask Him to give you the boldness, confidence, and grace to let the key leaders under your authority get close enough to see how the Word works in your own life. If you’re really walking in the reality of what you preach, allowing people to get close to you will only demonstrate that you are the real thing — and that will increase their level of respect for you!
My Prayer for Today
Lord, I thank You for placing me under people who helped me grow when I was a young Christian. Their influence was important in my spiritual development, so I thank You for them right now — for their patience, their love, their kindness, and their willingness to let me get close enough to really learn how to walk with You. Now it’s time for me to do this for someone else, so please lead me to a young disciple whom I can begin to show how to walk in the power and authority of Your Word.
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
My Confession for Today
I confess that I am a good example to other believers. Because I walk in the truth of what I preach, my life makes the message even stronger. People need a good example they can follow, and that means they need me! The Holy Spirit empowers me to preach, to teach, and to boldly model my life before others with confidence and grace!
I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!
Questions to Answer
1. When you first came to the Lord, who had the greatest personal impact on your spiritual development? What kind of access did you have to these individuals, and why was their influence so important to your growth?
2. Is there anyone you are helping by giving him or her this kind of access to your life right now? Since it was so effective for you, don’t you think you ought to return the favor by letting God use you this same way in someone else’s life?
3. Be honest! Is there any area of your life that you are afraid for people to know about? Does that out-of-order area cause you to keep people from getting too close to you?
It’s Wearisome To Work With the Dead!
This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
— 1 Timothy 3:1
One of the greatest frustrations I’ve experienced through the years is working with people who have great potential but are apathetic about life. It’s even more frustrating when these people grew up in Christian homes and should therefore have been taught to pursue a higher standard for life.
But many people weren’t raised according to a high standard of excellence as my parents raised me. Therefore, they don’t possess a deep desire to be excellent in everything they do. They grew up in an environment where low-level thinking was viewed as normal, so that’s the standard they’ve accepted for their own lives. However, a person who comes from a low-level background hurts only himself when he uses that as an excuse for staying mediocre.
It’s so frustrating when you give people the opportunity to learn, to adapt, and to better themselves, but they don’t take advantage of these opportunities and therefore never experience needed change. You can send them to school, educate them, and even pay for them to fly halfway around the world in order to learn new and better techniques. But if they don’t possess the inner drive to become better and more professional, it doesn’t matter how much time or money you throw at them. It’s all a waste unless they have desire.
This is the reason the apostle Paul put “desire” at the top of the list when he wrote to Timothy and instructed him on how to choose leaders for his church in Ephesus. In First Timothy 3:1, Paul said, “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.” According to this verse, desire is not only an important quality to possess, it is a requirement for any believer who wants to fulfill God’s plan for his or her life!
The word “desire” comes from the Greek word orego, which means to stretch forward or to reach toward. It denotes the longing, cravings, urge, burning desire, or yearning ambition to achieve something or to become something. It portrays a person so fixed on the object of his desire that his whole being is stretched forward to take hold of that goal or object.
In other words, this word doesn’t portray a person who just “thinks” about becoming something; this is a person who is determined to become something! He has put his whole heart, soul, and body into his dream, and he won’t take no for an answer! He will do whatever is required; he will change anything in his character that needs to be changed and do anything he must do to achieve his goal.
It takes only a few personal experiences with desireless people to make it perfectly clear why Paul put this quality at the top of the list of character requirements for leaders. There is nothing more dreadful or irritating than to work with someone who is gifted and talented but who doesn’t even possess enough initiative to get up and do his job!
As I said, one of my greatest frustrations — and this is true of every leader — is in trying to help, nurture, and develop people who have great potential but are apathetic about life. Desireless people stroll through life at their own pace, accepting standards and practices that would never be accepted in the business or secular world. They are like dead people!
You push, shove, beg, plead, and pray for people that fit this description to get involved. Finally, they respond to your constant requests to do something at work or in the church. They even do it for a while — at least until they feel a little opposition or are just too tired! At that point, they give up. These people don’t have enough desire to make it through the obstacles they face along the way. This is another reason a potential leader must demonstrate this quality of strong inward desire.
Obstacles will come as you grow in the Lord. From time to time, hindrances will try to knock you out of your spiritual race. If you don’t have a strong desire to be used by God and to become someone important in the work of His Kingdom, it won’t take too many of these obstacles and hindrances to make you give up and back out of your commitments. That’s why it’s essential to develop an inner desire strong enough to overcome the forces that come against you along the way.
