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VOLUME II
Daily devotional thoughts from
the published and unpublished writings
of Dr. Lester Sumrall.
Dr. Harold P. Hazen, Editor

South Bend, Indiana

www.leseapublishing.com
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 ____________

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from

the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Scripture quotations marked “NKJV” are taken from the New King
James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked “NIV” are taken from THE HOLY BI-
BLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights re-
served worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked “AMP” are taken from the Amplified®

Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lock-
man Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

The Treasury of Lester Sumrall, Volume II

ISBN 1-58568-548-8
Copyright © 2012 by LeSEA Publishing Co.
First Printing December 2012
Second Printing March 2015

Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved under

International Copyright Law. Contents and/or cover may not be re-
produced in whole or in part in any form without the express written
consent of the Publisher.

LeSEA Publishing Co.

530 E. Ireland Rd.
South Bend, IN 46614
www.leseapublishing.com

Cover photo of the Sea of Galilee taken by Pete Sumrall

__________
 Foreword ____________
from Pete Sumrall

It’s with the greatest pleasure that we bring to you The

Treasury of Lester Sumrall, Volume II. Over a lifetime
of ministry, thousands of sermons and millions minis-
tered to, Dr. Lester Sumrall created amazing teachings
that still live with us today. My father was always rel-
evant, down to earth and had a word from his heart that
taught, corrected and encouraged us in our every day
lives. Dr. Harold Hazen has spent countless hours going
through these sermons, writings, books and lessons to
create for the ministry this wonderful daily devotional.

Many of you already know the history of Dr. Sumrall, but

for those of you who don’t know, he was healed just hours
from certain death when he was 17 years old, set out in
ministry totally by faith and lived every day by faith un-
til his home-going in 1996. While we no longer have Dr.
Sumrall with us in person, his ministry lives on taking
the Gospel around the world 24 hours a day in every way
possible. In 1987, God laid on his heart to start a new and
different aspect to his ministry to the lost, the last and
the least; LeSEA Global Feed the Hungry was birthed.

Today, the media ministry reaches the ends of the earth;

the humanitarian ministry is feeding thousands upon
thousands of men, women and especially children who
are hungry around the world; the local ministry contin-
ues to minister, teach and bless through the local church,
Bible College and print media. The ministry lives on!

Be blessed every day as I am with this wonderful daily

devotional.

Yours for the untold billions yet untold,

Pete Sumrall __________

____________

__________
 Introduction to Volume II
____________

We are overjoyed to bring this second volume of devo-

tional writings from the Word of God and the written
and spoken words of Dr. Lester Sumrall to you. The
overwhelming response to Volume I convinced us that
a second volume was necessary. Lester Sumrall, one
of Evangelical Christianity’s most prolific authors and
speakers for over 60 years, produced a wealth of inspi-
rational insights into Biblical doctrines and teachings
which resonate with everyone young and old today. As
with Volume I we have taken material from his published
books and articles as well as the wealth of Dr. Sumrall’s
unpublished sermons, notes, and manuscripts.

In Volume II we have also included three Devotions tak-

en from the writings of Howard Carter, Dr. Sumrall’s
close friend, mentor and traveling companion, and also
one each from Lester Sumrall’s son, Peter, now Presi-
dent and CEO of LeSEA Broadcasting, and grandson
Drew Sumrall, host of The Harvest Show. There is also
included an inspirational Mothers Day message by Dr.
Sumrall’s faithful lifelong helpmate and wife, Louise
Sumrall, as well as a moving account of the healing of
Lester Sumrall’s sister, Leona Sumrall.

We further take this opportunity to express full and de-

served recognition and appreciation to the following:

Dwain Carden and Lee Barlow, for invaluable expertise

to bring this to print and publishing. We acknowledge
our great loss that Dwain was taken home to be with the
Lord before this Volume could be published.

Allison Sumrall for her tireless efforts to proofread and

assist in the final layout and arrangement. Her technical
and academic support during this entire project cannot
be overstated.
__________
 ____________
Linda Hazen for clerical and proofreading support.

Chuck Strantz for his talented and professional assis-

tance in graphic design.

Pete Sumrall, LeSEA Broadcasting President and CEO,

for his encouragement and support to complete the
project.

May God richly bless you and inspire you to “plow deep
and wide” into God’s Word as you read this Second Vol-
ume of The Treasury of Lester Sumrall.

Dr. Harold P. Hazen

Editor

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 January 1
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God Knows Your Name

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”
(Matthew 10:30)

A
young service man was being decorated by the Presi-
dent of the United States for heroic service to his coun-
try, and had been asked to bring his family along for
the ceremony. The president, briefed ahead of time, had some-
thing personal to say to each one, particularly to four year
old Peter. He leaned down to the boy’s level, looked into his
eyes, and said, “Hi Peter, how’s that pony of yours?” Then, as
the President moved on, Peter clutched his mother’s hand and
said in a whisper, “He knew my name!”

God knows your name too, neighbor. He knows all there is to

know about you, and about every single individual on earth.
He knows your needs and problems, your hopes and fears,
and your joys and sorrows. You see, Jesus showed the world
what God is like, and how He loves and values each member
of the human family. Every single person in this world is
important, so important that God knows their name and their
record. When Christ brought deliverance from sin to the
human family, He came as a person to a person. Christianity
is people oriented and people conscious. In this hour, Jesus
Christ sends you and me forth to deal with the lost souls of
humanity—person to person.

Statistics show that a generation can be reached

for Christ by each one multiplying himself.

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 January 2
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The Street of the Three Kings

“The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord…”
(Proverbs 21:1)

W
hen visiting the scenic country of Switzerland, we
were in the lovely city of Lausanne receiving a tour
of interesting sights by our obliging host. We visited
the historic Gothic Cathedral dating to the thirteenth century.
While walking through the narrow quaint streets we stopped
on Rue de Trois, “Street of the Three Kings.” Our host stopped
before an unpretentious old building and pointed to a bronze
plaque on the wall. “This building is famous”, he commented,
“The brothers of Napoleon lived here.” I approached the
plaque and copied the inscription which basically explained
that in 1814 Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, Luis Bonaparte,
King of Holland, and Jerome Bonaparte, King of Westphalia,
the three brothers of Napoleon, had lost their thrones and
retreated here to live and “remember their humanity.”

The Bonaparte dictators, who considered themselves super-

men, demigods, and men of destiny, fell from their resplen-
dent despotic power and were made to realize they were mere
creatures of time compelled to “remember their humanity.”
Thousands today are living similar arrogant and presumptu-
ous lives toward God Who will someday dethrone them and
remind them that Jehovah created the heavens and the earth,
and Jehovah created man!

As David prayed, “Lord, save me from presump-

tuous sins.”

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 January 3
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Jesus Is Not Blind

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
(1 John 1:9)

I
n the town of Puno, Peru, I was in the home of Mr. Reid, a
Baptist Missionary. He told me a story about his small son,
Oliver, who had startled his family by inquiring, “Daddy,
can Jesus see from Heaven all the way down here to Puno?”
His father assured him that He could indeed see all the way
to Puno. Oliver then said, “Daddy, can Jesus see inside my
heart?”

“Sure, Oliver,” his father answered. “Jesus can see every-

where—even in your heart.”

The youngster’s problem had not yet been divulged. Again he

asked, “Daddy, can Jesus see me when I am under the house?”

The missionary patted his son’s head and said, “Yes, Jesus can
even see you under the house.”

Then, Oliver blurted out, “Well, I wish Jesus were blind!”

That was all Oliver cared to disclose, but it was obvious that
something had occurred under the house that Oliver did not
want Christ to see. How utterly foolish for folk to be as young
Oliver; how useless to try to hide secret deeds from Christ.
The Lord is the omniscient One who understands all things.
He is the omnipresent One who is everywhere. He is the
omnipotent One who is able to save or destroy. Nothing can
be hidden from Jesus Christ!

Do not do anything in the dark that you wouldn’t

do in the light—especially the Light of the Lamb
of God!

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 January 4
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The Pain of Fulfilled Prophecy

“And as he (Jesus) sat upon the mount of olives, the
disciples came unto him privately, saying, ‘Tell us,
when shall these things be?’” (Matthew 24:3)

W
e live in an exciting age today, an age when prophecy
is being fulfilled. It is a wonderful thing to live in an
age of prophecy. I can endure anything on the face
of this earth if I have a consciousness that God wants me to
do it. No waters are too deep, no mountains are too high, and
no plains are too wide if I know Jesus wants me to go. This is
what I mean by the pain of fulfilled prophecy.

The day of Pentecost was a glorious fulfillment of prophecy,

but some members of the church were in jail a few days after-
ward. One of the apostles lost his head. Peter was imprisoned
and threatened with death. There was pain associated with
fulfilled prophecy.

If you stand one hundred percent for God you are going to be
abused, you are going to be derided, and you are going to be ill
spoken of. You will be labeled an “old fogey” while others are
living with the times. This is the pain of fulfilled prophecy.

But there is a joy of fulfilled prophecy. Even though we have

problems, we have the spirit of exuberance of the Lord upon
our lives. We are not downcast by anything. He is our victory.
Glory be to God!

Neighbor, I want you to know there is a peace

and a joy to fulfilled prophecy that passes all
understanding.

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 January 5
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How Prophecy Comes

“Prophecy never came by the will of man: but holy men
of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
(2 Peter 1:21)

T
he Bible is a prophetic book. About one third of the total
Bible is related to future events. It’s the most remark-
able prophetic book the world has ever known!

In Genesis 3:15, God first spoke prophetically to man. The

day that man fell from grace God said He would provide a
redeemer; a person to rescue mankind and to crush Satan’s
head. That’s the first prophecy ever spoken, and it was given
by God Himself.

After this, we see a remarkable thing: Man will speak prophet-

ically as well. First, God spoke prophetically to man. Next,
God speaks prophetically through man. It’s one thing for God
to speak to man; it’s another thing for Him to speak through
man.

Imagine that! God can use you as an instrument to foretell

the future. You should never forget today’s Scripture because
it tells you where prophecy comes from. It does not come from
the ungodly. It comes from holy men. If a person isn’t holy
don’t accept anything he says about the future.

According to Peter, prophecies did not come about by the de-

sire of men, the will of men, or the wisdom of men, but by holy
men who loved and served God. They were moved by the Holy
Spirit to prophesy. That was true in the days of the Old Testa-
ment, and it’s true in the days of the New Testament as well.

You may not know what the future holds, but

you know who holds the future!

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5
 January 6
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The Smiling Queen

“A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance.”
(Proverbs 15:13)

T
he importance of a smile cannot be overestimated. I
learned a valuable lesson about this during a time when
I was given a tour of the world-renowned magnificent
Chateau de Versailles, the regal edifice created by King Louis
XIV near Paris, France. Among the furnishings of one of the
bedrooms there was an exquisite marble bust of Marie Antoi-
nette, the King’s beautiful queen. Our guide passed before
it and asked that special observation be given to the superb
white marble bust as it was a French masterpiece in sculp-
ture. As he led us to one side of the room to view it, the face
of the queen was stern and austere. Then he directed us to
another angle in the room, and to our amazement there was
a remarkable change of expression—now the queen’s counte-
nance bore an amiable smile displaying royal charm.

This curious paradox so interested me that I again crossed

the room to view the two different facial expressions and was
taught how this relates to our own relationships with others.
If one aspect of a person’s nature seems negative and dour, I
must look from a “different angle” in order to see the positive
side of their personality. Everyone would be much happier if
each of us looked for (and also if we ourselves displayed) the
smiling side of others. It is there—look for it!

It takes more muscles to frown than to smile by

far—so smile, it’s easier!

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6
 January 7
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The Leper’s Squint

“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be
saved, and will go in and find pasture.” (John 10:9)

D
uring Medieval times in Britain there were lepers
throughout the land. When I visited Selby Abbey of
Selby, Yorkshire the custodian explained the very
novel method employed to permit the lepers of those times
to hear and see the religious services. He led us to a place
where a hole had been cut through the nine foot thick wall.
One could obtain a clear view of the church altar and pulpit
through this hole in the wall which became known as “Leper’s
Squint,” because lepers were permitted to observe the service
through this aperture; however, not permitted to mingle with
the people. This cleft has long been closed but it brought a
vivid message to my heart.

Leprosy is a type of sin. Sin separates us from God just as

the wall separated the lepers from a place of fellowship and
repentance. Before Christ came, man witnessed the fellowship
of God from afar through prophets and priests. However, God
sent Christ, the Great Physician, as the only One Who can
heal poor mankind diseased with spiritual leprosy through His
own efficacious blood. Now all mankind may come through
the door, which is Jesus Christ, into the congregation of the
righteous. The aperture has been closed—the Door stands
open. Christ invites the sinner graciously, for there is no need
to witness the Savior at a distance or be outside the wall.

People fight for the best seats at athletic contests,

but many seats in church remain empty.

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7
 January 8
____________

Devils and Dead Men

“This is the condemnation, that the light is come into
the world, and men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)

T
he ancient religions of China have imposed dark super-
stitions upon the spiritually darkened people. The Chi-
nese adhere to the ethics of Confucius, worship Buddhist
deities, and subscribe to Taoist demonology. Birth, marriage,
and funerals often embrace their teachings. The heathen
priests burn counterfeit paper money in the streets before a
funeral procession declaring this helps the dead pay their way
through the spirit world. They place food before a corpse in
a coffin for the dead to eat, which the rats devour, and the
priests explain that the spirit has taken the food. They kneel
before idols, one of which holds the sun in one hand, another
the moon, another a great drawn sword, and another which
possesses about fifty hands which extend from all parts of the
body. To these they give glory.

The Kehr missionary family witnessed a horrifying example of

this demonology in a town where a very wicked man died. The
inhabitants rejoiced at his death. The same night a Chinese
mother gave birth to a child. When the mother heard that the
man had died, she declared she had seen the evil spirit from
the man enter into her infant baby. She had the child killed
so as not to grow up and be so wicked. Heathen religions kill
spiritually, morally, materially, physically and eternally!

The religion of Christ is the direct opposite. Christianity gives

LIFE with material blessings and eternal hope. Although we
cannot hope to bring the whole world to Christ, we are obliged
by His Great Commission to bring Christ to the whole world!

Darkness flees quickly when light enters the room!

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8
 January 9
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Pumpkin Seed vs. Tomato Seed

“…and God has chosen the weak things of the world
to put to shame the things which are mighty.”
(1 Corinthians 1:27)

A
missionary friend of mine laboring in the Gran Chaco
Boreal in the hinterland of Paraguay among the Lengua-
Moscoy Indians, told me that he had brought some
vegetable seeds with him from England to teach the Indians
how to garden. He gave an old Indian some pumpkin and
tomato seeds to plant, and instructed him in their cultivation
after assuring him the vegetables were most healthful. Since
the Indian had never seen pumpkins or tomatoes before he
was most interested in the white man’s food. It was exciting
to watch the tomatoes turn to a red color and the pumpkins
take on their yellow hue; however, he took special notice of the
difference in their sizes. The primitive man ate both with little
comment. When the next planting season arrived, and the
missionary offered more seed, the Indian said, “Only want big
seed, work just as hard for little things; only want big thing.”

There are many civilized people who remind me of the Chaco

native. Their only interests are in the big things of life. We
must each learn that it takes the small things of life rightly
accomplished to create the big things. Those who refuse to
cultivate the small things are seldom allowed to care for the
more important tasks of life and service.

“Well done good and faithful servant; you have

been faithful over a few things, I will make you
ruler over many things.” (Matthew 25:23)

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 January 10
____________

Judas the Ram

“And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself
into an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14)

A
t the large packing plant of Swift and Company in La
Plata, Argentina, they have a black ram of notorious
reputation. He answers to the name of Judas, which
seems very fitting for a creature in his dreadful business.

Judas, the ram, has the responsibility of leading thousands of

innocent lambs and sheep to the slaughter. Employees at the
Swift Company believe that Judas realizes the deceptive work
in which he is engaged, and agree that he does it diabolically
well. They say the way Judas goes sporting among the sheep,
his black wool glistening and his head held high, seems almost
rational. He assumes a place of leadership and protectorship
over the flock, and then leads them straight to the slaughter
pen. The sheep follow ignorantly. He jumps through the “gate
of death,” and is rewarded with food for his cunning deception
while the unwary sheep are murdered one by one as they enter.

There is a great deceiver in the world who graphically reminds

us of Judas the ram. The Bible warns he can appear as an
angel of light to lead millions into a “gate of death” from which
there is no return. Take care who you follow, and “in whom
you have believed.”

The first recorded words of the first deceived

person were “Satan has beguiled me…”

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 January 11
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The Bible in a Letterbox

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
(Psalm 119:105)

W
e who, fortunately, are born in Protestant countries
cannot possibly realize the unwarranted religious de-
lusion inflicted upon the uninformed masses of other
lands. Erroneous religionists seem to feel obliged to connect
occult powers with their rituals, statues, crosses, sometimes
trees, stones and caves.

One night in a Belgium city, a woman who was a stranger to

Protestantism and to the way of salvation came into one of
our missions. She was attracted by the happy singing of the
Gospel, the convincing testimonies, and the sermon from the
Bible convicted her. She purchased a Bible at the conclusion
of the service, since the minister had said that the Book should
be read every day.

When the woman returned for the next service she was not
carrying her Bible, and when asked where it was she said,
“Oh, I left it at home! You said it was the Book of God and
powerful; therefore, I put it in my letterbox at the front gate of
my home to keep the evil spirits from my home!”

If the study of the Bible contradicts your beliefs,

then you must discard your beliefs!

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11
 January 12
____________

The Killer Tree

“Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret
is pleasant. But he does not know that the dead
are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell.”
(Proverbs 9:17-18)

T
here is a plant in Central America known as “The Killer
Tree” which is a botanical “boa constrictor.” This para-
sitical growth often begins its life by being blown into the
fork of a tree, and takes root by clinging to the bark. It lives
on the lifeblood of the tree as it starts its growth, and soon
sprouts tiny tendrils which grow slowly toward the ground.
When it comes to live on a tree it appears to be harmless, but
the moment it arrives death begins for its victim.

The Killer Tree slowly encircles a healthy tree imbibing its

life, and after a few months the parasite is flourishing while
the tree shows signs of disease and decay. The once great tree
sheds its leaves, its limbs droop, and ultimately it perishes
wrapped from its trunk to its top by this hideous serpentine
vine—defeated by a small insignificant seed which chanced to
fall on its bough.

In our lives there are little things which, by growing in our

lives, become big things. Frequently they appear to be entire-
ly innocent, but become deadly to our moral or spiritual life.
They choke the fruit-bearing strength of character and virtue,
and can despoil a once choice Christian life.

From a tiny acorn of indiscretion a mighty oak

tree of sin can grow.

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 January 13
____________

Who Do You Say That I Am?

“Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God.’” (Matthew 16:16)

T
oo many people offer opinions about Jesus—cerebral,
intellectual, theological, theoretical, academic answers
straight from books or lectures. But even non-Chris-
tians can do that! Some who do not know Him proclaim with
polite deference that they regard Him as a great teacher, or
an important cultural figure in the evolution of Western civi-
lization. Some nuts claim He was an extraterrestrial—a UFO
spaceman brought to earth aboard chariots of the gods!

You may laugh at that, but some Christians’ opinions about

Jesus have even less basis in truth. He has become a plastic
good-luck charm on the dashboard, or a mystical baby who
has a halo on His head. Some think of Him as a figure from
a Hollywood movie, complete with a misty silhouette, a mi-
raculous robe, and a pained expression on His face. Such an-
swers reveal our human immaturity and pitiful superficiality.
But here is something worse: To so many, Jesus is nothing
more than a “Son of God,” “Savior,” “Prince of Peace,” “King of
Kings,” or “Lord of Lords.” He is just a cliché.

Don’t give Jesus any more platitudes! No more cliché’s. Intel-

lectual citations and quoted seminary texts are merely what
others think. Today consider this personal, direct question
from your Lord and Savior: “Who do YOU say that I am?”

Jesus awaits your answer—He must be the Lord

of your life.

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 January 14
____________

Imagination Unlimited
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7)

I
n creative imagination you actually create your own
destiny. You can create your own well-being, and you can
create whatever you are. For as he thinks in his heart, so
is he. The Word of God specifically teaches us that as a person
thinks or imagines, so is he!

In creative imagination there is a positive. Because there is

a positive, there has to be a negative. Imagination can create
good or it can create evil; the same instrument inside can work
either way.

Imagination is one of the qualities that is unlimited. You can

build upon it, you can excite it, and it has so many remarkable
areas in which it can move. Imagination is governed by set
laws. If you abuse it, then it is a negative force; but if you
support it and strengthen it in the things that are good,
imagination is a hidden force of human destiny.

Whether you think you can or you think you

can’t, you are probably right!

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14
 January 15
____________

Andrew, The First Disciple

“One of the two who heard John speak, and followed
Him, was Andrew…” (John 1:40)

A
fisherman of Bethsaida on the shores of Galilee Lake
was the first disciple of Jesus Christ: not a doctor of
law, a master of science or a professor of theology, but
a sturdy, muscular son-of-the-nets. From boyhood Andrew
had watched the boats come and go, and had dangled his feet
off the docks for the “catch” to be unloaded. Early in youth
he showed his skill in fishing, accepting it as his vocation.
But after meeting the Messiah his entire life underwent a
remarkable change. He became a fisher of men. As a result
of accepting Christ, his name has been praised for centuries.
Mothers two thousand years hence affectionately call their
sons Andrew.

Andrew is to be commended. He was willing to forsake his

first spiritual leader whom he greatly loved, to follow a greater
spiritual leader. He left a good religion for a better one. He
left a dim light for a brighter one. Ordinarily, human nature
is so bigoted that once a spark of life is involved, it will not
leave it for a flame of life. Andrew was different; he avoided a
religious rut, which is a grave with the ends removed. He was
ready to lay his reputation, religious, and social connections on
the altar of sacrifice to gain Christ. Andrew left the presence
of Christ as a Disciple.

Are you a “fisherman” for Jesus Christ?

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15
 January 16
____________

The Collapsed Igloo

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know
what a day may bring forth.” (Proverbs 27:1)

G
old is still a popular topic in Alaska. While visiting
Fairbanks, I met a family who told me a remarkable
story of the exciting days of the gold rush in the Yukon
when they lived in the mining town of Dawson.

The local miners found a vein of gold which ran under part of
the town. My friends knew that gold-digging was proceeding
in the vicinity of their home and that their house was in danger
of caving into the mine. Home is home and they did not want
to move, but at last the neighbors became alarmed and begged
them to abandon the house as it was sure to collapse soon.
They moved that afternoon into a neighbor’s house while
a new igloo (igloo is the Eskimo word for any dwelling and
doesn’t necessarily mean an ice house) was being built. That
same night the ill-fated igloo collapsed. That had been their
last opportunity to escape! Had they remained one more night
they would have been carried down into the mine and probably
fastened beneath the debris.

You do not know what day your body or your house of clay is
going to collapse and eternity will begin for you. It may be
tonight! Are you ready to meet the King of Eternity in peace?

Prepare for this to be your last day on earth and

then live forever!

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16
 January 17
____________

Seeing the Sea

“Through the Lord’s Mercies we are not consumed, be-
cause His compassions fail not. They are new every morn-
ing. Great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

A
poor Peruvian peasant girl from a primitive mountain
village accepted Christ as her Savior. Later she was
offered employment as a domestic to a missionary
family in Lima, the capital city of her country. The rurally-
raised maid was delighted as she had never seen a big city
with tall buildings and rushing traffic, nor had she seen the
great ocean where an expanse of water extends far beyond
sight. The missionaries drove her to the sandy beaches of
the Southern Pacific Ocean that she might gaze upon the
boundless blue waters and watch the white crested waves
as they broke and receded into mysterious depths. To the
surprise of the missionaries, the girl gave one disinterested
look at the mighty father of waters and said, “My, but that is
a lot of water.”

A few days later the missionaries asked her if she would care
to go with the family to the beach and again see the great
ocean. She responded without emotion, “No, thank you, I
would rather stay at the house. I saw it the other day.”

We find a corresponding conundrum in the church world.

There are those who profess to know the Lord Jesus Christ,
and to love Him, yet they remind me of the Peruvian girl. They
have seen the beauty and glory of God once, and yet they never
return to receive more of Him. They miss the daily renewing
Mercies of God!

I pledge this year I will not miss the daily renew-

ing Mercies of God!

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17
 January 18
____________

The Rubber Tree

“I wound and I heal…” (Deuteronomy 32:39)

I
n Singapore we visited a large rubber plantation and
observed the intricate process of extracting the latex from
the rubber tree. The tapping was most interesting, as it is
a very delicate and important work. The knife which makes
the incision in the bark must be very precise. If the worker
cuts too deep and cuts the wood of the tree, or if the tender
covering which protects the wood is punctured, the tree dies.
All tapping must be done in the early morning before the heat
of the day. The older the tree grows the more it yields. Since
the wound heals rapidly it has to be re-tapped each time. The
second yield is greater than the first; this response is known as
the “wound response.” Although the rubber tree cannot realize
it, by this delicate operation, blessing flows to the world in the
form of countless consumer products.

Nowhere have I seen a truer example of the blessings which

may flow from the life of a consecrated Christian. To bless
others one must suffer and give. Madame Curie struggled
for a decade and a half to discover Radium only to offer it to
the world of science without charge, but she paid the price.
Her hands were disfigured and finally her life was sacrificed
through her years of selfless service to mankind.

The world’s greatest souls are those with lacerated hearts,

bleeding and burdened, which bring comfort and blessing to
others. Each wound only serves to multiply the blessings of a
committed Christian servant.

God rushes to heal those who are wounded in

faithful Christian service!

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18
 January 19
____________

The Feathered Taxi

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of
Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

H
ave you ever heard of the Feathered Taxi? For years
ornithologists were puzzled as to how the delicate,
diminutive humming birds were able to migrate from
the far north to the far south, a distance equal to that between
Canada and South America. They knew that the humming
bird had not been built for long flights or to combat fierce
winds and torrential rains. Then, a most interesting oddity
was discovered. It happened that oftentimes when hunters
shot the great Canadian geese as they migrated south, they
would see something flit away from the big bird as it fell to
the ground. Other hunters reported shooting the great geese
through the wing and finding dead humming birds nestled
under the wing. It was obvious that Hummingbirds were
“stowaways” under the downy soft feathers of its giant cousin,
hitching a ride to warmer climates!

The Bible teaches that the strong should bear the infirmities of
the weak; it teaches Christians to bear one another’s burdens;
The happiest Christian is the strongest one who carries the
burdens of the needful about him.

“A sorrow shared is half a trouble, but a joy shared

is joy made double.”
— Austin B. Tucker

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19
 January 20
____________

The Flower of Death

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
old things have passed away; behold, all things have
become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

S
ome Dutch friends of mine showed me a tree in the
Javanese jungles which the natives call Ketjoeboeng. It
is a luxuriant tropical plant that flourishes in the torrid
heat. It is beautiful, flowering into a large blossom with long
white petals and a red heart. My Dutch friends informed
me that the natives call it the Flower of Death because of its
narcotic potency. The Javanese explain, “The essence of one
leaf will intoxicate; the essence of many leaves kills.”

The narcotic invariably is used by the witch doctor in the

practice of black magic which flourished in Java more than in
any other country in which I have visited. Robbers also use
it by blowing the fluid through open windows of their victim’s
house either causing them to fall into a deep sleep or, if they
administer an overdose, the victims never awaken.

Sin is very similar to this so called “Flower of Death.” Sin is

a narcotic that eventually kills physically and eternally. The
devil uses sin, which is rebellion against the laws of God, to rob
the individual of his Heaven-given virtues and companionship
with God. Evil can be as the Ketjoeboeng flower, wonderfully
attractive, yet the very essence of death.

There is but one means of breaking the spell of sin, and that
is by the eradication of the old nature and a resurrected life in
the Lord Jesus Christ.

We all have a past but we don’t have to live in it.

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20
 January 21
____________

The Religion of Our Forefathers

“And these stones shall be for a memorial to the
children of Israel forever.” (Joshua 4:7)

J
oshua bid the children of Israel to take up twelve stones
and place them as a memorial to how the Lord cut off the
Jordan River when they brought the Ark across. He was
adamant that the children and all generations to come would not
forget what God had done to set them apart as His chosen people.

In Cardiff, Wales I was shown the Gorsedd Gardens, also

known as the Garden of the Druids. The Druids were a
judicial-priestly order in Gaelic Britain before Christianity
was introduced to our forefathers. Druidism was a belief in
the cyclical reincarnation of the soul and taught its followers
to sacrifice humans before the altars of their gods. Our
forefathers were barbarians and pagans before the civilizing
power of Christianity was brought to the shores of Angle Land.

In the Druid gardens of Cardiff I was shown twelve large

stones, in the midst of which was a much larger stone where
sacrifices were offered by the Druid high priest some two
thousand years ago. It is said that humans, probably slaves,
were tied in bundles and presented as burnt offerings to the
immortal gods.

As I looked upon the stones for the moment I forgot the story of
the Pilgrim Fathers of our ancestors and thought farther back
to when our forefathers offered human sacrifices to unknown
gods. One can believe if we in this present age should abandon
Christianity, the ancient spirit of our forefathers will become
predominant again and human society become subservient to
pagan instincts.

Those who forget the errors of the past are bound

to repeat them!

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21
 January 22
____________

The Sensitive Plant

“A soft answer turns away wrath but a harsh word
stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1)

I
n El Salvador, Central America, I was shown the “Sensitive
Plant,” the Mimosa Pudica (mimosa is Greek for “mimic,”
alluding to its sensitivity; pudica is Latin, meaning
“modest” or “bashful”). When the leaves of the Sensitive Plant
receive the slightest touch the petiole falls and the leaves
recoil as though wilted. Science does not yet understand the
cause of this strange phenomenon in Nature.

There are many people whose actions are similar to the

Sensitive Plant. They are referred to as being “touchy.” The
smallest irritation wilts them; the least trouble causes them to
droop; the most trivial inconvenience causes them to languish.
Everyone around them has to be careful for they cannot bear
teasing or disagreement on any subject. They are society’s
Sensitive Plants.

If you are a human Mimosa Pudica, Christ can transform your

delicate disposition into a strong characteristic of power and
courage to face the vicissitudes of modern life bravely.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear,

but of power and of love and a sound mind.”
(2 Timothy 1:7)

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22
 January 23
____________

The Ducking Stool

“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For
whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every
son whom He receives.” (Hebrews 12:5-6)

M
useums are always interesting places since in them
we are able to turn back the musty pages of history
and see our fore-parents as they lived and reacted to
surrounding circumstances.

At one time I was conducting a series of meetings in the

harbor city of Scarborough, Yorkshire, England when the
pastor took me to the local museum for a visit. Among the
interesting antiques and relics which attracted my attention
was a chair named “The Ducking Stool.” The information
card attached to it said that in times past when a woman
of the vicinity quarreled continually with her family or her
neighbors, and was an, “Arrogant, scolding woman, making
herself obnoxious,” the town authorities apprehended her and
took her down to the wharf. There they strapped her into the
Ducking Stool and immersed her a few times while the citizens
looked on and laughed.

The card of information explained that this public humiliation

proved a successful means of ending quarrels and creating
social tranquility!

The Lord must many times deal with us in much the same
way. When we may wander from what we know to be leading
a righteous and upright life of peace, love, mercy and respect
toward our neighbors; we must suffer at the hands of the Lord
in order to learn patience, humility, and meekness toward God
and our fellow man.

Remember, if we are faithful to confess our sins,

God is faithful to forgive us!
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23
 January 24
____________

I Would Rather Be Blind

“…for I have learned in whatever state I am, therewith
to be content.” (Philippians 4:11)

M
r. Willard was an Alaskan Indian, a member of the
strong Thlinket Tribe. He was a devoted Christian
and, for a number of years, a minister of the Pres-
byterian Mission. The Indians and the whites of Juneau told
me that he was an intrepid pioneer who suffered nobly for the
Gospel of Christ in the primitive Indian villages of Alaska. In
the latter part of his life he went blind, and although handi-
capped, the ministry of preaching God’s Word continued.

One day as the blind pastor was felling a tree to keep his
congregation warm, the tree unexpectedly broke and fell on
him. His faithful wife dragged him to the house; a pioneer was
gone; a disciple at rest.

Before his death a friend approached Mr. Willard and asked

him if he believed Christ could restore his eyesight. The
preacher answered, “Yes.” He was then asked why he did not
pray that his sight be restored. The humble preacher smiled
and said, “Why, the Lord has blessed me with blindness! Why
would I pray for the curse of sight? I do not want to see sin
anymore; it is sufficient to hear the sin around me. I would
rather be blind!”

There is coming a glorious day when all Christians will not

only be saved from sin, but will be saved from the presence of
sin. We will not have to look upon the human wreckage in the
gutters of iniquity.

Be careful not to look upon the sin in others

while being blind of your own!

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24
 January 25
____________

Where Are the Masterpieces?

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attri-
butes are clearly seen, being understood by the things
that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead,
so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

O
ne day while in London, as I walked through the world
famous National Art Gallery, I asked, “Would you
please direct me to your greatest masterpieces?” The
attendant lifted his shoulders and fixed his eyes on me with
a mixture of pride and disgust, then with a swing of his arm
remonstrated, “Everywhere! This museum contains nothing
but masterpieces!”

Critics of Christianity have accosted Christians with a

barrage of vituperate nonsense and with a contemptible and
presumptuous air have demanded, “Where is God? If there
is a Deistic Personality who is the Supreme Creator of the
universe and sovereign of the nations, where can He be found?
If He is the Master Architect, where are His masterpieces?”

The answer is, “Everywhere! God’s creation contains nothing

but masterpieces.”

The “human machine” is a masterpiece of creation. The fiery

constellations moving in their ordained courses are master-
pieces of creation. The minutest detail of a flower, symmetry,
beauty, perfection, is a masterpiece!

It is one thing to know that God exists, but quite

another to know God.

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25
 January 26
____________

A Guatemalteco
Gives Jesus a Penny
“Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put
in more than all those who have given to the treasury.”
(Mark 12:43)

I
n a Guatemalan town where I was speaking from a text
which involved entire consecration to the Lord Jesus
Christ, I admonished the people to give their all into the
care of the Lord, and thereby receive His best blessing in
return.

After the service had been dismissed an elderly lady, rather

poorly dressed and of reticent demeanor, handed me a penny
saying, “This is all that I possess, but it is for Jesus.” I was
surprised by her deed, as money was not mentioned at all in
the message. I had pleaded for souls to be wholly yielded to
Christ; however, in her mind this was her full consecration—
Christ must have her last penny!

We all need the simple, straightforward faith of the Guate-

malteco woman, for only through faith shall we be able to
consecrate all to the Lord.

One who is consecrated to God is one who will

endure suffering as well as experience joy!

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26
 January 27
____________

Sacrifice
“And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after
Me, is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:38)

O
nce, while in Korea, a pastor from America was traveling
as a tourist, and stopped over on Sunday to preach in a
church. He was taking pictures on Monday just outside
of Seoul. He came upon a Korean in a field harnessed to a plow
and pulling it like an animal. Following the plow and pushing
it was his little boy. This American pastor/tourist thought this
was exceptionally humorous, so he took a good picture of the
incident. Afterword he remarked to another missionary, “I
saw the most ridiculous site you can possibly imagine.”

“What was that?” The missionary asked.

“I saw a man plowing a rice field, and pulling the plow like
an animal. His boy was pushing the plow behind him. How
primitive these people are.”

The missionary looked at the man for a moment, and with an

emotional tremor in his voice said, “That man is not primitive.
He is one of my deacons. He had a water buffalo to pull the
plow, but when we were building the church, we had to have
money. So he sold the buffalo, and gave the money for the
church. Now he is pulling the plow.”

The evidence of God’s love for the world is the

sacrifice of His Son on the cross.

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27
 January 28
____________

Killed by a Silver Cup

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…
but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven…”
(Matthew 6:19-20)

I
n Velvey, Switzerland there lived a young man who was a
master of skiing, and was always one of the leading contes-
tants at the winter tournaments. Recently, on a Sunday,
his mother had asked the young man to stay at home and at-
tend church with her for her birthday. He declined because
there was an important skiing tournament which was award-
ing a bright new silver cup to the winner. With youthful hilar-
ity he declared, “Mother, I am going to win that cup and bring
it home to you!” His godly mother urged him to stay home and
go to church as her birthday gift, but he was determined to go.
Off he went with a delicious lunch she made for him. As he
rode to the top of the Alps his thoughts quickly turned from his
mother’s birthday to that silver loving cup. The tournament
began, and there were many agile and nimble skiers in fine
form. However, when the final measurements were taken,
this young man had out-distanced all the competitors. Amid
the praise and congratulations of the judges and his friends,
his heart nearly bursting with excitement, he received that
silver cup, and his ambitions realized. He was a hero.

Sadly, as he tried to jump a narrow ditch on his way home

his skis slipped. He was thrown backwards, and landed on
his back right on the silver cup which he had packed in his
knapsack. The coroner’s verdict was that his spinal cord
snapped as he landed on that prized silver cup. The long jump
had won him earthly honor, but the small jump killed him.
If only he had obeyed his mother, and gone to church that
day. How often dazzling ambitions and stellar achievements
separate souls from God!

Earthly applause and worldly glory may bring

temporal reward, but ultimately lures mankind
to eternal damnation.
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28
 January 29
____________

“Those Stars Are My Gods”

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

I
was sailing up the Inland Passage from Seattle, Washington
to Alaska, and one evening the Captain of the S.S. Princess
Norah and I were pacing the aft deck. As he puffed on
his pipe I broached the subject of Christianity by inquiring,
“Sir, what do you think of Christ? Who was He?” He removed
the pipe and dramatically pointed with it to the scintillating
constellations in the heavens as he spoke in a firm voice, “Those
stars are my gods. Since I was a small boy these wonderful
stars have guided my boat, and have never led me astray. I
admire them deeply, and perhaps even worship them.”

The Captain stood gazing into the milky way until I broke
the silence, “Well, Captain, every rational creature has the
right to think as he pleases; it is his prerogative to choose
whatever he likes for his god; however, there is one question
I wish to ask you, who made your sparkling gods up there?
Who organized and superintends their functions to guarantee
that they remain in their orbits, and are even faithful to you,
a hard working mariner sailing the high seas?”

The Skipper shook his head as he declared, “I do not know,

and am not sure anybody else knows.” As he leaned over the
rail and watched the wake ripple behind the vessel, I said,
“Captain, my God made your gods!”

The incalculable dimension, resplendent galax-

ies, fiery constellations, gigantic star groups,
blazing suns and flying planets must have a
DIVINE INTELLIGENCE to guide and control
them.

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29
 January 30
____________

Loving Others
“The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, ‘Yea, I
have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with
loving kindness have I drawn thee.’” (Jeremiah 31:3)

P
eople want to be appreciated, cared for and loved. A
few years ago, they planted some trees in our backyard
where we used to live; however, they planted two of each,
and I said, “Why two?” They said, “One won’t live.” They said
the trees needed each other. If they didn’t have one another,
they would not pollinate or grow; they wouldn’t be healthy or
produce fruit. Even in nature, there has to be a relationship
of appreciation, one to another, in order for living things to be
healthy. It is the same in our lives. We are born with a desire
to be loved, and when you’re not loved we have a crisis.

What is your reaction when you are not loved? Whether at

work or home being unloved becomes a problem. When you
are not appreciated as you should be, how are you going to
react? You have to respond to other people the way God wants
you to, not the way you feel like doing it. And if you’re going to
go by your feelings, you’re going to get yourself in trouble a lot
of times. Just because somebody else gets upset, that doesn’t
give you a license for getting upset. Just because somebody
else says something harsh, that doesn’t give you a license for
saying something harsh. There is no “I got hurt first.” God
doesn’t count firsts and seconds. God just counts you and your
reactions to the particular situation. So God wants us all to
learn how to react with being unloved.

If you really love, you must be willing to back it

up with a deed.

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30
 January 31
____________

The Klondike Sourdough

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteous-
ness and all these things shall be added unto you.”
(Matthew 6:33)

A
board a modern “greyhound” of the briny trails en route
to New Zealand, I traveled along the Lone Wolf Trail
from San Francisco to Tahiti and on to Wellington. On
this journey I met a most remarkable man. He had a long
white beard and snowy shoulder length hair, but a winning
smile and bright blue eyes. His dated woolen shirt and heavy
trousers looked out of place in the Tahitian heat. He had been
a Klondike gold miner who, as a young man having heard the
“Call of gold,” rushed to the frozen fields of northern Canada
with excitement to dig for the precious metal and become
wealthy. I asked him if he had “struck it rich.” His blue eyes
narrowed, and he shook his head retrospectively saying, “I
lived in hope many years; each year I thought I would ‘strike
it rich,’ but I never did. Finally, I realized I was an old broken
man having survived the bleak Arctic winters only to become
too weak to continue to mine. So, I relinquished my claim, and
am going home.”

Young person, how often we meet the counterpart of this old

gold miner. Men and women have spent their lives in pursuit
of earthly gain only to come to the end of life confused and
defeated. There are conflicting “voices” in the world calling
youth to seek gold, pursue pleasure, attain position, but Christ
is calling youth to live resourcefully, happily, and eternally by
hearing His voice.

To live with others, for others, serving others

is the happiest life earth affords, and pays the
greatest dividends!

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31
 February 1
____________

Vocational Choices
“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.
Loving favor rather than silver and gold.” (Proverbs 22:1)

D
uring my trips, I often question children in various
parts of the world regarding their choice of vocation.
Invariably, they wish to follow the profession that is
receiving the greatest ovation of praise from the public. The
American trends are similar. Boys and girls do not covet
wealth or responsible positions, but glamour and approbation
from the masses. Motion pictures glorify everything from cow-
boys to commandos. The youth dream of being wherever there
is public ovation.

Parents, such yearning for applause reveals the potential

power of public opinion upon youthful minds. Adults must
realize that those whom they allow to be placed before the eyes
of the youth of America are the ones they will emulate. If we do
not want our American children to engage in the immoralities
of Hollywood (but rather have them pursue more noble and
meaningful career paths), we should not glorify the gods and
goddesses of the celluloid Babylon!

If we want them to be Christians we must praise

Christ, and lift Him up before them.

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32
 February 2
____________

Lost
“If …thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find
Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and soul.”
(Deuteronomy 4:29)

H
ave you ever been lost? I have! I have been lost in a
foreign land where I could not speak the language. I’ve
also been lost in the jungle, but the strangest place was
THE SKY!

It was during the month of February where I had visited Nome,

Alaska. It was frozen in the winter as the Bering Sea was iced
over for one hundred and twenty-five miles at its front door.
As I boarded a plane for Fairbanks, the pilot seated me in the
cockpit so I could take pictures. We became so engrossed in
our picture taking and sight-seeing that we lost valuable time,
and darkness (the enemy of all aircraft in this frozen tundra)
was approaching. Flying in this region is done by observation
only, and soon the pilot said, “Les, we are lost!” We began to
look for the Kuyakuk River in hopes of landing near an Indian
village on the ice. At last we sighted a few lights. The villagers
recognized that we were lost in the dark so they rushed out
with lanterns, and stood along the river edge to guide us onto
the icy river. As the pilot nosed down for a landing we hit the
ice, and bounded several times before finally coming to a halt.
We taxied to the village, covered the plane, put a small gas
stove under the engine to prevent freezing, and bunked with
a local storekeeper for the night. My prayer as I knelt by my
bunk that night was different. I gave grateful thanks to God
who watches over all His children. God had reached out His
Omnipotent arm against all odds.

I once was lost but now I am found, was blind

but now I see!

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33
 February 3
____________

Faith Action
“Give, and it shall be given unto you.” (Luke 6:38)

N
eighbor, what is your greatest need? You can have it if
you take the first step toward God. He won’t fail you.
This is what I call faith action, and it is the key for get-
ting what you need from God. There are three things which
you can do, and God will enrich your life:

One: Give to God. Make sure it is God’s work.

Two: Don’t look at what you have, or at what you don’t have.
Look to God.

Three: Take faith action. Do what God tells you to do. Let
God know you have a giving heart. Open up the way for Him
to bless you. Jesus taught the law of increase. He wants you
to know the joys and rewards of sharing. The more you give,
the more He delights in giving to you in return.

Let me give you an example from the Bible. When Jesus en-
countered the ten lepers (Luke 17) he said, “Go show your-
selves unto the priests.” In other words, there was something
they must do; namely, take Jesus at His word and act on it.
Their greatest need was cleansing, and they never would have
gotten what they needed most if they had not acted on the
strength of Jesus’ word.

