Extract from The Word For Today: Daily Devotions by Bob Gass.
Published by UCB Europe
(United Christian Broadcasters) Reproduced by permission.
"Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" Acts 9:6
What is success?
If you were to ask six different people that question, you'd probably get six different answers. But God has only one answer - obedience! Being in the right place, at the right time, doing what God told you to do. No more is rewarded and no less accepted. Mordecai Ham preached "one of the most unsuccessful crusades of his career" in North Carolina early in the century. After weeks of preaching, only one ten-year-old boy responded to the invitation and gave his life to Christ. The evangelist was so discouraged. What he didn't know, however, was that the boy's name was Billy Graham, that he was ultimately destined to preach to more people than any other man in history and win more souls than any other evangelist on record. If bringing Billy Graham to Christ was the only thing he ever accomplished, in the eyes of God, he was a great success.
It was an unknown Sunday School teacher who led D.L. Moody to Christ when he was a boy. Years later, it was said of Moody, "He took two continents and shook them for God." When my father died, my mother raised three children alone. She took us to the house of God faithfully and drilled the Scriptures into us. For her, it was a lonely, difficult and often discouraging path. But her two sons grew up to become ministers of the gospel and take those very principles she taught us to reach multitudes with the love of Jesus. So the only question that really matters today is, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" Think about it!
"Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid; for the battle is not yours, but God's." 2 Chron 20:15
God didn't call you to fight every battle!.
Some battles are the Lord! They're just too big for you! Listen to what God told His people, "Ye shall not need to fight in this battle; stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord." (2 Chron 20:17) What a relief it is to know that "the battle is the Lord's"! Now, if the battle is the Lord's, guess who chooses the weapons, the battlefield, the strategy and the timing. That means turning it over to Him entirely. That doesn't mean we don't have anything to do. God's people were told they had to "stand still" and trust in His unfailing faithfulness. Don't discuss your problems with people who are incapable of solving them! Give them completely to the Lord, then begin to praise Him for victory.
God told them to put the choir in front of the army, and have them march out to meet the enemy. Can you imagine their reaction? But praise moves God! It brings Him into your circumstances! While the choir sang, God moved among the enemy, and they began to fight each other. Israel never fired a shot, they never took a csualty and the victory they won was so great that it took them three days to pick up the spoils of battle. The Word for today is, "The battle is not yours, but the Lord's." So begin to trust Him and praise Him for victory that He is going to give you.
"Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! For there the Lord commanded the blessing" Psalm 133:1&3
Where there is unity, God commands His blessing!.
When God sees us working together in unity and love, He commands His blessing upon us. Since we know that, why don't we work harder for unity? One word that comes to mind is "striving". "There arose an argument among them as to who should be the greatest in the kingdom." (Luke 9:46) Jesus had to deal with the spirit of "striving" among His disciples. Someone has wisely said, "There is no limit to what can be accomplished if nobody cares who gets the credit." Another reason for lack of unity is our failure to walk in love. We are unwilling to accept people as they are, to love them, let the Holy Spirit change them! After all, that's His job!
Sadly, some of those who are most guilty of "striving" can be found in the pulpit. They are more interested in protecting their reputation, their influence and their turf. Today, you need to pray that God will help you transcend the spirit of striving, pettiness and selfishness, and begin to reach out to others in love. Only a united church can bring healing to a divided world. After all, if it doesn't work for us, how will it ever work for them?
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