You need to know that even though every person has a dream for success, that doesn’t mean every person will attain it. It takes great effort and hard work to achieve success in any realm of life. Many people who dream of success will never experience it because they don’t desire it enough; therefore, they aren’t willing to put forth the effort to make it happen.
As a result, a large portion of the lost world looks at the Church as a pathetic entity made up of a bunch of nincompoops who aren’t serious about what they do or say. This lack of desire is the reason why so much of what is done in the Christian world is of such inferior quality. A person who is satisfied with little will never achieve much. On the other hand, a person who is full of desire for excellence will never be satisfied with a low-level performance in his or her life.
But how about you? Do you have enough desire to get up and do something with your life? Do your actions demonstrate that you are fixed on a goal God has given you? How much time do you waste watching television when you could be reading, studying, working, and developing yourself into someone better? You’ll never become someone great or achieve anything special by doing what everyone else does. If you want to stand above the rest of the crowd, you’ll have to do more than what others do. If you don’t have desire, you’ll never make it!
So ask the Holy Spirit to stir up strong desire in your heart to become all that God has called you to be and fulfill all that He has told you to do. Keep developing your desire until it’s strong enough to overcome the forces that come against you along the way. Stretch forward with your whole being and take hold of your goal!
My Prayer for Today
Lord, thank You for speaking to me so strongly today about my personal level of desire. For me to be what You have called me to be, I know that I have to develop a stronger inner desire than I am demonstrating in my life at this moment. Holy Spirit, please stir my heart so fiercely that I won’t be satisfied with my current level of life. Please give me a godly discontentment with the level I’ve already achieved so I’ll be motivated to keep reaching for higher levels in my personal life!
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
My Confession for Today
I confess that I am filled with desire! I am fixed on the goal God has given me to achieve, and my actions demonstrate that I am committed to achieving God’s plan for my life. I read, study, work, and develop myself regularly so I can become better and achieve higher results. Because I will never become someone great or achieve anything special by doing what everyone else does, I do more than what others do. Because I have desire, I will make it!
I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!
Questions to Answer
1. What are you doing to develop yourself so you can reach the goal God has given you? Are you studying, reading, or serving and learning at the side of someone who is already doing what you want to do?
2. What will be required of you in order for you to see your dream come to pass?
3. If you keep doing exactly what you’re doing right now, what will be your status in life two years from now?
It’s Time for You To Become Responsible!
For every man shall bear his own burden.
— Galatians 6:5
When Denise and I were first married and were just getting started in the ministry, our heart desire was to help people who were in need. Word of our efforts to help people soon spread throughout our city, and it seemed like there was always a long line of people approaching us to request help for all kinds of needs. Some of the needs were serious and legitimate, but soon we recognized that some people just wanted to take advantage of our goodwill.
That latter category included those who didn’t want to get a job. These people had myriads of excuses for why they couldn’t go to work, and they came up with fantastic reasons to explain why everyone else should be paying their bills. At first, Denise and I didn’t realize that we were the newest gullible victims they had discovered to help them freeload. But after a while we looked at each other and said, “Wait a minute! These people aren’t serious. They’re just looking for someone to pay their bills so they can get a free ride in life.”
Most needs you become aware of will be legitimate needs. However, there is a category of people who live like leeches on the goodwill of others. Helping people like this with financial assistance really doesn’t help them at all. You are simply helping to prolong the way they are living and empowering them to keep being irresponsible. Why should they get a job if they can keep getting someone to pay their bills and relieve them of their responsibilities?
In Galatians 6:5, Paul makes a statement which at first sounds like a contradiction to Galatians 6:2 (see May 23). It says, “For every man shall bear his own burden.” What about this verse? Is it in conflict with Galatians 6:2? Are we supposed to help bear each other’s burdens, or is each person supposed to bear his or her own burdens? Do these verses contradict each other?
The word “burden” in Galatians 6:5 is completely different from the one in Galatians 6:2. In Galatians 6:2, the word is baros, but in Galatians 6:5 it is the Greek word phortion. These words are completely unrelated to each other and don’t even look the same! The second word, phortion, is a military term that was used to indicate the expected amount of weight that every soldier was expected to carry in his bag, kit, or backpack. In the secular world, it was used to denote the normal responsibility that every man must carry for himself. Because it is a load we are expected to carry, it really is the idea of a person’s individual responsibility in life.
You see, there is a certain amount of responsibility we are required to carry by ourselves. For instance, no one can do our work for us, and no one can make our decisions for us. Our bills are our responsibility to pay; our children are ours to raise; our dog is ours to feed; our yard is ours to mow; and our kitchen is ours to clean.