Nothing blesses God more than believing and

taking steps of faith action.

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34
 February 4
____________

Doors of Opportunity
“A door was opened unto me of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 2:12)

W
hen Paul speaks of an open door as he does in today’s
scripture reference, he refers simply to God-given
opportunities to present Christ to some soul or group
in need. An open door was access to a continent, a nation or
a community which God Himself provided. To Paul, life was
like a long corridor through which he passed while looking for
open doors where he could present the Gospel.

When a person enters a door God opens, he possesses legal au-

thority. He is where he is by Divine direction and providential
circumstance. He can command demons, sickness and fear to
obey him because he comes with the benediction of God upon
his life and ministry.

These words had deep meaning and significance for Paul,

for they expressed the very heart and character of Paul’s
commitment and service to God. Life was not an easy path
for him; he was constantly opposed by men and thwarted by
circumstances. He often came to an impasse where doors were
closed to him as is the case with all true men of God.

Man, in himself, does not have the capacity in a creative

sense to open doors. He serves simply as God’s agent. But
when God opens a door, there is no individual or group who
can close that door. The Lord leads today through natural
circumstances, or He leads in ways that are extraordinary. It
is our responsibility to stay alert for “doors of opportunity,”
and then obediently trust Him to accomplish His Word.

An opportunity today may not be so tomorrow!

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35
 February 5
____________

Never Retreat
“My Grace is sufficient for you, and My strength is
made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Y
ears ago when I first sensed the call of God to preach,
many people tried to dissuade me. My own father
mocked me, and told me I would starve to death. I
overheard another close relative say that I would never be a
preacher in a thousand years. Everyone seemed to think I
would fail. Consequently, I began to wonder if they were right.
But you can’t be a champion by retreating all the time. I knew
in my heart what God was calling me to do. I’ve never regret-
ted stepping out on faith. God has supplied all my needs, and
people have been more responsive to my ministry than I ever
thought possible. My whole life is proof that what makes the
most sense in human wisdom is not necessarily God’s will.

All the real men and women I have ever known fit this same
pattern of never retreating from the Call of God. They are
used by God not because of their innate ability, but because of
their faithfulness to Him. That’s why you should not be afraid
to step out in faith. Success or failure does not depend on your
own skill, or even external circumstances; it depends only on
your faithfulness!

I know a man who always parks his car facing

out so he never has to back up!

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36
 February 6
____________

One Plus God

“I sought for a man among them who would make a
wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the
land that I should not destroy it, but I found no one.”
(Ezekiel 22:30)

I
t’s amazing what God can do with one person, any person,
who will abdicate prestige, position, status, and his or
her own will, and consecrate his or her own life solely to
being all the Lord wants. God working through an ordinary
person can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles and
accomplish incredible feats.

I think of the story of another layman, a young shoe salesman

in New England, who came to Christ in the 1800’s. He applied
for membership in a Boston church, but was denied because he
couldn’t explain the Gospel. The young man was determined
to study so he could be used by God to teach others. His
business took him to Chicago where he joined a church, and
asked if he could teach a Sunday School class. He was rejected
by the Sunday School Superintendant due to his crude and
uneducated manner. The young man recruited his own pupils,
and soon his class was the world’s largest! That man was D.
L. Moody, and God used him to reach two powerful nations for
Christ.

God delights to use ordinary people, and when God puts His
hand on a man or woman, watch out! There’s no limit to what
He can accomplish.

Who you are and what you have are unimportant;

what you let God do through you is what counts!

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37
 February 7
____________

Prayer
“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before
daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place;
and there He prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

T
he litmus test of any person’s spiritual character is his
prayer life. No man or woman who fails in prayer can
be truly successful at any endeavor for God. Regardless
of what your gift may be, and no matter what God has called
you to do, the secret to ultimate victory is the victory you gain
in secret. The most important aspect of your calling is your
prayer life.

We are all called to pray. Not everyone can preach or be a

missionary, but everyone does have the privilege of prayer.
Yet it’s interesting isn’t it, that most of us consider ourselves
failures at private prayer? If you want to humble the average
Christian leader, all you have to do is ask him about his prayer
life. When faced with the greatest challenges of life we should
turn immediately to the Lord. This is a principle I’ve tried
to abide by over the years. When we’re inclined to act, we
are usually better off to bathe our desires in prayer first. No
decision is so urgent that there’s no time to pray it through.
The greater the impact of the decision, the more time I spend
before the Lord asking Him to direct my thoughts and help me
make a wise decision. God won’t use a man who loves to put
himself on a pedestal before others; He chooses instead those
who spend time on their knees before the throne of grace.

Real success comes not from the work we do

when the world is watching, but from the life we
live when no one can see.

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38
 February 8
____________

The Importance of Vision

“The God of Heaven will prosper us; therefore we His
servants will arise and build… (Nehemiah 2:20)

B
ecause Nehemiah was a man of vision, he was able to
look at the piles of crumbled stones and see walls. He
looked at the heaps of ashes and saw new gates. He saw
things other men could not. God always uses people who can
see beyond what seems to be, and who grasps the vision of a
greater reality. That is the essence of faith.

George Mueller, who ran an orphanage in nineteenth century

Bristol, England, was a man of vision. He made it a policy
to never reveal his financial needs to anyone. He saw God
as his ultimate provider, and he believed that if God was in
the ministry He would lay it on people’s hearts to participate.
One man, visiting the orphanage, said to Mueller, “Of course
you cannot carry on these institutions without a good stock of
funds.” Mueller acknowledged that was the case. “Have you a
good stock?” The man asked? Mueller, knowing that he was
penniless, only answered quietly, “Our funds are deposited in
a bank which cannot break.” The man responded by saying
he wanted to make an investment in that bank, and he gave
Mueller a sizeable gift. God knows the end from the beginning.
He knows how things will turn out. The future is so certain to
Him that He counts it as an accomplished fact, and declares it
to be so. The eyes of faith lay hold of what God has promised
to do, not what the natural eyes see happening.

Never doubt in the dark what God shows you in

the light!

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39
 February 9
____________

The Eyes of Faith

“…I was fasting and praying before the God of
heaven…” (Nehemiah 1:4)

I
am convinced that one of the ultimate benefits of prayer
is that it trains us to go over our options, to pray through
every angle of a decision, and to see things more clearly
through the eyes of faith. Have you ever made a bad decision,
because you didn’t take time to pray it through? I know I have!
I remember clearly when a church in South Bend, Indiana,
approached me about being their pastor. I flatly told them no,
I wasn’t interested. I felt God had called me to a different area
of ministry. Besides, I wasn’t particularly attracted to South
Bend. The next night I received another call from the South
Bend church. The man on the other end told me that the
church people had fasted and prayed all day, and once again
had voted unanimously to call me. “That’s very interesting,” I
said, “I appreciate that very much, but I can’t come.” The next
night another call came from the church. They were convinced
I hadn’t prayed about my decision. If I prayed it through, they
felt I would change my mind. They were right. I accepted
their call.

More often than I can remember, I have been saved from a

bad decision because I took time to pray it through. Prayer
enables us to see things in a sharper focus through the eyes
of faith.

“Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?”

— Corrie Ten Boom

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40
 February 10
____________

Counting the Cost

“No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking
back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)

J
esus taught that before we do anything, we should count
the cost. He applied that truth to would-be disciples.
Those who came to Him without first counting the cost
were sent away. Counting the cost has a way of eliminating
those who are not really called. God will frequently call a
person to a task for which he is not humanly qualified. No
price is ever too high when God calls a person. We may be
asked to give up riches, family, or other temporal things, but
God will always bless us with more than we give up.

Billy Sunday was one of the world’s best known baseball

players when he was converted. He had fame, status, and
everything he had ever longed for when God called him into
ministry. Sunday never thought twice, and gave it all up to
serve the Lord. For the first ten years of his ministry, Sunday
was in the shadows as an assistant to another evangelist.
Many people thought he had squandered a great potential in
professional sports to become a third-rate preacher. But, like
Moses, Sunday spent some years in preparation on the back-
side of the desert. After a few years in obscurity, he became the
best known evangelist in America, instrumental in converting
tens of thousands of souls.

Don’t pray for a task to equal your powers; pray

for powers to equal your task!

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41
 February 11
____________

Run with Your Vision

“Write the vision and make it plain upon tables, that
he may run that readeth it.” (Habakkuk 2:2)

D
o you have a vision for your life? Had God put you on
a certain path toward it? Are you one of the many who
has never responded because others’ opinions have
discouraged you and deterred you from following it? I spent
many years serving the Lord in the Philippines. I was certain
of God’s call there, but I was just as certain when He called me
to return to America to minister on television. But the first
preacher I met when I got to the United States said to me,
“Sumrall, you’re fifty and you’re finished!” His words hurt, but
I knew in my heart the vision God had given to me. I prayed
and God told me, “You’re not finished, you’re just getting
started. Run with your vision!”

I could have listened to that man. I might have run out,

bought a rocking chair and rocked until I died. But I would
have missed the most marvelous years of service the Lord had
ever given to me. The vision which God gives to each of us
may differ from the opinions of men, but if we are ever going
to serve God, it’s His vision that counts!

“Others can stop you temporarily; you are the

only one who can do it permanently.”
— Zig Ziglar

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42
 February 12
____________

Energized by Divine Power

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be
filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18)

I
t is impossible to stress too much the importance of being
filled with the Holy Spirit. When Ephesians 5:18 says, “Be
filled with the Spirit,” it’s giving us a command, not an
option. It carries the same weight as the preceding phrase,
“Be not drunk with wine.” Most Christians would not think
of getting drunk, but did you realize that, “Be filled with the
Spirit,” is part of the same command? You may not be a
drunkard, but if you are not filled with the Holy Spirit you
are living in disobedience just the same. Why do you suppose
that verse links drunkenness with being Spirit-filled? It’s a
stark contrast for one thing, but there are some parallels, too.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be under His influence,
controlled by the Spirit of God so much that He directs our
actions, words and thoughts. When Scripture says we need
to be filled with the Spirit, it doesn’t mean we need “more” of
the Spirit, but rather that we need to yield more of ourselves
to HIM. The expression “filled with the Spirit” is like the
phrases “filled with wrath” (Luke 4:28), “fill[ed]…with all joy
and peace” (Romans 15:13), or even “drunk with wine.” It
means to be so completely controlled by something else, so
that you give up control of yourself.

How about you? Are you overwhelmed by the size of the task
He has set before you? You’ll be amazed at what He can do in
and through you when you surrender yourself to His power.

Look at yourself as a tool in the Hands of God—a

power tool!

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43
 February 13
____________

Sin and Sickness

“Whether it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy
sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy
bed, and walk?” (Mark 2:9)

I
f all the men and women living on the face of the earth were
doctors and nurses, and if all the homes were hospitals,
the world would still be sick; for sickness is highly related
to sin, and sickness is a spiritual phenomenon in most cases.
In both the Old and New Testaments, sickness, disease and
plagues came as a result of sin against God. A person whose
spirit is healthy will rarely be sick in his body. An unhealthy
spirit exists when a person is not in a right relationship
with God. A person whose spirit is low, (beaten down with
sin, discouragement or depression) can pick up diseases like
nobody’s business.

To be sick in your spirit is the most dangerous of all illnesses.

Sickness in your spirit can also be related and carried into
your soulical and physical parts. A person who is sick in his
spirit can very easily become sick in his emotions, sick in his
mind, and for sure sick in his will to the point he has no will
power to stand up and be the person God created him to be.
That’s the reason we have to keep the human spirit so strong.
I don’t believe that a person who is sick in his spirit can have a
well body; it would be fatigued. But the good news is God can
pick you up and heal your spirit!

“I am God’s workmanship and a new person in

Jesus Christ so that I can do the good things He
planned for me long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10)

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44
 February 14
____________

Spiritual Giving
“The generous soul shall be made rich. And he that
waters will also be watered himself.” (Proverbs 11:25)

W
hen you give out, something comes back. But if you
don’t water anybody, you won’t get any water. When
a person doesn’t like to give, it is because he doesn’t
have faith. He is not to be criticized; he’s in bad shape. Living
faith doesn’t function in him. Things which he cannot handle
will creep up in his life because the rudiments of faith are not
there. He’ll need healing, for instance, which he won’t be able
to receive.

The Bible says Abel had faith. Abel didn’t say it; God said it.
The Bible says, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent
sacrifice than Cain…” (Hebrews 11:4) You give in relationship
to the amount of faith you have. If you don’t have faith to give,
you cannot give. Nobody thought the little woman in the Bible
who dropped in two of the smallest coins in the kingdom had
anything but poverty, but Jesus decided she had faith. He
said, “She’s dropped in more than all of them.” (Mark 12:43)
Why did Jesus speak so highly of her? Because she gave Him
the total of what she had.

God showed me that our spiritual lives are highly related to

what we give to Him. Faith and giving go together; you cannot
separate them.

Faith makes all things possible… love makes all

things easy!

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45
 February 15
____________

Compassion
“And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude;
and He was moved with compassion for them, and
healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:14)

W
e live in a tearless society. Compassion runs low. We
rarely weep. We’re desensitized to reality, partly be-
cause we have been conditioned by television not to
believe it or to see evil as ordinary. We watch murder and
violence every night on those little boxes in our living rooms,
and we are used to it. We sit with TV dinners, watching the
news reports of worldwide hunger, followed by commercials
for gourmet cat food, and we don’t take anything seriously.
The closest thing we see to compassion is manufactured by the
entertainment industry. Someone comes up with an idea to
solve the hunger problem: have a televised rock concert and
ask for donations. So, instead of involvement, we get more
entertainment. And it’s nothing more than opportunism dis-
guised as humanitarianism. The rock stars get free nation-
wide exposure, adulation from the masses and a few more
thousand record sales. The money goes to pay salaries, televi-
sion bills, and finally what’s left goes to the starving people.
No one weeps, few really sacrifice, and little is done to solve
the problem of starvation. Crocodile tears are cheap. It’s easy
to express a superficial concern, phone in a donation and then
get on with enjoying the concert. But that’s a long way from
real compassion.

Jesus felt real compassion. He got involved. Those who have

true compassion always get involved. God loves to use a
person who cares deeply about what matters to him and feels
compassion!

Real compassion is a critical part of truly great

character!

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46
 February 16
____________

The Right Motivation

“…a man had come to seek the well-being of the
children of Israel.” (Nehemiah 2:10)

I
t’s interesting to observe what motivates people. I’ve known
people in churches who enjoy sitting on the sidelines.
They won’t join the choir, come to prayer meetings, do
any visitation, or teach Sunday School. Church is a spectator
sport for them—until there’s a controversy. Then they are
usually the first ones to join the fracas, and work hard to cause
a church split. They are negatively motivated.

Then there are people like the children of Israel who helped
Nehemiah. They’ll join up when they see something happen-
ing, but they are not the ones to make things happen. They
are motivated by activity, not by needs.

Thank God for people like Nehemiah! They are the ones who
see a need and know that they must make something happen.
Nehemiah was motivated by a broken-down wall he had never
seen. Other men said it was a disgrace; only Nehemiah really
cared enough to do something about it. This was not a shallow
feeling, but emotion that emanated from his soul. I’ve known
many men and women of God in my lifetime, and I’ve noticed
that a common characteristic they share is that they are people
of deep emotion. They are without exception people of great
compassion and deep feeling.

“Carve your name on hearts—not marble.”

— Charles Spurgeon

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47
 February 17
____________

Righteous Anger
“When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them
all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and
poured out the changers’ money and overturned the
tables.” (John 2:15)

J
esus wasn’t always meek and mild. He got angry when
He saw the Temple being defiled, yet there was no con-
tradiction in His character. He was the most compas-
sionate person who ever lived. He would weep over the mul-
titudes who were like sheep without a shepherd. He could
stand toe to toe with the Pharisees, and quietly answer any
challenge they put on Him. They could hurl their accusations
and insults against Him, and He kept His peace. But when He
observed His Father’s house being made into a thieves’ mar-
ket, He made a whip and drove them out! There is a place for
righteous anger that grows out of a zeal for God’s Glory. I get
angry when I see Christians compromise. I get angry when I
see some television preachers making merchandise of the Gos-
pel. I get angry when I hear false teachers spouting lies. It’s
wrong not to get angry at things like that. We’re supposed to
be zealous about God’s glory. We should feel deeply about His
righteousness. It’s good to share God’s hatred of sin.

What ministry has God given you to do? Do you really care
about it? Do you care about the people? Do you freely show
that you care? Then you can’t ignore sin and compromise,
rather you must be like a watchman on a wall loudly giving a
signal when sin and danger approach!

You may get angry as Jesus did—just don’t sin

when you do!

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48
 February 18
____________

Confessing Our Faults

One to Another
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for
another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16)

I
n the contract we have with God, His Word says that if
we’ve got a problem or a sin, we must confess it and get it
out so that we can be healed.

An interesting situation took place at a hospital in our city. I

read a slip of paper containing a prayer request, put it in my
pocket and rushed over to the hospital. I went to room 512,
although I later discovered I was to go to 412. I ran into room
512, and the first man I saw I asked, “Do you need prayer?”
He said, “Yes.” So I proceeded to pray a real victorious prayer
for him. When I finished he said, “Who are you?” In that case,
I said, “Who are you?” He said, “I am Father so-and-so from
Notre Dame.” I said, “I am Lester Sumrall from the other end
of town.” Then he began to cry. He said, “I have prayed for
hours that if there was anyone in this city who could pray, for
God to send him to me, and when you came through that door
I knew God had sent you.”

I reached into my pocket and said, “I’m on the wrong floor.”

“No,” he said, “You’re not. You are on the right floor!”

If a person has been praying, God will cause you

to miss a floor to get to him!

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49
 February 19
____________

What Is Healing?
“The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the
nations.” (Revelations 22:2b)

J
esus Christ has turned the Cross, which was the tree of
death, into the Tree of Life and blessing. The leaves of
this tree heal and bless in every nation where Jesus is
preached and received.

Our natural earthly bodies, which are made of clay, can receive
new life, new vigor and new power. Disease can be destroyed,
and maladjustments made right by the power of Jesus Christ.

Physical healing is not brought by mental powers or psycho-

logical therapy. It is not human imagination, nor is it demonic
in origin. God, in His mercy, has provided an adequate salva-
tion for the three integral parts of triune man—spirit, soul
and body—through Jesus Christ.

The Bible must be the sole textbook for the subject of Divine
healing, for man’s opinions and ideas bring confusion. The
Bible is the Supreme Court of the Christian faith.

Jesus is the Master Physician, and He can heal

every kind of disease known among men.

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50
 February 20
____________

Be Free
“Whom the Son sets free, is free indeed…” (John 8:36)

F
rom the dramatic Fall in the Garden of Eden, dreadful
Satanic forces have constantly tried to enslave mankind.
History is a story of man seeking freedom from this
enslavement.

Man eternally seeks political freedom. The call of freedom is

one of the loudest cries in our world today. Universally, men
and women demand national freedom, and are willing to spill
every drop of blood in their bodies to free their nations.

Economic freedom is also one of the most sought after freedoms

of mankind. Grueling chains of poverty bind the human race.
Our generation has seen millions economically freed, but there
are millions more who still cry for shelter and bread.

The greatest of all freedoms is spiritual freedom. A man can

be nationally free, have economic security, and yet his spirit
and soul chained by sin. This is the freedom that counts above
all else. In our world millions are bound by evil habits, they’re
slaves to sensual gratification and driven by unseen powers.
They don’t know the true joy of abundant living.

Only Christ can set this world free, and break every power of
Satan to bring freedom to the entire being!

Whatever your need today the Lord Jesus Christ

will set you free!

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51
 February 21
____________

Where Millions Will Meet

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, bap-
tizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)

T
he Lord Jesus gave the Great Commission as His last
words spoken upon earth. If there was something more
important to tell His infant church He was leaving be-
hind, I feel certain He would have done it. His last instruc-
tions to this small group of illiterate and obscure men who
were citizens of an enslaved nation; men, who were without
political power, without any vestige of human organization,
and with no theological books to teach their doctrines, was to
carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Their champion sent
them forth to challenge the very throne of Caesar, and to chal-
lenge all existing philosophies and religions. The Great Com-
mission must go to the ends of the earth.

Every Christian from the Apostles to the Martyrs of the Great

Tribulation will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, and
give an account for his days upon the earth. They will account
for the talents entrusted to them; for the material sustenance
entrusted to them, and for the divine light of Scripture
and spiritual gifts. Because of the importance of the Great
Commission, could it be the first item on the agenda when
Christ judges you? “What have you done about the Great
Commission? Why did you not give your time and resources
to carry out My one supreme command to My Church?” What
would your answer be?

Are you living in light of the Judgment Seat of

Christ? (Hebrews 9:27)

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52
 February 22
____________

The Black Monster

“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of pow-
er, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

F
ear, often called the “Black Monster,” stalks through
the nations today striking with demonic fury. We find
in our world travels the problem presented most often
by people of many nations, of every color and varied social
positions, is that of FEAR. Also, medical authorities realize
that the modern world is in the iron clasped grip of an invisible
enemy whose unrelenting strangle hold is destroying the vital
life of society. Doctors are increasingly battling this real but
“unreal” monster in their patients.

The Atlantic Charter, drawn up by President Roosevelt

and Sir Winston Churchill, will be remembered for its Four
Freedoms: Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear, Freedom
of Speech and Freedom of Religion. It is interesting that these
statesmen, during a most dreadful conflict of history, listed as
one of the FOUR MAJOR EVILS OF THE WORLD—FEAR.

There is “real” fear and “shadow” fear, and the first step toward
deliverance from this diabolical monster is to know there are
both types of fear. There are positive and negative fears.
Fear can be a profitable servant, or fear can be an overbearing
and malignant master! The Bible says “Fear God,” but this
fear has no relation to horror or terror. It is the same fear as
children have for their parents. Christ prophesied that there
would be a world-wide rampage of fear as a sign of the near
approach of the end of the world.

Are we nearing the end time? It’s not too late to

put your fears to rest by trusting God in every-
thing. (Philippians 4:7)

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53
 February 23
____________

Fishing for Men

“…Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will
make you to become fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17)

T
he thrilling thing about personal evangelism is that,
oftentimes, one can catch a soul for Jesus Christ who
is far greater than himself, who can do more for the
Kingdom than the “fisher” who catches him?

The tremendous example of this in the Bible is where Andrew,

the first disciple of the Lord, immediately realized that to be
a true follower of Christ, one must go out and win others to
Him. Therefore, the same day Andrew became a disciple, he
also became a “fisher of men.” Andrew, whose name means
“manly” or “strength” revealed his true personality by going
first to the most difficult person for him to reach. He went
directly to his self-willed brother, Simon, whom the Lord later
calls Peter.

He did not argue doctrines; there was no pleading or begging.

He simply gave his testimony—“WE HAVE FOUND THE
MESSIAH!” This startling statement so attracted Simon that
he immediately left his nets, and went to investigate. In this
way, Andrew became the first personal worker of our Lord and
Savior. (John 1:40-46)

From that day, the genius of Christianity has been this spirit
that drives its disciples from person to person to give a direct
witness of what Jesus has done for him or her.

What an honor that God should send us to speak

for Him!

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54
 February 24
____________

Fighting, Finishing,
and Keeping the Faith
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)

T
hese words from Paul to Timothy are very exciting, and
keep me moving on the inside. Written at the end of
his life when he was ready to go to Heaven, Paul made
a dramatic declaration. From the time he was born again,
until the time that Caesar Nero took off his head, Paul fought
a good fight. He simply didn’t quit. I hope that everyone who
reads this will do the same. Fight the Devil, fight sin, fight
worldliness and fight controversy. Stand against that which
is wrong.

The second statement that Paul made was “…I have finished
my course…” So few people finish their course. Even the Lord
Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while
it is day…” (John 9:4) There’s an opportunity in life to obey
God and to work for God. That opportunity eventually will
leave and be gone forever. The great Apostle Paul wanted
everyone to know he finished his course. He took advantage
of the opportunities given him; whether there were beatings,
shipwreck, misunderstandings or prison.

The third statement that Paul made was the one I like best
of all, “I have kept the faith.” I have met ministers who did
not keep the faith. They got disillusioned—they got hurt too
much, and departed the ministry. They did not keep their
faith. Until the day Paul went to Heaven he kept the faith.
Believers must continually rekindle the flame of faith.

When you feel you are at the end of all your

resources, you are never at the end of God’s
resources!

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55
 February 25
____________

Heartbeat
“Jesus Wept.” (John 11:35)

H
ave you ever thought of the value and importance of
words—their impact upon the emotions and image they
bring to mind? Take for example the word heartbeat.
To me, it is a dramatic word which characterizes the thrust of
any missionary work. If I know my own heart, it throbs with
compassion for the needs of the people. It beats as one with
Jesus for a lost world.

The Bible says, “Jesus wept.” He wept because He had a tender

heart and sensitive feelings. He wept because He sensed those
around Him whose heart did not beat as His own heart, who
were not in tune with Him, who lived in a selfish world and
who had no faith. The heartbeat of Christ was seen in every
look of the eye, every touch of the finger and every footstep He
made. The heartbeat of Christ today is for the world, torn,
bleeding, divided, confused and spiritually benighted in the
bondage of superstition and religious form.

When your heart beats as one with Jesus you love people
and have faith. When you love people you want to see them
saved, healed and delivered. No happiness on earth compares
with that which comes from getting people through to God.
No sacrifice is too great. If you are one for whom the word
heartbeat has meaning then you have a capacity to feel deeply.
You have a compassion for the lost. You are moved to tears at
the thought of anyone perishing without Christ.

Is your heartbeat one with Christ causing you to

weep for a lost world?

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56
 February 26
____________

Overcoming Fear and Worry

“…and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and
that you put on the new man which was created
according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
(Ephesians 4:23-24)

F
ear, I believe, is man’s deadliest enemy. It is better to
be ill anyplace than in the central government of the
human personality. For this reason, the devil makes
the mind of man his pivotal place of warfare. He knows that
if he conquers the mind, man has no chance of a normal life.
Psychologists call this aspect of fear numinous awe. It can
ruin the nervous system. It can spoil an otherwise pleasing
personality. Fear gives birth to many mental evils.

One of these is chronic melancholia, an unreasoning and un-

reasonable pessimism. It calls white—black. It calls sweet—
bitter. It is convinced that it is right, and everyone else is
wrong. Doctors would rather work with a contagious plague
than to try to pull someone out of the quagmire of melancholia.

A born-again Christian should never have fear, we are covered

by the protecting blood of Christ. Christ has promised to
never leave us or forsake us. A Christian should enter into
a covenant with God concerning his mind. Christians need
never to rise from their beds after a night of worrying, mentally
beaten, physically whipped and not able to do their daily work.
The new man and new creation will also possess a new mind.

“Fear not” is found at least 365 times in the Bi-

ble—a promise for every day of the year!

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57
 February 27
____________

You Can Be Set Free

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free.” (John 8:32)

I
n every great transitional period of history, demon power
and influence accelerates. At the same time, to counteract
this, there is always increased activity in the angelic world.
The life and ministry of Jesus Christ furnishes a good example
of this fact. When He was born in Bethlehem of Judea, the
entire chorus of Heaven sang in majestic crescendo, and for the
following thirty-three years, angels were in evidence until the
golden morning of resurrection when they sang, “He is not here;
for He is risen.” It was a time when the whole underworld of
demons was mobilized and in motion. The outbreak of demon
power during the public ministry of Jesus was perhaps greater
than at any time in history. You and I are again living in a
great period of crisis. Reliable Bible scholars agree the coming
of the Lord Jesus is imminent. Therefore, now as in great
epochs of the past, you can expect two remarkable phenomena:
the acceleration of angelic activity, and the working of devils
on the earth. Satan, and his hosts of demons, as a roaring lion
and as an angel of light, will assault the people of so-called
primitive lands as well as the people of cultured societies.
The Bible warns that in the last days truth will be perverted
and corrupted, and as a result, many people will turn away
from the faith. This can happen only where people allow the
Word of God to be substituted. I raise my voice against the
diluting of the Word of God. Preach the Word! Preach the
Word! Preach the Word!

This is the hour to set men free…and you can be

set free!

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58
 February 28
____________

God Wants to Bless You

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a
man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)

G
od wants to bless you. He wants to help you. He wants
to heal those of you who are sick. He wants to supply
your needs and make up for your lack. But did you
know that God is limited to your faith? That faith-action is the
key to getting what you need?

When Jesus encountered the ten lepers (Luke 17), He said,

“Go shew yourselves unto the priests.” In other words you must
do something. You must act. The ten would never have been
healed, and they never would have gotten what they needed
most if they hadn’t acted on the strength of Jesus’ word.

Do these three things and God will enrich your life: 1. Give
to God, make sure it is God’s work. 2. Don’t look at what you
have or what you don’t have. Look to God. 3. Take faith-action.
Do what God tells you to do. Let God know you have a giving
heart. Open up the way for Him to bless you. Try it, neighbor,
and see if God won’t work the miracle in your life.

God is waiting to bless you, but the first step is

yours.

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59
 February 29
____________

Continuous Energy
“Redeeming the time because the days are evil.”
(Ephesians 5:16)

G
od is omnipotent. This means He is the source of bound-
less infinite energy. The universe in which you live is
full of energy, because God is the Creator. The sun
bursts and explodes, lightning flashes, cataracts plunge and
wind blows. All are expressions of energy. If you love life and
God, and if God is in your life, you will not find life dead and
dull. On the contrary, you will find in Him a source of continu-
ous energy.

Many people today are literally crawling through life, old

before their time. Seemingly, they are afraid to live as God
intended. The reasons: Cares, difficulties, troubles, conflicts,
pressures and confusions of this world. In short, stress and
anxiety have made them weary and old, and medical science
is now discovering that stress brings on disease and even an
early grave. More and more medical evidence links stress
and anxiety with physical breakdown and disease. Stress is
a killer. The problem is only partially answered by what the
doctors describe. The complete answer is in the continuous
energy which comes from God in the power of the Holy Spirit.
When God controls your life, He puts a governor on your self-
centeredness, and reinforces you with His power to make you
a man or woman of poise, faith and courage. He equips you
with the maturity to ride out the stresses of life, to overcome
and master them. As the eagle “feathers itself afresh”, so the
child of God, through the reinforcing power of the Holy Spirit,
renews his strength.

Are you going through life with the brakes on?

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60
 March 1
____________

Demon Activity in the Last days

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter
times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to se-
ducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” (1 Timothy 4:1)

A
young man twenty-eight years of age came to me,
asking for help and counsel. He said he was being
“driven” to steal a car. He threatened suicide unless
he got relief. He had a concealed knife and scars on his wrists
where he had tried it before. A week before, a young wife and
mother called long distance to say she was paralyzed by fear.
She, too, threatened to “end it all.” These cases are typical of
what is happening increasingly today. The Bible makes clear
that demon activity will be prevalent at the end of this age.
“Latter times” may include the Gospel era, but the whole tenor
of Biblical prophecy is that conditions of apostasy will become
more intense in the days just preceding the advent of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The underlying cause for this wholesale
departure from the faith, for the evil conditions of apostasy,
is not just heretical leaders themselves, but the evil spirits
or demons who inspire them. Demons are indeed “seducing
spirits,” and mankind is susceptible to their enticements. In
the beginning, humanity fell by satanic deception, and since
then, has lived under the power of terror.

There is only one refuge from the lies of the Wicked one, and
that is Jesus Christ. This is an hour to know you are in Christ,
to live for Christ, to preach Christ and to win souls to Christ.

The devil cannot enter where the heart is already full.

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61
 March 2
____________

Heavy Burdens
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

T
he picture of a mother and her little girl carrying heavy
baskets on their heads carries a deeper meaning than
just a common sight one sees as he travels foreign lands.
It conveys a symbolism that is at once touching and tragic to
anyone whose heart beats as the Master’s does for the needs
of the people. The great mass of people today are carrying
burdens too heavy to bear—burdens of sin, disease, poverty
and demon possession. Jesus was always deeply touched by
the conditions of the people and by the heavy burdens they
had to bear. Jesus was “moved with compassion” toward the
multitudes. He spent a long day teaching them the things
of the Kingdom of God. That memorable day ended with
the stupendous miracle of feeding more than five thousand
persons from the lunch of a small lad. (Mark 6:34-44)

Jesus wants you to have compassion for the people just as He

and His disciples had. From the time He chose the twelve,
Jesus trained them to have compassion for others. Then,
when they should be sent to “the uttermost parts of the earth”,
they should go with such love for humanity which had led
Him to the cross. He wants you to help lift burdens and bring
deliverance with this same compassion.

Compassion for others is the crying need of the hour!

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62
 March 3
____________

Jesus Loved Big Cities

“And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept
over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least
in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!
But now they are hid from thine eyes.” (Luke 19, 41-42)

I
love the big city! The exotic streets of Shanghai, Singapore,
Tokyo, Calcutta, Paris, London, Chicago, New York—they
all fascinate me. Jesus loved the big cities of His time.
He wept as He stood on Mt. Olivet overlooking the city of
Jerusalem. I am quick to say it is not the surroundings or the
architecture of the big city which draw me to it. It is, rather, the
vast milling masses of toiling humanity dwelling there which
catch my heart. Disease, broken homes and broken hearts are
in every block. Here is the habitation and stronghold of every
evil spirit which plagues the souls of people. Religious error
abounds in the great cities of America, from Boston to Los
Angeles. Cities of today are similar to the cities in the time
of Jesus. Our Lord found Jerusalem to be a place of hatred
and cruelty. The Apostle Paul found Athens to be a center of
flippant philosophy and gossiping scholars devoted to idolatry,
wealth and power.

God still loves the big cities, not buildings or factories, but the
people. The key to the world is in the big cities of the world.
He who would win the world must win the big cities of the
world.

Hardness of heart in the lives of Christians is

closing our “bowels of compassion” for a lost
and dying world!

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63
 March 4
____________

The Law of Increase

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God.” (Romans10:17)

F
aith, as Augustine said, is to believe on the Word of God,
what we do not see, and its reward is to see and enjoy
what we believe. It’s a wonderful thing, and I feel sorry
for people who don’t have any. It’s better to have faith than
fame, better to have faith then fortune, better to have faith
then theories, because faith is the greatest force and power on
earth. It links you with the resources of God. It elevates the
soul, expands the intellect while it purifies the heart, sustains
human dignity, and lends poetry, nobility, and holiness to the
commonest state, condition, and manner of life. It is the root
of all good things in life and of all good works.

God has a principle, a law of increase, and not many people

have found that principle. Those who do are blessed beyond
measure. God is using me these days to help people rediscover
that principle and to find wellness, happiness and purpose in
life. God is looking for men and women today whom He can
trust with power and material blessings. I try to do all that He
tells me to do, and He blesses me for it. When He impresses
me to do something, I do it without arguing or hesitancy. This
is the secret of getting God’s blessing.

I want you to have faith that God will give you

something to give!

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64
 March 5
____________

The Inner Circle

“Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you.”
(James 4:8)

J
esus Christ began His earthly ministry after thirty years
of preparation. Think of it—thirty years of preparation
for a ministry that was to last only three years. I feel
in the depths of my soul that God is going to do a work on
this earth unprecedented in history, and he is going to do it
with a few who are prepared. Jesus looked over the masses of
people, and chose seventy of them for a special purpose. The
Bible says He gave them power over disease and devils, and
sent them to heal and cast out devils. They were different
than the rest. Then He called twelve from among the seventy.
They were His apostles, specially endued with strange power,
and destined to become the foundation stones of the Church.
They were different from all others. They were called apart
unto Him, and knew Him and His power of compassion. As
Jesus was getting near the end of the journey, He narrowed
the circle to three. He said to Peter, James and John, “You
come a little closer than the others”; they were called into the
Inner Circle.

It is of the Lord to call people like that. God is calling today.

He has work to do. He needs those who will draw close to Him.
What place will you have?

It’s all right to be content with what we have,

but not with what we are.

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65
 March 6
____________

Dying of Sadness
“Casting all your care upon Him, for He Careth for
you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

M
y wife, Louise, was a missionary for eight years in
Argentina. One day, Louise saw a wrinkled old lady
sitting on the curb. The old lady was a study in
pathos and loneliness—a person utterly abandoned to a drab
existence in a world of her own. Louise walked up to her and
handed her a track. She waved her away. “I can’t read,” the
old lady protested. Out of a heart of love and concern, Louise
asked, “What do you do for a living?” The old lady looked up
quizzically for a moment, and then cast her eyes again to the
ground. The lines in her face seemed accentuated with sorrow.
Then she stood up to say something to the missionary. You
know, she said plaintively, “I am dying of sadness!”

The words touched my wife deeply. Suppressing her tears for

a moment she testified to the love and goodness of God, and
His power to save and to heal.

The world is full of people who are dying of sadness. Human

need at this moment is more desperate than it has ever been.
The piling up of sadness, the whole range of human problems,
has created a world emergency. This emergency demands a
call to action on the part of those who love the souls of all who
take seriously the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God had only one Son, and He died on a foreign

missionary field.

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66
 March 7
____________

The Ministry of the Future

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter
times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to se-
ducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” (1 Timothy 4:1)

A
few years ago, I recall a woman coming to my church
asking for help. I sensed she was under heavy oppression.
As I came closer to lay hands upon her, she began to
bark like a dog. The congregation heard it and was startled.
In Jesus name, I cast a spirit out. She was instantly delivered,
and the whole church greatly rejoiced. That same woman
became a great testimony to the power of God.

God has shown me that in these last days this sort of thing
will be accelerated. Until then our churches will be full of
perplexed and depressed human beings. Our sidewalks will
have thousands of walking dead whose minds are tormented
and broken by the Devil’s power. But the church must rise to
this new invasion of hell. It must see the dramatic need of this
hour, and must face the problem and be capable of ministering
in power. It must have the Ministry of the future.

The children of God must stand against the enemy as the

police officer stands with the warrant of the court and claims
the power of the Law; as the soldier plants the standard of the
Army, and advises resistance in the name of all the powers
of the State. The believer must use God’s authority, and
overcome the evil one. Christ gave authority to His servants,
and we may stand in His name, even as He.

God specializes in the impossible, and you can

do what no other can do.

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67
 March 8
____________

The Secret of Happiness

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

W
hile I was on my way to a preaching engagement, I
once stopped to visit a home where the wife was a
close acquaintance of mine when we were both chil-
dren. Her husband was a drunkard and ungodly. The family
was poor. Her children needed clothes and food. As I saw the
need, my heart went out to them in sympathy. I gathered up
the children, and took them in my car to the nearest depart-
ment store where I let them pick out their own clothes. They
were wide-eyed with excitement and wonder. I took them to
a supermarket, and together we chose the food they desired to
eat. With the car loaded I drove them back to their home. It
was pandemonium as the boys put on their new overalls, and
the little girls dressed. We ate a meal that was fit for a King.

After a few hours I was on my way. My heart was so happy I

could hardly contain myself. In making this family happy, my
happiness was part of their happiness. I had become happy in
doing for them what they could not do for themselves. Then I
saw quickly that God is happy! He was even happy when He
gave His Son, because through Him He brings happiness to
millions of unfortunate and unhappy people.

God’s greatest happiness is a shared happiness

with us.

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68
 March 9
____________

Waiting for Love

“…he who loves God must love his brother also.”
(1 John 4:20)

W
hile on the way to the border of Tibet to do missionary
work, Reverend Howard Carter and I stopped to hold
a preaching service in the capital city of the Yunan
province. A small beggar boy from the streets entered the
chapel, walked down the aisle, and took the seat next to me
on the front pew. He was dirty, and had on dirty clothes. As
the service proceeded, I unconsciously dropped my left arm
around his neck, and took hold of his ear pulling it a little
while smiling at him. His drab little face, which had before
shown no expression, broke into a smile, and he said something
in Chinese. I turned to my interpreter and asked, “What did
the little fellow say?” He queried the boy and quoted him as
saying, “This man loves me, doesn’t he?”

This thought had not consciously entered my mind before, but

in the second there sprang into my soul a true love for this
waif from the streets. I responded with a warm hug around
his shoulders, and through the interpreter said, “I sure do love
you, and I want you to grow up and be a good man.”

Then I thought, the whole world waits for love. There are mil-
lions of unfortunate, underprivileged, and wonderful underfed
boys and girls in this world whose souls are crying for someone
to hold them today. It is our duty to renew our love for the
children of the world, and cause them to come to know the love
of Christ Who died for them.

America has lost the calluses on its hands, and

has them on its heart!

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69
 March 10
____________

The Thrill of Fishing

“Then He said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you
fishers of men.’” (Matthew 4:19)

W
hen traveling in southeastern Alaska, I went fishing
with a professional fisherman. At the fishing grounds,
he lowered a tremendous drag net from the stern of
the vessel, and swept the bottom of the bay. When he pulled it
up, what a sight! There were flat fish, fat fish, long fish, short
fish, crawfish, good fish and worthless fish. It reminded me of
the mass revival meeting with everything in the evangelist’s
net. It was most interesting to watch the veteran fisherman
look over his catch, and throw the unprofitable fish back into
the water.

The angler does not fish with a net and catch just anything.
He fishes with a hook. He has a hook of certain size; he baits
it for certain species of fish. So in personal evangelism the
hook is baited for certain kinds of “fish.” As a minister and
an evangelist, I say that catching souls for Christ one by one
in personal evangelism is the greatest thrill of life. Certainly
the one great need of the hour in the church is a revival of
personal evangelism.

Your witness for Christ can begin with a personal

testimony.

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70
 March 11
____________

The Laymen’s Disciple

“He first found his own brother Simon, and said to
him, we have found the Messiah.” (John 1:41)

A
ndrew, as a disciple of Christ, forcibly represents the
average Christian. He is the laymen’s disciple. He had
no fanfare, no glamour and no praise from the multi-
tudes. Andrew was simply an average follower of Christ, will-
ing to do his part in bringing the Kingdom of God to work.
Many Christians remorsefully admit that they cannot preach,
are not gifted to sing, and have no ability to write; therefore,
are not qualified to work for Christ. These friends often say,
“We feel useless and worthless.”

This is a wrong attitude, and the devil is the originator of

such feelings. The devil knows that Christ’s greatest and
most effective workers have not been “Limelight” titles, but
“Lighthouse” souls were consistently shown in all kinds of
weather.

There is nothing despicable about being average. The great

backbone of society and of the Christian church is made up
of average people. Abraham Lincoln said, “God must love the
common people, He made so many of us.”

If you cannot preach like Apollos, sing like Da-

vid, win souls like Peter and write like Paul, you
CAN give your personal testimony like Andrew!

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71
 March 12
____________

The Last Will and

Testament of Christ
“…out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant
in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”
(Hebrews 11:34)

Y
ou were created to be a conqueror, not a slave. As the
highest order of creation, patterned after God’s own
image, “Crowned with glory and honor,” you were made
to experience the whole wide range of freedom. God gave
to His first man, Adam, dominion over the earth. However,
as sin cast a shadow over their happiness, the Devil caused
man to lose his high estate of dominion, and become enslaved.
Jesus taught that every man who commits sin is the slave of
sin and not totally free.

The writer of Hebrews explains that in order to purge man of

sin that he might serve the living God. Jesus Christ became
the administrator of a new testament (covenant), and by means
of His death those who obey God’s call enjoy the promises of
eternal inheritance. In a legal sense, the New Testament is
the last will and testament of Christ sealed by His precious
blood, and His death on the Cross put the testament into force.

I challenge you to stand on your legal rights. Act like an heir;

give notice to the Devil that he no longer has any claim on you;
that he is a defeated foe, and you will know the true meaning
of freedom.

You are His because He made you, and you are

His because He bought you!

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72
 March 13
____________

Demon Power - Part One

“Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed
innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniq-
uity; desolation and destruction are in their paths.”
(Isaiah 59:7)

T
he greatest single problem confronting humanity today
is the breakdown of morality everywhere. I tell you our
beloved America stands in greater peril than any time
in history. The whole moral fabric of her national life is in
decay, and we live in an age when crimes of violence have
almost become commonplace; they are hardly news anymore.
All values have become inverted. Man today places the
body above the spirit, hatred above love, error above truth,
expediency above integrity and selfishness above the common
good. It was this inversion of values that brought a woeful
pronouncement upon Israel.

Crime above law in America? Incredible! That is precisely

what has happened. Court rulings make it virtually impossible
for the police to hold a convicted criminal at any length of time.
Crimes have become a matter of national shame, and law
enforcement is seriously hampered and restricted by certain
decisions handed down by the Supreme Court.

