At the beginning of every year, I always spend time in fasting and prayer to seek God for direction. In most cases, He gives me a word that helps me navigate the coming season. Sometimes the word has been as simple as, "Keep running your race," a reference to Hebrews 12:1. In other years the Lord has given me detailed instructions. I believe He wants to give you a word of direction for 2023. But many Christians struggle when it comes to guidance. When they pray, they strain to hear anything. They know God speaks, but either they don't believe He wants to talk to them, or they don't want to obey what He says. Many believers have never known the thrill of hearing God's gentle voice.
When I was seven years old, my father took me to a Billy Graham crusade held in Montgomery, Alabama, at the Cramton Bowl, the site of the prestigious Blue-Gray football classic. It was 1965. I don't remember much of what Billy Graham said. What I remember vividly is that my grandfather, who was visiting us at the time, got up and went to the stage when Graham invited people to make a decision to follow Jesus. My grandfather died two years later.
A friend of mine recently told me that a good friend of hers started withdrawing from her, even though they were close and had done ministry together. When she finally asked this friend why she had pulled away, the woman admitted that a "prophet" in her church had given her a dire warning that was supposedly from God. The prophet advised the woman to stay away from her friend because "she is trying to steal your spiritual mantle."
Here's an honest confession: I struggle to rest in the Lord. Maybe I'm a bit compulsive, but I find it difficult to be still and know that God is working when I can't see what He's doing. When I need the Lord to do something in my life, I tend to "help Him" do it. But I have come to realize that God doesn't need my help! In Old Covenant times, God instructed His priests to dress in linen garments instead of wool so they wouldn't perspire while they worked. Ezekiel 44:18b (NASB1995) says: "They shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat."
Jesus' name is listed in the Bible 1,281 times, more than any other individual. The next most mentioned person in the Bible is David, at 971 times, and we can learn so much by studying his life. David went through many struggles, failures and battles, yet he stayed faithful to God. He knew how to keep spiritually strong, even when his trials and tests were overwhelming. David's worst day is described in 1 Samuel 30, when the Amalekites raided his camp at Ziklag. These terrorists kidnapped all the women and children, torched the city and looted everything.
Summer is here, and with the warmer weather comes the opportunity for many American Christians to go overseas on short-term mission trips. I suspect large numbers of believers will travel out of the country because COVID kept us so isolated during the past two years. One of the greatest joys in my life is ministering overseas. Since I surrendered to a call to missions, I've visited 36 nations and developed relationships with dozens of pastors and leaders who now consider me their friend and brother.
Last weekend after I spoke at a church in Jacksonville, Florida, a young woman came to the altar to ask for prayer. She had heard me share how Jesus wants us to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we can have the boldness to share the gospel - and so that we can experience all the Spirit's miraculous power when we minister to others. This woman was a bit shy, but after I prayed for her, she began to speak in tongues for the first time. It was a new experience for her, but she wants all God has for her. Her fears didn't keep her from claiming something new from God. Her life was changed in that moment.
All my life I've heard many creative excuses for missing church. Long before memes were invented for social media, absentee churchgoers joked about attending "Bedside Baptist," "Church of the Holy Comforter" or "Church of the Inner Springs" to imply that they were sleeping in on Sunday morning. But during the last two years we've had even more convenient reasons to stay away from church. The pandemic ushered in the era of "Zoom worship," and I'm grateful we had the technology for virtual meetings. But now, as mask mandates are relaxed and COVID cases drop, many Christians are still watching church online in their pajamas.
A few months ago, I preached at a church in Michigan called New Life Christian Fellowship. At the conclusion of the service, while I was praying for the congregation, the Lord showed me that someone was struggling with a strong addiction. I shared this with the people and invited the unidentified person to reach out to Jesus for help. Immediately, a young man made his way to the front. He was already crying and he knelt near the stage without any prompting. My friend Cliff quickly got up and knelt beside the man to pray with him.
My wife and I had the opportunity to tour Israel with a small group of friends in 2018. I'll never forget walking along the rocky shore of the Sea of Galilee, looking out at the small fishing boats and imagining what it would have been like to see Jesus and His small group of disciples in that place, just a few miles south of Capernaum. When I got close to the water, I rolled up my pants to my knees and waded in. I noticed some fishermen throwing their nets into the blue waters.
Follow Up