If you haven’t discovered it yet, let me inform you that there are many freeloaders in the Body of Christ who would love to shirk these responsibilities and find someone else to do everything for them. These are the people Paul was referring to when he said, “For every man shall bear his own burden.”
In Galatians 6:5, the Greek expresses the following idea:
“For every man is accountable for a certain level of personal responsibility in life, and he cannot look to anyone else to free him of these obligations that are his to take care of himself.”
So when Paul addresses these two kind of burdens in Galatians 6:2 and Galatians 6:5, he is describing: 1) a crushing burden that is too much for you to bear by yourself and that necessitates the help of someone else; and 2) the daily duties and obligations you must bear by yourself as a responsible adult.
If you know someone who shirks responsibilities, it’s time for you to start helping that person accept responsibility for his own life! If you know someone who is freeloading on the goodwill of others, God may want to use you to tell him to stop it!
People like that need to grow up and act like adults! So make sure that you don’t empower and prolong their irresponsible existence by giving them everything they ask for. Saying no may be hard for you to do, but doing it a couple of times will help them realize they have lost their free ride, awaken them to reality, and thus put them on a right track!
It is very important that you think soberly about these things. Your actions are so important because your response will either help or hurt people. If they have sincere needs that they cannot overcome alone, you need to pray about what God wants you to do to help them. But if your analysis of the situation reveals that they are needy because they won’t do what is necessary to fix the problem, it may be God’s will that you tell them no.
If you seek the help of the Lord, He will show you what to do in every situation. So ask the Holy Spirit today to give you the mind of Christ for every situation that is presented to you. If you will listen carefully, God’s Spirit will advise you about what you should do.
My Prayer for Today
Lord, what I have read today is very hard for me personally. I know some people who need to grow up and start taking on more of the responsibilities of life. I must admit that I’ve gone to their rescue too many times and that I’ve probably enabled them to continue their wrong behavior and inappropriate lifestyle. Saying no is so hard for me to do, but I am asking You to help me stop empowering them to keep living irresponsibly as they have been doing. Holy Spirit, please give me Your mind and Your power, and help me to do what is right on this issue.
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
My Confession for Today
I confess that I have the mind of Christ to help me know when I am to help and when I am to say no. The Holy Spirit speaks to my heart and shows me what to do in every situation. God’s Spirit advises me about what I should do. I am obedient to Him and am NOT led by my emotions.
I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!
Questions to Answer
1. Is there anyone you’ve been harming by giving him so much help that he hasn’t had to assume responsibility for himself?
2. What change is required in your own heart and character to cause you to respond correctly to that person who has been living irresponsibly?
3. Is it hard for you to say no? Can you identify the reason it is so hard for you?
When To Help Bear Someone Else’s Burden
Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
— Galatians 6:2
Not so long ago, a precious woman in our congregation came to church looking sad and depressed. It was unusual to see her this way, because she was normally cheerful and full of faith. She sat in her chair, dropped her head, and began to weep. I wanted to go to her right then, but she had come into the service late, and I was on stage getting ready to step up to the pulpit to preach.
As I delivered my message, I kept glancing in her direction to see if she was still crying. Her head remained clutched in her hands, and I could see that she was sobbing about something that was greatly burdening her heart. When the service concluded, I went with my pastoral staff into the foyer to shake hands with people who were leaving the service. Soon she appeared in the line with heavy red eyes and a countenance that told me she was heartbroken over something.
I pulled her out of the line and called for my precious wife. Soon the two of them were sitting alone at the far end of the foyer where they could talk without anyone overhearing the conversation. The woman told Denise that her husband, who had been delivered from alcoholism, had started to drink again. That weekend he had been violent toward her and verbally abusive toward the children, acting like the old man he used to be. The woman’s heart was simply crushed, but by the time she and Denise were finished talking and praying together, her face had lightened up, her countenance had changed, and it was evident that God had stirred hope in her heart for her family.
I often think of how many church members come to church burdened by the cares of life. Perhaps the burdens they carry are due to finances, marriage, friendships, a problem at work, a child who is rebellious or who is running from God, a death in the family — the list of potential problems people face goes on and on.
It saddens me to think of the vast number of churchgoers who come into their church services feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders. These people wish that someone would help them or pray with them, but no one ever asks how they are doing. Never having an opportunity to tell anyone what is happening in their lives, they frequently leave a service just as burdened as they were when they first walked through the church doors.
Have you ever been so burdened by the cares of life that you thought you might be crushed by the weight of it all? Did you wish someone would crawl under that load and help you carry it? Perhaps you can remember times when you cried out to God, Please send someone to help me with these things that I’m dealing with in my life right now!