Demon power is seen not only as the driving force behind

the brutal nature of modern crime, but also behind the more
subtle pervasive spirit of the age; which motivates people to do
all manner of evil.

As we approach the end of the age we must stay

in prayer longer, and in close fellowship with
the Lord Jesus Christ.

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73
 March 14
____________

Demon Power - Part Two

“…iniquity shall abound…” (Matthew 24:12)

W
hat possible explanation is there for the rising tide of
crime and violence in America and around the world?
It must be said, of course, the home and church have
lost a large degree of their influence, and this has permitted a
climate of crime to develop. But the root of the problem goes
even deeper than this. As one studies the heinous nature of and
motivation for crime these days, he is compelled to recognize
the existence of demon power as a driving force. When Jesus
declared, “Iniquity shall abound,” he was speaking in terms
broader than man’s inhumanity to man. These are the last
days of assault by Satan upon us. Knowing his time is short,
Satan has unleashed his demon forces to do violence and take
peace from the earth. More and more we read and hear of
crimes committed under strange delusion and compulsion.
Mothers who kill their own children, and then confess that
they heard a voice that told them to do it are just one example
of the voice of the devil leading unsuspecting people astray.

Christ possesses greater power than that of Satan and his

demons. They must obey Him, and He can break their power.
Our Lord has given this authority over devils to His disciples.
The answer to demon powers is to have apostolic authority
which the Lord has bestowed upon His disciples. As a child of
God, you must rise up and assert your authority over Devils.

Remember, demons are afraid of the true disci-

ples of Jesus Christ.

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74
 March 15
____________

Living Free
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of
his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38)

W
hen Adam sinned, he died. His spirit died, although
his body lived on for another nine-hundred and thirty
years. For God had warned that if his commandment
regarding the tree of good and evil was broken, “Thou shalt
surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) Through his spirit, Adam had
experienced his relationship to God. His spirit was that which
gave force and vitality to life; it died when Adam sinned. When
we place our faith in Christ, we can know righteousness, joy
and peace. (Romans 14:17)

Our soul includes our mind, our emotions and our will. This
is our Adamic nature, our psyche, ourselves. If we follow our
mind we will go to Hell. If we follow our emotions we will go to
Hell. The same is true if we follow our will. These three parts
of what we call a man’s soul must be tamed and harnessed by
the spirit. Paul often spoke of the conflicts between the spirit
and the soul, and the spirit and the flesh. It is the spiritual
nature in man that must rule, and then we can cope with
anything life brings our way. Then we can live free.

There are many books about how to cook, how

to sew, how to be a mechanic, how to be a pilot,
and many more, but only the Bible can tell us
how to live.

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75
 March 16
____________

God’s Peace
“Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)

E
veryone faces pressure of some sort. Stress is part of
the human condition. Stress results even from positive
events such as marriage, the birth of a baby, retirement,
a change of jobs, outstanding personal achievement and oth-
ers. Research has shown that the more stress a person accu-
mulates within a specific period of time, the more likely they
are to contract a disease.

The competitive pursuit of wealth and prestige can overwhelm

and consume a person to the point of extreme stress. His work
drives him to strive for the promotion, to seek the extra mon-
ey that comes with overtime and to defeat the competition.
Some find themselves in positions where the demands are
overwhelming. They are responsible for the welfare and pro-
ductivity of those under them. For some, this responsibility is
fulfilling; for others, it is frightening. Stress can be caused by
many factors which include poverty, owning one’s own busi-
ness, attending school while trying to hold down a job, health
and many other similar events. Among the realities we must
learn to cope with this tension. As certain as taxes, aging, and
death, tension is a characteristic of life.

Inevitably we come face-to-face with tension, stress and pres-

sure. As with a trick candle, we may try to blow out the stress-
es of life, yet they somehow always seem to be rekindled. To
rid ourselves of overwhelming pressure we must learn to make
peace with stress. To make peace with stress we must know
personally the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. (Isaiah 9:6)

The Believer has resources the non-believer knows

nothing about!

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76
 March 17
____________

Pray About Everything

“Evening and morning and at noon will I pray, and
cry aloud; and He shall hear my voice.” (Psalms 55:17)

P
rayer is man’s way to commune with God. It is an
effective means of relieving tension. How can we go
about our daily lives praying? One housewife tells how
she prays much of the time. As she gets out of the car at the
supermarket, she prays, “Lord, this is all the money we have to
buy these things on the list. You will have to perform one small
miracle for us to get the items we need this week.” Inside the
store, she talks to God, “Lord, I had planned to have chicken
this week, but they don’t look very fresh, and that is really too
much money to pay. Show me what you think would be good
to have this week instead of chicken.” Then she notices fish is
a special price, and gets enough for her family of six.

In Arnold Prater’s book, You Can Pray as You Ought, he

uncovers the idea that what you believe about God is revealed
by what you believe about prayer. Do you believe that God is
in the house selling business, the who to marry business, the
what shall I do with my life business? Prater does, and some
of the rest of us do too. God can be involved in our day-to-day
decision making.

Real praying can’t come from the top of one’s

head; it has to be from the bottom of one’s heart.

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77
 March 18
____________

A Soft Answer
“A soft answer turneth away wrath…” (Proverbs 15:1)

T
oday’s Bible verse goes on to say that, “…grievous words
stir up anger.” The next time someone screams at you,
don’t scream back. Bite your tongue, and lower your
voice. Your enemy will often times be disarmed, and probably
no violence will follow. Forgive transgression rather than
scream about it. Parents destroy the peace of their households
by screaming at their children. If you often scream at your
children it may be because you are a bully, or because you
have not stopped to analyze what it is that is making you
angry. You know that screaming at them will not be sufficient
discipline when they are older. Learn how to calm down and
solve problems wisely and deliberately.

Aaron and Miriam belittled Moses, criticizing him for marrying

a black woman. But Moses, who is called the meekest man,
did not even answer them. When God saw that Moses was not
going to reply, he called the three of them together, and told
them that Moses was His chosen prophet. Then He struck
Miriam with leprosy. Moses, who had not expressed anger at
his sister earlier now prayed for her, and the Lord cured her
of the leprosy after seven days. We ought to strive for this
kind of meek spirit, and try not to respond angrily in difficult
situations.

If we cannot keep from speaking, let our words

be soft and gentle.

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78
 March 19
____________

God Is the Answer

“Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)

M
any in our world today believe there is no God. They
ask, “How can I believe in a God when there really is
so much evil and suffering in the world? When my
own life has been filled with misfortune? When there are so
many catastrophes, tragedies, murderers, rapists, floods and
earthquakes? How can you say there is a God?”

As I write these lines, the mother of a friend has died suddenly.

The blow comes at what appears to be the worst of times for
this friend who is exhausted after preparing for an out-of-town
business conference. She hardly has the reserves to face the
grief-filled experience in which she now finds herself. No one
can explain why such things happen. They are a part of life,
yet they are not all of life.

The good and the bad make up our earthly experience, and
we are not always able to understand why things happen as
they do. Corrie Ten Boom likens life to a huge tapestry being
woven on God’s loom. While we are on earth, we can only
see the “wrong” side of the tapestry. However, when we get
to Heaven we shall see the pattern, and understand that the
painful colors lent their beauty to the whole according to God’s
plan.

Belief in God can answer enough of the questions

so that we can safely leave the questions we
cannot answer in God’s hands.

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79
 March 20
____________

Feed Your Faith and

Starve Your Doubts
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

T
he first step in training faith, and of thus overcoming
unbelief, is to nurture your faith within. You can rid
yourself of unbelief by opening your heart and mind to
the Word of God. Saturate yourself in the Bible. Hearing the
Word of God means going to church unless the Bible isn’t used
where you attend. In that case, switch churches; your faith
depends on it. Add to the public hearing of the Scriptures the
habit of reading the Bible in your home. If you feed your inner
man, your emotions, your mind and your soul with the good
Word of God, then faith will come into your heart and unbelief
will go. I heartily recommend that a person who wants to
see their faith grow lay up hundreds of carefully chosen Bible
verses in their heart, and learn sound principles of retaining
them.

It is necessary to have a plan for reading the Bible, so that you

will get the most from it. I suggest that a person begin with
the book of Romans if he is unfamiliar with the Bible. This
book will tell you what it means to be a Christian. Next, read
James in order to see how to live as a Christian. Then read the
Gospel of John to see whom you love and who loves you. There
are plans available for reading the entire Bible in a single
year. Reading the Word daily, engaging with others in Bible
study, and laying up some portions through memorization will
enable you to meditate on the Word of God “day and night.”

Unbelief is negative; faith is positive.

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80
 March 21
____________

Act On Your Faith

“What things you desire, when you pray, believe
that you received them, and you shall have them.”
(Mark 11:22-24)

I
f you wish to displace unbelief, then you must act on the
Word of God. When God says to do something, do it. The
Bible is filled with examples of men and women who
displaced unbelief by a positive act of faith.

Noah saved his family by building the Ark. He acted on faith.

It is likely he had never seen a boat. He could have doubted,
but he didn’t. Instead, he acted and built the ark by faith.

Abraham fathered a whole nation. Most of us would question

how that would be possible, but Abraham believed and he
acted on what he believed.

Moses had been a shepherd in the wilderness for forty years

when God said, “Moses, I will cause you to deliver a whole
nation. You will go out in front of them, and behind you a
nation will follow you to the promised land.” Moses tried to
excuse himself, but when he finally agreed to obey, he saw God
do the impossible. Oh, that God would put that sort of faith in
our hearts today. You can do it too.

Conquer unbelief by an act of faith.

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81
 March 22
____________

Not Guilty
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them
which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the spirit.” (Romans 8:1)

I
magine that at this moment you are called before the judg-
ment seat of Christ. You are swept up without warning
and made to answer for the way you have lived. Standing
as prosecuting attorney in front of the great judge is your ac-
cuser, Satan, and he names a sin which you have only recently
committed. He accuses you before the angelic witnesses, and
a host of people whom you recognize as believers who have
died and gone to Heaven before you. You are totally ashamed
and overcome with grief as you await the words from your
judge. But he states, “What sin? He has been forgiven. There
is nothing at all against this man’s account. He is washed in
the blood!”

Satan is out to discourage and destroy you, and false guilt is

one of his cleverest weapons. You must not let the past haunt
you. An older woman, who was a faithful volunteer worker
in our church, urgently approached me for consolation. She
spilled out a tale of sin about something she had done when
she was a college girl. We are bent on indulging our sense of
failure and guilt. Instead of pounding our fists, or doing some-
thing worse to assuage our guilt, we need to hear the words of
First John, “If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our
heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart condemns
us not, then have we confidence toward God.” (1 John 3:20-21)

You are not guilty of something for which you

have been forgiven.

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82
 March 23
____________

Trust God
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.” (Isaiah 26:3)

O
ver and over again, the Bible emphasizes the need to
trust God. We have seen in our lives that the peace of
God comes as we keep our thoughts and hearts quiet
and at rest through trusting Him. In whom do you trust?
In what do you trust? Examine your answers, and you may
discover why you are not free from worry.

Trust in riches, and see what happens. Ask the man or woman
who remembers the depression of the 1930’s. Better still, ask
those who are trying to live today off what they earmarked for
retirement years ago. The Bible says that, “He that trusteth in
his riches shall fall.” (Proverbs 11:28)

Trust only in people, and see how fallible they are. The apostle
Peter knew what he was talking about when he said we should
trust ourselves only to the God who made us, for He will never
fail us. (1 Peter 4:19)

Trusting doesn’t always come easily; we would prefer it depend

on the tangible rather than on that which we cannot feel or
see. Often our trust in God only extends to a certain point,
then we revert to elementary panic prayers. In truth, we get
to our wits end, and our actions betray our lack of trust. When
the storms break around and upon us, we instantly reveal
upon whom we rely.

“Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be

happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

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83
 March 24
____________

Laughing to Live
“Merry hearts make a cheerful countenance.”
(Proverbs 15:13)

A
television news story featured a middle-aged man
whose doctor informed him he had developed a terminal
type of arthritis. Instead of accepting his fate and
sitting around waiting to die, he began to seek every scanty
bit of information available about his particular disease. He
found that his illness was induced by extreme stress. While he
was hospitalized for treatment, he started working to reverse
all the stress that had brought him to his present condition.
He had projection equipment brought in, and each evening,
fifteen minutes before bedtime, he viewed old slapstick humor
movies. He watched Groucho Marx, Laurel and Hardy, The
Three Stooges, or Charlie Chaplin. He completely abandoned
himself to laughter.

After a week he began to notice that it was later and later in

the night that he had to request something for pain. Soon he
needed hospital care less and less. He began to take mega-
doses of vitamin C, and added more comedy from television to
his schedule. Today he is completely recovered and is known
as, “The man who laughed himself to life.”

A Bible which is worn out is usually owned by a

person who isn’t.

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84
 March 25
____________

Fear Not!
“I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid…”
(Genesis 3:10)

T
he Bible tells us that man as created by God was com-
pletely good and perfect. God gave man authority and
dominion over the earth, over every creature in the
heavens, on the earth and in the seas. There is no hint of fear
in the creation account. Adam named all the beasts, includ-
ing the lion, tiger and bear, and nothing suggests that he har-
bored fear of any of them. But in the third chapter of Genesis,
immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, fear reared its ugly
head. God came seeking man asking him, “Where are you?”
Adam quickly admitted his fear.

Fear has been man’s constant companion since that day when
sin entered paradise, and Adam and Eve were forced to flee
the garden. While we should respect that which can do us
harm, we should not be victims of fear. Turning to our Bibles,
we find that God continually bids us not to be afraid. At least
three hundred and sixty-five times in the Bible we are told,
“Fear not!” That’s a directive for each day of the year.

Fear creates what it fears.

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85
 March 26
____________

Self-Confidence
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7)

T
he new birth brings with it renewed potential for self-
esteem and self-confidence. In recent years the term
“born again” has almost lost its meaning. Being born
again is what happens when a person puts his faith in God
through His Son, Jesus Christ. He is converted, saved, and
delivered from judgment and the consequences of his sin,
because he has accepted God’s gracious love through Jesus.
Before I was converted at age seventeen, I lied every time I
opened my mouth it seemed. I told a lie when the truth fit
best, and immediately I met my own lies coming back at me.
But, when I gave my life to Christ, it became easy for me to
tell the truth. I was changed on the inside. I suddenly knew I
could tell the truth, and that brought me self-confidence.

This is why conversion and the forgiveness of sins are so

essential to a healthy self-confidence. A Christian has every
reason to be self-confident. He has been forgiven of all his sins.
He is a child of God. God has accepted Him into his family,
and he is a child of the King! These are not mere words, for
we know that in the beginning God made us in His own image.
Through original sin, the sin of Adam and Eve, all have fallen
from that high place, but now in Christ we are restored to be
joint heirs with Christ. We “…are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation.” (1 Peter 2:9)

A practical step which is helpful for increasing

self-confidence is simply trying and working
hard!

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86
 March 27
____________

Loneliness
“I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an
owl of the desert. I watch, and am as a sparrow alone
upon the house top.” (Psalm 102:6-7)

L
oneliness. Intensely and deeply the human soul tastes
of this most common of human experiences. Right now
you may feel you are all alone in the world. You are that,
“...sparrow alone upon the house top.” One thousand circum-
stances conspire to engulf us in loneliness. The man or woman
in prison, the young mother in a city of strangers, the child in
a new neighborhood or a new school, the college student away
from home, or the man or woman in military service. These
and others are alone and lonely. Like nothing else, the steady
advancement of age isolates us; our parents die, as do friends,
brothers, sisters, and mates.

Companionship is an answer to loneliness, but not everyone

has a family for companionship. This is why the church is so
important. As a pastor, I have seen the church help people
deal with their loneliness. In the Old Testament, God com-
manded Israel to look after the fatherless, the widows and the
strangers. We must continue to do this in the church today.
I am glad to see that churches are reaching out to minister to
singles, to the elderly, to widows and divorcees. Many times
a lonely person will not seek out companionship himself; we
must go to him, befriend him and offer our help. Jesus said
that the church is His body, and that He is the head. We are
all members of His body.

Be happily busy in the Lord’s service, and you

will not be lonely.

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87
 March 28
____________

Our Intercessor
“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the outermost
that come unto God by him [Jesus], saying he ever
lives to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)

T
he Lord Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God at
this moment, and He is making intercession for all of
us. Jesus spoke to Peter in the last moments before His
crucifixion and said, “Satan hath desired to have you, that he
may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee.” (Luke 22:31-
32) Peter would make it, because Jesus prayed for him. He is
your intercessor; He is my intercessor too. He sees the devil
sneaking around at your back door. Aren’t you glad you’ve got
someone that is helping you?

In Jude 1:24 we read, “Now unto Him that is able to keep you
from falling.” You don’t have to fall down. That’s a lie of
the devil. He says it’s hard to serve God, but the Bible says
it’s hard to serve the devil. Always remember, “He is able to
keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the
presence of His glory.” 1 Timothy 1:15 says, “This is a faithful
saying, and worthy of all exception, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” Out of all
faithful sayings worthy of acceptation; Jesus Christ came into
the world to save sinners. That’s all He came for, and I was
the chief of them, says Paul.

In Luke 19:10 we read this, “The Son of Man has come to seek
and to save that which was lost.” That’s a great little sermon
right there. He did not come to sit on a throne and say, “Kneel
down before me,” or “Kiss my toe.” He did not say anything
like that at all. Instead, He says He is seeking the lost so He
can save them. Friend, He’s after you. He’ll track you down
the byways and the highways. He’ll find you. The Son of Man
came to seek! He’s looking for you.

There is no other thing that can bring redemption

for our sins except the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. __________
88
 March 29
____________

A Prophecy from Jesus

“I have told you before it comes to pass, that, when it
comes to pass, you might believe.” (John 14:29)

T
his is one of the greatest verses in the Bible. We might
ask, “What is Jesus talking about?” Well, He was talk-
ing about His resurrection. He said, “I’m telling you in
three days after my crucifixion I’m going to rise again. I’m
telling you this information before it comes to pass, so you will
believe my message to you.”

There’s a lot of truth in here. Jesus doesn’t expect you to just

gobble up something that somebody says. Jesus Himself says,
“I tell you this before it comes to pass, not after it comes to
pass, so you will believe in Me.” In the last days I believe the
total five-fold ministry is going to be powerful. I don’t mean in
just a little way, but I mean in a wonderful way where there
will be apostles and you won’t have to say, “Is he one?” You
won’t have to ask, “Why doesn’t he carry the title of apostle?”
I think a real apostle is not worried about the title at all, so if
you try to designate him as one, he’ll say, “Just forget it, watch
the fruit.”

You see, if the fruit of someone’s ministry is there, that’s what

you go by. We don’t need titles. We need experience, action,
blessing and anointing, but we don’t need titles to help us
prophesy!

Worldly people seek titles, but titles are not what

the world needs!

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89
 March 30
____________

Dying under a Wooden Cross

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all
peoples to Myself.” (John 12:32)

V
ery often in the interior of Latin America countries,
Passion Week is taken quite literally. In the cities
there are long processions with life sized images, and
in the rural regions the people carry heavy wooden crosses
upon their shoulders believing this will make them holy.
There have been instances where the one who carried the
cross has even died under the burden. Throughout Latin
America the material cross is given dominance. Oftentimes
they are called miraculous crosses. There is a sign attached to
the cross overlooking Cuszo, Peru, stating that those who kiss
the cross shall have their sins forgiven. The local archeologist,
who is an American, said that the priests lower the cross and
take it to the church once a year to bless it. Latin America is
perishing under the burden of a wooden cross!

It is not the natural cross, the material cross, the weather

beaten wooden cross that saves mankind, but the Christ of the
Cross!

Many can see the cross you display, but can they
also see Christ displayed in your life?

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90
 March 31
____________

Beaten with Ropes

“And every priest stands ministering daily and offering
repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take
away sins; But this Man, after He had offered one
sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of
God.” (Hebrew 10:11-12)

T
here is a weird and paganistic custom which is practiced
in the jungles of Mexico among the Otomi Indians. Each
year at Easter a group of their men gather in the Roman
Catholic churchyard. These Indians remove their shirts,
baring their backs to the waist, and are given pieces of a wet
manila rope. At a given signal from the altar of the church
they beat each other on the back following certain rules which
forbid that they lash back at the one who first hits them. The
sound of infuriated and suffering Indians lashing each other
can be heard miles away. Many religious observers stand
outside and look on, and sometimes yell at the one who strikes
a relative or friend. In the meantime, the Priest is at the altar
chanting prayers for those whose sins are being purged in the
courtyard. Finally, he finishes his prayer and rings a bell,
thus ending the horrible scourge.

The poor creatures are lacerated almost beyond recognition,

and must now have someone wash their backs while hoping
that their horrible wounds will eventually heal. They are
taught that by enduring the back cutting, their sins are
forgiven. They are also told that from the agony of the purge
they become holy.

It is heart-rending to realize that these people, with countless

other millions in the world, do not know that Jesus Christ, by
His vicarious suffering at the whipping post of Calvary, has
borne their sins.

Man cannot save himself by self-inflicted suffering:

God saved man by suffering in his place!
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91
 April 1
____________

Bought from the Slave-Market

“Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible
things as silver and gold...but with the precious blood
of Christ...” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

C
hen Lee was one of China’s unfortunate girls who were
sold as a small child to the foul slave market for a pit-
tance. However, she was bought by a missionary couple,
Mr. and Mrs. Wood of England. From the horrible prison life
of the filthy hovel where she received little food and daily beat-
ings, she emerged into a life of joy and freedom. I saw in Chen
Lee one of the most beautiful and most striking comparisons
to conversion I’d ever seen.

At one time every one of us who is now a Christian was in the

slave-market of the devil. He was our task master, driving us
into sorrow, tears and despair. One day Jesus Christ came
to the slave-market of sin, and offered to pay the price of our
redemption. The price was high, very high, but Christ was
willing to pay it. While Angels in Heaven stood by in holy awe
the Royal Prince purchased emancipation of the human race.
My joy can hardly be contained when I consider our Glorious
Savior, who paid the ransom for us, bringing us forth from the
bondage of sin! How wonderful to be truly converted! How
amazing to be now a son of the King of the Universe!

Know ye not that Jesus died, that from sin you

might be free, that from out of His riven side,
flowed a cleansing stream for thee?

— E.I.D.

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92
 April 2
____________

The New Morality

“So God will allow them to believe with all their hearts,
and all of them will be justly judged for believing
falsehood, refusing the truth, and enjoying their sins.”
(2 Thessalonians 2:11-12)

T
he great apostle Paul said the day would come when
people would refuse to believe the truth when it was
presented to them. He said that they would say, “No,”
to the truth, refusing to accept and love it, and let it save
them. And finally, he said God would allow them to believe
lies with all their hearts, for they would be judged with eternal
damnation.

We live in the most momentous age in the history of the

world. We have seen many amazing events in the past few
years; important things and prophetic happenings that clearly
set the stage for the coming of the Lord and the end of the
world. But I am afraid that we have a whole generation that
is rejecting the teachings of the Word of God for what they
called the “new morality” and “situation ethics.” Thousands
and thousands of people, young and old, are rejecting the
truth of God’s Word, and choosing to believe lies. Their whole
sense of values, of what is real and important, is being twisted
and distorted. But it makes no difference what you call it, for
immorality is immorality and sin is sin. No amount of fancy
words, rationalizations or excuses can change it. So those
who deliberately choose to do wicked and ungodly things are
believing a lie, deceiving themselves, and they will be judged.

People live as though they are going to live for-

ever, but they won’t unless they repent and live
for Jesus!

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93
 April 3
____________

The Perfection of Jesus Christ

“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon
all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness
of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification
of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were
made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be
made righteous.” (Romans 5:18-19)

J
esus Christ, our Savior, was without sin. He was with-
out sin in His spirit, He was without sin in His soul, and
He was without sin in His body. But when He died, He
suffered the penalty of sin for you, for me, for all generations,
to redeem man to God. This means that our spirit, our soul
and our body have been judged in the sinless sacrifice of Jesus
Christ. His death was accepted by the Father as our death,
and we have already died in the Lord; all of our sins are gone
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 8:1 says, “There is there-
fore now no condemnation.” I would put a little circle around
the word “now.” Bless God, I believe in “now” things. I’d put
another little circle around the word “no”—no condemnation.
There isn’t any condemnation to those that are in Christ Je-
sus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.

Now, in Christ, we see an example of absolute perfection. No-

where else in the universe can we find the divine perfection of
the human personality, except in the Lord Jesus Christ. You
say, “Why would God become man?” For only one reason: oth-
erwise God would never understand you. How can God un-
derstand you when he has never been a human? How could
an angel understand you when he hasn’t been a human? The
reason that God had His Son become a human was for human
comprehension and understanding. Jesus knows what sorrow
is; He can feel with you. Jesus knows what disappointment is;
He can feel with you. Jesus knows what love is; He can feel
with you. Only Jesus Christ knows how you feel.

Jesus Christ had a perfect relationship with God

the Father, but He also had a perfect human re-
lationship.
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94
 April 4
____________

The Seed Triumphant

“I am he who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am
alive for evermore. Amen. And I have the keys of
Hades and of death.” (Revelation 1:18)

T
he greatest and most exciting moment of all history came
three days after the death of Jesus Christ. Then, up
through the caverns of hell—up through the blackness
and darkness of the inferno of Hades, we see a bright light
approaching. We see one striding forward. We see one so
glorious and so majestic. It’s Jesus! Behind Him is the devil
lying flat with a bleeding head. His head had been bruised.
His head had been broken. The Messiah had dealt him a
deadly blow. You will see dangling at the Messiah’s side,
keys—they are the keys of death and hell as He exclaims in
today’s Scripture verse. He is the winner. He is the Savior.
As He comes triumphantly back up through the caverns of the
dead, He walks back through the gate He had entered and into
the golden sunlight of Jerusalem while angels proclaimed, “He
is not here, He is risen!”

Mankind was now set free from every power, from every dis-
ease, and every sin that Satan had placed on him. He possessed
freedom through the Lord Jesus Christ and only through Him.
By His resurrection, the Lord Jesus assumed the primacy of
rulership of the whole world.

He is now the Lord of lords and the King of kings!

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95
 April 5
____________

The Cross of Christianity

“And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross…”
(John 19:19)

T
he symbol of the great religion called Christianity is the
cross. The symbol is not a flower with lovely fragrance, a
shining star in the heavens, or a contented Buddha with
a fat stomach and hands ready to receive. Nor is it a Russian
bear ready to devour, an American Eagle, or the Lion of the
British Empire. Our emblem is the cross. It is not a symbol
of joy or victory but of suffering. It is a sign of self-denial,
because Jesus rejoiced in going to the cross. It is a symbol of
humility, because the Lord was willing to go to the cross.

The devil is afraid of the cross, because that’s where he got

his head bruised. The enemies of the cross, which are many,
tremble before it. After the death of Christ, the Jews became
very conscious of the cross. The cross haunted them, and they
were afraid of it. They became painfully aware that they had
crucified the Son of God. To this day the Jews will not sew
a button on crosswise, because the thread looks like a cross.
In the Hebrew schools they will not use the plus sign simply
because it looks like the sign of the cross.

There is only one way to God; there is only one way to Salva-
tion. Super religion will never take you to Heaven. Educa-
tion can never save your soul. Church organization or human
government can never bring you to God. There is only one
way—do you have your sins washed away by the blood of Je-
sus Christ?

The purpose of the cross, and Christ’s death upon

it, was that you and I would be saved.

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96
 April 6
____________

Bought with a Price

“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the
Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God,
and you are not your own? For you were bought with
a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your
spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

A
s we think about committing ourselves wholeheartedly
to the Lord, we should bear in mind that this is not
some great sacrifice He is asking us to make. In fact,
He’s the one who made the great sacrifice of His Son on the
cross so we could be free of our compulsive desires. Therefore,
when He asks us to give ourselves and our desires to Him, He
is only asking for what He deserves.

God paid a terrible price to redeem us from our sin. That

is why, after telling us to offer ourselves to God as living
sacrifices in Romans 12:1, Paul gave this reason; “…which is
your reasonable service.” That is, in light of what God has
done for us, giving ourselves one hundred percent to Him is
only the right, fair and logical thing to do. To hold on to sinful
desires, and to serve Him with only half-hearted devotion
is wrong, unfair and stupid. It is also the prescription for
spiritual failure. Until we give up our sinful compulsions
entirely, whether by “hitting bottom” or some other way, we’ll
only be frustrated, defeated and displeasing to God.

Giving in to sin can become a habit, making it

easier and easier to sin. So also can resisting
temptation make it easier and easier to say yes
to God.

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97
 April 7
____________

Scattering Flowers
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
(Matthew 5:16)

A
s I was walking around the town of Terrace, British
Columbia with a friend, we passed through a residential
section in which yellow flowers were growing in the
yards. My friend laughingly said, “The story of these yellow
flowers is very interesting.”

Some time ago a man purchased some flower seeds, and plant-
ed them in his front yard. They grew and flowered into beauti-
ful yellow blossoms. His next door neighbor thought they were
lovely, and spoke admiringly of them. Throughout the spring
and summer the owner and neighbor both enjoyed the flowers.

Autumn came and the flowers disappeared; winter covered

the lands with ice and snow, and the bright yellow flowers
were forgotten. Then spring returned, and to the amazement
of all who saw them, not only the man who planted the seeds
but his neighbor also had beautiful yellow flowers. The wind
had gently wafted the seeds from his yard into the yard of his
neighbor, and after a period of dearth came a resurrection—
new life, new beauty—which had come from his neighbor’s
store.

Every Christian’s life should be as the man’s yellow flowers,

unconsciously giving to others generously, humbly dividing
and sharing. It may take a period of blasting winds, and even
death before your efforts will reach maturity; however, in due
time they will spring up and grow to the enrichment of other
lives.

Jesus is the light OF the world. Can you be a

light IN the world?

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 April 8
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Meditation and Imagination

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength
and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)

M
editation is one of the greatest sources of bringing
imagination into being.

There is a lot of imagination near a jet-powered 747 and its

takeoff. You see over two hundred tons gliding down the run-
way and then it goes up! You say, “How did that much metal
and those six hundred suitcases ever get into the air?” Imagi-
nation! Men saw it before it could be done.

David said, “I meditate in thy word.” He was talking to God.

This creates spiritual images such as when David said, “I can
run through a troop.” He was speaking of armed soldiers. “I
can jump over a wall,” meaning that if the enemy put up a
barrier he would go over the top of it. David, through imagina-
tion, slew a giant; he slew a bear; he slew a lion with his bare
hands.

If a person has no imagination, he makes no advances. Some

people live that way their whole lives. No, that is not God’s
way. Imagination creates bigger and better things everyday!
Imagination is never satisfied, it is always hungry, and always
reaching out. God wants you to have creative imagination.

Imagination is a tremendous force—it is creative

in becoming the person Christ wants you to be.

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 April 9
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Passive Imagination
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing
that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and
bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience
of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

I
sn’t that amazing? This verse means you have the power
and the authority to do whatever you want with imagina-
tion. You are not circumscribed to being a victim of imagi-
nations. Anything that brings itself against God, cast it down,
“…bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of
Christ.” It could be that this is one of the greatest verses in
the whole Bible. If you’re going to imagine evil things, passive
things, your imagination will never be positive; it will never
be creative.

When you walk in the Spirit you don’t fulfill the lusts of the
flesh, so rather than leaving your mind as an idle shop, put
something constructive in there. In passive imagination you
do not have to face the real issues of life, but you dream about
things beyond reality. Passive imagination can bring you into
a state of mental depression. Anything that is not relative to
truth ought to be cast down. You should not permit it to exist
in any form whatsoever.

The devil wants your mind and God wants your

mind—your decision makes the difference.

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 April 10
____________

Spiritual Imagination
“But as it is written, no eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the
things which God hath prepared for them that love
Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

I
never imagined that I would be teaching on spiritual
imagination. God awoke me from sleep and poured into
my spirit the force, the power and the reality of imagina-
tion. God showed me it is the hidden force of human potential.
It is your imagination which will bring out and understand
the magnificent things which God has prepared for those who
serve Him faithfully on the face of this earth. You can involve
yourself in spiritual imagination. God created man to imagine
good things. Imagination is a spiritual and divine gift from
the Most High God.

Everyone is not a Michelangelo or Raphael. This means there

are degrees of imagination. Whatever God has given you, you
can use it, for it’s a shame not to use what you have. Spiritual
imagination can do many things for you. Some may be sick;
you must see yourself well. Some are depressed; you must see
your depression gone. There is spiritual and physical healing
in the area of your human spirit. You first see it on the inside,
and then one day you realize it on the outside. The source is
faith in God and the Bible.

Your imagination is a force, a power of human

destiny.

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 April 11
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Constructive Imagination
“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind.” (1 Peter 1:13)

H
ow can you keep imagination running in the right di-
rection where it is constructive, where it is a builder?
Your loins are the strength you pull with. If you are
pulling a heavy load, you lower your head and your loins do
the pulling. The human mind has pulling power. When you
gird it up, it is like putting a harness on your mind. This is for
guiding and controlling.

In the same verse the Apostle Peter said, “Be sober.” He is

not talking about alcoholic beverages, but about excessive
nonsense. Your imagination can go into stupidity and silliness.
Peter said to be sober and to have hope. Hope is an area of
imagination. We can bring hope into focus and push it with
faith. Then your imagination will become reality.

The Bible says to cast down every imagination that is not of

God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of
Christ. Now, that is authority! God leaves the responsibility
to you, not to Him. He tells YOU to cast down imaginations.
He has already saved you; He has already given you the power;
He has already given you the authority.

The power of imagination (for a Christian) has

never been fathomed on the face of this earth!

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 April 12
____________

Put Christ in Charge

of Your Imagination
“Casting down imaginations and every high thing
that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.”
(2 Corinthians 10:5)

T
he Bible says to bring every thought under the obedience
of Christ. It is imperative that your imagination is
subservient to Jesus Christ. God wants you to imagine
prosperity, health and all the blessings which God wants to give
you. When you are born again God changes your total destiny,
mind, thought life, creative life and powers of imagination.
When we are born again we must bring imagination to God.
Let God bless your imagination with strength and power.

Do you realize the power of your own personal imagination?

Do you see how you can make it work within your own spiri-
tual growth? Your imagination can create health and wealth.
In the world that we live in today, the devil wants to steal
your imagination and push you into a moral abyss. Place your
imagination under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let your
spirit within you rise up in holy imagination to be something
great for God. Imagine yourself like Paul or Moses, a tremen-
dous spiritual success. I urge you to do it in Jesus Name!

Do you realize the power of your own personal

imagination?

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 April 13
____________

Manage Your Resources

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and
be in health, just as your soul prospers.” (3 John 1:2)

G
od expects us to depend on Him in every decision. We
are to ask Him how we should proceed not only in our
time management, but also in our management of our
goods and possessions. God will give you the finances you need
to do His will. The Bible teaches that the plan and wish of God
is that His children prosper materially and live in health. We
must always remember what the Bible says concerning the
material goods of the children of God. They are His. We are
only stewards.

This was Abraham’s material condition after he obeyed God.

Genesis 13:2 (NIV) says, “Abraham had become very wealthy
in livestock and in silver and gold.” Abraham did not have
a passion to be rich. This is demonstrated in his obedience
to leave everything—his land, relatives and the house of his
father when God ordered it.

God’s plan for blessing His children empowers us to live a

lifestyle distinct from that lived by people tied to this world.
We must be channels of God’s blessing. Let us be a light of
the earth set on a hill! Let us be happy givers, blessed by our
giving, glorifying God and being richer toward Him.

We must live with both hands open: One hand

open to receive, the other to give.

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 April 14
____________

The Days of Our Lives

“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a
heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

L
et me share with you a favorite theory of mine that, no, I
cannot find anywhere in the Bible. This is just brother
Lester Sumrall speaking now. I have found that our life
spans are divided into three very important periods: a receiving
period, a using period and, finally, a giving out period.

During the receiving period of your life, which is approximate-

ly from birth to thirty years of age, your parents, other family
members, playmates and teachers in school all constantly plant
information into your mind. You receive a wealth of diverse
sorts of information. This first phase could be the most exciting
of your life, because learning is exciting. You are not only being
trained physically, but morally, spiritually and mentally. It ac-
tually determines the second and third portions of your human
story. It is this receiving time that makes you what you are.

The second time of your life, which we refer to as the using period,
covers approximately age thirty to age sixty. During these very
fruitful years you dispense the knowledge, experience and
wealth of information you have gained in the first thirty years
of life. These could be called your most productive years, for
almost every moment you choose to use what you have already
learned. You have the exciting opportunity to use all the abili-
ties that you have accumulated from birth to thirty years of age.

The third period extends from age sixty to age seventy and
beyond. This is the giving out period of your life. You obtained
it, learned it, and it was successful when you used it. Now, you
want to replant it into a new generation. This should be the
happiest time of your life, because now you are giving away
what you have learned and used.

Time waits for no man—waste it not.

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 April 15
____________

The Preeminence of Christ

“And he is the head of the body, the church; who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things
he might have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:18-19)

W
hen I was dying of tuberculosis as a boy, dozens and
dozens of church people were praying, some of them
fasting and praying, but my life was not touched.
Finally, the night came when I had a consciousness of His
presence. Christ spoke to me and asked me if I would preach
the gospel. He showed me a casket on one side of my bed and
an open Bible on the other. He said, “Now, which one of these
would you choose?” He did not heal me until I had placed Him
at the very center of all my being. When He took first place in
my heart, in that moment, healing was irrelevant. The thing
that mattered was that Christ was the center of my life. I
made Him the preeminent one. I said yes for eternity, and not
only did I have an experience, I had a Person. I embraced Him
with my whole heart. I became His in the deepest thought of
my mind and the strongest feeling of my heart. I was His in
the most deliberative choice of my own will. I became His to
work and to witness, His to preach the gospel, His to suffer
and to live, and if needs be, to die for Him.

We need to find a demonstration of Christ’s love in our hearts

that will draw us closer to His bosom. Whether or not He lets
you live for a few more days is not so important as knowing
Him. Do you know Him in His suffering? Do you know Him
in His glory? Are you conscious of His presence? This means
heaven to you.

May God help us not to seek for an experience,

but to seek for a Person.

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 April 16
____________

Heavenly Encouragement
“Yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel,
whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being
caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the
evening offering.” (Daniel 9:21)

W
e all need encouragement on occasion, and some-
times when God’s servants have been in special need,
He has sent angels to provide it. In today’s Scrip-
ture verse, the Angel Gabriel came to Daniel to give him an
encouraging touch. Gabriel then told him a prophecy. When
Paul was on his way to Rome, the boat he was in got caught in
a severe storm that threatened the lives of everyone aboard.
But an angel came to Paul at night and encouraged him with
God’s promise that everyone would be saved. (Acts 27:23)

Our Lord Himself probably received angelic encouragement

many times during His life on earth. The night of his greatest
need was surely that night in the garden of Gethsemane when
He agonized over his impending death, the same night in
which He was betrayed. In that time of great need, “There
appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.”
(Luke 22:43)

What do angels do? They worship God and they direct man.
They protect believers. Angels give information. Angels may
be involved in carrying home the righteous when they die. An-
gels bring God’s judgment on both the pagan and God’s people.
Angels may sometimes exercise a ministry of healing. God
has used angels to provide the physical needs of His people.
Angels do battle for God and His children. They strengthen
and encourage His own.

Remember Hebrews 13:2: “Being not forgetful

to entertain strangers, for thereby some have
entertained angels unawares.”

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 April 17
____________

Reaching the Untold Billions

“If you refuse to warn the wicked one I want you to tell
them, ‘You are under the penalty of death...’ They will
die in their sins, but I will punish you. I will demand
your blood for theirs.” (Ezekiel 3:18)

C
ritics insist that Christians should not try to change the
beliefs of pagan people. They say that these people had
believed as they do from the dawn of human history, so
it is wrong for Christians to impose an alien belief system upon
them. “Let them enjoy the heritage of their culture,” the critics
say, “Leave them alone.” This attitude arises from limited
knowledge, and it arises from historical misconceptions. It
arises from a basic misconception of religion.

Notice the paradox: The critics of Christianity are willing

to assist the people of pagan nations in all sorts of material
ways. They feel a duty to share their knowledge of science and
industry with them. However, in matters of spiritual truth,
they say that we should keep it to ourselves. They scream
that we should leave the pagans alone. The Christian cannot
leave them alone. Anyone who loves God and has experienced
the saving power of Jesus Christ, cannot let other people die
without an opportunity to know Christ. A Christian cannot
look away from the need. He must face paganism, recognize
it for what it is, and share the good news of Christ with his
pagan neighbors. God impressed this upon me, even before
I read it in the book of Ezekiel. It is a direct commandment
from God. If we don't share the Truth with other people, He
will hold us accountable for their lives. He will find us guilty
of losing their souls.

Refusing to tell others about Jesus Christ is

reckless spiritual homicide.

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 April 18
____________

None but Jesus

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free
indeed.” (John 8:36)

H
undreds of millions of people are living in the bondage
of paganism. I have lived near them half of my life in
over one hundred nations of the world. They live in
the chains of superstition, fear and suspicion. The cause of
most problems in non-Christian lands are religious, and not
social or political. These nations will not be free and strong
until the individuals who live there are free and strong; only
Christ can make them so. Look at Hebrews 1:1–3. Here we
read that God has appointed Jesus as the, “Heir of all things...
upholding all things by the word of his power.” In other words,
God has appointed His Son, Jesus, to rule this world now and
forever. No one else can rule with Him. No one else can save
a person from his sins. No one else can offer a person eternal
life. A person can be saved only through Jesus Christ.

And pagan religions are no longer confined to foreign countries.

We have seen a steady influx of pagan cults into the Western
world. Many people have turned to Eastern religions hoping
to find a tranquil retreat from the problems of our society.
Missionaries are not the only people who must be acquainted
with the pagan religions. Any Christian may find that his
neighbor, his boss, or even a member of his family is involved
in a non-Christian religion. Christians need to know what
these pagan religions teach, and learn how to respond to them.

“What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the

blood of Jesus.”

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 April 19
____________

Crucifying Self-Glorification
“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified
to me, and I unto the world.” (Galatians 6:14)

P
aul desired that he should never glory, or boast, or find a
reason for pride in anything but the cross of Jesus Christ.
Paul's desire was to glorify Christ, not Paul. He meant
that there should never be any self-glorification. How easy it is
to place ourselves upon a pinnacle, and feel that we are better
than others, cleaner than others, or more holy than others!
How easily we forget that any value we have, any cleanness,
any holiness, all comes to us through Jesus Christ. Self-
glorification is a terrible thing. It is a non-spiritual attitude
which says that what I am is because of my own making. Such
an attitude ignores the fact that we are descendents of Adam;
men and women who were sinful and unrighteous by our very
nature. Paul chose to glory in nothing but the cross of Christ.
Why the cross? Why not some other aspect of Christ’s work?
Paul chose the cross, because it was at the cross that Paul, in
Christ, was crucified. Remember, when we accept Christ, we
accept His death as our own death. When He died, all that
we were in Adam died with Him. Our “old man,” our old way
of life, was crucified with Christ. Therefore, all the things in
which we might find reason to glory have already been nailed
to the cross of Christ.

We cannot glory in something that God has given

us that we in no way earned.

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 April 20
____________

Crucifying Worldliness
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If
anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in
him.” (1 John 2:15)

P
aul said he was crucified with Him. This is another
aspect of the cross; Paul developed a new viewpoint
of this world. One of the major difficulties for many
Christians was no problem for him. Many believers have no
trouble loving Jesus. After all, He loved us and gave up all the
wealth of heaven bringing us forgiveness and eternal life. But
ceasing to love the world is a problem. We, as descendents of
Adam, were born into this world. We grew up here and live
here every day. The things we enjoy doing are found here.
The people we love live here. We have no trouble loving God,
but we just can't seem to let go of the world.

The real problem is that we cannot, or will not, distinguish

between the temporal and eternal. We confuse temporary
pleasures and values with eternal ones. We become spiritually
cross-eyed, and our only cure is the cross. Paul identified
those things that were temporary, and nailed them to the
cross. His attitude was, “The world is nailed to the tree like
a criminal. The world is doomed. I will take the world with
all its rottenness and nail it to the cross. It is crucified to
me.” That was Paul's solution. It should be our solution too.
Identify those things that are of this world, and execute them
on the cross.

Identifying worldliness is really a matter of de-

veloping heavenly vision.

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 April 21
____________

Crucifying Self
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
old things have passed away; behold, all things have
become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

N
ot only did Paul regard the world as dead and gone,
he also considered himself as dead to the world. Paul,
as a believer, was crucified with Christ. When Christ
went to the cross, Paul went too. When Christ died, Paul died.
What good are the things of this world to a dead man? They
are of absolutely no value. Before his conversion, Paul was
rapidly advancing in the religious system of his day. He was a
Pharisee. He was zealous. He had studied under the greatest
teachers of the time. His future was bright. He had ambition
and potential, but Paul never fulfilled that ambition or realized
that potential. Just when he seemed near to reaching the height
of success within the Jewish religion, Paul “died.” How many
times have we heard of, or read about, a promising young man
or woman who has been cut down in their prime by death? It
seems such a tragedy. In Paul's case, however, it was not. Paul
was filled with promise and was in his prime, but his death was
no tragedy. It was a victory. Saul of Tarsus left Jerusalem
en route to Damascus. At some point along that road, Saul
of Tarsus came face to face with Jesus of Nazareth, and Saul
of Tarsus died. His body did not cease to function, nor did his
heart stop. He did not quit breathing, but he died none the less.
He was no longer advancing in the religious system of his day.
He was no longer a Pharisee. He was no longer ambitious or
zealous. In fact, he was no longer even Saul of Tarsus. He was
crucified with Christ, and the old way of life was gone. Those
of you who have lived enough years have watched bright young
stars appear in the entertainment industry, sparkle for a brief
time and then vanish. You have beheld the fallen stars of the
financial world, but Paul shows us a better way.

It is better for you and I to be crucified with

Christ than for us to live a flagrant life of sin and
pleasure only to die and be eternally lost.
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 April 22
____________

Don’t Settle for Second Best

“But when the young man heard that saying, he
went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
(Matthew 19:22)

G
od is truth. He is unchanging. How did Jesus advise
the rich young ruler who came to Him seeking truth?

The young man asked Jesus, “Teacher, what good thing must
I do to get eternal life?”

Jesus answered that he must keep God’s commandments. The

young man persisted, as Jesus knew he would, asking, “Which
ones?”

Jesus replied, “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do

not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your mother and
father, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still
lack?”

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your pos-
sessions and give to the poor. Then come, follow me.”

The young man’s search for the truth ended there. He was not
that interested. If finding truth meant sacrificing everything
he owned, the young man decided he would settle for second
best. That’s the way it is with society today. Many people are
settling for second best in their lives. Their possessions, their
career, their lusts, their pleasures are more important than
ensuring they will not burn in Hell forever.

Many people desire a “Plan B” in life, but only in

Jesus Christ can you and I find what is absolute.

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 April 23
____________

The Source of Happiness

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your strength. These
commandments that I give you today are to be upon
your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk
about them when you sit at home, and when you walk
along the road, when you lie down, and when you get
up.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)

G
od is the only source of man’s happiness. “I am the Lord
your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of
slavery,” proclaims Exodus 20:2-3. God remains the only
constant and true model for morality. “Be holy because I, the
Lord your God, am holy,” promises Leviticus 19:2. “I will walk
among you and be your God, and you will be my people,” assures
Leviticus 26:12. “Truth is found by walking humbly with him
in doing justice and in loving kindness,” says Micah 6:8. “Holy,
holy, holy is the Lord Almighty,” proclaims Isaiah 6:3.

Mankind, however, doesn’t want to do it God’s way. Most

people are willing to settle for Satan’s deceptions. The devil’s
lies allow them to tiptoe around the truth, and figure out
human compromises and easy alternative. Most people reject
Christ before they ever read the Bible. They close their eyes
to the Truth when He gets in the way of their own solutions.
Anyone who wishes to understand himself thoroughly, not just
partially or superficially, lost amid their unrest, uncertainty,
and even their weakness and sinfulness, seek the Truth in
Christ.

Jesus is the alpha and the omega of human history!

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 April 24
____________

Where Your Heart Is

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and
steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where moths and rust do not destroy, and where thieves
do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19-20)

M
oney is a critical issue for many Christian families,
because it exerts such a powerful pull on the human
heart. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke di-
rectly to the rivalry between money and Heaven. The world
lies to us and says that money will buy us security, power,
freedom, identity, pleasure and happiness. It is true, but it
lasts only for the moment. Money can’t make anyone rich in
the things that count for eternity. Spiritual blessings cannot
be purchased with money according to Acts 8:18-24. In the
Sermon on the Mount, Jesus preached to the heart of the mul-
titude gathered, and He wanted them to understand money’s
corrupting affects. Money promises us much, but it demands
even more. It demands that we love it exclusively. “No one
can serve two masters,” Jesus warned us all in Matthew 6:24.
You cannot serve both God and money. People who want to
get rich fall into terrible temptations according to first Timo-
thy 6:9-10 and 17, which says that the love of money is the
root of all evil. Some people, eager for money, wander from the
faith and cause themselves terrible grief. They would do much
better to put their hope in God.

Don’t argue about who is in charge of your

finances—agree that it is Jesus Christ!

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 April 25
____________

How Much Is Enough?

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there
may be food in my house, and try me now in this.”
(Malachi 3:10)

T
ithing is an Old Testament command that, simply put,
required the ancient Israelites to give one tenth of their
income back to Him. In the book of Malachi, all believ-
ers are actually challenged to “test God” as to His ancient
promise that He will bless bountifully all those who obey Him.
I challenge you to try that test. Give to the Lord, and see what
happens. When you get your paycheck, look at how much is
withheld. For every one hundred dollars you earn, the govern-
ment takes its share.

I challenge you to start your own additional withholding sys-

tem. As soon as you get your paycheck, immediately with-
hold ten percent. Put it in the offering plate. Do not view the
money as yours. Consider the tithes to be God’s. If you do, I
can tell you right now that your financial situation is going to
improve. You are going to see amazing things happen. You
will be able to buy more with the remaining ninety percent
than you ever did with the whole paycheck. It will just go fur-
ther. God teaches us to give freely and from the heart.

Giving something that costs us nothing is not

really giving at all.

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 April 26
____________

Financial Guidelines
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also.” (Matthew 6:21)

T
he New Testament teaches several financial guidelines.
In response to need is one way, according to Acts 4:35
and Acts 11:27-29. We are also to give in a systematic
and purposeful manner, according to 2 Corinthians 9:7 and 1
Corinthians 16:2. Giving should sacrificially cost us, according
to Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 19:8. We further should always
give in a secret and humble way, according to Matthew 6:1-4.
And giving should be done in a cheerful manner, according to
2 Corinthians 9:7.

Husbands and wives should pray together about every expen-

diture and every investment. They must be good managers—
or “stewards”—at home and on the job. That’s called “stew-
ardship.” A married couple should mutually decide matters
of finance, especially when large sums of money are involved.
In a Christian marriage we have all accepted that Jesus is
Lord of our lives. That means He owns us. The apostle Paul
went so far as to say that he was a bondservant—slave—to
Jesus Christ. Well, if a slave lives in a house, guess who owns
it? The slave’s owner does. The slave sold by his master, who
gets to keep that house? The master. He can choose to sell
the house along with the slave, but the choice is his, not the
slave’s. So it is with us. If we belong to Jesus, then everything
we have is His. He is our provider. He is the one who has per-
mitted us to have whatever we have. We are only caretakers of
it. It is that simple. We are managers of our resources for Him.

You can never out-give God.

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 April 27
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Tithing
“So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not
grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful
giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

I
s it required of the Christian to tithe? It was right for our
ancestors Abraham and Jacob before the coming of the law.
So, if Abraham and Jacob tithed and prospered, should we
tithe as well? Abraham’s and Jacob’s lives prove that God
honors His promises. Let us make up our mind to glorify God
with this lifestyle: being generous, full of faith in His Word,
giving with our eyes on the Lord. Conformed to His promises
we will reap what we sow. God has vowed that those who live
this way will not lack any good thing. (Psalm 84:11)

Our first financial priority must be to follow God’s command to

return to His house a part of everything He gives us. Malachi
3:8-12 calls this the tithe. Beyond the tithe there are other
ways to give to the work of the Lord.

We must remember that giving money is not all that God

requires. He expects us to manage well what we possess.
We cannot splurge wildly, extravagantly and intemperately.
He is the Master of these things; we are only His stewards.
We must use our resources according to the Will of God. We
must be careful with the resources He has given to us. As we
manage our time and resources according to God’s Will, He
opens doors or ministry opportunities and blessings to us.

No matter what we are giving, we must do so

with a good attitude.

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 April 28
____________

Fantasies of the Heart

“A heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be
swift in running to mischief.” (Proverbs 6:18)

T
he great and wise King Solomon spoke these words
regarding ungodly thoughts, fantasies and imaginations
which will cause you to do evil and run, not just walk,
to it. The imaginations and fantasies of the righteous are
righteousness, and they run in the other direction. The
ungodly devise wicked fantasies of evil. There are millions of
men and women who devise evil and fantasize immoralities.
Solomon said that they come up out of the heart, which is
the emotional center of the human personality. In Proverbs
23:7 it says, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Your
imagination is what you think. I am sure that lust is an
image of human fantasy, and lust terminates in sins of moral
and spiritual death. I find that the imaginations of hate are
self-destroying. I can go a step further and speak of anger.
Thoughts causing anger within you, stirring up your passions,
are destructive. Many say they have been mistreated, so they
retaliate. Do not let anger cause cancer of the spirit and soul.
A further imagination that can dwell within you is sorrow.
Psychologists and psychiatrists tell us that if you are still
mourning ninety days after a tragedy, it is self-interest and
self-pity. Your imagination fantasizes on how bad things
are and how sad you are. If your self image is marked with
hopelessness, then it originates in your powers of imagination.

The best advice came from Paul the apostle who said, “Finally,
brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are
noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are lovely,
whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and
if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
(Philippians 4:8)

God knows our hearts; He knows what you are

thinking!
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 April 29
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Pulling Together
“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—
whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have
all made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body
is not one member but many.” (1 Corinthians 12:13-14)

T
he other day I was studying the nouns used to describe
groups. In the area of nature for example, we speak of
a span of mules, a team of horses, a herd of deer, a
school of fish, a pride of lions and so on. All of this speaks
of the togetherness of creation, uniting for action or pulling
together. For human groups, we refer to a family of people, a
crew of men, a company of soldiers, a team of players and a
circle of friends. A man was riding with a logger on a wagon
pulling great logs out of the forest. With his whip, the logger
could knock a fly off the ear of his horse. As they came under
a tree, they noticed a nest of yellow jackets on the lower limb.
The man said, “Hit that with your whip.” “No,” said the logger.
“They are organized!”

It is so essential that we pull together as a team. When I

think of the widow’s mite alongside the banker’s purse united
in action for God, it stirs my heart. As the apostle Paul said,
we are certainly all members of the body of Christ, each one
functioning as the Spirit directs. We need one another. We
must work together and fight the devil. The Bible gives us
insight into the fact that one can face one thousand, but two
can put ten thousand to flight.

There is no telling the mountains that could

be moved for Jesus Christ when Christians are
pulling together.

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 April 30
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Sent unto Death

“Sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of
evil doers, children that are corrupters, the whole head
is sick, and the whole heart faint…” (Isaiah 1:4-5)

O
ur world is sick unto death. Sin is in the blood stream
of humanity. Symptoms are evident on every hand.
Jesus Christ was the answer to the sickness of His day,
so is He the answer today. He is the answer to sagging morals,
to corrupt and treasonable politics, and to crime and violence.
Christ is the answer, because when we receive Him as Lord
and Savior, we appropriate His finished work on Calvary;
therefore, His victory becomes our victory. We become more
than conquerors. We become victors over self, demons, men
and circumstances.

When a person has an encounter with Jesus Christ, he moves

out of the realm of sickness, and into the realm of health
and strength. But if this happened to a community, you’ve
got changed conditions in a segment of society. But if this
happened to a nation, you’ve got changed conditions in a
greater segment of society. No other one or no other thing
can bring about these changes. The only hope of this dying
world is the dynamics of revival. It must begin in the church,
and bring new life and vigor to the Christian community. It
must continue in the home, and change the lives and attitudes
of mothers and fathers, sons and daughters. There must be
more Bible in the schools, rather than taking the Bible out of
the schools. The Bible must be restored to the classrooms if
civilization is to be saved.

Satan is a defeated foe!

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 May 1
____________

Walking Alone
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be trans-
formed by the renewing of your mind…” (Romans 12:2)

A
high school student deliberately flunked an examination.
When her father upbraided her for this, she said: “Dad,
students who get all A’s walk the halls alone. I can’t
stand being alone.”

An outstanding Pastor in the Midwest told me he was greatly

loved by the ministers in his area until he had a tremendous
breakthrough. God gave him a congregation of over one thou-
sand. He confided in me, “Lester, it seems they hate me be-
cause of my success.”

In the Orient, a missionary was called on the carpet before

his colleagues. “You are simply doing too much,” he was told,
“And it shows us up. You either stop it or else.”

We live in a world where doing your best oftentimes causes

you to walk alone. It’s the price you pay to do your most for the
Lord Jesus Christ. Search the Scriptures. You will find that
the man who moved God were men who walked alone as far
as earthly fellowship was concerned. Moses was one of God’s
“A” students, a completely dedicated man, but every day of his
life he knew what it was to walk a solitary path. Then there’s
Elijah. No one will ever know how he felt when he cried to
God, “I only am left.” Being apart from others was evidenced
in the life of Jesus. A further New Testament example is the
Apostle Paul.

We live in a world where people are afraid to be different,

afraid to be individuals, afraid to walk alone. But I wish to
challenge you with the words of today’s Scripture, and God
will reward you with the unusual and with the supernatural.

Not one man of God who has ever walked alone

regrets it.
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 May 2
____________

Emotions and Divine Healing

“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by
sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” (Proverbs 15:13)

I
can almost tell more about people by their looks than by
any other way. While their true appearances are deceiving,
people generally are what they look like. You can see
sadness in a person. If you have sadness it will show in your
eyes, and if you’ve had a hard life it will reflect on your face.
If you have a downcast spirit it’s there too. Now, I believe a
Christian, if anything, should be cheerful. Otherwise he will
land credence to those who say they would not accept Christ,
because Christians have long faces. Some just expect religious
people to look bad. I think that’s wrong. I think Christians
should be the happiest people in the whole world. Their very
face should be a mirror, a mirror of the spirit of God.

A merry heart is as good as medicine. It does good as a

medicine. That is the reason I stay well all the time. I stay
happy, because I have a happy nature. Inside of me there is
joy. Year after year I go around the world and eat all kinds of
stuff they call food, and yet it never upsets me, never bothers
me. The wise man said, “A broken spirit drieth the bones.”
(Proverbs 17:22) This is his way of saying a broken spirit
will actually have a physical effect on the body; a truth that
medical science is now beginning to learn. For a person’s body
to be healed, his spirit must first be quickened. Yes, negative
emotions can bring about disease, but the Bible assures us
that positive emotions bring about well-being. If you keep
your mind on God, frustrations, suppressed grievances and
grudges, fears, worries, negative moods, jealousies, times of
depression and criticism will have no place in your life.

You can’t change anything by worry.

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 May 3
____________

“Grudgitis”
“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down
upon your wrath.” (Ephesians 4:26)

D
r. Carl Ferris, a celebrated physician, says, “The physi-
cal and spiritual are often so deeply interrelated that
there is often no clearly defined dividing line between
the two.”

We are reminded in several places in the Bible about control-

ling our anger. One doctor said a patient of his died from
grudgitis—long held hatreds, dislikes and harboring unfor-
giveness.

Jesus said if you are at the altar offering a gift and are angry
or harboring malice toward someone, to leave your gift, go and
make peace with your brother, and then come back to present
your gift. (Matthew 5:22-24)

Grudgitis is more common than we realize. With more than

one out of three marriages ending in divorce, eighty-five
percent of all employees turnover due to personality conflicts,
and a rise in violent crimes, it’s safe to say people are not
making peace with stress. For Christians to have these kinds
of relationship problems indicates a disregard for the Word of
God and perhaps a failure to spend time with God. Unhealthy
conditions are only aggravated by failure to deal with one’s
frustrations and accompanying stress. Nothing depletes one’s
energy as much as ongoing stress. We must learn to make
peace with stress!

Smith Wigglesworth, a man of faith, tapped into

God’s resources every morning by rejoicing and
dancing before the Lord!

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 May 4
____________

Balancing Stress
“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their
strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk,
and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

I

t was a young Viennese medical doctor who identified the
stress concept of illness, and found evidence that indicates
a common cause for almost all disease as being a chemical
imbalance brought on by stress. His belief is that the function
of the body hormones is to maintain chemical balance, “To
combat stress and fight off any threat to the body’s welfare.”
Simply put, stress is the wear and tear on our bodies caused
by life. There is considerable agreement that the stress of life
is the greatest contributing factor in today’s killer diseases.
Actually, each of us is under some degree of stress from the
day we are born until the day we die, but it doesn’t have to kill
us! Learning to control one’s emotional reactions to stressful
situations can be accomplished by leaning on God, seeking the
energy and moment-by-moment renewal of the Holy Spirit.
With God in control of your life, you are assured of a Governor
on your self-centeredness, resentment, hatred, unforgiving
spirit, envy, jealousy and anger. These are disease producing
factors. Obedience to God’s Word can free you from that which
contributes to disease and poor health. God can reinforce you
with His power, and you can live out your days as a man or
woman of poise, faith and courage. As the eagle “feathers itself
afresh,” so the child of God, through the reinforcing power of
the Holy Spirit, renews his strength.

Health is not something that just happens; it is

an ongoing investment that involves your total
life style!

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 May 5
____________

Staying the Course

“…be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a
crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10)

I
received a telephone call from a church saying, “Would you
please pray for us? The pastor has announced he is go-
ing to give up the church, leave the ministry and close the
church.” The pastor had become disturbed with the “middle of
life” and not the end!

When you begin your spiritual life in Jesus Christ and you are
born again, God puts the spiritual power inside of you for you
to reach your target—your Heavenly home, the new Jerusa-
lem. Then it is up to you to be sure that in your great arch of
life, you are right on target for the end of it.

Between the beginning of your spiritual life and the end of

your life, the devil tries to discourage you; he tries to beat your
down; he tries to get you to stop; he tries to get you to go back.
The devil does everything he can to keep you off God’s target.
If you will determine from the beginning that you are going to
live on target with God, there are not enough devils to keep
you off target!

Be determined to live out the full measure of

your days.

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 May 6
____________

You Have Been Called

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed
you that you should go and bear fruit…” (John 15:16)

T
he Lord has a call for you. The Bible says that God has
set in the church apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers
and evangelists, but He has commissioned every one of
His born-again children to take the Gospel to every human
being. And God has some very specific plans for each of us.
God can see the potential when no one else does—more than
our friends and family. He sees the end from the beginning.
Jesus Christ, the Head of the church, said, “I want you to
represent Me on earth!” Think of how precious and awesome
it is that God would choose you to represent Him on earth. He
sees something in you.

Are you running from God’s plan for you?

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 May 7
____________

It Takes Commitment
“…present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, ac-
ceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
(Romans 12:1)

T
oday many preach a Gospel that doesn’t involve com-
mitment—a rose colored Gospel in which God gives all
without asking anything in exchange. So ask yourself,
“Do I have a personal rapport with Jesus?” If not, what should
you do about it? A good place to start is with a confession of
your mouth: “Jesus is my Lord.”

But surrendering your life to Jesus and accepting Him as

your Lord is only part of what you must do to live under His
Lordship. You must commit to live under His Lordship each
day, each hour, each minute of your life. It is as important
as breathing. Many believers find it difficult to make this
commitment. Many are frustrated and discouraged, because
they don’t understand how the Lord rules in their lives. It is
necessary that we understand that in order for Christ to be Lord
in our lives, we must voluntarily and consciously surrender to
His ownership. And we can’t just have good intentions. We’ve
got to take specific actions. We must separate ourselves from
the world, from its scheme of thinking and from the values
that govern it. We are to cease thinking with the mind-set of
the world. Instead, we are to renew our minds according to
the Will of God.

Are you ready to go when God calls, you just

don’t know where or how?

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 May 8
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He Wants You!
“Nathanael said to Him, ‘How do you know me?’ Je-
sus answered and said to him, ‘Before Philip called
you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’”
(John 1:48)

Y
ou cannot get into Heaven just because your mother
was a great and faithful prayer warrior. You cannot
expect to be saved just because your father is a good
Christian man. The relationship must be between you and
the Almighty Creator of the Universe! You need to see Him
answering your prayers. You need to experience His mighty
peace. You need to hear His gentle voice telling you what to
do with your life. You need to know Him, seek Him, depend
on Him, and to be afraid to turn away from Him. You need to
know that He is your only source.

When you seek out the personal, peaceful, powerful presence

of the Mighty Maker of all things, you will want Him, too. You
will never want Him to leave. God is truth. He is alive, and
He loves you more than you can imagine.

He likes you! Yes, He loves you, but He also likes you! There
is a difference, you know. He approves of you. After all, He
made you! And He has great plans and hopes for you. Yes,
He wants you!

God has no grandchildren!

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 May 9
____________

Go!
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)

G
od has a mighty purpose for you. He wants you to
get out there and change lives, to make your world a
better place because you want to serve Him. He has
built within you a yearning for Him. He wants to commune
with you, to hear your praise and worship flowing from your
heart that longs for Him. When you spend time with Him,
you will see the world as He sees it. You will see that America
is hurting. You will see that all around you is opportunity to
help those who have deep spiritual and physical needs.

People all over the world are searching for answers. They
hunger and thirst for truth. They want a lifestyle that works.
We know that only one way works. He chose us and ordained
us to go tell the world about the way—Himself. Everyone
called by God should be ready to go. God never called any of
us to sit still. Don’t wait for everything to be “right” before you
go. Begin with your family. Go to your friends. Talk to the
people you work with.

God wants you to help them find the One who can protect
them and provide for them when everybody else is starving in
the wilderness. God wants you to live in complete dependence
on Him. He wants others to see what a difference He makes
in your life. He has called us to go!

Christianity is a “going” thing!

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 May 10
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New Ears
“Christ Jesus…made Himself of no reputation, taking
the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness
of men.” (Philippians 2:5, 7)

I
n the great pottery-manufacturing city of Stoke-on-Trent,
England, a baby boy was born who had no ears. His mother
was sad because of his deformity, but thought he was a
darling child. However, when he went to school his playmates
were not as considerate as his mother; they tormented him
with jeers and laughter. Gradually, his disfigured head
created a feeling of inferiority, and he feared to meet people.
His mother suffered terribly, because she saw how miserable
he was.

One day, after the earless boy had become a young man, he
disappeared from the streets. No one knew where he had
gone. The day he returned to public view I happened to be
in town, and heard the rare news. The youth had been in the
hospital, and there the doctor had grafted two fine ears onto
the sides of his head.

But alas! When his mother appeared on the streets her

friends saw a strange sight—her ears were gone! Then the
whole truth became known—a loving and devoted mother had
been willing to become an object of scorn so that her own dear
son might, thereby, be saved from derision.

A mother’s love is the nearest approximation to the divine love

of Calvary. There, our Savior was willing to pay the supreme
sacrifice so that men’s deformed souls might be regenerated
into new men like Him.

What sacrifices and public scorn are YOU willing

to endure for Jesus?

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 May 11
____________

What Is a Happy Home?

“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain
who build it.” (Psalm 127:1)

T
he modern picture of a family is much different from
what some of us call, “The good old days.” Long-ago
television shows of the 1950s depicted parents and
children knowing their respective roles, resulting in a sense of
security and stability that allowed them to function and live
together happily. Parents took the time to train and discipline
their children who were taught to say, “Yes, sir” and “Yes,
ma’am.” The modern picture of a family depicted in network
television sitcoms portray even young children as wisecracking
smart-alecks who zing their parents with demeaning phrases
while the studio audience roars with laughter. In most cases,
the mother is an accomplished career woman who, of course,
is smarter than her husband, and the dad appears to be an oaf
undeserving of respect. Television wants us to believe that
“normal” is a home where two mothers or two bachelors are
raising their children together; where a widowed father lives
with his own three children, his brother-in-law, and his best
friend, or maybe a cousin, or a housekeeper all in the same
house!

Whatever happened to the image of a happy home? Is one

even possible in today’s world? Reality does suggest that in
our society the harmonious two-parent family united by the
Holy Spirit is a rare treasure indeed, but it is not impossible.

Like building a house, developing a happy home

requires a plan where every component is placed
according to the Builder who created marriage
and the family.

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 May 12
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Mothers Who Change the World

“… But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be
praised” (Proverbs 31:30)

I
t was a mother’s tender love and devout faith which caused
George Washington to have Bible reading and prayer twice
a day in the White House. It was the amazing faith of Jo-
chebed, the mother of Moses, that plucked him from the royal
household of Egypt to lead God’s children through the wilder-
ness. It was the indomitable faith of Hannah which made
Samuel a prophet of God to hear the voice of God during the
crisis of his nation. It was the deeply spiritual life of the moth-
er of Abraham Lincoln which caused him to say, “All that I am
and all that I ever hope to be, I owe to my darling mother.”

A mother’s love is unselfish. It gives without expectation of

reward. No doubt, more than any other moral or spiritual force,
mothers create destinies for their boys and girls. America does
need greater statesman, for they are only produced by greater
mothers. America needs greater churches, but historically it
is mothers who lead the prayer meetings of revival.

Mothers, God is depending upon you! Mothers, your nation

needs you more than ever before as Christian leaders. Mothers,
the homes of America need Christian influence.

Editor’s note: This passage was written by Louise Sumrall.

Let the mothers of America arise now, and let

their light shine into this darkened generation.

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 May 13
____________

This Mother of Israel

“Her children arise up, and call her blessed.”
(Proverbs 31:28)

G
od gave Houston, Ernest and me a great mother! My
mother, who was reared a Methodist, felt called as a
missionary to China as a teenage girl. Her pastor said
the mission field was no place for a girl, so she cried out to
God that He would give her a son to take her place; I am that
son. Perhaps it was only fitting that I was standing in the
pulpit in Tokyo, Japan, preaching to the people on deliverance
from demon power, at the very moment my mother went home
to Heaven. My mother was fearless in her faith, and there
was great tenderness in her motherly heart. She is the one
who personally directed me to Christ, and taught me to love
the Bible. She is the one who made every sacrifice so that I
might have the necessary means to preach the Gospel. I could
always rely upon her prayers. When I left my home to preach
the Gospel, it was my mother’s tender kiss and warm embrace
that gave me courage.

But Mother had an extensive ministry in her own right. She

was a dedicated personal evangelist, and witnessed to literally
hundreds of people in house-to-house visitation. She had a
wonderful gift of testifying. For more than thirty years she
taught an adult Bible class, and had a grasp and understanding
of the Scriptures excelled by very few. For many years she
enjoyed a wonderful ministry of prayer.

As I lay awake in Tokyo’s Okura Hotel, I could almost hear her

voice crying out to me, “Lester, Lester, march forward with
Jesus. Don’t slow down, Son. Keep working for the Lord.”

“When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that

is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother
Lois and your mother Eunice…” (2 Timothy 1:5)

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 May 14
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A Simplicity of Faith
“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord; the
fruit of the womb is a reward.” (Psalm 127:3)

T
hat verse should make mothers and fathers shout for
joy! When you see your little guy who looks exactly like
you reaching out his arms for you, it fulfills a need in
the parent that nothing else can. Children are an amazing
and wonderful blessing in the home. A child adorns a home
with joy. It brings much happiness, and this is especially
true of children who are raised in a Christian home. “They
are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a
blessing.” (Psalm 37:26, NIV) Jesus rebuked his disciples
when they wanted to drive off the little children. I believe
there is no truth found in the Word of God which a child, if he
is old enough to be saved, is not capable of receiving.

Children can understand the Scriptures. In fact, children

are capable of understanding some spiritual truths in early
life that adults hardly understand in later years—such as
faith. Children have a simplicity of faith. There is little
difference between the simplicity of a child and the genius
of the profoundest mind. He who receives ideas simply as a
child, will grasp truths of God that a man who is prone to use
deductive reasoning could never discover. As soon as a child
is capable of understanding the difference between right and
wrong, he is capable of grasping the Salvation message. Never
assume your children can not understand spiritual matters.
Never treat the godliness of a young child with suspicion. It is
a tender plant—nurture and water it, and you will be amazed
at how it will bloom.

As soon as a child can sin, that child can believe

and receive the Word of God.

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 May 15
____________

Speak from Your Heart

“Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the
Lord sent me from Kadesh–Barnea to spy out the land,
and I brought him word again, as it was in mine
heart.” (Joshua 14:7)

B
y the time Moses was ready to change his address from
this world to the next, his influence on Caleb had become
obvious. Caleb was a winner, not a loser. In fact, from
the time he was set free from Egyptian bondage, Caleb only had
a history of winning, winning and winning. After forty years
of wandering in the wilderness, after more than one million
people have died from rebellion and disobedience, Joshua
and Caleb finally walked into the Promised Land. Caleb was
remembering the time forty years before when he brought
Moses word about the land. He was remembering vividly, I
am sure, when they first arrived, and he was sent with Joshua
and the other ten to spy on the Canaanites. Notice that he
says, “I brought Moses the news of Canaan as it was in my
heart.” When Caleb spied out the land, he came back and told
the Israelites what was in his heart, not what was in his head.
His head might have said what the other ten spies said, “This
is impossible! The walls are tall and so are the Giants. How
are we going to do this?”

You see, the wrong witness and the wrong testimony can
discourage people. But Caleb was able to give Moses and the
people a good report, because he told them what was in his
heart, not his head. Caleb followed God, and did not sin for
his heart was toward God. Therefore, he made decisions out
of his heart, not his head.

Do you have a heart like Caleb?

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 May 16
____________

The Bible Is the Word of God

“But continue thou in the things which thou hast
learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom
thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou
hast known the holy Scriptures which are able to make
thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in
Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by the inspiration
of God.” (2 Timothy 3:14-16)

W
e believe that the Bible is not just another book,
especially a book of errors. Instead, we believe it is
THE Book, the Book of God, the Word of God. Every
writing in the Bible is given by the inspiration of God. Look at
it closely. This Scripture, this Book, is profitable for doctrine
(explaining to you what you should believe), for guidance
(showing you how to handle problems with people and with
yourself), and for reproof (correcting mistakes in your life).
People say, “I have a revelation, I have a revelation!” But if it
isn’t according to the Word of God, you’d better correct it. And
there are a lot of specialists going around today prophesying
over people; most of it is nonsense. God is a gentleman, and
if he’s got something for you, he’ll tell you; he won’t tell your
neighbor.

The Christian reads directly from the Word of God, and here
he finds God desiring to share with him the way of Truth and
Salvation. This is because God gave the Holy Bible to us for the
purpose of leading people to Heaven. The Bible is what God
wants you to look at as a map to go to Heaven. You say, “How
did we get the Bible?” The answer is found in the Scripture we
are studying today, “All Scripture is given by inspiration from
God.” As every man wrote a part of the Bible, the Holy Ghost
was surging through him at that moment.

The Bible is filled with the breath of God.

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 May 17
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What Are the Gates of Hell?

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this
rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)

A
ll ancient cities had walls around them, and of course
they all had gates. So in Jesus’ day, the people knew
exactly what He was talking about. Gates in Oriental
cities mean several things. First they mean strength. The
gates were the stronghold of the city. The gates were always
barred with lattices of metal in order to strengthen them.
Towers were located above the gates from which the soldiers
would shoot at the enemy. More than this, you will find in
the Bible where the judges of the city sat in the gate. Lot sat
in the gate, because he was a magistrate of the city. So gates
speak of prestige and of government.

All in all, the gates of Hell simply mean the strongest thing
the devil had. They represent his strong points. But I wish
to point out that gates are for defensive warfare, not offensive.
Gates don’t go anywhere; they just stay where they are posi-
tioned. Now, we in the church are not in a defensive warfare.
We are in an offensive warfare. We are supposed to be on a
battlefield, fighting for Jesus Christ.

The gates of Hell, no matter how strong they are, cannot pre-
vail against the living Church of Jesus Christ. If we march
against the devil, there is nothing he can do about it. We can
take any city in the world if we want to, any nation in the
world if we want to, if we go in there with God’s power and
with God’s anointing.

With God’s smile upon us, there is nobody, man

or devil, who can stand against us.

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 May 18
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Ready for Destiny

“So, as much as is in me , I am ready to preach the
gospel to you that are at Rome also.” (Romans 1:15)

T
he apostle Paul said, “I am ready.” Paul succeeded where
others surely would have failed, because he was ready
for the occasion no matter what it might be. When a
thundering revelation was given to him in the night hours, he
was ready the next day to move into a new arena of activity.
Paul was not one to let opportunities slip. He was not like the
child at the seashore who fills his chubby little hands with
sand, and then lets the grains fall through, one by one, until
all are gone. When destiny beckoned, Paul was ready.

Our Lord Himself always manifested a readiness for destiny.

He often spoke of “His hour.” He went through life with a
sense of divine timing in everything He did. When the hour
came for certain events, He was ready. He waited with poise.
He was never caught off guard, but faced every problem and
every crisis with the same serenity and sense of preparation
with which He had awaited it. Every deed He performed and
every word He uttered showed He was ready to carry out His
divine mission on earth.

God, through His Son, has brought you eternal life. Are you
ready? He has provided healing for your body. Are you ready?
He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and gave you the
gifts of the Spirit. Are you ready? He has promised never
to leave or forsake you, to care for you as a shepherd cares
for his sheep. He is there beside you, to lead, to guide and
to empower. Are you ready? He’s got the whole world in His
hands. He’s got you in His hands. Are you ready?

Are you ready for the destiny which God Himself

has plotted for you?

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 May 19
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A World of Three
“The invisible things of him, from the creation of the
world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things
that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead;
so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

I
f you’re going to build a garage, you don’t need much for
a foundation. I’ve seen them just scratch a little dirt, and
pour a small amount of cement there to hold it up. But if
you’re going to build a skyscraper, you’d better be a great deal
more careful than that. And if you are going to build a tower
of knowledge about God, you will also need to dig deep and
prepare a solid foundation.

An important study is to know how God put His universe

together; then study God who put it together. God declares to
us that the marvelous creation He has brought into existence
conveys to us a message, and that message is that only God’s
power could make the world. Therefore, we are without excuse
if we deny God’s existence or power. When you’re dealing with
God, you’re dealing also with three (The Trinity: Father, Son
and Holy Spirit). You and I are positioned in a total universe
of triads. Wherever you look, you will not find units of two
or four, but three. Notice that time is marked off by units of
three: past, present, and future. Now, this is also true with
space. There is longitude when you reach out; there is latitude
when you reach for breadth; there is altitude when you reach
for height. Water is composed of three elements: Two units of
hydrogen and one unit of oxygen—that threefold combination
makes water. Water is a liquid, or it can be a solid, or it can be
a vapor. There are a multitude of examples of three in God’s
universe.

You live in a world that is a triune world, and

these three become One.

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 May 20
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Mobilized for Destiny

“No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs
of this life; that he may please him who has chosen
him to be a soldier.” (2 Timothy 2:4)

E
very successful venture, whether it be political, military
or religious, must be mobilized. At election time, volun-
teers are urged to get out to vote, and they know what’s
expected of them. Elections are decided by how well the party
mobilized for action. In time of war, fighting men at sea are
rallied to action by the cry, “Man the battle stations.” They
remain constantly in a state of readiness for attack—they
are mobilized. No effort can hope to succeed without prepa-
ration. First it must be visualized, then planned and finally
implemented. The word which best fits this total effort is the
word mobilized. All available personnel, every available unit
of power, must be utilized in order to destroy obstacles, and to
win a positive victory. In no area of activity is the principle
more applicable then in the work of God. Paul, the apostle,
used the analogy of warfare to stress this important truth.

The Church of Jesus Christ must have a singleness of purpose,

undivided interests and united effort around the common bond
of winning lost souls to Jesus Christ. When the Holy Spirit
brings believers together in a spirit of revival of militancy and
missionary passion, then they are mobilized for destiny.

No combination of evil forces can stop the trium-

phant march of Holy Spirit-filled believers.

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 May 21
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Retirement: Don’t Let

Your Light Stop Shining
“But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines
ever brighter unto the perfect day.” (Proverbs 4:18)

T
he language in this verse refers to a way of life on the
part of those who are justified, who are redeemed, and
who are called to do a particular work for God. These
people, the Bible says, are as a shining light. A shining light
would not be necessary if there was no darkness. The night-
light you have in your yard turns off in daylight because its
purpose ran out. The just are like a shining light, and where
the darkness is greater, the more light you need. If we are
entering into the world’s darkest moment, we need more of
the shining lights of the righteous. Certainly, we don’t need
lesser lights, smaller lights, or weaker lights; we need brighter
lights, stronger lights and dazzling lights.

And so the path of the just is like a shining light. It doesn’t

grow darker, but it gets brighter and brighter. John, the be-
loved, had his greatest revelation on Patmos. His most daz-
zling moment came when he was an old man, not when he was
thirty or forty. His path grew brighter unto the perfect day.
When a man retires, if you follow his case closely, and compare
it statistically, you will find he usually dies before his time.
The reason for this is that he sits around the house all day,
lonely and bored, having lost his purpose in living. The thing
that he had lived for all his life perished the day he went on
Social Security, and stopped his creative work and thinking.
In most every country of the world, a man works until he dies.
In that way he is happy, for years actually have nothing to do
with the man’s capability. A man’s best years are his mature
years, as many great men and women have demonstrated.

Retirement can destroy one’s usefulness.

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 May 22
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The Atheistic “If ”

“If thou be the son of God, command that these stones
be made bread.” (Matthew 4:3)

W
hen God states a fact, man ought to have sense
enough and courage enough to believe it. Unbelief
has damned more souls, and robbed more people of
blessing and victory than anything else I can think of. In
the Garden of Eden, Satan planted the leaven of doubt in the
heart of mother Eve with a question. “Yea, hath God said?”
He wanted Eve to doubt the goodness of God, to think that God
was unfair in dealing with her and Adam. His words had an
affect. In her reply, Eve showed that doubt had fermented. In
quoting God, Eve omitted one word, added words and changed
words. Then Satan became bolder and more aggressive. He
lied—which in essence is the basis for every atheistic “if” that
has ever been uttered.

The devil came at Jesus with the same tactics in the wilder-
ness. Three times he hurled an atheistic “if” at the Son of
God. “If thou be the son of God, command these stones be made
bread.” “If thou be the son of God, cast thyself down...” All
these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship
me.” (Matthew 4:3, 6, 9)

Jesus had an irrefutable answer for each atheistic “if.” “It is

written!” “It is written!” “It is written!” When He hurled this
affirmation for the third time, the Bible says, “Then the devil
left him.” The best answer to every suggestion of doubt is
simply this: “It is written!” Satan will always slink away when
confronted with God’s Word.

Man has no right to place a question mark where

God has already placed an exclamation point!

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 May 23
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The Reality of Angels

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some
have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2)

O
ne morning during the Great Depression, while my fa-
ther was away at work, someone knocked on the back
door of our home. I opened it and saw a cleanly dressed
individual standing there. “I’m not a beggar,” he said, “but I
am hungry. Will you feed me?”

“Yes,” replied my mother as she came to the door. “Come in.”

While the meal was being prepared, the stranger sat at our
table and talked about the wonderful truths in the Bible. He
asked God’s blessing on the food before he began to eat and
after he had finished. Then he arose, looked at us for a few
seconds and left. My mother was the first to speak. “Children,
I have a very strange feeling about that visitor,” she said.

Quickly, she opened the door and we all went out, but the
stranger was nowhere to be seen. We looked into the street
and all around the house. We searched fast; we searched dili-
gently, but we could not find him. Could that have been an
angelic visitor? I can’t be sure of course, but I do know that
the Bible establishes beyond all doubt the reality of angels.
Angels are real, and we know with absolute certainty from the
Bible and from the Son of God.

You may not realize it, but your life is strongly

influenced by angels.

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 May 24
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Cherubim: The
Highest of the Angels
“And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold, of beaten
work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the
mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and
the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy
seat shall ye make the cherubim on the two ends
thereof. And the cherubim shall stretch forth their
wings on high…” (Exodus 25:18-20)

W
hat a great sight that must have been—the cherubim
associated with the very presence of God. Judging
from this and other Scripture references, I believe the
cherubim rank at the very top of God’s angelic creation, both
in power and in beauty. Here, they were to be represented
on top of, or over, the Mercy Seat. They are in fact the first
of the angelic order to appear in the Bible right after Adam
and Eve’s fall from grace. Genesis 3 records the events in
the Garden of Eden. Having violated God’s command not to
partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they had
to be expelled from their earthly paradise. But what would
have prevented Adam from returning to the Garden to eat of
the Tree of Life and disobey God once more? Genesis 3:24
gives the answer: “He [God] placed at the East of the Garden
of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every
way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” What a terrible thing
it would have been if Adam had eaten of the Tree of Life, and
so have been forever confirmed in his fallen state! To prevent
that, God sent a contingent of glorious and trusted cherubim
to guard access to the tree.

Your guardian angel puts up his tent around you!

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 May 25
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Keep Your Thoughts Pure

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever
things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever
things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever
things are of good report, if there is any virtue and
if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these
things.” (Philippians 4:8)

D
on’t fantasize about evil or worthless thoughts. Paul
admonished the Philippians to take on things that are
true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, and
things that are virtuous and praiseworthy. “What can I do
when I hear the devil whispering evil thoughts in my ear?” you
ask. Scream, “Go!” And he’s already a mile away.

Paul told the Galatians that if they would walk in the Spirit,
they would not have trouble with the flesh; therefore, stay busy
doing spiritual things. Some people do nothing and leave their
minds open for demonic attack. Don’t waste your time. If
you were around me, you would find me working all the time,
writing books or preparing sermons. If I wake up in the night
and can’t go back to sleep, I don’t lie there and fantasize. I get
up and start writing, or I spend time in prayer or meditation
in the Bible.

The devil will work through the desires of your flesh and the
filth of the world to pull you into immorality and uncleanness.
You must personally take a stand, and refuse to participate in
any form of uncleanness.

Paul wrote, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments

of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God.”
(Romans 6:13) He put the responsibility on our backs. We are
responsible for what we watch, what we listen to and what we
yield our members to. We have no excuse for falling into sin.

You must guard your mind. You must do it.

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 May 26
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For This Cause

“And David said, ‘What have I done now? Is there not
a cause?’” (1 Samuel 17:29)

I
n the world we live in, there must be a cause before there is
an effect. Human nature always wants to work on effects,
but never causes. We can have a blight such as AIDS that
is becoming more of a plague every day frightening human-
ity, but no one wants to deal with the cause of it. Everyone is
interested in the effects, and will spend billions of dollars to
eradicate the effects; however, they ignore the cause. Man’s
heart is where causes come into being; where causes are cre-
ated. A great cause gives birth to great dreams, great activi-
ties, great fulfillment and great blessings. It begins with a
cause down on the inside of a person.

Daniel was a young man, probably a teenager, when he was

carried into captivity in Babylon with the first group of ex-
iles, but he had a cause. Daniel 1:8 says that he purposed in
his heart not to defile himself with the king’s fancy food and
drink. Daniel determined that though he had been carried off
into captivity, he would not forget the laws of God. He would
keep himself pure, and trust God to take care of him. Daniel
was willing to risk forfeiting his favored position in the court,
and possibly face the wrath of the king, by refusing to eat the
king’s fancy food. He chose to honor and obey God no matter
what the consequences. When someone has a purpose, he will
be tested as gold to see whether he is real or fake. Daniel was
tested. God’s favor was on him, and he was promoted high
in the kingdom. His faith and purpose were severely tested
as he was placed in a den of lions for not obeying the king’s
command banning prayer. But God closed the lion’s mouths
vindicating Daniel’s purpose and faith.

God will be with you in the fire if you remain true

to your purpose.

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 May 27
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What Is Your Cause?