In Galatians 6:2, the apostle Paul tells us, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Answer this question: When are we supposed to help bear someone else’s burden?
The word “burden” in this verse comes from the Greek word baros. It refers to a weight that is heavy or crushing. In fact, the word baros describes such a crushing weight that Paul used this same word in Second Corinthians 1:8 when he wrote about the terrible problems he and his traveling companions underwent in Asia. Paul wrote that these difficulties were of such a stressful nature that the men literally felt as if they were “pressed out of measure.” In Second Corinthians 5:4, he used the word baros once more when he said, “…[We] do groan, being burdened….” Again, this word refers to a load so heavy that it causes a person to feel that he is burdened or weighed down.
The word baros could refer to either a physical or a spiritual problem. For instance, this type of pressing burden could be a habitual sin that has plagued you and weighed you down year after year. Satan may try to use these kinds of weaknesses and faults to hinder or completely abort God’s plan for your life. That’s why it’s so important that these “burdens” be dealt with and defeated. If you are unable to do it alone, you need to seek the help of others to pull you through to a place of victory.
The point Paul is making here is that when a fellow believer is under a crushing weight — when he is under so much pressure that he feels like he’ll break if someone doesn’t get under that load and help him carry it — it is our Christian responsibility to help bear his burden, “…and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
In Galatians 6:2, the Greek expresses the following:
“When someone is burdened by crushing cares and difficult events in life that are too much for one person to carry all by himself, crawl up under that burden and help that person carry it, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
I want to encourage you today to be sensitive to the needs of others who are around you. When you go to church, go to work, or even spend time with your family and friends, ask the Holy Spirit to help you see when people are carrying too much by themselves. If you discern that they are burdened, go to them and ask, How can I pray for you today? What is happening in your life?
God may use you to bring real relief and freedom into someone’s situation. Perhaps just providing a listening ear is all that is needed to help that person get through his or her dilemma.
On the other hand, if an overwhelming problem, weakness, habit, or sin is pressing down on your life, you need to be humble enough to say, Hey, I need someone to pray with me! This is too much for me to do completely by myself! It may be difficult for you to open your heart and reveal your need, but it will be far more difficult for you to carry it alone until you eventually become emotionally devastated by that burden.
As brothers and sisters in the Lord, we need to do everything we can to step deeply into people’s lives in order to encourage and refresh them spiritually and to help them get through their problems. When we see someone struggling, we must be bold enough to ask that person how we can help! When we work together as a Body in this way, every need will be addressed and met!
My Prayer for Today
Lord, I am asking You to help me be sensitive to the needs of other people. Help me to stop being so self-consumed with my own concerns that I am negligent in recognizing the needs of people around me who need help and prayer. Holy Spirit, help me see through the masks people tend to wear to cover up what is really happening in their lives. Give me the wisdom to know how to approach people who need strength and encouragement.
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
My Confession for Today
I confess that I am sensitive to the needs of people who are around me. I see when they hurt; I recognize the times when they’re struggling; and I am a blessing to them in their time of need. God’s Spirit is helping me to become a better minister and servant to help meet the needs in other people’s lives. I am attentive, caring, and Christ-like in the way I deal with others. What Jesus does for me is what I am becoming to other people.
I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!
Questions to Answer
1. Have there been situations in your life when you thought you might break under the weight you were trying to carry by yourself? When that happened, did anyone come to you and ask how he or she might help or pray for your needs?
2. Have you ever gone to others to see how you could help them through the situations they were enduring? Or have you been too self-consumed to remember that other people have needs too?
3. Do you know of individuals you should check on today to see what you can do to help them through a situation they are facing? In what ways can you be a strength or an encouragement to them?
Learn To Be Quiet When Others Are Speaking
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.
— James 1:19
One of the biggest lessons to learn in life is to know when you need to be quiet and when you need to speak up. For instance, if someone over you in authority is trying to tell you something, that’s a time for you to be quiet and listen to what the authority is attempting to tell you. In order to really hear what he or she is trying to communicate, you have to stop talking! Listening and talking at the same time almost always guarantees that you are going to miss important facts and details.
In James 1:19, the Bible says, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” The word “swift” in this verse is the Greek word tachus. It can be used to depict a runner who runs as fast as he can so he can reach the finish line before his competitors. Because this runner fiercely wants to win the race, he puts everything else out of his mind, focuses on the finish line, and then presses forward to obtain the first-place prize.
Because of the word tachus, the first part of James 1:19 could be rendered:
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, set your focus on becoming a good listener — and do it with all your might, as if you are in a competition to win the race of being the best listener.…”
James is telling us that we should desire to win “first place” when it comes to listening! Because the word tachus depicts a runner that is totally focused on reaching the finish line, James lets us know that it takes effort to slow our minds down so we can hear what other people are trying to communicate to us. I am referring to that moment when we deliberately quiet our minds and shut our mouths in order to intentionally listen to and digest what someone else is endeavoring to tell us. This is a challenge for any of us who have busy minds and a lot of details in our lives to think about.
Take me, for example. If I don’t make the choice to slow down and really focus on what someone is telling me, I know I will miss much of what he or she is trying to communicate. My mind is busy all the time. I have a church to pastor, a ministry to oversee, and television programs to film. I go on ministry trips that take me all over the world. I am constantly writing books. Besides all that, I am a husband and father. I rarely have a moment when I don’t have some important matter pressing heavily on my mind.
I’ve learned that I must discipline myself to listen to what people are saying to me. Otherwise, they’ll think I’m listening when, in reality, I’m about a million miles away in my thoughts. Just because I’m looking into their eyes doesn’t mean I’m really listening. If I’m going to hear what they’re communicating, I have to push everything else out of my mind and deliberately focus on what they’re saying. This is a matter of discipline that I’ve had to work at developing in my life.
I made a decision years ago that if a person believes he has something important enough to say to me, the least I can do is give him the courtesy of listening. Even if I don’t agree with what he’s saying or want to do what he’s asking, I should respect him enough to hear him out. To pretend I’m listening when I’m not is simply rude.
Through the years I’ve had to train myself to be a listener. To make sure I’ve really heard the point being made to me, I often stop and repeat the conversation to the person speaking to me. I ask the person:
- “Is this what you’re trying to tell me?”
- “Is this the point you’re making to me today?”
- “Is this what you want me to get from this conversation?”
- “Is this what you want me to do after we’re done talking?”
- “Is this how I need to respond?”
- “Is there anything else I need to know about this?”
If I’ve missed anything important in the conversation or misunderstood what that person was attempting to tell me, I discover it by asking these kinds of questions. At the same time, the person speaking to me is assured that he has had my complete and total attention. When my conversation with that person is finished, I should understand exactly what he was communicating because I focused on him and listened to what he was telling me.
Those who cultivate and develop the skill of listening make good team players because they’re better able to understand other people’s opinions and positions. These people have a good foundation for success because listening is the first step of communication.
If you realize that you need to become a better listener, I urge you to make the decision to cultivate and develop this discipline in your life. You can be a first-place runner when it comes to listening to others. Remember, listening is the first step of communication, and communication is a prerequisite for success in your dealings with both God and man!
So make it a top priority to become a superb listener. Learn how to digest the information other people are trying so desperately to communicate to you!
My Prayer for Today
Lord, it is true that I need to learn how to be a better listener. Forgive me for the times I’ve inconvenienced others and messed up their plans because I didn’t carefully listen to the instructions that everyone else obviously understood. I recognize that this is a flaw in my life. Starting today, I want to discipline myself to become a top-notch listener. For me to do this, I know I’ll have to break the habit of thinking about other things when people are trying to talk to me. So I’m turning to You to help me silence my mind, listen to others, digest what they are saying, and become a better team player!
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
My Confession for Today
I confess that I am quick to hear what others are trying to tell me, and I don’t interrupt them when they are speaking. I am a first-place runner when it comes to listening to others. Because God’s Spirit is helping me, I am getting better and better in this area of my life. As a result, I am an effective team player, and others enjoy working with me.
I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!
Questions to Answer
1. Have you ever tried to talk to someone who you knew wasn’t really listening to you? How did it make you feel? Did you think that person really cared about what you were saying to him or her?
2. Are you a good listener? Are you able to remember what others have told you? If your answer is no, what are you going to do to develop better listening skills?
3. Can you think of someone at work, at church, or in your family who constantly makes mistakes because he doesn’t clearly listen to the instructions that are given to him? What kind of inconvenience does this create for everyone?
The ‘Ischuos’ Power of God!
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
— Ephesians 6:10
In yesterday’s Sparkling Gem, we began looking at the kinds of power that God has made available to every believer. As noted yesterday, He has provided two kinds of power for every Christian. The first is kratos power, which is a demonstrative, eruptive, manifested power. But today we will look at a second word in Ephesians 6:10 that describes a second kind of power made available to the believer.
In Ephesians 6:10, Paul says, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” The word “might” is taken from the word ischuos, and it conveys the picture of a very, very strong man, such as a bodybuilder or a mighty man with great muscular capabilities. Now Paul applies this picture of a strong, muscular man, not to himself, but to God. Paul pictures God as One who is able, mighty, and muscular.