“(For my determined purpose is) that I may know
Him and that I may in the same way come to know
the power overflowing from His resurrection and that
I may so share His sufferings as to be continually
transformed to His death.” (Philippians 3:10, AMP)

W
hat is the cause that will determine your end? Is your
cause big enough? You are going to have effects, and
the effects are going to come from the cause. Way
down deep inside you, you are reaching for something. The
ultimate drive and goal in your life, you have to determine if it
is big enough for you. The effects are coming all around you,
but are they the effects you want at the end of your life? If they
are not, then you need to go back and see whether your cause
was big enough. Our pervasive cause in life is what makes
us do what we do. There are great causes in life, and there
are very weak causes in life. We must determine what our
cause is in this life. Men of purpose change the world. World
revival cannot come by compromise. Revival happens only
when people know their God and know their calling, refusing
to compromise with the devil or the world. Alexander the
Great was asked how he conquered the world, and he replied,
“I never wavered.”

God’s heart is with the salvation of human souls. Our causes

are where our great dreams are born, and we need to redirect
our causes to where the heart of God is—helping people. If we
get our causes lined up with God’s cause, we will change the
world.

Find your purpose, your cause, and stay with it

without compromise or retreat.

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 May 28
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Are You Ready?

“Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the
fields, for they are already white for harvest!” (John 4:35)

W
hen John Wesley came on the scene in England with
a mighty thrust of God, they were not ready for it.
For many years, everywhere he went in England he
was met by mobs who stoned and pelted him trying to kill
him, because of the message he preached. The world was not
ready for him. Study every great man and woman of God the
world has known, and every time it is the same: the church
was not ready for them. One of the saddest events in recent
history occurred in Japan following World War II. General
Douglas MacArthur ruled Japan, and the people there looked
to him as a god. Their gods had failed them, and they were
spiritually bankrupt. MacArthur made an appeal to American
churches to send him ten thousand Christian missionaries,
and then Japan would become a Christian nation. But the
churches in America said, “We are not ready.” Less than a
hundred missionaries responded to MacArthur’s call, and
today Japan is more non-Christian than ever. Often God has
spoken to individuals or groups to do something for Him, and
the response has been, “We are not ready.” The truth is that
if God did not think you were ready, He would not ask you to
do the task in the first place. By the time you get ready, the
world will have changed so much that they will not need you
anymore. When God tells you to do something, He does not
mean for you to discuss it with some other person. He means
for you to do it!

If there had been one sad mark on the church

for the last two thousand years, it is that we
have not been ready for anything.

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 May 29
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A Warning for Us
“Now the spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter
times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to se-
ducing spirits and doctrines of devils.” (1 Timothy 4:1)

T
he Holy Ghost said that in the last days there would
be those who would walk away from the teachings of
the church and the simple doctrines of Jesus Christ.
The two letters to Timothy by Paul are full of wisdom! In 2
Timothy 3, Paul gives one of the most powerful bits of advice
that any young Christian can ever receive. Listen, my friend,
here is a warning that is timeless. It is prophetic, too, for it
describes our day so clearly. Paul tells Timothy to realize that
in the final days there will be hard times that will make it very
difficult to be a Christian. In those days, Paul warns, people
will be selfish and utterly self-centered. They will be lovers
of money, boastful, arrogant, gossips, full of big words, have
no respect for their parents, no gratitude and no reverence
to God. Does this sound at all familiar? Have you turned
on prime time television lately? This describes the culture
that Hollywood apparently envisions for America! Paul
warns of a time when people will be without natural affection,
unforgiving, delighted with scandal, lacking self-control and
loving violence. He says they will be treacherous, headstrong,
conceited, blinded with pride and loving pleasure more than
God. He is describing our day! Then, in verse five, he begins
to describe our modern church! He says they will maintain
a facade of religion, but it will be false piety. Yes, they will
go to church, but they will turn their backs on the power of
God. Paul warned his dear Timothy, “From such turn away!”
(2 Timothy 3:5) That goes for you, too.

Beware! Such times are here and now. The warn-

ing is for you.

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 May 30
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Faith Is a Fight
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life.”
(1 Timothy 6:12)

Y
es! You, too, are to keep up the good fight for faith! You
are to hold tightly to your salvation. Paul told Timothy
that he commanded him before Almighty God, the
source of all things, that Timothy was to steer clear of evil,
to keep himself untouched by scandal and to avoid all shame.

I remember being in Israel, in the city of Jericho, looking

down into the Jordan Valley toward the mountains of Moab.
If you look as far as the eye can see, the highest point there is
Mount Nebo. That’s where God led Moses after he had led the
children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. God got Moses up
on Mount Nebo and said, “I want you to look down across the
Jordan, and I want you to see that fertile plain of the Jordan
Valley in all of its lush greenery with the deserts on either
side.” And He said, “Moses, you are not going to be able to go
over there.” Why? Because Moses had disobeyed. He had not
steered clear of evil. He had given in to pride. Moses tried to
make God perform the miracle of bringing water from a rock
by striking the rock with his staff, after God had specifically
told Moses to speak to the rock. We do not make God perform
miracles. I believe in faith. Thank God for the faith message!
But I believe it is time for the body of Christ to take what we
have learned of this tremendous message of faith, and begin to
add to it the action of aggressive faith-filled prayer.

It is time for us to change from a ministry of

maintaining, to a ministry of obtaining.

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 May 31
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The North Star or a Shooting Star

“And the teachers and those who were wise shall shine
like the brightness of the firmament; and those who
turn many to righteousness (to uprightness and right
standing with God) [shall give forth light] like the
stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3, AMP)

T
he Holy Spirit says that those who bring many to righ-
teousness today will shine like the stars forever. In my
years of ministry around the world, I have seen different
kinds of stars. Some leaders are like the great guiding North
Star and others are like brief shooting stars. The North Star
has remained in place since man has been on the earth. Its
brilliance is permanent. Its light has been available for every
generation. The North Star is dependable. Mariners set their
compass by it. Millions have been saved by that star.

Shooting stars shine brighter when they appear, but they

last only a second. They are bright, noisy and spectacular
shooting across the sky in a dramatic way; however, they fade
away and are of no value. The Bible gives many examples of
shooting stars and North stars. One such example is the story
of Samuel and Saul. Both men were called and anointed by
God, one as a prophet-judge and the other as the first king
over Israel. Samuel stayed true to God, and was a North Star
giving light and direction to God’s people, even after his death.
Conversely, Saul became a shooting star, shining brightly for
a few years, then fizzling into rebellion, sin and destruction.

Young man, young woman, don’t be like Saul who rebelled

against God, and so became only a shooting star.

Stay true to God so He can make you a North

Star, shining like a beacon of hope and stability.

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 June 1
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Family Begins with Marriage

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one
flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)

M
any people get married for the wrong reasons. In
America, most people get married by a union of the
flesh. In other words, their relationship is based on
lust. That is why there are so many divorces. Lust of the
flesh is not a strong enough foundation to support a marriage,
and keep a husband and wife together. Others get married
because they feel a unity of their souls or minds. For example,
a young man going to college meets a female student, and they
talk together. He says, “Hey, she thinks like I think.” Their
minds have found a common bond. Then they play tennis to-
gether and he thinks, “Hey, she likes the same things I do.”
Their souls enjoy the same pleasures; their souls are in agree-
ment at least at this point in their lives, so they get married.
However, the trivial likes and dislikes that initially drew them
together do not form a solid framework for their marriage.
Why? Because likes and dislikes change. As a result he grows
one way and she grows another way, and they don’t function
in unity of soul like they did before. Their cardboard marriage
begins to deteriorate, and with nothing substantial to hold it
together, they divorce.

Marriage was instituted by God himself; it was

not man’s idea.

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 June 2
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The Right Way to Get Married

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.”
(2 Corinthians 6:14)

T
he right way to get married is by a uniting of the
spirit. That can only take place between two believing
Christians who are born again by the Holy Spirit of God.
When I first met the young woman who would later become
my wife, I did not know much about her. My flesh, however,
told me she was beautiful and as we talked, I learned that we
had many things in common. What drove me to Louise most
was her obvious and tested commitment to serving Christ at
any cost. I thought to myself that she would make a suitable
wife for me. I thought that I was a missionary and Louise is
already a missionary; therefore, the Lord would like for us to
team up, and do our Christian spiritual work together.

When I received her acceptance of my proposal of marriage, I

made this entry in my journal that day: “May God unite our
lives to do a great work for Him in every part of the world.”
God prepared her for my life and prepared me to be her
husband. I found great joy, peace and fulfillment in my unity
with this devoted woman of God. We were one in spirit, and
every day I thanked the Lord for sending her to me. Those who
get married in the spirit find that the needs of the soul and
flesh are wonderfully met. The mind finds common ground for
growth, the flesh enjoys satisfaction that transcends time and
age, and that is what marriage is all about.

God’s purpose for marriage is fulfilled when all

three aspects of the human nature flow together
in a unity that makes the man and wife one.

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 June 3
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The Mystery of Marriage

“It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a
helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18)

T
he mystery of marriage—the uniting of one man and one
woman—originated in the Garden of Eden. By mystery,
I mean the inexplicable, impossible idea that two people
can become one person. Like a wedding band on the finger
of a man and a woman, their relationship forms a circle. In
marriage, a husband and wife are united until one of them
dies. Their covenant is for the full cycle of life. It is not just
for a season.

God, who had just spoken the stars and the sun into existence,
and planted the Garden of Eden with its exquisite beauty,
also conceived the idea of a man and a woman becoming one.
The Almighty decided to create Adam by himself at first as
a solitary being. I wonder if perhaps God did this so Adam
could experience how it feels to be all alone in the world. This
Way, Adam would more deeply appreciate the gift of having
another human being to share his life. Although the Garden
of Eden was filled with beauty, the Bible says that Adam
had a profound emptiness in his heart. This inner need for
a relationship with a woman was not met by the sight of the
great towering trees nor the taste of delicious fruits, nuts, and
vegetables. The Lord knew it was not good for Adam to be
alone.

Marriage is not a temporary arrangement—it is

a commitment for life.

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 June 4
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Selfishness Destroys a Marriage

“…the woman you put here with me—she gave me some
fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” (Genesis 3:12, NIV)

I
t is most remarkable that God did not begin His creative
work in Eve by fashioning a unique person from the dust
as He had with Adam. Instead, the Lord performed the
first operation on a human body. The Bible says He took a rib
from Adam’s side. From this single bone He created the most
beautiful creature Adam had ever seen. The Bible indicates
Adam was very glad to see her, as evidenced by his moving
words: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.”
(Genesis 2:23) The Scriptures do not go into great detail, but
apparently she was delighted by him as well. It must have been
love at first sight. Adam, who had been roaming the garden
alone for so long, feeling sorry for himself, now had a beautiful
wife. Their relationship bloomed as they explored the beauty
of God’s creation together without having to worry about
housing, food, or the elements. Life was exciting, enjoyable
and stress-free. That is until pride and selfishness entered
their hearts. After eating fruit from the tree of knowledge of
good and evil, Adam implicated his wife: “The man said, the
woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the
tree, and I ate it.” (Genesis 3:12, NIV) This must have grieved
God, for theirs could have been the perfect marriage.

God has given mankind a wondrous gift in mar-

riage which lays the foundation for a secure
home.

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 June 5
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When a House Is a Home

“Therefore what God has joined together, let man not
separate.” (Mark 10:9)

S
ociety today says it’s okay just to live together, and that
you can have a home without marriage. Is it true?

No. You can live in a house, but that doesn’t make it a whole.
A home has to have a married couple there. A man and a
woman who love each other, and who produce children to build
a nation makes a home. People who promiscuously have sex
with one another are not a marriage or a family. Couples
who live together don’t want to be confined to commitment
or loyalty, so they say, “Well, I’ll just have sex with you for
a while.” They can break up any time for there is no law to
bind them or keep them together. Either of them can walk out
whenever they wish, because they have made no commitment
one to another. They lack a covenant with God that vows,
“I’ll live with you until death do us part.” Ours is an era
when vows are easily broken, and commitments are casually
discarded. The mystery of marriage relies heavily on mutual
commitment one to another. The husband and wife must be
totally committed to each other physically, emotionally, and
certainly in their spirits. With this framework, they can stand
united to resist the evil forces working to divide them.

Love is more than a warm fuzzy feeling; it is com-

mitment to another human being, and involves
giving up something of ourselves.

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 June 6
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Sacrificial Love
“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and
given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God
for a sweet smelling aroma.” (Ephesians 5:2)

T
hink about the verse quoted above. Husbands and wives
should love each other with the same sacrificial love that
Jesus has for His church. Husbands and wives should
be willing to sacrifice their own selfish desires. What kind
of love did Christ have for His church? He died for us. He
gave His body for His church! He was nailed upon a crude
cross, because of His unselfish love for you! Now, how are you,
as a husband or a wife, supposed to love your spouse? Is it
to be a demanding love that requires your spouse submits to
your every whim? Was that how Jesus loved the church? No.
Sacrificial love is not a selfish love. It is a giving love. That
is the type of love God calls upon you to have for your spouse.

I realize that sacrificial love is not a popular notion. Most

people dislike self-denial, and most of us prefer instant
gratification. We do not live in a cultural environment that
nurtures the concept of sacrificial love, yet that is the kind
of commitment the Lord requires of Christian husbands and
wives. In today’s society, there is a widespread hesitancy to
become committed to anything, particularly to another person.

With a lifetime commitment of, “I’m with you in

this no matter what,” there is a deep sense of
security.

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 June 7
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Choosing Sides in Marriage

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and
mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall
become one flesh.” (Matthew 19:5)

N
o human being is perfect; we all know that. In marriage,
however, it is essential to choose to believe the best
about our mates in all situations. On the surface that
may sound easy, but what if your mother accuses your spouse
of something? Your marriage commitment obligates you to
take the side of your spouse. But how can you turn your back
on your mother? Today’s Scripture is bluntly clear! A man
shall leave his mother and father, and shall become one flesh
with his wife. Furthermore, this means you are obligated to
be loyal to your spouse.

Did you know that in most American courts of law, a spouse

cannot be forced to testify against the marital partner? That’s
because, under the Fifth Amendment, you don’t have to testify
against yourself. Apparently, the United States law recognizes
that a husband and wife are one. In daily practical matters,
this commitment means that you always give your mate the
benefit of the doubt. Always assume that your spouse did not
intend to hurt you. Even if your mate’s actions may not seem
to be good, believe that his or her intent was for a good reason.

Never go to sleep when you are angry with your

spouse until you have settled it.

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 June 8
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Wedded Bliss Which Lasts Forever

“If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to
war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year
he is to be free to stay at home, and bring happiness to
the wife he has married.” (Deuteronomy 24:5)

H
ow can you sustain wedded bliss forever? You must
have mutual trust with each other. How important is
trust in your marriage? How is it earned? How is it
developed? Trust is developed through experience. You can’t
have trust without experience. You don’t know whether the
limb of a tree will hold you up until you climb out and sit on it.
You’ll know very soon whether the limb has enough strength
to support you. Trust is going from limb to limb—discovering
what can hold your weight. A happy marriage is built upon
trust. Trust is built upon experience, and experience creates
knowledge. You can say, “I know how she (or he) will react in
this situation because we’ve been through it before.” A man and
a woman should be more deeply in love after the first year of
marriage than they were on the first night of their honeymoon.
Maybe that’s why, according to the Old Testament, recently
married Israelite soldiers were given twelve months of leave
from their duties. Without any external distractions, the
couple could get to know one another by experience, and that
experience would create trust to last forever.

Experience creates knowledge, and knowledge

creates happiness.

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 June 9
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Like a Wagon Wheel

“And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man
should be alone. I will make him a helper comparable
to him.” (Genesis 2:18)

T
he biblical truth is that God was, is, and always will be,
the founder of the family. He has given us such a won-
drous gift—marriage. He has protected and constructed
it carefully. Like a wedding band, there is no end to it. It is a
sacred institution.

The family is like a mighty wheel. The giant wheel of the

home has a hub at the center. Here, grease is needed, because
without it heat and friction build up; therefore, destroying the
wheel, and grinding it into powder. Out from the hub, thin
flimsy looking spokes hold a wheel together. None of them is
strong enough by themselves to bear much weight, but together
such spokes bore the burdens in our forefather’s old Conestoga
wagons—the prairie schooners that carried families West. The
third part of the wheel is the rim—a shield, usually made of
metal that provides the rolling power. These three parts—the
hub, the spokes, and the rim are one forming the wheel; they
need each other to function. The same is true for the family.

The hub of the family wheel represents spiritual strength

through God. The spokes reaching out from the home are the
various attributes such as personal habits and right relation-
ships. The spokes represent sex in its proper function, good
stewardship where the money is shared and used properly, as
well as the following qualities: integrity, trust, commitment,
communication, humor, forgiveness and spiritual growth.
Around the wheel is the rim, which is the covering of God’s
love that protects the family and holds it together.

With God’s help, we must strengthen our families

so they can become the strong wheels that God
intends.
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 June 10
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The Preeminence of Marriage

“Now both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the
wedding.” (John 2:2)

M
arriage is the greatest and oldest institution known to
man. Marriage was created by God and of God while
man still had his residence in the Garden of Eden.
Marriage was ordained before man had ever transgressed,
had ever rebelled and had ever become angry. Marriage laws
predate all governments, all judges, all attorneys, lawyers, or
any human institution.

Home is number one. Revealing His great concern for the

home, our Lord Jesus, four thousand years after Adam sinned,
honored a wedding with His presence and performed His
premier miracle; the first miracle that He ever performed on
the face of this earth. Marriage was enforced before man had
rebellion in His heart. The home is older than sin, because it
was created during the unblemished state of innocence in the
Garden of Eden.

God created one man for one woman on the face of this earth.
This is the happiest mode of living. There are other modes of
living, but this is the happiest. When any human, or when
any nation breaks God’s moral order, then he destroys his own
happiness. The closest human relationship on the face of this
earth is marriage. It is not mother and daughter. It is not
father and son. Just like the greatest spiritual relationship
is to become part of the body of Christ; the greatest spiritual
relationship that’s possible on the face of this earth is your
divine relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Marriage is not part of man’s original problem,

it’s only part of his recent problem.

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 June 11
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The World of Sex

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the
Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God,
and you are not your own? For you were bought at a
price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your
spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

T
he Bible has a lot to say about the union between a man
and a woman. God performed the first wedding ceremo-
ny uniting Adam and Eve. He told them to be fruitful
and multiply, to fill the earth. In this way, God permitted
man to join Him in divinity, and in the mystery of life. Many
mysteries surround mankind, but the greatest is how two pro-
toplasmic cells can unite and create life.

Sex is the most intimate relationship between humans, and

only the sexual relationship has the potential for creating an
immortal soul. From the beginning, God has been very protec-
tive about sex. He addressed Himself to it very clearly in His
Word. God’s moral nature has never altered, and He does not
change His moral standards to suit a self-indulgent generation.

Since the Garden of Eden, Satan has sought to degrade man

in the area of sex. All forms of perversion, homosexuality and
moral uncleanness are contrary to God’s laws of nature. Men
and women who do not exercise dominion over sex become
dominated and victims of frustration, condemnation, regret,
depression and physical problems.

God wants you to be free of immoral bondage!

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 June 12
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God’s Peace
“Be careful for nothing; but in everything, by prayer
and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests
be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which
passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

H
ow can we defend the new minds which God has giv-
en us? The Scripture today is the answer. The word
“keep” here means to garrison. It has to do with plac-
ing guards round about us. God’s peace will garrison our
minds. God’s peace will keep us, so that we will not be like the
troubled world. Intruders will not be able to come through.
Our inner world of thought will be under the control of the
Holy Spirit.

The Bible also teaches us that we ourselves have the capacity

to bring all our thoughts into captivity. It is not easy. The
hardest thing to control is our mind. We can control our feet
and our hands long before we can control our minds. It is
a continual warfare, but we can do it. Hundreds of people
tell me as I travel about, “Brother Sumrall, pray for my mind.
I want to live right, but my mind wanders around on evil
things.” When I pray for them I also tell them to plead the
blood of Jesus that their minds might be purged.

Let me say this to you. If you get mentally disturbed, if you

find the devil bringing confusion into your life and feel like you
are going to lose your mind, do not be afraid. Rebuke the devil.
Stay with the church. No Christian should ever fear insanity,
or even a nervous breakdown. There is peace in God.

Christians should have minds that can think

clearly and fast, minds from which God has tak-
en all fear and confusion.

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 June 13
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Unbelief
“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil
heart of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:12)

U
nbelief is unreasonable. It makes demands upon your
life. Think of how favored the people of Nazareth were.
The very son of God lived and ministered in their midst.
He taught them, and endeavored to bring them a distinct and
wonderful revelation from God. But they allowed unbelief to
make them so unreasonable that they tried to throw Jesus
over a precipice. (Luke 4:29)

Scripture declares that unbelief comes from an evil heart. I

didn’t say it. God said it! And this evil heart causes men to
depart, not just from dead doctrine, but from the living God;
the God of miracles, wonders and glorious things. Unbelief is
unreasonable in that it causes you to see nothing but the dark
side of things when trouble or crisis comes. It blocks out the
reality of the love and power of God.

Once a man held up a big sheet of white paper on which he had

placed a black spot. He showed the paper to several people,
and asked them what they saw. Everyone replied, “A black
spot.” Of course there was a black spot. But no one saw the
big sheet of white paper. Seeing black spots happens as a part
of life and living, but do you see the big sheet of white paper
which represents your opportunities, your blessings, and the
challenge of today and tomorrow? It’s natural enough to see
the spots, but by faith you see the heights and depths of God’s
love and goodness.

God does not want you to have unbelief, because

unbelief is of the devil; you must fight it.

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 June 14
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We Must Run Faster

“…the Kings business required haste.” (1 Samuel 21:8)

F
or many years it was thought that a human being would
never run a mile in four minutes. However, it was even-
tually accomplished, and the record has been broken
many times since. Men were determined to run faster, and
through sheer courage and training, they made themselves
run faster. The church must do the same today. It must train
and discipline itself. It must do something to make it a dif-
ferent force upon the face of the earth. In short, it must run
faster!

Preachers often preach to people about the second coming of

Jesus Christ, but over half the population of the world has
never heard of His first coming. We must run faster. Every
year the world’s population increases by over 50 million, while
the church increases only 2 million. We must run faster. I
do, indeed, believe that the King’s business requires haste. I
want to speak bluntly to America, and for the sake of the soul
of the nation. America can be reduced to a second rate power
within a few months time unless the spiritual leaders of the
nation awaken the people. When I survey the urgency of this
hour, it makes me pray, “Oh, God, help me to run faster than
ever before.”

What are you doing to reach the untold billions

yet untold of Jesus Christ?

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 June 15
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Obedience
“But Peter and the other apostles answered and said:
‘We ought to obey God rather than men.’” (Acts 5:29)

P
eter, the apostle, declared, “It is better to obey God
rather than man.” I believe that is a statement upon
which one should base his entire life. Whether he is
accepted by man is one thing, but whether God is pleased with
him is another. Something has happened to the moral fiber of
human beings. We could write the word “compromise” across
the activities of man. We compromise most any ideal. We
compromise most any conviction that has been given to us
through years of training from our parents or from our church
in order to have peace and reputation at any cost.

But this is wrong. Only through standing for what we believe

can we please God, and leave behind a mark that God wants
us to leave upon the face of the earth. I always want to stand
for God and for what is right. I do not ever want to have what
we call the “herd complex.” I am not looking for people or for
a group to hide behind. I want to stand, if I stand alone, for
righteousness. Even though I may be criticized by others, I
still want to have the courage of my convictions to obey God
rather than men.

When we as humans lose our will to stand for righteousness,

we are not who God wants us to be. We are coming to the time
when men are going to need more courage and conviction than
ever before. We are going to have to stand for what is right
and for what we believe.

If you will not stand for something, it is likely

you will fall for anything.

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 June 16
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The Antichrist
“Little children, it is the last time: and as you have
heard that the antichrist shall come, even now are
there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the
last time.” (1 John 2:18)

T
he word “Antichrist” itself is an ugly word, an expression
that has haunted students of theology for centuries.
Our world today is rapidly getting ready for the coming
of the Antichrist. People are being conditioned emotionally,
spiritually, morally, economically and politically for his ap-
pearing. The Antichrist will be history’s outstanding matinee
idol, a favorite with the people and popular beyond all imagi-
nation. His acclaim will exceed anything Hitler ever enjoyed
in Germany. It will excel the popularity of great men of the
past, such as Alexander the Great. It will excel the adula-
tion of modern day Hollywood celebrities. The world will say,
“How dare you speak against this man whom everybody likes.”

According to Revelation 13:13, the Antichrist will promote

fortune-telling, palm reading, crystal gazing and all kinds
of astrometry. The evil people whom he sponsors in this
wickedness will declare him to be supernatural. They will say
that the lines in his hands, that his very signature and that
the stars in the heavens prove he is supernatural. They will
swear he is the one whom the world has looked for so many
thousands of years. Even though he is a spiritist in religious
confessions, he will be an ecumenical leader, making alliances
with all church group areas. He will boast, “I am all things to
all people.” This is the kind of world we are moving into today;
the Antichrist is the devil’s answer to God. God produced Jesus,
the Savior of the world. The devil produced the Antichrist.
He is the devil’s “savior of the world.” We must decide which
Savior we want. You say, “Brother Sumrall, when the hour
comes, I will decide.” But it may be too late then.

The world is getting ready for the Antichrist,

but we are getting ready for Heaven.
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 June 17
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Fathers and Responsibility

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord; for this is
right… And, fathers, provoke not your children to an-
ger, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:1, 4)

O
n Father’s Day, Dad will be king for a day! Fathers are
worthy of a special day of appreciation after many days
of toil and sweat. For generations, the home has been
the glory of free people. It is a sad state that our land is now
made of so many homes that are broken where fathers and
mothers do not live together. The chief cause of broken homes
is that God is not there, and Christ has not been the head of
the house. A man who has become a father accepts a real re-
sponsibility to society and especially to his children. A father’s
position to his family becomes one of honor, and his duty to
God increases greatly the day his first child is born.

J. Edgar Hoover said, “Crime among young people would be-

come negligible if the children and young people of America
attended a Sunday school on a regular basis.” You might ask,
“Shall I make my child go to Sunday school and church?” J.
Edgar Hoover’s answer would be, “Yes,” and with no further
discussion about the matter. Do you ask your son if he wants
to take a bath or do you tell him to bathe? Or do you let him
decide when he becomes old enough?

My answer to the question would be that it is important to

make your child attend Sunday school, but even more impor-
tant is that you take him to Sunday school.

Dads need Sunday school too!

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 June 18
____________

The Father Heart of God

“But you, when you pray, go into your room; and when
you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is
in the secret place, and your Father who sees in secret
will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6)

Y
ou have to be a father to understand how the heart of
God is pained by what happens to His children. When
my first son was born, he arrived ten days earlier than
the doctor had set. I was preaching in St. Louis, Missouri,
and my wife was in Springfield. I got a telephone call from my
mother saying, “We have just taken Louise to the hospital.”

I ran out of the hotel, and caught a cab. I rushed to the airport,
and there was a plane waiting. As I started to get on it I was
told that I needed a reservation. I said, “I’m getting on this
plane,” and the stewardess asked what was wrong sensing my
haste. I said, “My wife is having a baby in Springfield, and I’m
going to be there.” To my relief, they decided it was okay that
I got on the plane. I don’t know who got off, but I got on. Once
I arrived in Springfield, I took another taxi to the hospital, and
was there before my wife came out from under the anesthetic.
I was the first one to see my little boy.

When I got my first look at him through the glass, I was so

thrilled. Busy nurses would come by, but I would stop them
to tell them to look at that one right there, he’s mine. I was
so proud of that little boy. He was a little reflection of my own
self. But how about God? He has a father’s heart—an infinite
capacity to love. Friend, you will never know how it hurts Him
for men to live in sin.

Having made man in His image, He wants them

to live like it.

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 June 19
____________

A Man of the Millennium

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for
it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who
believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
(Romans 1:16)

V
ery often we hear of the “Man of the year,” and some-
times that is the last year we hear of him. With some
outstanding statesman or philanthropists, we hear of
the man of the decade—which means he enjoyed public accep-
tance for at least ten years. Occasionally we hear of a man like
Winston Churchill who has been called a man of the century,
but even then his influence wanes in one generation.

When Nero issued the declaration of execution for the apostle

Paul, he no doubt thought that by the following week the world
would forget that this despicable little Jew ever lived. This was
possibly the Roman Empires greatest mistake! Two thousand
years removed from the day of execution, when a newborn son
graces a home, he is often named Paul. But when our children
find a bulldog in the alley, he is often named Nero. What a
difference two thousand years can make!

Decisions create destiny. You have the full force of making

decisions; then decisions make you! Paul made tremendous
decisions which evidently influenced his destiny, and which
made him a man of the millennia. Paul, living in a world of
mighty domineering Greek philosophy and in an ardent world
of fanatical religious beliefs, towered above them declaring, “I
am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ…”

The qualities which made Paul great are so lack-

ing in the world today.

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 June 20
____________

Finishing the
Cathedral for My Father
“The stone which the builders rejected has become the
chief cornerstone.” (Psalm 118:22)

A
t San Paulo, Brazil, I saw a cathedral being constructed
in the center of the city. The local residents told me it
had been in the process of construction for many years.
I approached a young stonemason who was hewing a stone into
a pattern of intricate beauty. As I talked to him he explained
that his father had spent his entire manhood working on the
cathedral, but died before he could complete it. His father had
taught him the art of stone-craft, and now he proudly hoped to
see it finished in his lifetime. The young man spoke in such an
inspiring manner it was easy to understand his desire to carry
out the ambitions of his father. He certainly looked forward to
a day of rejoicing when finishing the work, because his father
had so taught him to become a fit instrument for the huge task.

The Cathedral of Christianity was begun over two thousand

years ago; Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone,
and the apostles the foundation stones. Throughout the
centuries many lively stones have been added. In the quarry
of the world everlasting, stones are being hewn. We, today, are
continuing the work of evangelizing the world. Our spiritual
forefathers laid the foundation, and we build thereon. May
our Christian youth realize the importance of carrying on the
work of our Fathers, and be willing to bear the burden for this
tremendous responsibility.

How many new immortal stones will you hew for

our Master-Builder?

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 June 21
____________

Lord of Your Family

“The Earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the
world and all who live in it…” (Psalm 24:1)

G
od rules over the family if we let Him. We can choose
to be subject to the kingdom of God, and thus reap the
bountiful blessings of His reign such as redemption and
eternal life. Or we can choose to live as rebellious sinners, and
reap the curses of it. In Matthew 28:18, before the Lord gave
the Great Commission, He uttered probably the most impor-
tant statement He would make to the church. He said, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (NIV)
He is the ruler of all—including the institution of the family,
which He loves. The truth is that God is Lord over the family,
over our marriages and over everything that we do. We can-
not trust in the ways of man. We must rest our hope firmly
in the God that controls the universe. God is the undisputed,
unchallenged King of the family, the home and our marriages.
He reigns! Let us commit our marriages and our homes to
Him declaring that He is Lord over everything. Diligently, we
must seek His guidance and help daily. Faithfully, we must
ask the Holy Spirit to help us to make our marriages work.
We must work to protect our homes and families, guided by
and strengthened by our Lord.

Know that the family is God’s wonderful plan for

you and me.

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 June 22
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Faceless Man
“So I sought for a man among them who would make
a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the
land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”
(Ezekiel 22:30)

M
odern man is faceless. He possesses the image of
man, but he has lost his identity with reality. Face-
less man is the gadget man, the commodity man, the
organization man, the standardized man, and is the product
of the modern world, a number and a statistic. Faceless man
has no convictions in politics, religion or morals. He has been
taught to keep the status quo. Faceless man must be well-fed
and well-amused; his chief desire is for good entertainment
and a fast life. Faceless man is a modern individual who says
he can’t fight City Hall, who complains that industry is a gi-
ant, that unionism is a giant, that church organization is a
giant. He feels like a cog in the great wheel. He is willing to
become a commodity, and sell his life and soul to modern civi-
lization. Faceless man has little time to appreciate nature and
organic life. His chief attractions are mechanical (and elec-
tronic) gadgets. He stays busy pushing buttons, and expects
supreme happiness. Faceless man is a member of a morbid
and depressed society. He has no vitality or will to survive.
His master has succeeded in de-personalizing him.

The only hope for millions of such faceless men is a mighty

spiritual revolution—a revolution of the soul, heart and mind
that will make them know that life does not consist of what
a man possesses. They must come to know that man is born
one by one, that man dies one by one and that man shall stand
before God one by one. One day man must stand before God
as an individual—as a responsible person. He can’t hide in the
crowd. He must stand up, and be counted on his own.

An encounter with Jesus Christ changes every-

thing—it gives man identity and purpose for living.
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 June 23
____________

Faith-Action
“And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show
yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that,
as they went, they were cleansed.” (Luke 17:14)

G
od wants to bless you just as He has blessed me as one
of His children. He has no favorites. He wants to en-
rich your life. He wants to help you in your problems.
He wants to heal you if you are sick. He wants to supply your
needs and make up for your lack.

But remember, neighbor, God is limited to your faith. You

need to take the first step in faith . . . and God will match your
faith with the supply of your needs. He will actually place it
in your hands.

Let me give you an example from the Bible. When Jesus en-
countered the ten lepers, He said, “Go show yourselves unto
the priests.” In other words, there was something they had to
do, namely, take Jesus at His word and act on it. Their great-
est need was cleansing—and they never would have gotten
what they needed most if they hadn’t acted on the strength of
Jesus’ word.

Neighbor, what is your greatest need? You can have it, if you
take the first step toward God. He won’t fail you. This is what
I call faith-action.

Today, step out believing God to meet the great-

est need in your life.

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 June 24
____________

The Holy Spirit:

Comforter and Teacher
“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you
another Comforter, that He may be with you forever.”
(John 14:16)

T
he Scripture today are the words of the Master shortly
before His return to be seated beside His Father in glory
by the throne surrounded by a glorious rainbow in the
heavens. Jesus was saying, “I will not leave you alone.” God
the Father has been with you from the book of Genesis through
the book of Malachi, and Jesus picked it up through Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John. Now a new chapter in world history is
being written, “And I will pray the Father that He shall give
you another Comforter.” He will abide with you forever. In
verse 17 the spirit is called, “The Spirit of truth.” He is the
giver of truth; he is the artesian well from which we get truth.
If you want truth, it’ll pour forth from Him. If you get your
so-called truth from another source, you’d better watch it.
It may be wrong. He is the giver of truth, “Whom the world
cannot receive.” You see the world that’s been taught by the
devil will not receive God’s truth. The world cannot receive
Him, it says. Notice the word, “cannot.” It’s not, “will not.”
If you’re blind, you don’t see, no matter how much you squint
your eyes. Likewise, if you expect sinners to understand why
you’re a believer, it won’t happen. You could tell them why
you are a Christian; they won’t understand how you would
give up a beautiful life to follow Christ and to study the Word
of God. They can’t understand! You say, “Why can’t they
understand?” For this simple reason: when you accept Christ,
you are not of this world anymore.

I wish for all of us to become alert in our world

of the fact that there is a Holy Spirit!

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 June 25
____________

Stewardship
“The kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into
a far country, called his own servants, and delivered
unto them his goods.” (Matthew 25:14)

S
omeday you are going to be judged by your stewardship.
Every person who knows the Lord will be judged according
to how well they have understood the biblical lessons of
stewardship. In the above teaching of Jesus, the man doing
the traveling in this story is the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
servants to whom he delivered the goods happens to be you
and me. Verse fifteen says, “Unto one he gave five talents, to
another two, and to another one; to every man according to
his several ability.” So many times we say, “Lord, give me
something,” and He replies, “Well, I gave you one ability, and
you didn’t use it. Now you want two?” The Lord gave to these
people goods according to their several abilities. He wasn’t
wasting anything. There are people that would like to have all
nine Gifts of the Spirit and sit in their rocking chair, and rock
the rest of their life away. But the Gifts of the Spirit are the
weapons of warfare; they’re not rocking chair gifts! He gives
to us according to what we’re willing to use for the Kingdom!

You see, God is the owner of everything, and He is going to

hold everyone accountable for what they have been given.
Most people don’t understand that. They don’t believe it.
They don’t accept it. They’ll have to meet the Lord and He’ll
say, “Everything you had belonged to me!”

Someday, we are going to discover that God is

the owner of all things, and that we are His stew-
ards, His servants.

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 June 26
____________

Hands-on Christians
“Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given
thee by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the
Presbytery.” (1 Timothy 4:14)

M
any times people walk up to me and say, “Lay your
hands on me, and give me your power.” When I hear
that, I hurt through my whole being. I hurt because
it’s an impossibility. I don’t even know them. I don’t know
their relationship with God. You shouldn’t lay your hands
suddenly upon somebody you don’t know and say, “I bless
you with the blessing that I have from God.” God might take
the blessing from you. You wouldn’t have anything to give
anybody. If you just run around and lay your hands on people,
it will not do anything to anybody. However, if it is performed
by the strength of the church, the power of the church, the
anointing of the church, and the individual goes forth through
the proper channels, it will bless those you touch. The devil
has a lot of counterfeits for God’s program. You’d be interested
to know witch doctors use their hands to carry out witchcraft
all over the world.

I want to urge you to pray about the laying on of hands. There

is real power that can be communicated through the hands.
Let’s be sure when hands are laid upon us, they are holy hands
unto the Lord, blessed hands unto the Lord and powerful
hands unto the Lord.

I believe this is the hour of the laying on of hands!

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 June 27
____________

The Good Samaritan

“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where
he was. And when he saw him he had compassion.”
(Luke 10:33)

H
ere we find a man who is typical of all sinners. He was
on a journey, and he fell among bad people. He got
hurt. He got pushed down, and he needed help. Then
the religious looked upon him and said, “Hey, he’s too dirty to
look at.” Similar to what we might say about a harlot, a man
that’s been in prison, or a person who is an alcoholic. Then a
professional layman comes by and says, “Well, I can’t stand
that, either.” Finally, there came a person who was called the
Samaritan. He wasn’t even of the Jewish faith. He had no
standing in the religious circles, yet he had compassion upon
him. And through this compassion, he gave him everything
he needed. He washed his wounds, he gave him food, he took
him to a place of shelter, he paid for his expenses after he
was gone, and he was prepared to pay any additional fees
that might arise. This last man showed us what we should do
when we see someone who is hurting or in need. It could be
your next-door neighbor getting a divorce. It could be the man
down the street, or it could be the woman across the street. It
could be the person you’re working with.

It’s the person who’s in need that we should witness to, that we
should help. You know, God’s going to bring you into contact
with certain people, and when you meet them, remember they
need you.

God has no partiality, and you shouldn’t have any

either.

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 June 28
____________

Sunday or SON-DAY?
“And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples
came together to break bread, Paul preached unto
them, ready to depart on the morrow and continued
his speech until midnight.” (Acts 20:7)

I
think there should be a day to worship God. The problem
is which day? Should we conform to the law of Moses,
which had particularly to do with their escape from Egypt?
No. When we come to Christ, we come into a new dimension.
We worship on the first day of the week. In Mark 16:9, when
Jesus had risen on the first day of the week, he appeared first
to Mary out of whom he had cast seven devils. And when
Christ appeared to the disciples in John 20:19, it was also on
the first day of the week, Sunday. Since that time the early
church has worshiped on the first day of the week. Elsewhere,
Paul commanded the people to give offerings on the first day
of the week. In the final book of the Bible, Revelation 1:10,
it says, “I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day.” Notice what it
says, “…on the Lord’s day.” This is the first day of the week.
It’s the resurrection day, Sunday. I prefer to worship on
Sunday, but as I said, it’s a controversial thing. You can say,
“The Romans made this day and that day, and on “Sunday”
you worship the sun. Actually, we are worshiping the SON!
Maybe we should start making mistakes in our grammar, and
rather than spelling Sunday, “Sunday,” we ought to spell it,
“SONDAY.” Then we would have it completely right—the day
we are worshiping our Lord and Savior. You and I do not
particularly need one day a week. I live as good on Friday as I
do on Sunday, and I live as good on Tuesday as I do on Sunday.
Don’t you?

As Christians, we don’t wait for a special day to

look holy and act holy, we want to be holy.

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 June 29
____________

Two Churches
“And they shall take up the blood of the Lamb and
strike it on the two side posts on the upper door posts
of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.” (Exodus 12:7)

G
od has two churches. One is in the Old Testament
with the old covenant, and the other one is in the New
Testament with the new covenant. God has worked
with both of these covenants, and He has worked with people
under both of them. Each covenant is sealed with blood, and
they run parallel in many ways. We believe that the old
covenant was given by God to Israel, and that the symbol of its
covenant was blood in the Passover. Israel had a covenant of
blood that the Death Angel would not kill their oldest child if
they had the covering of the blood (the covenant of the blood).
When the Lord Jesus came, He came as the Lamb of God in
order to replace the old covenant with its natural lamb. In
Psalm 105:37 we read, “He brought them forth also with silver
and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their
tribes.” This special miracle of health was because the flesh of
the Lamb had healed them. None of their two to three million
people who left Egypt were weak or sickly. That’s one of the
greatest miracles in the total history of mankind. God kept
the whole nation well for forty years!

Many believers are sick today because they don’t recognize

their position in God. When illness comes, they just fall down.
You have to be aggressive with God to receive the things of
God. If you will live by the promises of God, they will sustain
you.

If God can keep two to three million people well,

He can take care of you and me.

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 June 30
____________

Candles
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
(Matthew 5:16)

W
hy should we seek to evangelize others? It’s because
the Master says we are the light of the world. That
means that those who are not evangelized to are
living in a spiritual darkness; they do not know a way to enter
Heaven. Jesus said, “A city that is set on an hill cannot be
hid.” (Matthew 5:14) He said this at the north end of the Sea
of Galilee, and Safed was a city located on the hill right behind
Him. This city was some twenty-five hundred feet above sea
level. So when Jesus was talking to the people in front of the
Sea of Galilee, they could plainly see a city set on a hill. It
could not be hidden. Jesus was telling his audience that when
they become true believers, they will not be able to hide. If you
want to hide, you should get out of this bunch. Jesus says you
are to let your light shine. Where is it to shine? Before men.
You know, a lot of us would like for our lives to shine before
God. But he said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they
may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
If there’s anything to cause people to want to live for God, it’s
the observing of a good life, a good person and a holy person.

In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 4 and verse 21, Jesus said

the candle signifies the Christian testimony and witness in
a darkened world. Jesus is showing you that every Christian
can be a witness. If we are all candles, then every one of us
gives light. There are no exceptions. Your light is shining
when you’re telling people about Jesus!

If you are God’s candle, your light must shine!

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 July 1
____________

The Sin Problem

“Little children, these things I write unto you that ye
sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with
the father, who is Jesus Christ the righteous pleading
for us. And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not
for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”
(1 John 2:1)

W
hat is sin? The Hebrew and the Greek words for sin
translated mean, “The willful breaking of religious
and moral law.” Any revolt or violations against God’s
laws are sin. Sin is the sinner’s rebellion against God. Sin is
willful transgression against the creative knowledge of God. 1
John 3:4 says, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also
the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” That’s what
it is all about. That transgression of the law is sin. Sin is
the transgression of God’s law. What is sin? It’s breaking
the laws of God. Thou shall not steal. Thou shall not kill.
Thou shall not commit adultery. This is sin! The Holy Ghost
was really functioning through John through this first epistle.
John was one of the most precious of all the disciples. Now do
you know how to find sin? If it’s unrighteous, it’s sin. You just
follow the Bible.

How did we get to be sinners anyway? How did it come about?

What is the origin of sin? Sin began in the Garden of Eden
with the first man and the first woman. Romans 5:19 says,
“By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.” God
warned Adam regarding rebellion when He placed him in the
Garden of Eden. God wants man to come and say, “I’m sorry
I’ve sinned. I want to live right.” At that point you become
born again and you belong to God. God’s Will is to have all
men be saved, and to come under the knowledge of the truth.

God is not willing that any should perish, but

that all should come to repentance.

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 July 2
____________

The Sin Problem Continued

“And whom the god of this world has blinded, has
blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the
light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image
of God, shall shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

W
hat does this thing called sin do to the human per-
son? What does it do to you? Sin deceives! Sin is a
deception, and if you trust your feelings you’ll go to
Hell for sure. Your feelings cannot be trusted about anything.
All that you can trust is the Word of God, and you stand on the
Word of God; not on your feelings. Sin darkens! It darkens
your understanding. It darkens the thing that we want to do
and what we want to be until it waters down God. Sin defiles.
Sin is defilement. The Word of God is what washes us clean
that we might be pure. As you study the Word and walk by
the Word, you will be cleansed. Sin makes a man blinded from
truth. Sin blinds you so that a sermon, a lecture, or a lesson
doesn’t get through to you because you are blinded. The devil
has got his blinders on you where you cannot see it. He doesn’t
want you to see it, for sin alienates you from God. Sin causes
a man to be without hope. Your hope should be in Christ, and
not in anything else in all this Earth.

It is only the power of the blood of Jesus Christ

that causes all men the desire to live right.

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 July 3
____________

Fear: Deadliest Enemy

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth our
fear; because fear hath torment.” (1 John 4:18)

I
n his first inaugural speech, the late Franklin Delano Roo-
sevelt, President of the United States and skillful states-
man, said, “So first of all, let me assert my firm belief that
the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unrea-
soning, unjustified terror.” At a secret rendezvous in the At-
lantic Ocean, President Roosevelt and British Prime Minis-
ter Winston Churchill drew up the historic document known
as the Atlantic Charter. It’s considered one of the greatest
charters championing the common liberties of mankind. It
will be remembered throughout history for its four freedoms:
freedom from want, freedom from fear, freedom of speech and
freedom of religion.

During the most dreadful conflict of history, these statesmen

listed fear as one of the four major evils of the world. Our
modern world is enslaved by fear of war, secret police, hunger
and oppression. These Allied statesmen solemnly vowed to
give themselves over to fight against the “black monster” of
fear.

Every rational person should devote himself to fighting this

vicious monster. Some of the greatest human tragedies have
befallen those who are victims of fear. Fear is the deadliest
enemy of all people.

Fear respects no one!

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 July 4
____________

The Reappearing Christ

“This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into
Heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him
go into Heaven.” (Acts 1:11b)

R
io de Janeiro is reputedly one of the finest works of
nature in the world. After viewing it at various times
over a period of ten years from the air, by steamer, from
train, from car and on foot, I feel its beauties are indescribable.
God made Guanabara bay, and encircled it with gorgeous
mountains and majestic 1200 foot high Sugar Loaf Mountain
as an eternal guard on duty. Overlooking this great harbor
and city is the world famous statue of Christ.

One day I was looking out of my hotel window admiring the

great white statue standing with outstretched arms from Mt.
Corcovado. A heavy mist swept over the rugged mountains,
and before my eyes the statue disappeared. My mind went
back to Japan where the “mist” of Shintoism had enveloped
Christ, Russia where Bolshevism had shrouded Christ, and
Germany where the cloud of Nazism had hidden the true
Christ. But even as I meditated the mist rolled away and there
in the dazzling sunlight the gigantic Christo de Corcovado
reappeared. He was still there!

Then my mind journeyed again to the Christ-rejecting lands,

and an inward voice of triumph said, “The mist is rolling
away!” We know that in the darkest of lands the mist will roll
away, and Christ will reappear above the down-trodden lives
of men to lift them, to bless them, and to save them!

Lord, let no mist cloud my mind so I shall see Je-

sus clearly every day!

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 July 5
____________

Man Is a Trinity
“May the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and
may your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:23)

P
aul prays that God will sanctify your entire spirit, your
whole soul and your total body. We know that man
was created a triune person, because he was made in
the image and the likeness of the Most High. The Most High
God is a triune person; not only in the division of Him being
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but also in His total personality
where He possesses a spiritual nature, a soulical nature and
a physical nature. Therefore, in man we find also a triunity.

In Hebrews 4:12 it says that the Word of God is “living.” That

old English word there means it is still shaking. There is still
something there, it’s not dead. It is living. It is forceful, and
more than that, “It is sharper than any two-edged sword.” It
pierces to the dividing asunder spirit and soul. Now, there’s
an embodiment of truth there that you must never lose. This
means that the sole source of information related to the dividing
of the spirit and the soul of a human personality is the Bible.
Human philosophy has never come up with it, cannot identify
it, and does not know how to measure it whatsoever. So, if
you are to find out who you are, the psychologist, psychiatrist
and the philosopher will not be of assistance to you, because
they do not know. All modern psychology today says that you
are dualistic, that you are two—inside and outside—but God
says that you are more than dualistic. You are a Trinity; you
are three.

There are three main words that describe the

nature of man—his spirit, his soul and his body.

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 July 6
____________

Give Me Faith
“He that cometh to God must believe that [God exists].”
(Hebrews 11:6)

Y
ears ago in Puerto Rico, I made my way alone one eve-
ning to the flat roof of the home where I was staying. As
I walked back and forth on the rooftop, pausing now and
then to view the beautiful coconut palm’s silhouettes against
the shimmering moonlight, and to feel the gentle sea breeze
against my face, I began to pray my favorite prayer: “Lord,
give me faith.” But this was one of the nights that changed my
life. God spoke to me!

“I do not have to give you faith,” were His words, “Go and read
Hebrews, chapter 11, and you will understand what faith is…”

I came down from the rooftop immediately, got my Bible and

read Hebrews 11 several times. The more I read the more
excited I became. God began to open each verse to me, and
I saw things I had never seen before. Now, if you will open
your Bible and read Hebrews 11, you will see there is nothing
personal or exclusive about God’s secrets. They are revealed
in His Word, open to every believer.

Hebrews 11:6 reveals that no atheist can have faith, for he

denies the existence of God. No agnostic can have faith, for he
is unwilling to accept as proof the evidence of revelation and
spiritual experience. To believe in God is to believe that He
is the Creator. Not only that the worlds were framed by the
Word of God, but also that He is your Creator; that He made
you for Himself so that your heart finds no rest until it finds
rest in Him.

To believe in God is to believe that He has re-

deemed you; He loves you—that is the very heart
of faith.

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 July 7
____________

God: The Rewarder

“… And that he is a rewarder of those who diligently
seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

A
man of faith realizes that when he looks up, God looks
down; when he stretches his hand upward, God reaches
His hand downward and the two meet; when he lifts his
eyes toward the sky, the eyes of God look down upon him and
they meet. He is certain that when he seeks God he will be
rewarded by finding God.

The story of George Mueller and the great orphanage he

operated by faith has thrilled Christians everywhere. I had
been in England and personally observed the results of his
great work. Near the close of his life, someone asked George
Mueller if God was a rewarder of them that diligently seek
Him. His answer was: “Always! He has never failed me. For
nearly seventy years, every need in connection with this work
has been supplied. Hundreds of times we have commenced
the day without a penny; however, our heavenly father has
sent supplies the moment they were actually required. There
was never a time when we had no wholesome meal. During
all these years I have been able to trust in the living God
alone. More than seven million dollars have been sent to me
in answer to prayer. No man can ever say I asked him for a
penny. We have no committees, no collections, no voting and
no endowments. All has come in answer to believing prayers.”

In Hebrews 11:6 you have two basic elements of faith. These

are the footings upon which faith rest. You know that God
exists, and that when you seek Him you shall find Him.

You can reduce faith to such simplicity that you

can measure your own faith and increase it if
you so desire.

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 July 8
____________

What Is Faith?
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

W
hat is substance? Substance is that which can be
weighed on the scale, measured by a yardstick or
apprehended by the senses. While faith transcends
the natural realm, it is also manifested in the natural realm.
Thus faith is removed from the arena of mysticism, and placed
on the stage of human reality.

“Faith,” Augustine once wrote, “Is to believe, on the Word of

God, what we do not see, and its reward is to see and enjoy
what we believe.” The believer, because of his faith, holds those
realities to be true which are now invisible either because they
are still to come, or because they cannot be perceived by the
senses. So the “substance” is the Truth of God believed by
faith, and “the things hoped for” are the identified objectives
of faith.

God’s Word says faith has its evidence. This means faith can
produce that which is seen and heard, that which is tangible
and can prove itself to be true. Jesus said, “What things soever
ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye
shall have them.” (Mark 11:24) This is faith.

Faith is like a diamond with many beautiful fac-

ets which gleam with the light of God.

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 July 9
____________

Faith Is an Offering
“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent
sacrifice than Cain…” (Hebrews 11:4)

I
had read this passage hundreds of times and saw noth-
ing remarkable about it until the night God spoke to me
in Puerto Rico and said, “This is faith.” He impressed
me with two great words in the text: “offered” and “sacrifice.”
Something burst within me and said, “Why faith is an offer-
ing!” I had never heard it suggested before that faith had any
relationship to an offering, and especially to a sacrifice.

It was not Able speaking, nor a man boasting. It was God’s

own appraisal, His own pronouncement. He said Abel had
faith. And He who knows the hearts of men, who cannot lie or
make a mistake, knows what faith is. If God said it, you can
be sure Abel was a man of faith.

Look again at what God had said, “By faith Abel offered unto
God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” As I meditated upon
these words I saw something I had never seen before. I saw
that every offering is an act of faith, that a man gives in pro-
portion to his faith, and that it is impossible for a man to give
without faith. This opened a new world to me. I began to look
back upon hundreds of congregations to remember those who
had given their all. Now I could see it was by faith. I began
to see how a person could weigh and measure his faith and his
relationship to God in giving.

A believer can see the amount of faith he has every time an

opportunity comes to give. Those who grumble because offer-
ings are received in church do so because of their lack of faith.
Those who do not want God’s work to prosper feel this way,
because they do not have faith. A believer who gives in faith
can see the possibility of increasing his faith as he cheerfully
gives more to God.

It isn’t the amount you give; it’s the amount you

have left.
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 July 10
____________

Faith Is Walking with God

“By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see
death; and was not found, because God had translated
him; for before his translation he had this testimony,
that he pleased God.” (Hebrews 11:5)

E
noch, like Abel, can help you understand what faith is.
Were he to come back from the great walk he had with
God, you could ask him, “I want faith. I understand you
had faith. Please, share with me your secret. What is faith?”
He would smile and say, “I walked with God and God called
the faith.” Friend, faith is not something imaginary or mysti-
cal. Faith is actually communion with God.

Now how much faith do you have? How close are you walking
with God? Communion with Him is not asking for faith or
seeking faith; on the contrary, it is living faith, flowing from
your innermost being like a river—the river of the waters of
life. Do you want more of God? Do you want more faith? Then
I challenge you to walk with Him.

From my experience, I have found that men of great faith,

without exception, were men who walked with God. Yes, they
were different from others; yes, they were narrow minded; yes,
they were controversial figures, but they walked with God.
Faith is walking with God. If you want more faith, do not walk
with the idle, do not communicate with the tale bearers, do not
walk with worldly people and do not spend your time unduly
with sinners. Walk with God. That is faith.

Faith consists in putting your will on the be-

lieving side, embracing the testimony of God
Himself.

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 July 11
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In the Image and Likeness of God

“God said let us make man in our image, after our
likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish
of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creeps upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)

N
ote particularly the words, “Let us make man in our
image.” Out of sheer desire and infinite love, God cre-
ated a part of His creation like unto Himself, and that
part was man. In order that you would know for certain that
you did not evolve from lower forms of life, God reiterated His
statement: “So God created man in his own image, in the im-
age of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
(Verse 27) Moreover, to make sure that the male of the species
would not think he alone is the image, God spelled it out—
“Male and female created he them.” He wanted you to know
that the total of humanity bears the mark and the imprint of
the Almighty. Man is created in the image and likeness of God.

Now please turn to Genesis 5:3, “Adam lived an hundred and

thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his
image; and called his name Seth.” This Scripture reveals the
perpetuation of the image of God. Not only did God create man in
His own image, but He also allowed man to reproduce the image.
Not only was Adam in the image of God, but his seed as well.

In the New Testament, Paul wrote concerning the image of

God. “As we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also
bear the image of the heavenly.” (1 Corinthians 15:49) Not
only do you bear the image of God in your mortality, but when
you see Him you shall be like Him. You shall bear His image
in immortality also.

The Creator of the universe longed for fellowship

with one who would bear His image—you and I
are the result of that longing.
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 July 12
____________

Getting It Backwards
“He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him
up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give
us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

A
leper came to Jesus and said, “If thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean.” (Matthew 8:2) That was an insult.
The afflicted man had estimated His power to be great-
er than His love. He said in effect: “If You would, You could.”
But that was backwards. He should have said: “I know You
are full of love, and if You have the power, You would heal
me.” Jesus would have been pleased with those words.

People are still getting it backwards. When they come to God

with their sickness, they say, “You’ve got the power, but we
don’t know whether You have the will to do it.” That is an
insult. For example, what if one of my boys would say to me,
“Now listen, we know you could feed us if you wanted to, but
we are not sure you want to.” I would possibly give him a good
spanking. I would say, “You know I’ve always fed you, and I
want to feed you. You know it’s my pleasure and delight to
feed you. What do you mean if I want to?”

You ought to have the same feeling about God. You ought to
settle it in your heart that it is God’s will to heal. There is no
if about it.

God stamped His image upon your spirit, and

God is love.

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 July 13
____________

Living Victoriously
“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

I
believe in victorious living. When I see a man or a woman
with a long face claiming to be a Christian, I feel sorry for
them. No matter how much the cares of this life press in
upon them, they ought to avoid a long face. They are on God’s
side—the winning side!

You ought to stand before a mirror each day and say, “I am

what God made me to be in His image and in His likeness. I
will radiate God here on the earth. I will not look downcast. I
will not be defeated. I will look to Him, and reflect His bless-
ing, power and anointing. In Jesus name!”

Having made us in His image, God wants us to live like it. He

wants us to keep up the family portrait. He has made ample
provision for us to live brightly and above sin. “For the grace of
God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us
that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live so-
berly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” (Titus 2:11-12)

Let’s walk triumphantly, like the group of men in the book of

Judges, of whom it was said, “Each one resembled the children
of a king.” That’s my group. That’s my family. I belong to the
King!

Jesus wants to do more for you now than He has

ever done before.

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 July 14
____________

Smith Wigglesworth
“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 created thing, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

D
id you ever hear of Smith Wigglesworth? He was a
special friend of mine. I have lived in his home, and
preached with him in different countries of the world.
Wigglesworth, when I first knew him, might have been seven-
ty-three or seventy-four years old. He often told me how he
lived in health.

“Lester, when I get up in the morning, I jump out of bed, stomp

my feet, dance around the room and shout the praises of God.
If I am in a hotel, I go down to eat breakfast and say to every-
body, ‘I’m going to pray for your food, everybody, because I’m
feeling so wonderful.’” He would raise his voice and pray for
all the people in the restaurant, asking God’s blessing upon
them.

You may ask, “What did the people think?” Oh, they would
come around later and shake his hand. They were glad for a
man who practices what he believes. Until his death at eighty-
five or eighty-six, Smith Wigglesworth lived a victorious
physical life. He looked like he was sixty, and walked like he
was forty. He was a living example of the beautiful energies
of God on the Earth. I was glad for the association I had with
him.

Some people want to find out how much they

can doubt. I want to find out how much I can
believe!

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 July 15
____________

Dominion
“Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and
nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)

M
athematics has its authority—its rules, formulas and
equations. Music has its authority—its rules of har-
mony, time and progression. Christianity too pos-
sesses unique authority.

I want to tell you some things about the dominion of man—how

he received it, how he lost it and how a child of God regains
it. The word “domain” is from the Greek word which, in the
New Testament usage, means lordship, inherited rulership
and sovereignty. Without knowledge of his true relationship
with God, man cannot possess domain over the many conflicts
in life. The prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for
lack of knowledge…” (Hosea 4:6)

Many Christians today do not know their position of dominion.

They belong to Christ, they are sons of God, yet the devil keeps
them in ignorance so they don’t realize their divine right.
Once they understand the basis of their dominion in Christ,
they live a new life attended with power and victories.

If you were left a fabulous legacy by a loved one, and did not
know about it, you could live in abject poverty; perhaps die of
starvation while actually possessing great wealth. This is just
as true in spiritual life. You have rights as a follower of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and you are entitled to dominion.

Dominion is not for the select few. It is for YOU!

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 July 16
____________

Bridge to the Moon

“…With men this is impossible, but with God all
things are possible” (Matthew 19:26)

O
ur scientists could not put a man on the moon as long as
they considered it impossible. The achievements which
they have accomplished were only possible after there
was a mental equivalent knowing that it was possible. If you
will set before you goals to reach in God; victories to reach in
God; blessings to reach, you will reach them! Nothing can
hold you back if you reach with all your inner-person to do
these things.

If Moses had felt that it was impossible to bring the children of

Israel out of Egypt, he would have stayed in his desert prison,
and there he would’ve died. If Elijah had considered it impos-
sible to bring rain down from Heaven at his word, he would’ve
stayed in his prison not witnessing the amazing miracle that
still astounds the world. He prayed, and it was possible. If
our Lord Jesus has considered it impossible to raise Lazarus
from the dead, He could have joined Martha and Mary in their
sorrow declaring Lazarus a victim of death.

This teaches that before you can accomplish tremendous

achievements in God, you must know that it can be done. You
must think truth. You must act truth. You must believe pow-
er. You must act power. In doing this you can see the desires
of your heart fulfilled by God’s power!

Release yourself from limiting thoughts, and

know the true heritage of a child of the Most
High God.

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 July 17
____________

The Origin of Your

Deadliest Enemy
“I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid…”
(Genesis 3:10)

R
eliable research in any field of observation is unsuc-
cessful until the true source of the problem has been
solved. The cause must be known before attempting
to remedy its effects. This is true in seeking a solution to the
ravaging effects of your deadliest enemy. Human fear cannot
be liquidated until a rational and spiritual study of its origin
is completed.

When those who are cursed by deadly and poisonous fear pho-
bias have an understanding of the history of the black monster
of fear, their victory will be half won! They will possess cour-
age to fight back!

Fear was originally unknown in the bliss and beauty of the

Garden of Eden. When Adam, the federal head of the human
race, willfully and rebelliously broke the law and trust of God,
man’s heart that day became an incubator for fear, frustration,
uncertainty and foreboding. When Adam realized he must
face God with his transgression, for the first time cowardice
was in his heart. The devil, who tempted Adam and Eve to
rebel against God, is fear’s originator. No wonder God’s Word
states, “The devils also believe, and tremble.” (James 2:19)

Man was created to have dominion; how can

cowardly fear conquer him?

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 July 18
____________

The Master’s Mind

“For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may
instruct him?” (1 Corinthians 2:16)

I
n this confusing world there are teachers and leaders who
cannot live up to their own theories and philosophies. Many
seem to live by the old adage, “Do as I say, but not as I do!”
But leaders must lead. The guide must show the way. The
doctor must heal himself. We don’t expect noted psychiatrists
to have mental delusions and nervous breakdowns.

Christians have a perfect right to examine the thinking and

the mind of Jesus of Nazareth. The New Testament is a pic-
ture book of the mind of Christ. We realize Christ is Divine
as well as human; no man has fully fathomed the depths or
measured the heights of the Master’s mind.

No man ever knew the tranquility of the mind as did Christ.

He spoke with the deepest assurances of His knowledge of
God, of His certainty of the future. Christ had peace of mind.
Christ knew no fear of nature, men or devils. If a man will
weaken, it will be at death. But with Christ we behold His
courageous mind more clearly at Calvary than any other place
on earth. There was no sign of fear, but one of sublime victory.
In every circumstance of danger, Christ was never afraid.

The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:16, “But

we have the mind of Christ.” Let this be our
prayer today.

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 July 19
____________

A Spirit to Win
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says
to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to
eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the
Paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7)

I
was doing missionary evangelism in the deep jungles of
the Hinterland of Paraguay several years ago. While
preaching at a Church of England mission station I saw one
of the most amazing sites I had ever witnessed. The Anglican
missionary and I were standing in the yard talking. Suddenly
we saw a large snake coming from his barn, and abruptly a rat
came from the barn in full pursuit. The rat plunged in and got
the snake. The snake leaped forward, and the rat jumped and
bit again. There was obvious pain, but rather than stopping
for combat the snake moved as quickly as possible only to be
bitten again. It was one of the most amusing battles I had
ever seen; a ten foot serpent was running away from an eight
inch rat! The snake is usually the master and will kill the rat,
but the snake had accidentally found the rat’s nest with the
mother and her little ones. The mother rat, enraged by urgent
instinct to preserve her young, rather than ran, viciously
attacked. The weak chased and defeated the strong!

In this incident I saw how determination and objectives in life

give fighting power to overcome fear. One may feel weaker
than his adversaries, yet gain a great victory because of the
spirit to win.

Greater is He who is in you, then he who is in the

world.

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 July 20
____________

Fear Not
“Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God.” (Romans 10:17)

I
t is interesting that “fear not” is found at least three hun-
dred and sixty-five times in the Bible. This means there is
a “fear not” promise for every day of the year! God spoke
to Abraham and said, “Fear not.” God spoke to the children of
Israel and said, “Fear not, stand still and see the salvation of
God.” The great patriarch David said in Psalm 23, “Though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil.”

The Bible tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear,
rather a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. (2 Timothy
1:7) The act of prayer generates spiritual strength and assur-
ance. True prayer is not a mystic practice. Christian prayer
is not merely an emotional experience. Prayer is not the voice
of a weakling begging for assistance. There is power in prayer.
Prayer is not futile talking, but it is human beings augment-
ing their finite power by addressing themselves to the infinite
source of energy. When you address yourself to God, you link
your life with the inexhaustible motive power that moves the
universe. Your prayers can repel, expel and dispel fear. Fear
not!

“No man ever prayed heartily without learning

something.”
— Emerson

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 July 21
____________

The Promise of Christ

“I go to prepare a place for you…” (John 14:2)

W
e have the promise of heavenly citizenship from Jesus
Christ. He said in His Father’s house are many places
to live. That means after death, Christians will live
with God forever. They should have no fear in this matter,
because Jesus promised we shall live with God forever. In
Philippians 3:20 it says, “Our conversation is in Heaven from
whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Our citizenship is in Heaven. We are just passing through
the Earth for a very short length of time, but our real true
citizenship is in Heaven. Verse 21 says, “Who shall change
our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious
body, according to the working whereby he is able even to
subdue all things under himself.” The believer has entered
into a heavenly citizenship where he shall live forever with
God after he leaves this world. In Revelation 20:15 it says,
“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was
cast into the lake of fire.” Your name, I suppose, is in the book
of death when you serve the devil. But God takes it out of
there when you become a true Christian, and He places it in
the book of life. Our eternal destiny is living with God forever;
this is the promise of Christ.

Someday God will open the book, and read to us

all that we have done.

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 July 22
____________

Compassion on a Crowd
“Then Jesus called his disciples unto Him, and said, ‘I
have compassion on the multitude…’” (Matthew 15:32)

J
esus had compassion on the multitude. Weymouth’s trans-
lation of this passage says, “My heart yearns for this mass of
people.” Some people cannot see a crowd. They may be
pushed by a crowd, jostled about by it, but never really see it.
Many people actively avoid crowds. Jesus, on the other hand,
had compassion on the crowd. He saw it not as a mass, but as
individuals in need.

Possibly the greatest need of the church of this age is to real-

ize that there are over seven billion* people in the world at
this very moment. Jesus has compassion on each of them; His
church must also. Jesus’ words in the above passage were spo-
ken just before His feeding of the four thousand. By His own
choice, Jesus was poor in this world of goods, yet, in spite of
His poverty, Jesus gave several feasts. He fed four thousand
in this case, again fed five thousand on another occasion, and
of course the most intimate of all when he fed His disciples on
the evening of the Last Supper.

*This number was updated to 2012 current census figures.

We are the only ones who can transmit to the mul-

titudes the compassion that Jesus feels for them.

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 July 23
____________

Great Men Tithed

“Blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered
thine enemies into thy hand. And he [Abraham] gave
him [Melchizedek] tithes of all.” (Genesis 14:20)

M
elchizedek was a priest of the Most High God and as
Abraham was coming back from a battle with neigh-
boring kings, he decided to bless the Most High God
who delivered his enemies into his hands. Abraham paid him
tithes, which must have been a huge bankroll. “And Abraham
said to the king of Sodom, ‘I have lifted up mine hand unto the
Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
That I will not take… Anything that is thine…’” (Genesis 14:22-24)

Abraham would not take any of the spoils. Instead, he was a

tither, and that’s in the first book of the Bible! He was being
blessed by God super abundantly displaying that if you give to
God, God in turn gives to you. So many people say, “I try to
tithe, but there’s none left over.” Well, that’s going backwards
down the road. You don’t do it that way; you give to the Lord
first, then He makes the nine parts go all the way through.
But if you’re going to spend the nine parts first, you’ll end up
with the tenth part—the devil will see to that.

Did you know if you touch your tithe, you are

supposed to pay it back to God with twenty per-
cent interest?

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 July 24
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Giving to God Brings Blessing

“… prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I
will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you
out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to
receive it.” (Malachi 3:10)

W
hen you give to God and His work it will bring
blessings back to you, and these blessings can become
unlimited. I’ve met a few people that have had it that
way. They gave to God so abundantly until they had no place
to put all the good things that God had given to them. They
were told that, “The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that
waters shall be watered himself.” (Proverbs 11:25) That is a
great Scripture—if we water, we get water; if you give, you
receive. There is just no doubt about it.

The Lord Jesus said, “Give and it shall be given unto you.” If
we can learn to do that, we will find that it works in reverse.
It comes back, and He blesses us. All we need to do is to follow
it through. Let’s look a little closer. In Luke 6:38 Jesus said,
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed
down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give
unto your bosom. For with the same measure that you give, it
shall be measured to you again.”

Giving and faith; they flow together. You cannot give more
than the faith that you possess, and you can check your faith
by your giving. Your giving always is in relationship to the
amount of faith that you have.

Do you love to pay tithes?

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 July 25
____________

Double Accounting
“But this I say; he who sows sparingly will also reap
sparingly and he who sows bountifully will also reap
bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6)

M
any do not realize that our lives are so brief. How
foolish it is for us to store treasures in a place where
we soon must leave. How insecure is our treasure on
this Earth. While we are still here, it can be lost in a moment.
Treasury bonds may depreciate, and health may fail before a
man can enjoy the wealth that he’s made for himself. Let us
remember that only as we give generously to our God, will He
give generously to us.

Man counts how much you put in the offering plate; God
counts how much you have left in your wallet. That is “double
accounting.” Earth counts what you put in, and Heaven counts
what you have left. So, when you’re a little widow only having
two cents, and you give them both to the Lord; everyone in
Heaven claps their hands! But you might say, “She didn’t give
as much as I did. I gave five dollars.” The Lord says, “But you
had one hundred and five dollars left over that you didn’t put
in, and she had nothing left over!” Remember, the Lord is good
at keeping account. You know what that means? It means
that the poor have as much praise in Heaven as anybody else.

When Howard Hughes died, somebody asked, “Have you heard

how much he left behind?” And I said, “Yes! All of it!”

I’d rather go hungry than to take God’s money

and use it!

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 July 26
____________

Left Behind
“For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to
obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:9)

N
o born-again person is ever appointed to receive wrath.
The only judgment the believer will receive after being
born again is the judgment that comes at “the judg-
ment seat of Christ,” which is the seat of awards for what you
have done (2 Corinthians 5:10). It has nothing to do with your
salvation. On the other hand, the “great white throne judg-
ment” has only sinners there (Revelation 20:11-15). Here, God
will open His books and judge each one of them. They will see
it on a vast screen; maybe bigger than a mountain. They will
see every thought, and they will say, “Yes, that’s me.” Then
God will say, “Where do you think you ought to go?” They will
reply, “To hell,” and that’s where they will go. So, the purpose
of Jesus coming in the rapture is to take away His bride out
of great tribulation. Matthew 24:21 says, “For then shall be
great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the
world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

Those who will be left behind on the Earth after the rapture
will go through the great tribulation. Revelation 13:16-17
says that there will be a mark on your forehead and in your
hand, and each one will not be able to buy or sell unless he
comes under the domination of the Antichrist. When you take
this seal, then you’re damned forever. There’s no hope. You’ll
have to give up your life in order to be saved during the great
tribulation. These are the martyrs that will come up out of
great tribulation.

God’s people are not appointed unto any kind of

wrath!

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 July 27
____________

God’s Perfect Will

“Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through
the will of God…” (1 Corinthians 1:1)

W
e receive what we are through the perfect will of God.
Paul knew that he had received apostleship and
ministry through the will of God. This means that
Paul’s will became subservient to the Father’s will, and that
he had position in the Church through the will of God. This
is further confirmed in 2 Corinthians 1:1, “Paul, an apostle of
Jesus Christ by the will of God…”

All spiritual leadership and positions should be according to

God’s desires and knowledge of human need, and we should fit
into that. We should be whatever our nation needs the most
by the will of God.

The problem that I see in the word “will’ is that we have used
it so much that we do not know what “will” means. We cannot
find the source of it. We cannot find the outflow of it. We are
actually laboring in an unknown area.

“Will” originated in God. It was given to man. If we learn this,

we will know how to function in the will of God. We must learn
to function in the will of God. We must learn to function in a
will that has been made new, dedicated, set apart to carry out
the “Will of God on earth as it is in heaven.”

The power of free will is an extremely precious

gift from God, but we need to learn how to
control it and make it a positive force for God.

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 July 28
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Doing the Will of God

“Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord Lord, shall
enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the
will of my father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

T
he will of God has a relationship with your eternal des-
tiny. You cannot just do as you please! You cannot just
let your will run wild and expect to reach heaven. Jesus
said that what will get you to heaven is doing the will of the
Father which is in heaven. There are people living now whose
lives are not subject to the will of God. Those who do as they
please are living in their own will and in their own desires.
Those people find themselves not in the proper relationship
with the Most High God. The will of God the Father is that
you know His will and perform.

It is because of the will of God that all men have a keen knowl-
edge of God. First Timothy 2:4 says, “Who will have all men to
be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

It is the will of God that we accept the Great Commission, “…

Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every crea-
ture.” (Mark 16:15) The will of God is that you and I be pio-
neers in our generation throughout the earth delivering the
message of truth, the message of power and the message of
eternal salvation. Your will power has to rise up within you
and say, “I will walk in the will of the Lord!”

The perfect will of God flows out of us spontane-

ously, like an artesian well flowing with living
water.

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 July 29
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The Free Will of Jesus Christ

“Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nev-
ertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42)

T
he Lord Jesus Christ possessed divine free will, or as the
Son of God, royal free will. It is recorded in the Gospels
that Jesus said “I will” at least sixty times; something
within Him had a determining factor; something within Him
had a guiding force. It is called, “will.” Jesus exercised what
we call, “free will.” He did not have to do the things that He
did. He did not have to heal the sick; He did not have to feed
the hungry. He had free will! Jesus Christ went to the cross
freely. When Pontius Pilate said, “Don’t you know that I can
kill you?” He said, “No, you cannot do anything unless it be
the will of God. Jesus said, “Don’t you realize I can call legions
of angels who would set me free?” He willfully went to the
cross.

It was the will of Jesus that gave Him a source of energy to

achieve world redemption. He willed to save the world. By
this will He drove His body to the cross; He drove His spirit
to the cross by His will power. Jesus was living in the will of
the Father.

We must seek the will of God, we must find the

will of God and we must coordinate it with our
will.

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 July 30
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Will Is a Gift
“I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is
within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8)

T
o all intelligent creatures God gave a will, which means
He gave a part or a portion of Himself. On Earth we
have the will of God, the will of Christ, the will of the
Holy Spirit, the will of Angels and the will of man; there is also
the will of the devil and of demons.

The human will is a gift from God. The greatest experience

of human achievement is in performing the will of God. The
human will is immortal. You will have it after this life. You
will keep your will in eternity.

The human will is sovereign. God will not violate it. He cre-
ated you, and made you a responsible person. You cannot
blame God for the actions of your will. You are the one in
charge. You are the one who holds the wheel, and you do the
driving. God will not stop your will. If He did, you would not
be a human anymore. You would be some kind of a creature
without a will.

Satan cannot violate your will. He does not have the proper
power to do it. God made the human will so strong that Satan
has to ask permission from you to grant him your will. You
determine your decisions, and then your “guardian angel” can
act for you. You first have to stress your own will power, and
you have to move in a certain direction before your angel can
act on your behalf. Angels are not permitted to control human
will. Only you can control your own will.

Your will must be humbled before the Lord.

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 July 31
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The Will of Angels

“And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Though thou
detain me, I will not eat of thy bread…” (Judges 13:16)

Y
ou may have thought that angels can do as they please
and that they are all perfect, but this is not true. Angels
have volitional powers just like you have. Angels have
transgressed just like humans have, because they have a will.

In today’s verse of Scripture, the angel was showing Manoah

that he had a will; he could will not to do this or that. Angels
are created beings; they have no navel; they were not born of a
woman. Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven
and the earth.” This Almighty God, in His select wisdom,
created angels as servants and messengers. They are for Him,
and they possess will power. They do not have to serve God.
They may serve God or they can rebel, whichever they will.

Angels are super intelligent creatures beyond man. They have

the knowledge of two worlds, the spirit world and the physical
world. They are two-world creatures. Sometimes the wall of
partition is broken down, and you can see angels. Angels can
talk to God, and they can talk with man. God designed angels
and gave them superpowers of decision to decide on special
factors. He did this because He wants to merit their love.

Angels have the will to do things for God.

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 August 1
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Authorized Dealers
“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents
and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and
nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)

D
ominion (authority) belongs to every believer who will
accept the responsibility for exerting it. After a person
is converted, the devil seeks in every way possible to
hide their position of authority from the believer. Satan knows
that when the believer is aware of their privileges and power,
he will become legally defeated and his works destroyed.

An age-long strategy of the devil is to attack the believer in the

area of confession. He knows a person will never rise above
their confession. Instead of making the promises of God their
confession of faith, a believer will confess their sickness, faults
and weaknesses. As you are what you confess to be, the devil
uses this means to keep you in bondage. Satan does not want
you to confess dominion, authority and power.

People do not like substitutes. For this reason, an automobile

dealer will display a sign over his business which reads,
“Authorized dealer.” The sign means a consumer can expect
genuine parts for his car, and factory trained mechanics to
install them—no substitutes.

In the spiritual world, Bible-believing Christians are God’s

authorized dealers of His authority. They have what God
wants this world to have. It would be most fitting for the
church to put out a sign which says, “Authorized dealer of
God’s spirit and power.”

Confess victory by the blood and by the abun-

dance of God’s gift.

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 August 2
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Rejected and Dejected

“I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid,
because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:10)

A
dam was the first person to feel rejected and dejected.
The rejected are also the dejected. Adam felt rejected
and, because of this, he hid himself. Now that is one
of the things that rejection does, it causes people to want to
hide. It began that way with the first person who ever felt
it, Adam, and it continues today. I can assure you right now
that dozens of people in this city would be in church today if
they did not feel rejected, rather than hiding behind a door
that faces the world. And rejection, in many cases, is not real.
The devil tells you lies. Adam had lost his original clothing,
and found himself naked. Because he had lost the presence
of God and the approval of God, he hid himself from God. So
the first person that ever felt rejected was Adam. It came
about because of sin and transgression. Rather than facing
the problem he ran away hiding himself, and God had to find
him. Maybe God is looking for somebody today to bring up out
of rejection, and to show He cares and He loves. He could take
the whole past and just blot it out.

God can start all over again, and make you feel
wanted and desired.

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 August 3
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A Spirit of Power
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power,
and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

C
hristianity has never made a human being go crazy.
To believe so is to accept the lie of the devil. Some
demented folk may attach themselves to religion, but I
have never known a single instance, anywhere in the world,
where Christianity drove a person crazy. Instead, we have
plenty of positive evidence that people who find Christ are
clothed in their right mind.

Fear came into the world by the power of sin and the devil.
Adam was not afraid until after he committed sin. Then he
manifested his fear by hiding himself in the bushes. God does
not want His people to be fearful. The believer should not be
afraid of anything. He should not fear the unknown future
nor be afraid of the problems of this hour. God’s people should
fear neither man nor devils.

God has given us another kind of spirit. It is the spirit of

power. How thankful we are that we can have the spirit of
authority, whereby we resist the devil, combat temptation and
withstand disease. This spirit is also a spirit of triumph, and
we are not afraid of defeat. We know where we are going. God
holds our hand, so we are not afraid to live nor are we are not
afraid to die; we are with God and in God, and He is in us.

Christians should have the finest minds in the

whole nation.

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 August 4
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You Can Conquer Worry

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about
your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than
food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25)

I
n this entire passage, Matthew 6:25-34, we find a good
definition of worry. Worry is simply negative thinking—
negative thinking about persons, places, things or condi-
tions. Worry is never positive. If you are anxious, it shows
that your mind is distressed and apprehension of danger or
misfortune is tormenting you. Actually, worry is a form of
fear. It comes from the outside to the inside. It is not a nor-
mal, natural situation, especially for the child of God. Worry
involves foreboding about the future: What’s going to happen
tomorrow? Where am I going to get my next dress? Will I lose
my job? Worry is a lack of confidence in God’s protection and
provision. You cannot have full trust in the Lord Jesus Christ
and be worried. When you are fully trusting and confident in
the Lord, you are not anxious.

Lack of trust in a relationship creates worry, whether that

relationship is with another person or with God. If a wife
can’t trust her husband to make a good living, she will become
worried about paying the bills. If a Christian can’t trust God
to provide for him, he will become anxious about the future.
But when we know that worry is often caused by unrest within
us, we can deal with the problem. We take authority over it in
the name of Jesus Christ. We calm that fear as Jesus calmed
the wind and the waves.

When we reach a place in our lives where we

have absolute confidence in God’s all sufficiency,
we will no longer have to contend with worry!

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 August 5
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Why Is Worry Wrong?

“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sym-
pathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points
tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)

W
hy did Jesus command us not to worry? Why is worry
wrong? Worry is wrong because it does not see an
all sufficient God. Worry looks upon an exceptional
circumstance as truth rather than the established Word of
God. God has promised that He will protect and provide for
us. When we worry about circumstances, whatever they may
be, we reveal our lack of belief in God to keep His Word.

If you are anxious about something it certainly seems bad to

you, because you are in it. But if a neutral person were to look
at that same situation, he would have to say, “I don’t see why
you are so worried. It isn’t that bad.”

People have said to me, “But, Brother Sumrall, you just don’t
know the situation I’m in. You just don’t know the problem I
have.” I don’t know their situation; but I don’t have to because
God knows it. The Bible says Jesus was tempted in all areas
like we are, yet without sin. Jesus went through everything
we are going through and came out victorious. Your problems
are no greater than those of any other person, and they are not
too big for God to handle. So you should not become worried or
anxious about them. Worry will only distort the true and hon-
est situation, making it seem much worse than it actually is.

Seldom is any situation as bad as worry makes

it seem.

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 August 6
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Talk a Good Fight

“Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul
from troubles.” (Proverbs 21:23)

W
orry mounts up in our thoughts, then speaks through
our lips. Once it is spoken, it can become a reality.
When apprehensions, forebodings, doubts and fears
become audible, they become real.

When you recognize worry, first ask God to take it away from
you; be careful not to vocalize that anxiety. Instead, vocalize
faith in the Word of God. You will be amazed at what hap-
pens when the words of your mouth are positive rather than
defeated and negative. There will be a new world for you.

The word “troubles” translated in today’s Scripture verse ac-

tually means anxieties. Don’t speak your worries. Don’t be
negative. Don’t be afraid. We have to start with our thoughts.
That is where the devil begins his attack. We use the shield of
faith to quench the fiery darts of the enemy who comes against
us. (Ephesians 6:16)

Our faith must be strong in God’s Word, and in the history

of how He has taken care of others. It has always been an
inspiration and encouragement to me to know how God took
care of Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Samuel, Daniel and others.
I know that what He did for those men of old, He will do for
His people today.

If you worry about the future, you are not

trusting God.

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 August 7
____________

Where Devils Live

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the
morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you
who weakened the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12)

I
s it a historic fact that devils influence, dominate and even
inhabit nations, cities and living creatures? Yes, the Bible
establishes this. In today’s Scripture, God dramatically
reveals how Lucifer, known as the “son of the morning,” was
a fallen angel. At a time before a man dwelt on this Earth,
Lucifer was one of the greatest Angels in Heaven. But he
desired to be like the Jehovah, the Creator. His chief ambition
was to replace God in Heaven. In order to do this, he created
a rebellion against God, and God was obligated to cast him
out of Heaven. From this time, Satan set out to destroy God’s
government and order; during the history of man on earth he
has done this by weakening nations through wars, pestilence
and famine. The Bible indicates that there are cities where
devils sit at their thrones and rule. The devil’s power is
centralized in such places. In these cities Satan has greater
strength than he has elsewhere to perform his horrible deeds.

Yet you will note that God does not blame man for the downfall
of nations, but points his finger directly at Lucifer. There is
no power that can stand before the living Church. The Lord
Jesus promised that even the gates of Hell could not stop His
church.

The church must gird itself for the greatest bat-

tle in history against demon power.

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 August 8
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Resisting the Devil

“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will
flee from you.” (James 4:7)

T
he subject of demon power is not spoken of in many
religious circles these days. Some people are afraid of
them; many simply don’t believe in demons, and so the
subject just isn’t mentioned. However, I have noticed that the
less we say about demons and the less we expose them, the
more control they assume over human destiny. It is only when
we pull the drapes back and expose demon power that we can
set people free.

Early Christian leaders, like Augustine, preached more about

demon power and setting people free from the devil than most
modern preachers. He was conscious of Satan’s presence,
and he was determined to set people free. Men like Martin
Luther knew what it meant to combat the power of the devil.
In fact, all the great missionaries of history had face-to-face
confrontations with demon power on the mission field. Today,
many Christians have been taught to fear the devil. Even
some preachers are afraid of Satan. The Bible does not teach
us to fear the devil, but to resist him. Jesus Christ didn’t say
we should run from Satan. Instead, the Great Commission
says those who have faith shall cast out devils. Christians
possess authority from Jesus Christ to exorcise evil spirits.

We have no reason whatsoever to be afraid of devils.

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 August 9
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Prayer Across the Miles

“Then he spoke a parable to them, that men ought
always to pray and not lose heart.” (Luke 18:1)

W
hen I was near the borders of Tibet, I was stricken
down with Oriental Dysentery, and was bleeding
from the bowels about every five minutes. I traveled
as far as I could on a mule until I could not see ahead of me,
for the pain was so great. I finally got off, tied the mule to a
little tree and laid on the ground to die. And as I slept, I was
healed. When I awoke several hours later, all the pain and
all the sickness was gone. I went on my way rejoicing to the
village where I was to spend the night, and wrote the miracle
story in my diary.

Over a year later, after my arrival back in America, I was in

the home of a high school teacher. She asked me if I kept a
diary, and if I would read her a page from it, which I did. It
was the page which told of my healing. I looked up and she
was weeping. She showed me her diary for the same date. It
told of a great burden of prayer she felt. God had said Lester
Sumrall is dying, and she prayed for several hours until she
had the assurance I was healed.

God sent for me. I went to preach to the people,

but this dear woman held the lifeline to God for
my life.

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 August 10
____________

Success
“…the people had a mind to work.” (Nehemiah 4:6)

S
uccess does not just happen! It does not come by accident.
Every successful undertaking, whether it be political,
military, financial or religious, definitely has a formula
for its success; plans have been carefully made and executed.
Patience, wisdom and just plain hard work have been used.

One of the great men of the Bible was Nehemiah; whom we

don’t hear too much about, but he was the last of the great
reformers of his day. His biography is among the greatest
success stories in the Bible. It seemed unlikely that this man
would ever mean anything to the world, because his country
lost a war, he became a slave and was exiled from his own
land. Nehemiah was reared in the palace of Artaxerxes
amid the glamour and glory of a Persian court. Here, in a
remarkable way, he rose to be the cupbearer for an Oriental
monarch. He had come as a slave in chains of iron, but there
was something inside this man so big that he would not be
pushed down. Soon, he was the favorite servant of the king,
adorned with chains of gold.

The same steps Nehemiah took toward success can be followed

by you and me. They can make you successful in your spiritual
life. They can make you successful in your financial affairs.
They can make you successful in your business, in your family
life and in your social affairs. You can be successful in every
area of your life, and be a triumphant Christian.

God has bigger things for you to do—a greater

contribution to make.

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 August 11
____________

Deception in the Last Days

“And Jesus answered and said to them; take heed that
no one would deceive you. For many will come in my
name, saying I am the Christ, and will deceive many.”
(Matthew 24:4-5)

I
firmly believe that the last great battle on this earth will
be a battle in the realm of the spirit. The Bible says the
Antichrist will have a deadly wound miraculously healed.
And it says the false prophet, who will assist the antichrist
in his governing, will cause an image to speak, and will even
cause fire to come down from Heaven in the sight of men.

If the modern church is not willing to give the world the real
power of God, it can rest assured that the devil will rise up
and give the world a counterfeit. However, the imitation will
be without the blood of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.