Let me ask you — is there anyone more powerful than God? Is there any force in the universe equal to the muscular ability of God? Consider this:
- With one stroke of the hand, God’s mighty arm released so much creative power that the entire universe was flung into being.
- With one stroke of the hand, God’s mighty arm discharged such incredible force that the civilized world of Noah’s day was flooded and an entire period of civilization was wiped out.
- With one stroke of God’s mighty arm, Egypt’s rebellion against Him was crushed beyond recognition, and the children of Israel were set free.
- With one stroke of God’s mighty arm, the wicked powers of the heavenlies were forcibly shoved aside, and although it was physically and medically impossible, Jesus was conceived and miraculously born from a virgin’s womb.
- With one stroke of God’s mighty arm, His power surged into the throes of hell itself, where it ripped Jesus out of the pangs of death, stripped demonic principalities and powers naked, and made a public display of their embarrassing defeat.
- When the mighty arm of God moved on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came as a “rushing mighty wind” and filled the Upper Room with His awesome power, supernaturally enabling the disciples to preach the Word with signs and wonders following.
Where is this powerful, mighty ability of God working today? In you and me! Paul says, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”
Remember, the word kratos is the demonstrated, outwardly manifested, eruptive power of God, which now operates in every believer. But the ischuos we have looked at today is the force that works behind the kratos power! Why is kratos power so strong and demonstrative (as in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead)? Because God’s muscles (ischuos) are backing it up!
These words in Ephesians 6:10 are so powerful that they convey this idea:
“Be strong in the Lord and in the powerful, outwardly demonstrated ability that works in you as a result of God’s great muscular ability that is working behind the scenes.”
All that God is, all the power He possesses, and all the energy of His muscular, mighty ability now energizes the kratos power that is at work within you. With this power at your disposal today, you can confront the unseen demonic spirits that come to wage war against your flesh and your soul — and you can win every time! Since this power is available to you today, you are ready to lay hands on the sick, pray with power and authority, speak the word of faith in every situation, and see mountains move on your behalf!
So the next time you run into a problem that seems a little overwhelming, remind yourself that “…greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). You have no need to be afraid and no need to shrink back in timidity, for there’s enough power at work in you to resist any force that comes against you and to supernaturally remedy anything that needs to be changed!
My Prayer for Today
Lord, I am so thankful that Your muscles are the backup for the power that operates in my life! Just as Your mighty arm created the universe, divided the Red Sea, destroyed the Egyptians, ripped Jesus from the throes of hell, and raised Him from the dead, I know that now this mighty power also works in me. Help me learn how to flow with this power and allow it to be released through my life so I can be a bigger blessing to people who are around me.
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
My Confession for Today
I boldly confess that all that God is, all the power He possesses, and all the energy of His muscular, mighty ability now energizes me! With this power at my disposal, I confront every spirit that comes to wage war against me. I lay hands on the sick and see them recover; I pray with power and authority; I speak the word of faith to every situation I face. Therefore, mountains move on my behalf! Greater is He who is in me than he that is in the world. I have no need to be afraid, and I don’t shrink back in timidity, because there’s enough power at work in me to resist any force that comes against me and to supernaturally remedy anything that is out of God’s order in my life!
I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!
Questions to Answer
1. Can you name a time in your life when you suddenly felt so energized and quickened by the Spirit of God that it was as if a river of power flowed through you to help you get something important accomplished? When did that happen, and what triggered the release of that power?
2. Do you deliberately pray for God’s power to operate in your life? If so, do you expect your prayer to be answered? If you don’t pray for God’s power to be operative in your life, why not?
3. Why don’t you take a few minutes to remember the miracles you have personally witnessed in your life?
The ‘Kratos’ Power of God!
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
— Ephesians 6:10
In Ephesians 6:10, the apostle Paul gives us some very important insight into the kind of power God has made available to every believer — including you! This is really important for you to understand because it describes the kind of power that God wants to operate through you, so be sure to carefully read every word of this Sparkling Gem.
First, let me remind you that Ephesians 6:10 is a verse about the supernatural power God has made available for our fight with unseen, demonic powers that come to war against the soul. The word “strong” used at the first of this verse is taken from the word endunamao, which describes a power whose purpose is to infuse a believer with an excessive dose of inward strength. This particular type of endunamao power is so strong that it can withstand any attack and successfully oppose any kind of force (see January 12).
A historical study of this word proves its supernatural nature. It was used by early writers from the Greek classical periods to denote special individuals, like Hercules, who had been handpicked by the gods and supernaturally invested with superhuman strength in order to accomplish a superhuman task. Now Paul uses this word endunamao to tell us that God has made this kind of supernatural strength available to believers in Jesus Christ!