A Christian cannot believe in miracles alone—he must believe

in miracles substantiated entirely by the Word of God. The
basis for accepting supernatural things must be the Bible.
There must be complete harmony between any miraculous
event and what the Bible teaches before a Christian can be
sure it is of God. The Bible says that in the last days it is
possible for even the very elect to be deceived.

In the last days many spiritual signs will take place.

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 August 12
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Going Backwards
“Ah sinful nation, a people laden with the iniquity,
a seed of evildoers; children that are corrupters:
they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the
Holy One of Israel unto anger, they have gone away
backward.” (Isaiah 1:4)

W
hen the Word of God says, “Ah sinful nation…,” I
can’t help feeling it is an accusing finger pointing di-
rectly at America. Dishonesty, immorality and vio-
lence have become so common in our nation that they are just
expected—they are the “norm.” There are actually people who
boast that they have broken all of the Ten Commandments at
least once, and lots of others Moses did not even think of. I
have traveled around the world many times, but I have seen
nothing more saddening, more alarming, or more evil than you
can find today in almost any big city in the United States. It
seems we are trying to lead the world in sinfulness as well as
everything else. The police can no longer control the criminals
who roam the streets and avenues molesting, assaulting and
even killing anyone they can stalk. Someone said you would
actually be safer to go unarmed into the jungles of Africa or
South America than to walk down the street of any of our big
cities.

The Bible Scripture for today says, “…they have gone away
backward.” Yes, the people of our nation and the world have
gone backwards. They haven’t even given God a chance in
their lives. They have rejected the Bible, spurned the Holy
Spirit and turned away from the power of God. They have
been getting worse instead of better. The spiral of progress is
downward instead of upward. We are indeed going backwards.

Can we have a better generation of youth before

we have better parents?

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 August 13
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The End of the World

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only
begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

T
he Christian church finds itself beset on many sides with
grave problems and bitter enemies. The infant church
in Jerusalem was born with a fire power to fight every
force of evil. It marched across the continents defeating pagan
Rome, destroying the idol worship of Diana of the Ephesians
and stopping the cruel human sacrifices on the Druid altars in
northern Europe. The Christian church was fearless, quickly
and gladly spilling its own blood when necessary in order
to establish the glorious Cross of Jesus Christ and to bring
eternal salvation.

The greatest danger of the present ecumenical movement is

that it will ultimately embrace all religions, and accept them
as part of its fellowship. The Bible distinctly says, “Come ye
out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and I
will receive you.” (2 Corinthians 6:17)

The whole church of the Lord Jesus Christ must become

aroused. The vision to spread the Gospel to every corner of the
earth must be carried out. The Scripture verse today is the
golden text of Christianity. This positively excludes any other
religion from being right or having any means of salvation for
immortal souls.

The great sorrows of this world are upon us,

because men have rejected the only One who
can bring peace to their troubled hearts.

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 August 14
____________

Christ Is the Answer

“So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the West,
and his glory from the rising of the sun; when the
enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord will
lift up a standard against him.” (Isaiah 59:19)

G
od has shown me that America is entering a great crisis.
The weakness of our government to resolve the great
issues of our time has tremendously lessened our world
prestige. Our national stability has been weakened by the
open defiance of law and order by multitudes of Americans.
The amazing growth of crime and immorality is breaking
down our strength, and our country’s irreligion has terribly
weakened the power of the church.

I maintain, with the total recorded history substantiating my

assertion, that Christ is the answer to the problems and needs
of this world. The Bible says, “When the enemy comes in like
a flood, the spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against
him!”

Today, the devil is coming in like a flood. It is time for every

one of us to raise the standard of the cross of Christ against
him.

We shall overcome… by prayer!

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 August 15
____________

Leona Sumrall Murphy’s

Miracle Healing
“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders
of the church and let them pray over him, anointing
him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer
of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him
up.” (James 5:14-15)

I
n the prime of life, muscular dystrophy struck her down. It
seemed every muscle and nerve was under attack; muscles
now twitching and jerking, then becoming weak and
useless. Nine doctors tried to heal her, but were no help. Soon
she was unable to dress herself, comb her hair, feed herself
and soon lost her sense of balance falling down often. Finally,
weighing only eighty-seven pounds, the doctors gave her only
five months to live. Although she was a Full Gospel minister,
she was unable to find deliverance. Her faith waned, and she
grew discouraged and despondent.

Then one day some friends insisted that she go to a revival

meeting with them. When the prayer service began, a voice
seemed to tell her to request prayer for encouragement. With
great difficulty she went forward. The evangelist prayed for
her, and said, “Lift your hands, sister.” This was difficult, for
her arms were weak and limp, but the voice inside seemed to
say, “Lift your hands toward me, child, so I can take hold of
you.” In a split second, her forearm shot upward! She was
completely healed, and a few days later began preaching again.

“Give My people testimonies of deliverance so

they may be assured of my power!”

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 August 16
____________

Guard Your Heart Against Pride

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone
who is among you, not to think of himself more highly
than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has
dealt to each one a measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3)

T
he magnitude of pride’s ability to destroy is unfathomable.
Look at Lucifer. He was not only an archangel, but the
anointed cherub that covered the throne of God. God
called him the Son of the Morning, the “light bearer.” God
said that he was perfect in beauty and full of wisdom, but he
decided to put himself above the throne of God. This attitude
caused an insurrection in Heaven, and Satan was cast out
along with one third of the angels.

Pride is one of the chief enemies of the destiny of all mankind.

When you conceive in your mind that you do not need God for
life’s decisions, and you think you should have more respect
from others and be exalted above others, you have lost that
vital quality of humility that is born of the Spirit of God.

Never form your opinion of yourself based on what any person

says. It doesn’t matter what people think and say. People’s
opinions will change with the wind. The important thing is
what God says about you. Always go by the Word of God and
the Spirit of God speaking to your heart. People will flatter
and lie, but God will always tell you the truth.

Other people’s heads are not the place for your

happiness!

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 August 17
____________

Prayer Is Power
“He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, and shall
not despise their prayer.” (Psalm 102:17)

I
am convinced there is no power known to man more powerful
than the prayers of people with faith in God. Prayer is the
lifeline to the desperate soul. I believe prayer can protect
a man from incredible danger, and avert the course of certain
catastrophe. I have seen prayer melt the hearts of hardened
sinners, and cause them to weep tears of repentance. Prayer
has brought comfort to sorrow stricken souls; offering solace
for inconsolable grief.

Many times I have seen prayer follow an erring and wandering

child, and lead him home again although sometimes the path
was long and through dangerous territory. Time and again
I have even witnessed God’s limitless hand of provision
supplying needs from totally unexpected sources.

Prayer has bridged the gulf of resentment and misunderstand-

ing separating marriage partners, and prayer has saved their
home. And countless volumes could be filled with testimonies
to the healing power of God that came through prayer and
believing faith.

Prayer is our most powerful strength, our great-

est hope and our strongest security.

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 August 18
____________

The Downfall
of the Double-Minded
“I hate the double-minded, but I love Your law.”
(Psalm 119:113)

W
hen we make our commitment of the will to Godly
obedience, it needs to be complete and without reser-
vation. To be double-minded about it, to want to be
free and hang on to sin at the same time is a prescription for
failure and frustration.

The Bible is full of warnings against double-mindedness.

Back in 1 Kings 18:21, the prophet Elijah had to challenge
the Israelites saying, “How long will you falter between two
opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal [a false
god], follow him.” (NKJV)

The Apostle James warned, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners;

and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8) In
other words, wanting our sin and a close relationship with the
Lord is a detestable attitude. Jesus Himself told us, “No one
can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love
the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the
other.” (Matthew 6:24) Clearly, it’s futile and dangerous to be
double-minded about our commitment to the Lord. Thinking
we can have it both ways is a lie straight from Hell!

What makes resisting temptation difficult for

many people is they don’t want to discourage it
completely.

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 August 19
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The Death of the Dentist

“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27)

S
everal years ago while ministering in Arkansas, I met
a local dentist who came to hear me speak. During one
service, the Holy Spirit touched his heart, and caused
him to be under great conviction for his sins. I said, “Dr., you
should give your heart to Jesus. Today is the day of salvation,
and we have no promise of tomorrow.”

The dentist responded, “Preacher, if you will give me until

next Sunday night, I will give my heart to Jesus. I have some-
thing to do.”

During the next week the dentist traveled to a nearby town,

and drank too much alcohol before starting back home. Com-
ing around a sharp curve in the Ozarks, the doctor lost con-
trol of his car and struck a tree with great force. When the
police arrived his life was ebbing away. Word came to me,
from one of the people who was at his side, that his last words
were, “Tell the preacher I would have been saved next Sunday
night!”

This young doctor thought he had many Sunday nights before

him to make decisions. He did not realize that his days would
be cut short—that he would never see another Sunday night.
God’s Word tells us there is an appointment to make. Some
make it early, some make it late, but we all make it. Are we
ready for this appointment to meet God?

No one knows what tomorrow may bring.

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 August 20
____________

Human Emotion
“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness
and confidence shall be your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15)

I
n the world we live in today there are more emotionally
upset people than history has ever known before. Increas-
ing numbers of people are becoming emotionally disturbed,
and there seem to be fewer places where they can find help.
Our large church institutions have not been able to control the
emotional upsets of our time. Our medical doctors, with their
tremendous knowledge and advanced methods of therapy,
have been unable to bring release to the tensions, confusions
and frustrations of the people of our world.

Our emotions represent the basic urges of our personality,

and they have a tremendous effect upon our spirit and our
body. William James defined emotion as a, “State of mind that
manifests itself by sensible changes in the body.” This “state
of mind” can be either positive or negative. Positive emotions
bring health and well-being to the body; while negative emo-
tions lead to sickness and death. I believe the Bible supports
this.

Unless the masses of people come back to Jesus Christ, the

world will never be emotionally normal. The Lord teaches us
that we must return to a place of spiritual and mental rest if
we are to be saved from the emotional discord.

“Let not your heart be troubled… My peace I give

unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto
you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let
it be afraid.” (John 14:1, 27)

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 August 21
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America—A Neurotic Nation

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine…”
(Proverbs 17:22)

A
merica is taking tranquilizers by the basket full. Amer-
ica cannot sleep. America cannot rest. America cannot
relax. America’s people are becoming neurotic, and there
are many reasons for this.

One of the reasons is a guilty conscience. Guilty consciousness

has driven millions into insane asylums over the years. People
can hide terrible sins from the law, from their family or friends,
but they cannot hide their sins from God; they cannot hide it
from their own conscience. They are constantly reminded of
their sin. They live in a state of constant condemnation.

Another reason why America’s people are becoming neurotic

is anger. It causes blood cells to greatly increase making a
blood clot a possibility. It causes the heart rate to go higher.
Anger tenses the muscles, and causes the coronary arteries to
squeeze down. Anyone who permits anger to control him is
opening the door to possession by the devil.

A third reason for a neurotic nation is hatred. I have been mis-

treated and deceived by many people; some people for whom I
have done great favors have done bad things to me in return.
But none of this has marked my inner being with hatred. Ha-
tred can wreck a life. Hatred is of the devil. To allow yourself
to hate is to prepare for frustrated nerves and an early grave.

The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all

sin, and makes us emotionally clean.

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 August 22
____________

Anxiety—Discouragement—Sadness
“Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and
he shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:5)

A
nxiety can shorten your life and make you miserable un-
til death comes. People stay worried and upset about
their job, their car, their house or their children. They
worry about war and the future; there are millions who are
worried and anxious about things they cannot even define.
They just feel an oppressing sense of uneasiness and dread.
Anxiety can steal your faith in God, and bring on ulcers or a
heart attack. Anxiety is of the devil. When we find our minds
cluttered and disorderly, we know we are outside of God’s Will.

Discouragement is just as bad as anxiety. It can even make

you sick. You can become discouraged about your work, your
home, your family, your future and start feeling bad right
away. The longer you are discouraged, the more tired you be-
come and the worse you feel. Often our discouragements are
completely unreasonable. Discouragement strikes because we
let things and conditions upset us. We let ourselves be pushed
around by every evil wind that blows. Christians should con-
trol conditions—not the other way around. God does not in-
tend for us to grow discouraged because of conditions.

Grief, sorrow and sadness can ruin your personality and life.
All of us have sorrows and sadness when we lose loved ones.
All of us have catastrophes. All human beings go down the
same road. Anytime we begin to feel that no one has as much
sadness as we do, the devil has us just where he wants us.

We should be thermostats, changing the cli-

mate; not thermometers, only registering the
temperature.

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 August 23
____________

Three Steps to a Happy Life

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his
law doth he meditate day and night.” (Psalm 1:2)

G
od wants you to have a normal body, a happy soul and a
content mind. He wants you to have peace. One cannot
have a troubled mind and heart, and be healthy. We
need God’s peace which is created by God’s righteousness.
Find a place of peace in God. Breathe deeply, and let the spirit
of the Lord come upon you. Relax and feel heavenly calmness
spread over your body, soul, mind and in your spirit. It is a
wonderful feeling to be at peace with God, at peace with your
fellow man, and at peace with your own inner soul and spirit.

Another step to a happy life is faith. A man who understands

his divine relationship with God, and the leaders in the all-
sufficient power of God, is not likely to become upset when
problems or opposition comes. He knows that all things are
possible with God. Such a man delights in turning immense
mountains into God’s molehills! Faith is a walking victory;
faith is a life in Christ.

Hope is another step to a happy life. It is a great thing, a

wonderful attitude. Don’t you enjoy being around a person
who is always anticipating something delightful, delicious
and glorious? Hope is an exhilarating and zestful emotion. It
drives away the blues in the doldrums, prevents boredom and
disappointment, and gives one vision beyond today.

Live in the Word of God—it is the sword of the Spirit!

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 August 24
____________

Three More Steps to a Happy Life

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer
and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests
be made known to God; and the peace of God, which
surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

J
oy is a wonderful step to a happy life, and it is some-
thing you can actually create with your own mind and
soul. How do you create joy? First, you determine in
your heart to radiate happiness, and to every person you meet
you strive to give some of that happiness. As you share that
joy, you begin to feel the joy of the Lord coursing through you
and lifting your spirit. The power of God changes you inside
and makes you happy.

Because of the kind of world we live in, one of the most vital
positive steps to happiness is courage. This is no world for
weaklings or cowards. The weak get trampled underfoot if they
hesitate for a moment, and so we need courage to be strong,
healthy people. The Lord did not promise that living for Him
would be easy. There are hard places in all of our lives, but
they should simply develop our strength, not defeat us.

Forgiveness is a great positive force for a healthy and normal

life. When we refuse to forgive others who have wronged us,
the resentment and bitterness that wells up within us poisons
our whole being and body. And when we have wronged others,
we must seek forgiveness from them. Most of all, we must be
sure all our sins have been forgiven by the Lord Jesus Christ,
to be remembered against us no more.

Be secure in the knowledge that God is in every

tomorrow.

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 August 25
____________

The Body: Temple of God

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the
Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God,
and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19)

T
he Bible tells us that the body of man is the temple of
the Holy Spirit. This means that, just as the Spirit of
God dwelt in the massive and magnificent Temple of
stone built by Solomon in Old Testament days, so God wishes
to dwell within the body of man in this dispensation. It is our
corporate body in which God wishes to live—in man’s feeling,
seeing, hearing and tasting. And since God cannot dwell in
an unclean temple, we must strive to keep our bodies pure,
clean and fit places for divinity to dwell. The New Testament
is filled with instruction pertaining to the body.

The great apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:15: “Know

you not that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then
take the members of Christ, and make them the members of a
harlot? God forbid.”

The apostle James spoke of having a bridle for the whole body
(James 3:2). Just as we put a bit in a horse’s mouth to guide
him, he said, we should bridle our bodies to make them serve
God, and not wander into sin.

Romans 6:13 warrants: “Neither yield ye your members as

instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves
unto God…” It is an indisputable fact that the thing we yield
to and become servants of is our master.

I believe there is no limit to what could happen

in our world today if Christians dedicated their
complete beings to the service of God.

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 August 26
____________

The Devil’s Tools

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this
rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades
shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)

I
n modern America, there are four leading killers that the
devil is using to destroy and hurt mankind, God’s great-
est creations. There are four grave health problems in the
United States—alcoholism, heart disease, cancer and mental
illness.

These are the devil’s most deadly weapons in our land. How-
ever, our message heralds the joyful news that God can defeat
the devil’s big four. Jesus assured us in Matthew 16 that even
the gates of Hades cannot prevail against His living church. If
these four great killers represent the very gates of Hell, then
we, as the living Church of Christ, must go against them in a
battle array and believe God to destroy them.

Alcoholism causes more sin, suffering, heartbreak, trouble, de-

struction and death than anything else one can name. There
is nothing good to be said about alcohol. It possesses no re-
deeming factors. There is absolutely no sensible defense for
this wrecker of human lives and homes. Alcohol slowly pos-
sesses a person until he is under its control; then ravishes him
like an angry lion. Not only does abusing alcohol destroy the
person’s life, but it wipes out his modesty and self-control;
even his self-respect. Once a person is in its grasp, alcoholism
controls them with an iron hand until they die.

God can destroy the devil’s big four.

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 August 27
____________

What Are Demons?

“And he said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning
from heaven.” (Luke 10:18)

D
emons are spirits which act in unceasing rebellion
against God. They are the angelic hosts who were al-
lied with Lucifer in his insurrection against God. This
archangel was the one who covered or shielded the throne of
God, and the glory of God flowed through him to the others. It
was said Lucifer was the only one perfect in beauty and wis-
dom. (Ezekiel 28:12-19)

But Isaiah 14:12-17 speaks of how he boasted that he would

ascend above the stars, and be like the Most High. Because
of this rebellion, he was cast out of Heaven, as were all the
spirits that surrounded him. From that time on, Lucifer, or
Satan, and his demonic angels constantly have been warring
against God.

The devil and his angels do have power; the Bible establishes
this fact in numerous references. Remember that God is a spir-
it, the angels are spirits and even humans are spirits within
a corporal body. With this in mind, it is easier to comprehend
that the demons we speak of are evil spirits. Satan can hurt a
person through fear and doubt. Therefore, one should actively
resist all fears and doubts by the blood of Jesus Christ. In this
way, Satan has no chance to get hold of a person.

The Bible says, “Submit yourselves therefore to

God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
(James 4:7)

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 August 28
____________

Jerusalem—Miracle City
“ …for I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of
Israel, saith the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 39:29)

J
erusalem is the miracle city of the Earth. Every foot of
its ground is vibrant with historical significance. On the
land one may observe timeless landmarks and sacred
memorials. In the decisive moments of human history, Jeru-
salem’s voices have always been heard. This means that the
city is not simply ancient stone and story—it has real life and
vigor. The city has a soul. It has a personality.

Jerusalem carries the honor of being the world’s most hated

city. There have been more wars at her gates than any
other city in the world. No spot on this globe has known the
heartaches, the tears and the bloodshed of Jerusalem. The
“City of Peace” has been besieged by tyrants; it has been
inflamed by riots within; it has known treachery and intrigue;
its walls and streets have been splashed with blood generation
after generation.

While it is hated, Jerusalem is also loved more than any other

city on the face of the Earth. Tens of thousands of returning
pilgrims had kissed the Earth as they beheld her, glistening
like a jewel in the sun. Jerusalem is precious to God and man.
It’s the emblem of spiritual beauty. No city in history has so
perpetually stirred the heart of mankind as has Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is yet to be the theater for the drama

of the coming Jewish Messiah, and the royal
capital of the King of Kings.

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 August 29
____________

Sour Grapes
“The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s
teeth are set on edge.” (Ezekiel 18:2)

P
ossibly never before in history has there been such a
chasm between the adult population of the world and
the youth. It may well be that there has never been such
a difference between maturity and youth, which are separated
by thinking and living patterns with broad and deep diver-
sities. The resulting clashes between the older and younger
generations have created problems the world has never had
to face before. When one tries to understand the situation, he
feels sympathetic for both the parents and the young people.
One has to ask himself, “What happened to cause this awful
gulf between them?”

The answer may be from the Word of God as in our verse of

Scripture today. One is not supposed to eat sour grapes; they
cause a terrible reaction. I am convinced this is the only way
we can understand and explain the situation that exists in the
world we live in today. First of all, it is important to realize
that the world is a great problem for today’s youth. The more
they study politics and world affairs, business, society and re-
ligion, the more confused and unhappy they become. Tradi-
tionally, young people have been taught certain ideals, such
as honesty, integrity and fair play. However, when they look
at our political world, they see the exact opposite of what they
have been taught.

Today’s young generation was born in war, and has known

no real peace during their entire lifetime. It’s a source of con-
fusion to hear more mature people extol the virtues of peace
than to examine the record of history. After all the bloodshed
the world has known, why haven’t adults learned the lesson?

Is it any wonder that the, “Children’s teeth are set

on edge”?
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 August 30
____________

Deceiving Spirits
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some
will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving
spirits and doctrines of demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1)

T
oday the civilized world is facing a revival of the satanic
cult of hypnotism and all other cultic practices. They
are continuously promoted by television and the popular
press with bizarre ads appearing frequently in a variety of
occult-slanted advertising to raise the goose pimples of the
dabblers in the unknown.

It ought to shock us to realize that our generation is spending

millions of dollars seeking thrills and “truth” from soothsayers,
fortune tellers, crystal ball gazers, clairvoyance, hypnotists
and mediums. In our social life we are spending millions
of dollars for anything that promises to tell us the future.
America is on the brink of the pit of disaster into which the
nation Israel fell when King Saul consulted a witch for advice.
When man refuses to hear or obey the voice of God, inevitably,
he is forced to seek some other voice to guide him. That other
voice is the voice of the devil!

Your mind must not be clouded by fear and phobia. It must

not be confused by conflicting ideas. It must not be yielded up
to strange, psychic powers. At all costs, your mind must not be
destroyed, because it is the seat of your will; the place where
you must make all the proper decisions about how you should
live, and prepare yourself to meet with God at the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ.

I urge you never to have your fortune told, never

consult an astrologer about your future, never
offer your mind to anyone who wishes to hyp-
notize you, never attend a meeting of oriental
cults, but keep yourself pure and clean before
God.
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 August 31
____________

Ecstasy
“Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat;
while they made ready, he fell into a trance (ecstasy).”
(Acts 10:10)

E
cstasy is defined as the state of being in a trance, espe-
cially a mystic or prophetic trance.

While in Algiers, Africa, recently I stayed in an old historical

French hotel. The beautiful and large room was conducive
to relaxation. However, when I went to bed, I just could not
sleep. The Lord began to speak to me, and gave to me the
word “ecstasy.” It kept going over and over again through my
spirit. God said, “America needs ecstasy… Now! It is seeking
for it in the wrong place.”

I began to think of how the human being seeks ecstasy through

drugs, alcohol, sex, the occult and entertainment. The devil
has offered devastating counterfeits, but these do not bring
ecstasy to the human life. The unregenerate nature grips
the human mind causing it to seek excitement and ECTASY
anywhere.

Jesus Christ can release that sinful mind. He can bring true
ecstasy through praise, prayer and worship. Christ’s in-filling
of power and anointing are glorious ecstatic experiences. God
impressed upon me to teach our people how to rise above the
world of sorrow and sadness, and to receive a fullness of joy
and happiness—HIS ECTASY!

Ecstasy is a place in God of divine fulfillment and

flowing waters of triumphant victory!

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 September 1
____________

America’s Shame
“For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I
was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a
stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes
and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison
and you did not look after me.” (Matthew 25:42-43)

W
e sing, “America, America.” We speak of this nation
as the home of the free and land of the brave. Yes,
but it is also the home of the hungry and of those in
desperate need. It is the home of those without hope; home of
those living in despair, frustration and fear. The sprawling
urban centers of our land have devolved, degenerated and died
morally and spiritually. All hell has broken loose in America’s
cities. Our great and affluent nation, because of transgression
of God’s laws, has created these “pits of hell.” The greatest
tragedy, besides the disease, the ravages of drugs and alcohol
and festering hatred, is the hundreds of thousands of little
children in these asphalt jungles.

These are immortal souls. This is reality. At birth these little

people have beautiful, innocent faces. But all too soon they ex-
perience hunger, sickness, and the effects of the culture with
gangs, sex and violence. Think of how the Father’s heart must
grieve over these precious children. Hunger in a nation con-
sidered Christian and as wealthy as ours is inexcusable. If
we believe the Bible, we must conclude that God wants us to
share from our abundance.

The plight of the homeless and hungry is a na-

tional disgrace.

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 September 2
____________

Financial Dominion
“‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the
Lord of Hosts.” (Haggai 2:8)

G
od wants His people to have the attitude of Adam to-
ward this world. He made everything for Adam, and
gave him the position of dominion over His creation.
God created the wealth of the world—the silver and the gold
are His.

Abram followed God, and became Abraham, the blessed. The

Bible says, “Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in
gold,” (Genesis 13:2). Abraham was a prosperous business-
man who did not allow his wealth to dominate him. Abra-
ham refused to allow his riches to create strife in his family,
or become a source of greed in his life. When the land could
not support the herds of both Abraham and his nephew Lot,
“…because their substance was great,” Abraham gave Lot first
choice of grazing land. He said, “Let their be no strife.” (Gen-
esis 13:5-9) Abraham was not selfish!

Abraham knew God was the source of his riches, and he paid
tithes of everything he owned. The New Testament declares
that we who live by faith in Jesus Christ are the children of
Abraham. (See Galatians 3:9, 13-14, 29) Part of that blessing
includes financial prosperity and dominion.

The devil seeks to dominate man’s relationship to the earth in

the area of finances and earthly possessions. But God wants
His sons to prosper, and to have abundance for the work of the
Kingdom.

God’s people should dominate their finances—

not be dominated by them.

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 September 3
____________

Blinded Minds
“But their minds were blinded…” (2 Corinthians 3:14)

T
he Bible describes different kinds of fallen minds. There
are mindsets that have been blinded. Even the univer-
sity professors, high school teachers, psychiatrists and
scientists can have a blinded mind. They may be powerfully
alert mentally in relation to the material and temporal things
around them, but when you talk to them about spiritual reali-
ties there is no response. Many also walk in the vanity of their
minds. A vain mind is an empty mind. There were never so
many empty heads in the world as there are today. Television
and radio are doing very little to fill the minds of people with
anything worthwhile. Actually, they are creating a wasteland
of junk and a lot of foolishness, silliness, and sick humor. They
are contributing little that is valuable. That is why our world
is full of empty headed people.

You ask, “How can this happen?” Through regeneration

we can have the mind of Christ. At the cross the devil was
completely defeated, and it is there that you and I receive our
freedom of mind. As a Christian we can enter into transaction
with God for the saving of our souls, the healing of our bodies
and also the healing of our minds. But we have to protect our
minds from the devil, or he will take our renewed minds from
us; they will again become seed beds of hatred and lust. Our
minds must be purified by the blood of Jesus, and constantly
brought under subjugation to Him. These old minds that
belonged to the Adamic nature will be renewed by the Spirit of
God, and we will no longer think as we used to think.

The state of the mind is the prominent indication

of a person’s life; you cannot think one way and
live another.

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 September 4
____________

Divine Authority
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness, let them have dominion over
the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over
the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping
thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)

A
uthority is an imperative! All civilization has its basis of
authority. When authority is broken, organized society
crumbles. Every government, every business and every
home has a basis of authority; when it is lost, it disintegrates.

There is a basis of divine authority in human affairs and in your

personal life. In the beginning, man was created with authority.
Man was created to understand authority; to function with
authority. This is revealed in Matthew 8:5-10. The Roman
officer said his servant was grievously tormented with palsy.
Christ healed that servant with a spoken word of authority.

Just because you go to a certain church does not guarantee

the approval of God upon your life. The approval of God has
to do with living, vital faith within you. Man was created with
this divine authority. Man lost his authority by transgression
becoming a slave to the devil and a slave to his own flesh.
The born-again person becomes reinstated into a place of
divine authority. You may think it’s only a select few who
have such authority, but there are millions who should have
divine authority; however, they do nothing about it. If you
don’t speak with authority, it won’t work.

Jesus wants you, His disciple, to speak with au-

thority now!

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 September 5
____________

The Judgment Seat

“According to the grace of God which is given unto me,
as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation,
and another builds thereon. But let each one take
heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation
can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus
Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each
one’s work will become clear; for the day will declare
it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will
test each one’s work, of what sort it is, if anyone’s work
which he has built on it endures, he will receive a re-
ward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss;
but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
(1 Corinthians 3:10-15)

E
very man’s work shall be made manifest. That’s what
the judgment seat of Christ is for. Whatever we’ve done
in pride and whatever we have done in self-aggran-
dizement to build ourselves up, that, the Bible says, will be
burned. It will be the wood, hay and straw. The fire shall try
every man’s work to reveal what sort it is. Whatever I do, I
must do it because I love you. I must do it because I care. I
must do it because Jesus commanded. And if I don’t have the
right motive in doing it, the Bible says that will be wood, hay
and straw, and it will be burned. It could be the same with the
giving of your tithes. If you don’t give it in the right way, that
is burned. You see, if you’re witnessing with the wrong spirit,
it’s burned. Everything that is not done the way God wants it
to be done is wood, hay and straw.

The judgment seat does not have to do with your

eternal destiny; it has to do with your eternal
rewards.

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 September 6
____________

Balancing the
Message and the Manner
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.
Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”
(Matthew 10:16)

C
hristians were first called “Christians” in Antioch. It
was a title given to them by unbelievers. Even the lost
could recognize in Christians a quality that set them
apart from others. They were like Christ. If we are ever to
reach this generation for Jesus Christ, we must recognize from
the beginning that the task rests on two important elements:
our message and our manner.

The message alone is not enough. If we present the message of

salvation to others while displaying with our lives an attitude
of defeat, sorrow, bitterness, hatred, jealousy and hypocrisy,
it is not likely that our message will be warmly received.
When the message we present and our manner of life are not
consistent, we cannot expect the message to be taken seriously.

On the other hand, the manner of life alone is not enough. If

we lead a life of love, joy, peace and contentment, but refuse
to share the source of these virtues with others, we will fail in
our mission. Successful evangelism, successful completion of
the Great Commission, demands a proper balance between the
message of the Gospel and the manner of life of the believer.

Sometimes our actions speak so loudly that nobody

can hear what we say.

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 September 7
____________

Where Is the Church?

“If my people who are called by My name will humble
themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from
their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will
forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

F
or the past two thousand years the church has been a
power and a force in leading the world, but the church
has lost this preeminence. The men of the cloth have
not produced a strong image in the world; they have not stood
in the forefront to lead men to God. They stand confused
before the world, and many of them hurt the cause of Christ
immeasurably through their unbelief. The early church stalked
through the world planting its standard of Calvary above every
philosophy, every political system and every family tradition,
establishing the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. It changed
societies, nations and empires by its mighty power. It did this
through the living faith of the Lord Jesus Christ through the
great unction and anointing of the Holy Spirit which came
upon the believers as it did on the day of Pentecost. These
were dedicated men and women who knew what they believed
and stood for it. They practiced the Word of God. It was a life
to them, more precious than ranch houses, more precious than
gold in the bank and more precious than modern inventions.
The church was the life force of the entire community.

America is sick. There is one way of survival. There is one

way of hope and help, and that is to call upon God, to humble
ourselves and pray.

I call upon America to bow its head in sincere

repentance of its sin, and to let our children lead
us back to God.

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 September 8
____________

Be Watching
“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who
watches, and keeps his garments; lest he walk naked
and they see his shame.” (Revelation 16:15)

T
he nations of the world are engaged in vast power strug-
gles. There are two ways to look at the world that we live
in today, and one of them is this: understand present con-
ditions by prophecy; therefore, you don’t get discouraged. When
we realize that these are the last days, that Jesus is coming soon
and that our chief aim is to win souls, it gives meaning to life.

If a boat was sinking at sea and there were fifteen hundred

passengers on it, there might be a lot of things you could do.
You could ask them if they had an insurance policy, you could
ask them if their house was paid for and many other things
that you could talk to them about, but there would be only one
thing of importance; how to get them out of that water!

We are living in a moment now when the world is sinking.

There are a lot of things that you could do, and when I see
some of you who get too involved in social things, it hurts me
inside. This social world is going to be swept out of existence.
Everything that belongs to this world is going to be swept out
of the way. Only the immortal souls we win for Jesus are
going to live for eternity. That’s the reason we must run fast
and we must work hard, for the hour will come when no man
can work.

The only bright side of life is the up-look, looking

for Jesus to come back again!

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 September 9
____________

The World’s Greatest Family Feud

“Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bond-
woman, because he is your seed.” (Genesis 21:13)

T
he top news stories on television, radio, newspapers and
magazines tell of the titanic struggle between the Arab
nations and Israel. In an ever increasing crescendo, the
near East seems to be heading for a world conflict and Ar-
mageddon. What most people do not realize is that this is
the world’s greatest family feud, and that the problem is four
thousand years old. It is the battle between the Star of David
and the Crescent of Mohammed. The most dramatic family
story in history is the story of Abraham, his two wives, Sarah
and Hagar and finally his two sons. His sons, Isaac and Ish-
mael, initiated the world’s longest and deadliest family feud.

This family struggle began in the tents of Abraham. God had

promised Abraham and Sarah that He would give them a son
who would bless the entire world. Abraham, a man known
for his faith, faltered at God’s promise, and took an Egyptian
servant girl named Hagar as a concubine. With Sarah’s
consent, permission and suggestion, Abraham had a son born
of Hagar who he named Ishmael. If Sarah and Abraham had
believed the word God spoke to them concerning an heir, there
would not be this bloody story of the fighting brothers who
are destroying each other this very moment. Sheer unbelief
caused a slave girl, who was an alien and a heathen, to become
the mother of Ishmael and wife of Abraham. It is truly
amazing that a wrong committed thousands of years ago has
such violent repercussions today!

The Arabs and Israelis have one father, it was

the mother who made the world of difference!

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 September 10
____________

The Temples
“When the Lord shall build up Zion, He shall appear
in His glory.” (Psalm 102:16)

E
very time the Jews have returned to Jerusalem after
dispersion, some great event takes place. The Jews first
took Jerusalem after returning from four hundred years
in Egypt. David was made King and Solomon, and his son built
the first temple. Hundreds of years later, after they went into
Babylonian exile and finally returned, the second temple was
built. This second temple was the one Jesus Christ ministered
in, and went from to Calvary to shed His blood and save the
whole world.

Soon after the crucifixion, the Jews were dispersed throughout

the world for almost two thousand years. Now, at the end
of the Gentile dispensation, they have returned to Jerusalem.
They will surely build another Temple to welcome the King,
their Messiah.

Christians know that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon.

The entire world knows that Zion is being built up. Propheti-
cal students expect Jesus Christ to appear in glory! As the Se-
mitic brothers clash on the holy mountains of Israel, let every
person who wishes to be ready, “When the trumpet of God shall
sound and the dead in Christ shall rise, and we that remain
and are ready, shall go to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessa-
lonians 4:16- 17), prepare for that greatest event.

Until then, pray for the peace of Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:6)

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 September 11
____________

The World’s Only Empty Tomb

“Because He has appointed a day on which He will
judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He
has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by
raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31)

T
ombs are exciting! They tell the story of civilizations.
For many years, in many parts of the world, I have been
interested in the tombs of conquerors, monarchs and
men who made history. I have visited the tombs of the pha-
raohs in Egypt. I saw the tomb of King Tut up the Nile River.
One of the most exciting tombs in the world to see is that of
Lenin in Moscow. The Red Granite Mausoleum is one of the
most venerated spots on the face of the earth. Another most
remarkable tomb is that of Napoleon. His tomb is still a tour-
ist attraction in Paris. Also, one of the most interesting places
in the world to visit is Westminster Abbey where the Kings of
England are buried. For Americans it is a historic journey to
go to Mount Vernon, and see where the first American presi-
dent, George Washington, is buried. It also recalls turbulent
history to visit the tomb of Abraham Lincoln, the great eman-
cipator, in Springfield, Illinois. Finally, one of the most senti-
mental tombs in the world is that of the “unknown soldier” at
Arlington, Virginia.

However, the tomb of tombs is the one in the garden beside the
mount called Calvary. It is known throughout the world as
the Empty Tomb. At the Garden Tomb, on the western side of
Mount Calvary, I have walked inside, and witnessed the spot
where the Lord Jesus lay. This tomb is forever empty! The
Son of God could not be held by the tomb!

Christ’s tomb was borrowed—He did not need it

very long!

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 September 12
____________

He Chose the Cross

“And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.
And the inscription of His accusation was written
above, THE KING OF THE JEWS. And with Him
they crucified two thieves; one on His right and the
other on His left… The chief priests mocking said
among themselves with the scribes, He saved others;
Himself He cannot save.” (Mark 15:25-31)

T
his is the ugliest scene in human history. The only Person
who was absolute and complete love was experiencing
total hate from demon inspired humanity: the mockery
of the superscription over Him that they were now crucifying
a king; the audacity of placing Him between two murderous
thieves who were quite worthy of the judgment meted out to
them; the uncounted, unnamed, ribald masses who passed by
screaming at Him, shaking their fists crying out to Him to
save Himself and come off the cross.

This was the greatest challenge ever thrown into the face of
Jesus. If there was ever a time He wanted to be not completely
God, it was this moment. He had already told His disciples
that He could command twelve legions of angels to wipe the
Roman Empire from the face of the earth and to smother
the last vestige of the Jewish nation, but here is the very
uniqueness of Christianity which separates it from the total
world. If Christ had saved Himself, He could not have saved
the world. This was the choice He had to make. It was in
losing Himself that He found the world. It was in Himself
dying that others lived; He could not have both. The choice
was: others must live, but I must die. Others must be healed,
but I must suffer. This was the supreme price that He paid to
save the world.

Have you chosen the cross of Christ?

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 September 13
____________

The True Church

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus
Christ His son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

T
here are many churches in most of our cities. There are
also many grocery stores, gas stations, banks and oth-
er places of business. You generally will use the one
which seems to meet your personal needs. In the same way,
the church, where you choose to worship, should be the place
with the greatest amount of spirituality with God’s anointing
and blessing to assist you with your problems. But when it
comes to your salvation, remember that has no relationship to
the church to which you belong. We are saved by confessing
our sins and believing upon the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 John
1:9) Your church is like your dining room table; at your dining
room table you eat, and thereby sustain your strength. With
your church you go there for spiritual food and fellowship to
retain and sustain your spiritual health. However, we are
born again into the family of Christ and into the true, living,
victorious, triumphant church by the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Therefore, the true church is not found on any certain
corner of your city. The true church is found in your heart.

God is looking for people who believe His Word.

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 September 14
____________

The Judgment of God

“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27)

I
realize that every one of us seeks hope, especially for our
loved ones when they die. No human can escape the judg-
ment of God. God, being the judge, He is honest and just,
and will give every man as much as He possibly can; He is a
God of love. No person knows what is inside another human
being. The thief on the cross from the depths of his soul cried
out, “Remember me…” Jesus responded to his faith and said,
“Today thou shalt be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43) This
means in the very hour that this man would have gone to Hell,
he by the mercy of God, went to Heaven. It is eternally danger-
ous for any person to rely on this kind of hope to get to Heaven.
The great men of God in the Bible were those who sought God
early, and loved Him for many years. Joseph dreamed his
spiritual dreams at seventeen. David was anointed to be the
king of Israel at seventeen years of age. Samuel, as a small
child, began his spiritual ministry in the temple. Anybody’s
chance of making it safely to Heaven is greatly diminished
as he gets older by chance of experiencing some kind of unex-
pected accident. It is better to serve God all the days of your
life, and to know that you will dwell with Him forever.

Your schedule and God’s schedule may not be

the same.

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 September 15
____________

Spiritual Love for Practical Martha

“But Martha was distracted with much serving…”
(Luke 10:40)

O
ur Lord loves all people, some He loves in a special way.
There is a response in their nature to His love, for they
are spiritually deeper in their experiences of grace or
have a fuller comprehension of His teaching.

He loves Martha, the practical woman, whose love for another

was always found in a practical expression. Her home was
different from so many other homes. It would be spotlessly
clean, open to those who had spiritual needs and doubtless
physical needs as well. She was grateful to the Lord for making
her home His home whenever He was near enough. In spite of
her respect for the Lord, she had been greatly perplexed on one
occasion. When her brother Lazarus fell sick, Christ did not
come immediately. She had sent word to Him in time for Him
to come and heal her sick brother, but for some bewildering
reason He had not responded until Lazarus had died.

At the graveside, this practical soul stumbled a little at the

thought of the removal of the stone sealing the sepulcher.
Lazarus had been dead four days, decomposition must’ve set
in, and the corpse would be giving off dangerous fumes. The
stone was moved. The mighty Christ spoke to the dead, called
him by his name, and commanded him to come forth. And
Martha beheld a miracle, the magnitude of which far exceeded
the healing of the sick person, and her love for the Savior
would be enormously intensified.

Editor’s Note: Today’s devotion and the following two are authored by
Howard Carter—one of Lester Sumrall’s closest friends and mentors.

Jesus can bless the practical and godly Marthas,

and know how to surprise them and their limited
conception of His unlimited resources.

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 September 16
____________

Special Love for Sensitive Mary

“But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that
good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
(Luke 10:42)

J
esus loved Mary also, a totally different sort of person.
Her great interest was to sit and listen to Him. There
was work to be done, of course, but work can wait when
the Master is present. She sat with the disciples, and listened
to Jesus as He ministered the sacred Word to them. Her mind
was clear and open, and able to grasp things that others failed
to perceive. She was so drawn to the Lord, so anxious to hear
Him minister and so helped by all He said, that she omitted
to render her hard-working sister Martha the help that was
expected. Martha protested to the Lord that He instruct Mary
as to her duty, but she was to be disappointed. Mary has
chosen the good part, and it was not to be taken away from
her.

Men’s minds can be filled so fully with earthly thoughts. Mary

hears of death and wonders, we presume, what she can do.
She may not have another opportunity to anoint His body for
the burial. She will do it now, while He is living. She will
fetch her costly ointment, and while He is eating at supper
she will anoint His body. She knows well enough that a
woman’s hair is her glory, but for such a one as the Master she
gladly sacrifices her glory that His glory may be increased a
little. Jesus loved Mary. He has a special love for those who
understand Him better, who can see the meaning of death and
sacrifice and who sacrificed their best for Him.

Editor’s note: This passage was written by Howard Carter.

Mary loved the Lord, and love always sacrifices

the best for the loved one.

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 September 17
____________

Singular Love for Ordinary Lazarus

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes
in me, though he may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25)

J
esus loved Lazarus also, and here we may be surprised.
This man, known chiefly because of his relationship with
the two sisters, has nothing according to the record to
single him out for special favor. He had died, but dying cannot
be regarded as an accomplishment. He had been raised again
by the Lord. Why then did Jesus love Lazarus? If he had
been a remarkable preacher, giving glory to the Lord Jesus,
we could perhaps have understood why he was loved. It is not
recorded that he was a philanthropist or had any special gifts.
He seems, as far as one can tell, to be a very ordinary person.
If this is so, then great comfort is afforded me and you. If
the Lord Jesus can especially love the very ordinary, there is
hope for us! He loved Lazarus. He loves us! What joy, what
blessedness is the thought. Love is a fascinating thing, and
indefinable influence and a marvelous inspiration of the soul.
Two may live together in perfect happiness without either
possessing any remarkable gifts. The quality of soul that is
sweetly agreeable, delightfully contented with companionship
and constant and true under all circumstances, can hold two
or more together in an indissoluble bond which we designate
love. So, I presume, the Lord and Lazarus lived many happy
days together, each greatly interested in the other; they loved
each other.

If Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus in their humble

dwelling in Bethany, we shall expect to find many dwelling in
close proximity to Him forever. Their greatest feature is that
they loved and were loved by the Lord.

Editor’s note: This passage was written by Howard Carter.

Heavens brightest stars will not be the great lu-

minaries of earth.
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 September 18
____________

Ministry of the Future

“So I sought for a man among them who would make
a wall, and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the
land…” (Ezekiel 22:30)

I
am very conscious that in the days ahead, the ministry
that will change this world and bring global revival must
be supernatural and a directive from God. Without the
miraculous, the generations before us cannot be won to God.
We must have Christ’s power to set the captives free instantly
and permanently. During the first great crisis of our nation,
there was born a group of men who were designated Minute-
men; they were mobile. At any moment, night or day, they
were available. The enemy never knew where they would
strike next. God has shown me that those who lead His forces
of righteousness in the end times, must be men who are not
encumbered.