Let’s see what else Paul tells us about this power. In Ephesians 6:10, he says, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Especially notice the words “power” and “might.” Today we will look at the word “power,” and tomorrow we will look at the word “might.”
The word “power” is taken from the Greek word kratos, and it describes what I have come to call demonstrated power. In other words, kratos power is not a power that one merely adheres to and believes in intellectually. Rather, this kratos power is a power that is demonstrative, eruptive, and tangible. It almost always comes with some type of external, outward manifestation that one can actually see with his or her eyes. This means that kratos power is not a hypothetical power; this is real power!
Ephesians 1:19,20 declares that when God raised Jesus from the dead, He used this very same kratos power to do the job! It says, “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power [kratos], which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead.…”
The King James Version is a bit reversed from the original Greek. The Greek says, “…according to the power of his might.…” Why is this difference so important? Because the phrase “the power of his might” is the same identical phrase used in Ephesians 6:10 to denote the power that is working behind the scenes to energize us! This power that God used when He raised Jesus from the dead is the same, exact, identical power that is now at work in us. That means we have resurrection power working in our lives!
Kratos power is so overwhelming that the Roman soldiers who guarded Jesus’ tomb on that resurrection morning fainted and crumbled to the ground beneath the full load of this divine force. And the soldiers continued to lie prostrate on the ground, paralyzed and unable to move, until the resurrection was complete.
This kratos power was indomitable, overpowering, and irresistible on that day long ago. Flooding the grave where Jesus’ dead body lay, this conquering power permeated every dead cell and fiber of His body with divine life until it was impossible for death to hold Him any longer!
God’s kratos power was so overwhelming that, had we been present at the resurrection, we would have felt the ground trembling as this electrifying force entered the tomb where Jesus’ body lay. The power that raised Jesus from the dead was an eruptive power, a demonstrated power, an outwardly visible power. It was the strongest kind of power known to God or man.
And now Paul uses this very word to describe the power that is available for our use! With this empowering Presence of the Holy Spirit working in our lives, we can expect the very same power that raised Jesus from the dead to operate in us! Remember, this is a demonstrated or outwardly manifested kind of power, so when this power begins to operate in us, it immediately seeks an avenue of release so it can demonstrate itself.
So turn up your level of expectation! Start anticipating that this mighty power of God will begin to flow through you!
My Prayer for Today
Lord, I thank You for making such power available to me. Now I see that I have no excuse to ever complain that I am weak, for You have placed at my disposal the very power of the resurrection itself. Teach me how to tap into that power so it can be released in my life. I know that this power is the answer for many people’s needs and that You want it to flow through me. Holy Spirit, as my Great Teacher, please teach me how to open my heart wide so the river of Your divine goodness can flow through me.
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
My Confession for Today
I confess that God’s indomitable, overpowering, conquering, and irresistible power flows through me! The very power that raised Jesus from the dead resides and operates in my life. It is an eruptive power; it is a demonstrated power; and it is an outwardly visible power — the strongest kind of power known to God or man. With this empowering Presence of the Holy Spirit working in me, I expect the power that raised Jesus from the dead to operate in my life. I deliberately turn up my level of expectation and anticipate this mighty power of God to begin to flow through me!
I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!
Questions to Answer
1. If you were asked to give a personal testimony regarding a time in your life when you actually experienced a special touch of God’s supernatural power, what experience would you talk about? Could you relate more than one experience?
2. What do you imagine it was like for the soldiers on resurrection morning? What do you think they felt, saw, or heard as the power of God surged into that tomb and raised Jesus from the dead?
3. If you could choose to witness any kind of miracle, what kind would you want to see?
Is Jesus Testing You?
When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
— John 6:5,6
After ministering to multitudes for numerous days, Jesus and His disciples privately retreated to the top of a mountainside just outside Jerusalem. It was the time of the feast, and before He and the twelve entered the city, “…Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples” (John 6:3).
The word “sat” is the Greek word kathemai, implying that they reclined on the slopes of the mountainside. Certainly they must have been tired, because they had been ministering to multitudes of people who were following them for many days. So before Jesus and His men entered Jerusalem to resume their ministry activities, they took a break on top of a mountain apart from the crowd, where they could enjoy a cool, refreshing breeze and a welcome rest.
Suddenly, “…Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him…” (John 6:5). The word “saw” is from the word theaomai, our word for a theater. It means to really look, like a patron who attends a play and carefully watches every act, listening attentively to every word because he doesn’t want to miss anything important in the play. By using this word, John lets us know that Jesus carefully looked out at this crowd in amazement — observing the entire scene, analyzing the size of the crowd, and determining what needed to be done for them.
The words “great company” in Greek are the words polus ochlos. These are exactly the same words used to describe the massive number of soldiers who came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (see April 4). This was a massive crowd of people.
As that vast crowd marched toward Jesus on the mountainside, Jesus turned to Philip and asked, “…Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” (John 6:5). The word “buy” is the Greek word agoradzo, from the word agora, which describes a marketplace. When it becomes the word agoradzo, as it appears in this verse, it means to purchase something at the marketplace. But this was a strange question for Jesus to put to Philip, because they were seated on top of a remote mountain where there were no markets!
In fact, Mark 6:36 tells us the disciples were worried about where to buy food for this crowd. In fact, they pleaded with Jesus, “Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread.…”
There was simply no place nearby to purchase bread for the people on that mountaintop. Even if there had been a local shop nearby, it wouldn’t have been possible to purchase enough bread to feed a crowd that size — a crowd of “five thousand men” (John 6:10), plus “women and children” (Matthew 14:21). Yet in spite of the huge crowd and the impossibility of the situation, Jesus asked Philip, “…Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”
John 6:6 goes on to tell us the reason Jesus asked this question: “And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.” The word “prove” is the word peiradzo, which means to put to the test, to test in order to prove, or to test in order to expose the truth about the quality of a substance. An example of this is how the word peiradzo was used to describe the purifying fires placed under molten metal. The metal may have looked strong, but only a blazing fire could expose all the hidden defects. Once the defects were exposed, they could be scraped off and removed, but without the test of fire they would remain undetectable. This test wasn’t just done for the sake of testing, but to assure that the metal would be purer, finer, and stronger. In other words, the purpose of the test was to make the item better.
Jesus asked Philip this question to expose any deficiency in His disciple’s faith. You see, these disciples had lived in the presence of Jesus and had seen Him perform every kind of creative miracle, including turning water into wine, cleansing lepers, and even raising the dead. Miracles were nothing novel to them. But at this moment, they were being confronted with a problem that was totally different from anything they had faced before — they needed food to feed a multitude!
It is amazing to me that after seeing Jesus perform possibly thousands of miracles, the disciples didn’t immediately say, “Lord, we trust that You can provide for all these people!” Instead, they went on a food search and frantically tried to solve this problem by themselves.
Philip certainly didn’t consider a supernatural solution. In verse 7, he and the other disciples began to “grasp at straws” as they went looking for a way to solve this problem through natural means. Philip told Jesus, “…Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little” (v. 7). Philip didn’t realize God’s stores of supernatural provision are always more than enough!
It is simply a fact that new challenges often expose a deficiency in our faith and accentuate any weak area in our lives. Jesus knew exactly how He was going to meet the need, but He asked Philip the question so Philip’s lack of faith would be exposed — and so the disciples would see that there was still room for improvement in regard to the level of their faith!
Don’t be surprised if Jesus asks you to do something that seems impossible to your natural mind. When He tells you that He expects you to take a leap of faith and accomplish what others say can’t be done, His request may expose the fact that you need to work a little more on your faith! What a blessing that Jesus would ask us to do things that reveal who we really are — for only then will we really discover the areas of our faith that need improvement!
So the next time Jesus gives you a fabulous, impossible-looking job to do, rejoice if it reveals a little shakiness in your ability to believe. Now you know that you have a deficiency in your faith walk — and you can start today to do something about it!
My Prayer for Today
Lord, I want to thank You for allowing me to be a part of Your great plans. You could use someone else, but You have chosen to use me. For this, I am so thankful to You. If there is any faith deficiency in me, please expose it NOW so I can get it fixed and be prepared for any assignment You give to me in the future!
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
My Confession for Today
I confess that I am ready for God to use me! My faith is growing. It’s getting stronger, and the deficiency in my faith is being reduced day by day. There was a time when I was weak, but now God’s Word is making me stronger. There was a time when I would have doubted and feared, but now I am filled with faith. In fact, I’m excited about taking on ANY assignment Jesus Christ wants to give me!
I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!
Questions to Answer
1. Has Jesus ever asked you to do something that seemed impossible? How did you first react to the Lord when He put the big question to you and asked you to do something that seemed so impossible to do?
2. When you stepped out to do what He asked, what happened? Did you see His miraculous power at work and learn that God can do the impossible?
3. What should you be doing right now to improve the level of your faith so you have no deficiency the next time Jesus asks you to do something that is impossible in the natural?