God is searching this moment for men to stand in the gap.

God is looking for thoroughbreds, spiritually. The battle cry of
the last great battle can be heard. The rallying call is echoing
throughout the land. God is demanding commitment; deep
involvement.

Can you hear the call? Can God depend on you? Are you
ready for the last great onslaught before the trumpet of God
shall sound, the dead in Christ shall rise and those that are
ready and remain shall go up to meet the Lord in the air?

The last great move of God will be led by men of

great compassion for the lost, the last and the
least of this generation.

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 September 19
____________

Wear a Crown
“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but
one receives the prize? So Run, that ye may obtain.”
(1 Corinthians 9:24)

L
ong before and ever since the Olympic Games, men have
competed in a race which only the choicest survive. The
race is for eternity. The peculiar thing about this race
is that most of the contestants are totally unaware they are
competing. They have no idea that to win this race means to
receive the gift of eternal life and to lose brings eternal death.

The prize Paul was talking about in the above scripture was
not a crown of wild olive branches, but a crown of eternal life.
It would seem that no man could win this prize as the Bible
teaches that all men have come short. We must know that
man cannot earn this prize of life. He must receive it as a gift.

The eternal crown of glory is ours. We must accept good from

the Great Judge by sincere confession of all our sins. Then
we must believe that God is faithful and just to forgive and
cleanse the sinner. After the great session we must, “Lay
aside every weight (a runner cannot run weighted down) and
the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience
the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Not those who start this race will receive an

everlasting crown, but to those only who finished
in victory!

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 September 20
____________

Christian Existentialism
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times
some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving
spirits and doctrines of demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1)

E
vangelical theologians describe existentialism Christi-
anity as being the liberal approach to the Bible interpre-
tation. Van Til, in his book, “The Defense of the Faith,”
page 7, said, “Existentialists do not take the Scriptures to be
the Word of God; they do not believe in the God of the Bible.
They do not believe in the creation of the world and of man by
God. They do not believe in God’s providential control over
the world. They do not believe in atonement, nor in the return
of Christ on the clouds of Heaven to judge the quick and the
dead.”

The Holy Spirit in the above verse of Scripture is reiterating

that these are indeed the last days, and that we shall behold
some depart from their faith. The Holy Spirit says that they
will give heed, listen to or be attacked by seducing spirits. A
seducing spirit is a deceiving one. It is one who makes some-
thing very attractive which ultimately spoils the soul. The
Holy Spirit is saying that there are those who will believe doc-
trines of devils. What is a doctrine of the devil? Not receiving
the Bible as the Word of God, not believing in the person of
God, not believing that God created all things, not believing
that God created man in His own image, not believing that
Jesus Christ is the very Son of God and not believing in His
atoning blood or the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ
to this Earth.

Our Lord and Savior said, “Unless the days be

shortened, even the elect could not be saved.”
(Matthew 24:22)

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 September 21
____________

Clarita in Bilibid
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you…” (Acts 1:8)

W
hen the Lord sent me to pray for the girl, Clarita, in
Bilibid Prison who was bitten by devils, the first day
I prayed for her the power of this thing was broken.
The doctors could see it, and the newspaperman could see it.
I returned the next day to pray for her again, and the same
spirit, though very weak, had to be told to leave her again.
Immediately, I realized that this girl would have to have
personal faith and victory. I knew that I could not gain the
total victory for her. Therefore, I instructed her in front of the
police guards. I said, “When I am gone, this thing will return.
Then you must cry, ‘Go in Jesus name,’ and then it will go, and
you will be permanently free.”

That same evening as the sun was going down, the girl asked
the prison guard for a knife to cut her fingernails. He replied
the prisoners were not permitted to have knives, but said, “I
will clip your fingernails for you.” As he touched her, the evil
spirit grabbed her and hurled her across the courtyard. The
girl screamed as loud as she could, “Go in Jesus name!” At
that moment the spirit released her and she fell to the ground
free! It was when she took personal authority over this thing
that she was set free!

I feel every Christian must come to not only be set free, but
knowing how to rebuke the evilness of the devil in order to
stay free.

My friend, take the reins of authority to be what

God would have you to be!

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 September 22
____________

The Case of the Missing Will

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s
children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for
the righteous.” (Proverbs 13:22)

A
member of our church and a friend of mine for almost
thirty years, recently went to his reward. He told me
several times that he had his will made out, and he had
set aside a portion for the work of God. Upon his unexpected
death, no will could be found, and a nonreligious remote mem-
ber of his family was able to receive all that God had given him
including the church bonds. When he stands before God and
the Lord says, “I gave you certain things as a steward. What
did you do with it?” He will have to say after being a steward
of God for all those years, that he gave his treasure to an un-
godly person who would not enter God’s house.

Christians recognize that in making their will they have an

opportunity to complete their stewardship. In doing so, it is
a further confession of faith. Heaven is going to be a tremen-
dous embarrassment for many people when God demands an
accounting for our stewardship.

Have you made out your will? Have you remembered the
Great Commission? I do not believe your money should be
given just to any organization, church or an ungodly relative,
but for the carrying out of the Great Commission. Delay is
dangerous, and procrastination is a great thief for time and
eternity.

Just because we cannot all carry the Gospel to

the uttermost parts of the world, we are not ex-
empt from supporting those who do.

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 September 23
____________

Superstition
“Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek
after wizards, to be defiled by them.” (Leviticus 19:31)

S
uperstition is a global disease. It is not confined to any
race, any nation, any culture or any class of people. It
is a remarkable paradox that while we live in history’s
most scientific age there is more superstition than ever before.
While some of our citizens are exploring outer space, there are
still millions exploring astrology, occult faiths, Indian mysti-
cisms and all kinds of strange and mystic powers. There is
actually an army of fortunetellers, clairvoyants, palm readers,
crystal ball gazers, spiritualists, astrologers and gurus march-
ing across the stage of the modern world begging to be heard,
and exhibiting their strange wares.

Superstition thrives under certain conditions. Naturally, a

spiritually starved and morally bankrupt society produces the
best ground for superstition. A man without God turns to su-
perstition for release of tensions and to seek after forbidden
knowledge. Superstition is confusion between truth and false-
hood. People who are superstitious are actually seeking after
truth.

A man of faith does not inquire of the stars to find God’s Will
for his life. A Christian does not believe in luck. The Bible
teaches us that every good and perfect gift comes down from
God. The Bible clearly says that anything which takes a
person’s interest away from God as a source of all supernatural
power and causes them to look elsewhere for the supernatural
is idolatry.

You cannot place your trust in any other source

except God.

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 September 24
____________

The Gates of Hell

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this
rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)

W
hen Jesus said, “The gates of hell cannot prevail
against his church,” He was demonstrating that
every formidable fortress of Satan falls flat before the
legions of the redeemed and of those marching on to victory
under the leadership of Christ. The Bible declares that Heaven
has gates. Revelation states there are twelve gates. Each
gate is made of one pearl. Pearls are made by pain, when the
inside of an oyster suffers from grading and grinding. Intense
suffering of the oyster produces a pearl. The gates of Heaven
are one pearl and represent pain. No one can get to Heaven
free of charge, Christ paid for it. In grinding pain and intense
suffering, He purchased our salvation.

Christ said Hell also has gates. What are these awful gates of
Hell? They must be black and scarred by victims desiring to
be free. These gates could be the sensual sins of the flesh or
immoral gates. The gates of Hell could be spiritism or demon
cults. They could even be evil philosophies like atheism,
superstition, fear, or mental illness caused by mental stresses,
strains and breakdowns. So these gates of Hell are before us.
God wants us to break those black Satanic gates to pieces, and
bring liberty, freedom, joy and peace to humanity. For the
Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit.

If Jesus has wrenched the keys from the hand of

the devil, let’s storm the gates and set the pris-
oners free!

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 September 25
____________

Christ Walked Alone

“Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping,
and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me
one hour?” (Matthew 26:40)

R
ecently, one of the outstanding men of our nation and
the religious world, said to me, “I feel so lonely.” At
first, I could not understand this, because he was
surrounded by many friends and admirers. It was difficult to
understand, because of the great masses of people who listen
to him speak. But as I thought about this, I began to realize
that basic decisions in life must be made alone. I also realize
that one can be lonely in the midst of a lot of people if he has
to make decisions which must be made alone!

You, like most people, no doubt have times when you feel
alone, just like Jesus must’ve felt. Many times during His
ministry Jesus went out and prayed all night alone. The Lord
Jesus had friends, but on that amazing night in the Garden
of Gethsemane, He was alone. His heavy eyed disciples could
not even stay awake while He prayed.

Do those who dare to lead others today feel that they can have
the fellowship of this world? I am sure that we who bear the
Cross of Christ must bear it alone. In all the great crises of my
life and ministry I have found myself humanly alone. But as
Christ was supernaturally strengthened in His hour of great
temptation and in the Garden of Gethsemane, so have I! So
will you! You won’t be alone when you need help. He has
promised never to leave us or forsake us.

The cross is a place of separation—where every-

body sees the difference in you.

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 September 26
____________

Ebony to Ashes
“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…”
(Matthew 6:20)

W
hile in China several years ago, we stopped where
a Presbyterian missionary worked in a shelter. She
told me a very fascinating story about how her broth-
er who lived back in the United States would send her an of-
fering each month. In his letter he would say, “Don’t spend
one cent on those Chinese… Spend it on yourself.” Her need
was so great for the work, she always spent it on the Chinese.
Yet every month this letter came, “Spend this money on your-
self.” She said after a long time she decided one month to
spend the money on herself, and found a very beautiful carved
ebony table which she bought. She placed it in the corner, and
each time she passed it she was reminded of her brother. This
missionary went on to tell me that she came back from one
of her missionary journeys, and as she entered the town the
people ran to see her and said, “Oh, missionary, your house
has burned!” She went and found her house was nothing but
ashes. She said the Lord directed her to the corner where
the table stood, and was now just one handful of ashes. She
looked around her and there stood her Chinese church, tears
running down their faces, and suddenly God began to speak
to her and said, “Everything that you get for yourself on this
earth will become ashes. Only what you invest in souls like
these will be forever.”

May God give us wisdom right now to make our

investments for immortal souls and mankind,
and not in the things of this earth which perish.

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 September 27
____________

Who Loves Whom?

“I have loved you,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘In
what way have you loved us?’” (Malachi 1:2)

G
od said, “I love you.” The nation of Israel answered
back, “In what way have you loved us?” Israel wanted
proof of God’s manifested love. They had forgotten that
when they were slaves in Egypt God brought them forth as
free men, and led them safely through the howling wilderness.
They could not remember how at the entrance of the Promised
Land God threw down the walls of Jericho and established
them as a great nation. What more evidence of love could the
nation ask for?

God spoke to me and said that America is a favored land as

Israel was, and has received more freedom and prosperity
than any nation in human history. Yet, there are millions of
Americans who look up to God and say, “In what way have
you loved us?” It is true that today millions of Americans are
demanding from God, “Show us Your love!”

God said further, through the lips of His prophet Malachi,

that Israel had lost respect for His name. Though God had
granted them supernatural deliverance many times, they did
not respect the greatness and beauty of His name. America
stands guilty of the same attitude toward God. Our own
people have not given honor unto the God who founded this
nation and prospered it. America is not grateful as a nation
to God.

America has followed precisely in the footsteps

of Israel.

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 September 28
____________

God’s Last Call

“Return to me, and I will return to you...” (Malachi 3:7)

G
od spoke to Israel, “Return to me,” and Israel responded,
“Wherein shall we return?” Israel was trying to say
that she was all right, and there was nothing to return
to. God said Israel was a nation of adulterers, perjurers and
oppressors of the poor (whether they were laborers, widows
or orphans). (Malachi 3:5) God called this nation to return to
holiness, and they refused. In the same manner, Christ calls
America today. It is His ultimate call.

God’s further indictment of Israel was that they had not given
to Him; for the Temple needs which belonged to Him. God
said they had robbed Him. (Malachi 3:8) They had stolen
that which rightfully belonged to Him. There are millions of
Americans who have not paid their tithes unto the Lord, and
given God that which belongs to Him. America spends millions
of dollars on personal luxury and enjoying abundance, but God
is given leftovers. He is given tips rather than the full tithe,
an offering which He requires of us. God calls it robbery.

America, listen! God is speaking to this nation that He loves.

He is speaking in finality. His next action will be judgment
upon the entire land, and there will be no means of escape.

“Seek God while He may be found…” (Isaiah 55:6)

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 September 29
____________

The Burdensome Stone

“And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome
stone for all people; all that burden themselves with it
shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth
shall be gathered against it.” (Zechariah 12:3)

J
erusalem is, and will be, the number one trouble spot in
the world. Without doubt, the controversy over Jerusalem
is yet to reach its fullness of hatred and misunderstand-
ing both by surrounding nations of the Middle East and those
of Europe. Today’s Scripture reading is an amazing verse of
the Bible. God predicted that in the last days of the closing
moments of Gentile rule, Jerusalem would become a burden-
some stone. A burdensome stone would have to be the one you
could find no place for… It simply does not fit. God said that
Jerusalem, for the society of nations, would become a burden-
some stone. This same verse states, “For all people.” This re-
veals the global nature of the Jerusalem problem. Then God
speaks and says that everyone who lifts a hand against Jeru-
salem will be destroyed. God continues to say, even if all the
people on the earth be gathered together against Jerusalem,
it does not matter which country or group of countries take a
stand against them, God has His hand upon that city.

Jerusalem has a glorious future. The Bible says that the

center of the world’s worship shall be Jerusalem, the throne of
the Lord. This is one of the main reasons why I believe right
now God is speaking to many of His people urging them to
go and see Jerusalem. It is a prophetic time, and God would
have many of His disciples see Jerusalem to feel the amazing
spirit there.

The world of nations are bewildered as they

behold Jerusalem.

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 September 30
____________

Faith Revealed
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

I
grew up in a religious atmosphere, yet during my youth I
don’t remember anybody defining faith. Even as a young
minister I couldn’t find anyone to give me a clear defini-
tion. As a result, I thought great faith was a rare gift from
God for a select few, and that I had missed it. But I kept
wrestling with the topic of faith. In my first years of ministry
I would preach on it saying, “Faith is wonderful, marvelous,
glorious, stupendous.” And it is, but Faith is much more than
adjectives.

I kept asking God for faith, but I didn’t receive it because

that’s not the way faith comes. Then one night my life was
changed. As I was praying my favorite prayer, “Lord, give me
faith,” God suddenly spoke, instructing me to read my Bible.
He said, “I put it all in there. Read Hebrews 11, and you will
understand what faith is.”

Not believing that it could really be that simple, I quickly got

my Bible and read the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. I read
it over and over again. The next two hours were two of the
greatest of my life. As I read, illumination burst forth inside
me like fireworks in the sky. I began to see things I had never
seen before. I cried. I laughed. I received revelation. I came
to know faith through God and His Word, and that’s how faith
comes to all of us.

Faith is not historical—faith is now. Faith func-

tions and moves mountains today!

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 October 1
____________

Win Them Today for Tomorrow

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise… Not
willing that any should perish, but that all should
come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

W
hen I was going to school I had two buddies that I
played with who were neighbors. They were fine fel-
lows who came from middle-class families, and looked
as if they had all the possibilities of being above average. My
parents moved, and soon after I was converted to Christ and
began to preach. I returned to my hometown to preach, and
one of the former friends came forward to be converted. He told
me a sad story about the other friend we had grown up with.

He told me how one evening, while working in his father’s

supermarket, a masked bandit held them up with a gun. He
said that his father was shot by the bandit and killed. In the
confusion, my friend said that he grabbed a gun from under
the counter and shot the bandit. He was horrified to discover
upon pulling the handkerchief that covered the burglar’s face,
it was our friend that we had played with in school. He carried
his dying friend to the hospital, but he died on the way. All the
way to the hospital the dying friend mumbled, “I didn’t mean
it, I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean to do it.”

I had a long prayer with that young man. He accepted salva-

tion, believed God for the erasing the past, the pain and for-
giveness of all his sins. When the three of us were together in
school it would’ve been impossible to have picked out the one
who would be a murderer, who would become a robber or who
would become the preacher. Your choices in life will deter-
mine your destiny.

Don’t give up on anybody, because God can change

anyone’s heart.

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 October 2
____________

You Are Unlimited!

“All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth…”
(Matthew 28:18)

C
onsummating His colossal achievement of world redemp-
tion, the resurrected Christ proclaimed the above Scrip-
ture. What unlimited, unrivaled and incalculable strength
and dominion was involved in that universal proclamation!

Christ is unlimited!

His power—omnipotent!

His knowledge—omniscient!

His presence—omnipresent!

Speaking to us, His followers, Christ says, “You are unlimited!”

God created Adam and said, “Have dominion over everything…”
(Genesis 1:26) Adam was unlimited in knowledge, length of life
and communion with God. The wise man, Solomon, said in Prov-
erbs 23:7, “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” God said
we are unlimited if we can think right and believe in our hearts.
Everything that Heaven has is open to anyone of us who meets
God’s requirements. But we must go after it! Blessing and power
will not be handed to us. How often we hear of certain especially
blessed people, “Oh, you are a lucky guy.” That’s untrue. We
don’t accept the false claims of luck. Every successful person I
ever knew did everything he could to work with God.

You are only limited by your conception of what you can do. If
you deeply believe that you can do something, you’ve beaten
half the battle. How many of us have limited ourselves to
wrong thinking, soon becoming the victims of our own limita-
tions? What we accomplish does not depend on our abilities
and talents. With God you can become unlimited!

You are the only person who can limit faith in your life.
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 October 3
____________

Unlimited Prosperity
“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and
be in health, just as your soul prospers.” (3 John 1:2)

C
hristians are unlimited in prosperity. This also pertains
to a Christian nation of followers of Christ. God blesses
nations who serve Him, and God prospers men who rec-
ognize His power to supply all needs. Some Christian men
who had little opportunity for education, became mighty men
in the world of business. They discovered the secret in Christ
in being unlimited. I believe our God can do anything. If great
things don’t happen, don’t blame God. Start looking around
within asking God what to do to be unlimited. As God’s peo-
ple, be like the eagle when he stretches his powerful wings
and flies into the sky screaming, “Unlimited, unlimited!” You
can move in God, and into areas of unlimited blessing, unlim-
ited anointing, unlimited faith, unlimited victory, unlimited
success, unlimited friendship and unlimited prosperity; how-
ever, not selfishly. If a person is reaching into the unlimited
resources of God for selfish purposes, it is wrong. But if we do
it to help others, to love others and to bless others, God will
grant you the desires of your heart.

You are unlimited to reach out to God, and to

be the person that you desire to be in your own
heart.

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 October 4
____________

Accentuate the Positive—

Eliminate the Negative
“When it was evening, his disciples came to Him saying,
“This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late.
Send the multitudes away…” (Matthew 14:15)

I
t is simply amazing the negative approach the disciples
took to this magnificent scene. They had observed Christ
emotionally moved because of the great multitude of people
needing help. They had seen Him heal all of the sick; He had
performed mighty miracles before their eyes. Immediately
following this victory crusade, the disciples came to Jesus and
complained. The disciples were clock watchers. To them, the
meeting was over, and it was time to go home. They could see
no advantage in tarrying any longer. The people must be torn
away from the One who had blessed them, and sent away.

In their grumbling and complaining the disciples accentuated

the negative. How often do we hear this today? How often do
we hear people complain about their town or city as being the
hardest city to work in or live in, the same way the disciples
complained it was a “deserted place”?

Unbelief can always find a deserted place! When men begin in

the negative, they very seldom ever reach the positive! When
disciples start seeing natural difficulties, it is difficult for them
to see supernatural realities.

God can change the negative in your life to a positive.

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 October 5
____________

When I Am Old
“Now also when I am old and gray headed, O God, do
not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this
generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.”
(Psalm 71:18)

I
remember how the Lord had spoken to Peter concerning
John, telling Peter that when he was old he would be led
where he didn’t want to go, speaking of the death he would
bear. This prophecy meant Peter could not die young. I asked
God to show me my end and the ministry I must fulfill. As I
prayed it seemed like a storm of divine glory entered my room
and God spoke to my heart saying, “You will find the answer
in Psalm 71:18.” At first I laughed thinking, “One thing is for
sure, I am to get old and gray headed.”

God promised me that for the rest of my life, even when I am

old and gray headed, my ministry shall remain the same, my
force shall remain strong, my ability to bless will remain and
my years will not reduce my ministry. I shall minister with
the vigor of youth all the days of my life. Then the significance
of this verse came into focus, and I realized that I am to
proclaim that Jehovah is a God of tremendous power. I am
to witness to God’s strength as well as to show His strength.
I am to pray for the sick, and to see people healed. I am to
pray for the unsaved, and to reveal the strength of God to this
generation. I am also to be a teacher of young men: ministers,
pastors, evangelists and missionaries. I am to reveal to those
who come to fill the pulpits after me of how God will bless
them as He blessed Moses, Elijah, David and Peter. God will
bless them as He blessed anyone of those who have gone on
before. God said it was my duty to reveal His power to those
who come after me. Has God revealed to you how you are to
spend the rest of your life? Have you asked Him?

Nothing I’ve done and nothing I am doing is as

great as what I’m going to do.
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 October 6
____________

Losing the Church

“And He is the head of the body, the church, who was
the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all
things He may have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:18)

T
he church of our generation has saved itself and lost the
world. The multitudes no longer attend the churches; we
have lost them. There was a time when almost everyone
went to church. That time is no more. Why did we lose them?
We saved ourselves. Sinners know that many of the great
denominations have large sums of money and great resources.
They see the wealth of these great religious organizations,
read of their intricate plans to avoid taxation and conclude
that Christians are more concerned with themselves than
with the lost. They conclude, and too often are correct, that
the church is out to save itself and not the world. We have
heard many Christian brothers say that they are saving for a
rainy day. Such an idea is certainly not from God, for He has
promised to supply our every need every day! Again, I am not
suggesting that Christians become irresponsible with their
money, only that they realize God is their source of supply.

It is not right for religious leaders and denominations to build

up millions of dollars in assets all while the world is going to
Hell. It is time for Christians to be willing to lose themselves
in order to save the world.

If we try to act like Christ without knowing the

fullness of His power in our lives, the world will
see us merely as actors.

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 October 7
____________

Fasting
“But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash
your face.” (Matthew 6:17)

L
earning to rely on God is what fasting is all about. We
may wonder why a person should fast. In fasting we
weaken the natural man, and in praying we strengthen
the spiritual man. We have natural strength in our muscles
and body; it is through fasting and denying our flesh of food
that we weaken the natural energy while strengthening our
spiritual man through prayer and reading the Word. When
our spiritual man is stronger than our natural man we can do
things for God we could never do before.

This is the reason Moses fasted forty days. Elijah fasted forty
days. Jesus fasted forty days. They made the natural man
subside in brokenness, so that the spiritual man might stand
up great in strength. God can do the same for us. He can
bring great strength to us through brokenness. I have known
this from experiences throughout the years. When we save
ourselves, become strong in ourselves and become sufficient
in ourselves, we become spiritually impotent, useless and
helpless. If we wish God to do great things in our lives, we
must realize that brokenness is strength.

Have you ever tried fasting?

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 October 8
____________

Be Careful What You Believe

“Professing to be wise, they became fools...” (Romans 1:22)

T
he ancient Greeks were world renowned for their
wisdom, and the Romans for their military might and
religions. These two cultures were the guiding lights
of the Western world for more than a thousand years, and
their influence continues to shape the laws, concepts and the
customs of most Western peoples today. However, both of
these cultures wrapped themselves in speculative, mystical
religions. Despite their love for logic and philosophy, the
Greeks and Romans loved mythology just as much. Despite
their devotion to law and order, they were just as devoted to a
gaggle of capricious, immoral “gods.”

Both the Greeks and the Romans were stargazers. For centu-
ries they lived on farms and in small country villages where
there was no leisure time or entertainment to speak of, so
they spent much of their free time studying the nighttime sky.
They let their imaginations roam. These stargazing people
imagined that a certain cluster of stars made the shape of a
dog, another cluster the shape of a hunter and still another
group of stars formed a lion. Their storytellers developed a
number of legends based on the stars, and the stories grew
into a vast library that we now know as Greek and Roman
mythology.

We should take a close look at the religions of these ancient

civilizations. They give us a reflection of the attitudes we
see in our land today. The Greeks and Romans, like the
Egyptians, may be able to warn us of some dangerous trends
in our supposedly Christian society.

Christians must face paganism, and share the

Good News of Christ with their pagan neighbors.

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 October 9
____________

Remembering the Children

“Whoever receives one little child like this in My name
receives Me.” (Matthew 18:5)

I
n my first book entitled, “Adventuring with Christ,” I
described a female slave market which we visited in
Southwest China. The day we visited the jail where they
were lodged, we could have bought little girls for seventy-five
cents. The authorities were detaining these human waifs in
the local jail until sold. Meanwhile, they were the servants of
the criminals! It is impossible to convey the feelings I had when
I realized that an immortal soul could be bought for so little.

I was staying in the home of missionaries who had adopted a

charming Chinese daughter who had been purchased from that
same slave market. A few weeks before we arrived, a very rich
Chinese man had offered to buy her in marriage for his son,
but the missionaries explained that with Christians it was the
choice of the young lady to decide whom she married. The
difference between this beautiful young lady and those poor,
ragged, diseased girls in the slave market was the difference
between Heaven and Hell! I wrote an article for an English
magazine that struck a cord with people. All of these girls
were purchased by Christian friends in England, and placed
in a home for girls to be reared as Christians.

It’s possible this kind of open slave market doesn’t exist at

this moment, but there are still literally millions of unwanted,
unloved, naked and starving children on the face of the
earth. They wait in the moral and spiritual darkness of the
cruel world for someone to love and help them. I urge you to
remember them and help in any way you can.

Jesus loves the little children—they are precious

in His sight.

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 October 10
____________

Living Memorials
“And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah
said to Elisha, ‘Ask! What may I do for you, before
I am taken away from you?’ Elisha said, ‘Please let a
double portion of your spirit be upon me.’” (2 Kings 2:9)

N
o man departs this earth without leaving something
behind. He leaves behind more than a memory; he
leaves behind the dynamics of his life. He leaves behind
living memorials—things said and done. If a man desires with
all his heart, he can transfer that which God has given him
to another. Possibly the greatest revelation of this truth is
when Elijah transferred his ministry to Elisha. The magnetic
influence of Elijah came to Elisha in a double portion. God
is very much interested in a transferring of blessing. Elijah
obeyed God and found Elisha plowing twelve yoke of oxen.
He threw his mantle upon Elisha, and something spiritual
happened. From that moment, Elisha desired to go and assist
Elijah in his ministry. He followed at Elijah’s heels for ten
years!

The law of association is tremendous. I have seen younger

ministers go to an older minister’s meeting, only later to see
him carrying on an identical ministry. He went there with a
heart open to receive the same type of ministry, and it was
transferred to him.

Possibly the greatest need today is for those who

have God’s power to seek God about transferring
this power to the younger generation.

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 October 11
____________

The Power of Leadership

“When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that
is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois
and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you
also.” (2 Timothy 1:5)

O
ne of the greatest transferrals of power in history was
when God demanded Moses to transfer his power by
the directive of God! The transfer of power was by the
laying on of hands before the people. The future life of Joshua
revealed the marvelous success of this transmitting of God’s
power from one generation to the next. I believe this to be the
divine order for our day.

In the New Testament, we find this wonderfully illustrated in

the person of Timothy. Timothy was a strong man of God and
a church leader. He was reminded that the faith that was in
his heart was transferred to him from his grandmother, Lois,
and his mother, Eunice. Timothy also had gifts of the spirit
that were transferred to him through the laying on of Paul’s
hands, “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which
is in you through the laying on of my hands.” (2 Timothy 1:6)
Therefore, he understood that there could be power transferred
to him by the power of God.

May the younger generation of today have more

than those of yesterday through a glorious trans-
ferral of God’s mighty power.

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 October 12
____________

A World Vision
“Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then
comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your
eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white
for harvest!” (John 4:35)

T
hese words of Jesus conveyed the heart throb of the
Savior for a lost world. We must lift up our eyes and
look upon a suffering humanity. Look upon millions
who are lost, who die without hope and without Christ. If
there is any one thing that hurts Jesus, it is the narrow view of
Christians—the view which does not extend beyond their own
local church and community. Such an outlook is illustrated in
the experience of the man who commuted daily on a suburban
line that had only a dozen or so stations. One day, as the man
approached one of the stops, a stranger asked him the name of
the station. “I am sorry,” he replied, “I have been riding this
line for fifteen years, and I know only two stops: where I get on
and where I get off!”

If my outlook consists of just two stops, where I get on and

where I get off, or where I go to church and where I live, I
will never be able to carry out the command of the Lord Jesus
Christ to go into all the world to preach the Gospel. I must
have a world vision. At the same time, I must remember a
vision is of no more value than the spirit of dedication and
sacrifice which must correspond with it. Our modern way of
life is self-serving and materialistic, but this must be changed
if we are to save our civilization suicide.

People need to be healed of the disease of, “How

much can I get,” and begin to think in terms of,
“How much can I give.”

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 October 13
____________

If Christ Came to the

United Nations - Part One
“Behold I stand at the door and knock…” (Revelation 3:20)

M
illions of people have visited the impressive buildings
housing the United Nations on New York’s East
River. World political and military leaders go in and
out of its massive doors where the brave and the cowardly
counsel together; the strong, the weak, the shackled and the
free meet in confrontation.

If Jesus Christ were to personally visit the United Nations

what would He find?

1. First, Christ would find Himself to be a stranger to most

of the world delegates. They have not made His acquain-
tance. They have never sought to know Him. They would
not recognize Him.
2. Christ would find that though the UN has hundreds of
rooms, no room was built for Him. He has not been granted
a place of recognition.
3. Christ will also find that there is no area in the buildings,
even a window or door, dedicated to Him. Though many
others have been honored, there is no nameplate bearing
His Name.
4. Christ would find that the world leaders would not invite
Him to sit at the conference table. Since His kingdom is
not of this world, there would be no chair for Him at the
table.
5. Christ would find the highest UN official would not be-
lieve that He is the world’s Savior or the Son of God.

Jesus Christ’s membership in the United Nations

would be vetoed.

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 October 14
____________

If Christ Came to the

United Nations - Part Two
“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world!” (John 1:29)

I
f Jesus Christ were to personally visit the United Nations
He would find… (Continued)

1. Christ would hear the United Nation’s delegates plead for

peace by compromise and expediency. This would sadden
His heart as His life and ministry were, and are, a deep
variance with compromise. Christ never made decisions
by expediency.
2. Christ would discover that His advice, His instructions
and His teachings would not be requested nor accepted.
The men who seek to rule the world and keep the peace
do not seek for miracles from Heaven.
3. Christ would find great and deep divisions among the
nations of the UN. He would see their blocks of votes
resisting one another.
4. Christ would recognize deep hatreds among the delegates.
He would see race against race, poor nations against rich
nations and big nations against small nations.
5. Christ would find blinding pride and selfishness among
the world representatives. The spirit of “get all you can,
where you can” would be evident.

If Christ came to the United Nations, would

He be received or would the story be as when
He arrived in Bethlehem—where there was no
room at the inn?

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 October 15
____________

The Praise of Victory

“If God is for us, who can be against us… Yet in all
these things we are more than conquerors through
Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:31-37)

T
he Lord commissioned me to tell His people to lift up their
weary hands in praise. God does not want His people
weary or downcast. God wants His people to be filled
with spiritual vitality, great joy, wonderful peace and who are
victorious is in every battle. There is spiritual stimulation
when we lift our hands and pray to God. We should also lift
up our heads in victory! We cannot know defeat; we must not
know defeat. There is total victory in Jesus Christ for every
one of us.

At the beginning of this dispensation in Acts 2, the Word says,

“There was a sound from Heaven as of a mighty rushing wind.”
We have come to that time when there must be a sound from
Heaven. God wishes for you to know these four things:

1. You are not to give up your fight against Satan.

2. God is ready to deliver you from every sickness and sor-
row the devil may have placed upon your life.
3. God wants to communicate the warmth of His divine and
compassionate love for you.
4. God wants you to lift up your weary hands and your
defeated head for complete deliverance from every chain
of oppression that the devil has.

God wants to grant you victory, power and anointing—right

now!

You and I must be part of this last victory before

Jesus comes!

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 October 16
____________

Tribute to Rev. Howard Carter

“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful
servant…’” (Matthew 25:23)

A
t 10:30 PM, Friday, January 22, 1971, the spirit and
soul of Howard Carter swept through the Gates of
Glory to the melody of Heaven’s victory march and with
the welcome of angelic trumpet blasts. He lived on this earth
for eighty years, and he was nearer to me than any other man.

Howard Carter and I traveled the mission fields together when

I was twenty, and he was just over forty. We rode mule back
together for three months to Tibet. We rode the longest railway
in the world together across Siberia. We shared the cabin of a
sinking ship in the South Pacific. In Tibet, we slept in a barn
together. In Switzerland, we slept in a castle together. We
preached together in churches with mud floors and mud walls.
Howard Carter brought five blessings to his generation:

1. Howard Carter brought Divine revelation. In prison he

conceived the phenomenal truth of the gifts of the Holy
Spirit, and now the entire charismatic world follows his
teachings.
2. Howard Carter brought inspired leadership as do hun-
dreds of ministers in Christian pulpits today, because of
this man’s inspiration.
3. Howard Carter set a pattern for sacrifice. His father left
him a fortune, and he gave it all to the work of God.
4. Howard Carter administered leadership with humility, and
was so unassuming that it was easy to miss his greatness.
5. Howard Carter possessed faith in God, which set him
apart from any other man.

Howard Carter went to Heaven the way he want-

ed to go. On Friday, January 22, he ministered
at a Gospel meeting, and upon returning home
he went to meet his Master.
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 October 17
____________

The Joy of Children

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord; the
fruit of the womb is a reward.” (Psalm 127:3)

T
he Bible has many things to say about children. God
is explicit on how we should raise children, and what
obligations grow out of love to our offspring.

During one of the worst crisis’s of all his life, David was hauled
against his will before the Philistine King, King Achish. In
order to make his escape, David pretended to be insane. He
acted in very degrading ways so as to give the impression he
had completely lost his mind. He was driven away from the
palace, and there in the street, a number of street urchins
gathered around mocking him. He could not give up his
pretense, so he had to endure them. That incident taught him
something very important. Later in his life, he would sing
songs of praise to God remembering how he had become the
laughing stock of little children. He sang about how he caused
the future generations to think less of him, because of his
foolishness in the streets in front of the children. It inspired
him to endeavor to undo the mischief, “Come, my children,”
he sang in Psalm 34:11, “Listen to me; I will teach you the fear
of the Lord.” (NIV) I believe that if David had never been in
such a position, he would never have realized his duty to teach
the little street children. After being thrust into a position
of having to pretend to be a madman, he saw all the little
children running wild, and realized his responsibility as King
of Israel to teach children.

Children are a precious gift, and we have a sa-

cred obligation to teach them about God.

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 October 18
____________

The Latter Times

“Now the spirit expressly says that in latter times some
will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving
spirits and doctrines of demons…” (1 Timothy 4:1)

T
hose words were spoken by the Holy Spirit for the church.
We are living in those latter times right now. He tells us
that some shall depart from the faith, and rather than
becoming a backslider or wayward in their spiritual lives, they
would give themselves over to “deceiving spirits and doctrines
of demons.” Prophetically living in the last days, we are seeing
these things actually come to pass. Almost everyday someone
who is combating an evil spirit or is being deeply tormented by
the devil needs deliverance. Psychiatry cannot set them free.
Philosophy cannot deliver them. Pastoral counseling cannot
set them free. This power is available to anyone who will seek
it. God is no respecter of persons. It seems to me that the
greatest need in the spiritual world is for men and women to
understand how to control and cast out devils.

The church and ministers have tried to turn their backs on the
situation, and have mentally sick people committed to insane
asylums to forget them. However, there is an ever growing
need for the ministry of setting people free in the spirit. The
Lord has spoken to me and indicated that in the future those
that lead His army must not simply be those who can pray for
the sick; rather, those that can reach into the spirit of man and
set him free from evil by breaking the powers of Satan in his
spirit and mind.

God is looking for men and women with courage

and compassion to set humanity free.

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 October 19
____________

Renewed Youth
“…So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
(Psalm 103:5)

I
t is said that the eagle, the king of the skies, at middle age
mopes about in his habitat on the mountain tops. It looks
as if he will die, but suddenly a new life comes to him. He
beats his beak against the rocks until it bleeds knocking off an
old shell. He beats his wings upon the rocks until he knocks
out the old feathers. He drags his tail upon the rocks until
it bleeds and the old feathers fall out. New feathers begin to
grow, new strength comes and the eagle casts his anxious eyes
toward the blazing sun. He uses his mighty wings and flies
into the blue yonder—as the Bible says, with renewed youth.

Modern man is doing more than ever in recorded history to

retain his youth. Centuries ago men sought after a fountain of
youth. Today, there is tremendous advertising for a renewal and
retaining of youth. But God says that He will renew the youth
of his people like the eagle. There are several factors which
can contribute to renewed youth. For instance, conversion to
Christ brings righteousness where a man becomes right with
God. When a man becomes right with God, he has peace with
God, with his fellow man and with himself. After a person
receives God’s righteousness and God’s peace, he has God’s
joy; a joy that passes human understanding, and is like a deep
well with living waters of rejoicing and gladness. Faith is a
dynamic power and energy which heals and can renew your
youth. Hope is also a mighty force which carries with it all the
vitality of expectancy and retains usefulness. We must hope
in God, and our youth will be renewed like the eagles!

I have personally seen people look years younger

immediately after receiving Christ.

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 October 20
____________

A Healing Jesus
“…For this purpose the Son of God was manifest-
ed, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”
(1 John 3:8)

W
e know that Jesus Christ came to earth to heal. He
was and He is the Healer. He said of Himself, “The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anoint-
ed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal
the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised.” (Luke 4:18)

There are more sick people in the world today than there have
ever been before in history! That is an amazing statement,
but it is sadly true. At a time in man’s history when we have
more doctors, more medicine, more hospitals and clinics, more
and better technology—there are more sick people. Even
more startling, those sick people are not just in the backward
nations of the world as there is more sickness and suffering
here in the United States than ever. Sadly, many Christians
are among these sick people, because they have forgotten, or
were never told, that the Lord Jesus Christ can heal their
bodies. Often the pulpit is silent on this breathing growing
need. One of the most tremendous verses in the Bible in Acts
10:38, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost
and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all
that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.”

Jesus had no set way in which He healed people, but perhaps

the most tender of all during His earthly ministry was by
touching them. His life was motivated by love and compassion
for others.

If you need healing ask Jesus to touch you today.

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 October 21
____________

Sacrifice
“Gather My saints together to Me, those who have
made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” (Psalm 50:5)

W
hile visiting Jerusalem with a group of pilgrims
studying prophecy, I was awakened at five o’clock in
the morning with words ringing in my ears. They
were the words written above. If it had happened only once I
would not have thought so much of it, but it happened in suc-
cession—three mornings at five o’clock. I came to realize that
God was talking to me about several keywords in this verse.
For today, let’s discuss the word “sacrifice.”

There are not many people today who are interested in sac-
rificing to the Lord Jesus Christ and for His Kingdom here
on the face of this earth. They want to live the easiest life
they possibly can, and take as good care of themselves as they
possibly can; they are not interested in the word “sacrifice.”
Sometimes in other countries we see far more sacrifice for the
Gospel than we do in America. I remember in the Philippines
how amazed I was at the sacrifice of the people for their giv-
ing to God. They were willing to sacrifice time, materials or
anything else to be what God would have them to be. Sacrifice
is what God knows; He loved the world and gave His Son! He
loved us and gave His life! Sacrifice is what the early apostles
knew; they gave their lives.

If we wish to win the world around us today we must be among

those that God is especially calling unto Himself; who have
made a covenant and a sacrifice to Him at this time.

May you be one of those special ones in these

last days to know God, and be associated with
Him by covenant and by sacrifice.

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 October 22
____________

The Timing of God

“…and put them in an earthen vessel that they may
last many days.” (Jeremiah 32:14)

T
he discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 is prophetic,
and it is significant that they were discovered at the
same time Israel became a state! The Dead Sea Scrolls,
which God hid for over two thousand years, have proven
beyond discussion that the King James Version of the Bible is
authentic and reliable. They were found by an Arab shepherd
inside a cave, concealed in earthenware jars standing orderly
along the cave wall. They were written in classic Hebrew and
Phoenician; some dating to the third century B.C. Since the
original discovery in 1947, many other discoveries have been
made of fragments of various books.

Why are these discoveries so important to Bible believers?

The answer is not that they confirm the authenticity of the
Bible writings which we already possess, but that they are
actual writings which were in existence in the time of Jesus.
They were discovered right there in the land of His birth and
ministry. The one complete roll, or scroll, of the Book of Isaiah
reads in all essential points exactly like the Book of Isaiah
found in the Bible today. It shows how carefully the Word of
God has been preserved from Bible times to our day.

Ultimately the discovery, with exquisite timing and accuracy,

is God’s answer to a generation of agnostics and unbelievers.

God gives man every opportunity to get right

with Him before the time of judgment.

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 October 23
____________

The Power of Three

“Then Peter said unto them, ‘Repent, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:38)

B
ible numerology is one of the most fascinating studies
of theology. It is simply amazing that the numbers of
the Bible convey such tremendous truth. For example,
three is the number of divine perfection. The Bible and nature
are stamped with this truth.

There are three in the divine Triune. 1 John 5:7 states, “For
there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,
and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” Man was made
a triune being. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, “May the very God
of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit
and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ.” Our salvation is in three parts. 1
John 5:8 says, “And there are three that bear witness in earth:
the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and these three agree
in one.”

The entire Bible reveals this truth. Israel was saved from
Egypt by the blood of the lamb on the doorpost, the opening
of the Red Sea, and the cloud of glory which guided them,
protected them and overshadowed them. Here we have the
blood, water and Spirit. After the birth of the church, three
thousand people were excited and wanted to become part of it.
Peter gave them the Divine formula which is written across
the entire Bible. He said repent, which is the witness of the
blood; be baptized, which is the witness of water; receive the
Holy Spirit, which is the witness of the Spirit.

Everything in the universe bearing the marks of

perfection is divinely engraved with a three.

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 October 24
____________

Healed of Muscular Dystrophy

T
he miracle recorded in my book is printed as an aid to
point the way for others. There is no disease beyond the
Master’s touch. While here on earth, Jesus healed all
manners of affliction—palsy, fever, paralysis, blindness, lep-
rosy, withered limbs and even the sword wound of the high
priest serving in the garden of Gethsemane. I am convinced
that this same Jesus still walks among us today.

What He has done for me and for thousands living today He

will do for you. I can’t but lead you to the Great Physician.
The rest is up to you. God does not only want to heal your
body, but He wants you to live in a state of physical health. I
owe, not only my salvation, but also my health to His healing
touch. Let the Lord Jesus give you the revelation of His Word,
make His presence real and His truth known. This I know, if
you will come in absolute honesty a Divine answer will break
upon you. An answer so profound no human mind could ever
fathom the depth of its power; your spirit will grasp it and
understand, and you shall be set free!

Editors note: This passage was a testimony of Rev. Leona Sumrall Murphy,
sister of Dr. Lester Sumrall, and taken from her book.

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 October 25
____________

Three Rocks of Divine Destiny

“… For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed
them, and that Rock was Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:4)

I
srael, like no other nation, is a land of rocks. There are
three memorial rocks in Jerusalem which lie at the heart of
the city and at the heart of the world. There is the Temple
rock, the famous rock which is at the center of the Mohammed
Mosque called the “Dome of the Rock.” It covers the massive
Moriah rock upon which Abraham offered his son, Isaac. There
is the “Rock of Agony,” located in the Garden of Gethsemane,
where Christ prayed and perspired drops of blood. There is the
“Skull Rock,” at Golgotha where Christ died.

Our Lord Jesus commands each disciple to go to three rocks.

He commands us to go to the Rock of Covenant, and there
promise God to leave sin and walk with Him. Christ com-
mands us to go to the Rock of Consecration; to go into our own
Gethsemane, and break down human stubbornness, will and
rebellion. Christ further commands us to witness the Rock of
Deliverance where Christ is supreme, and He brings you to
the place of great deliverance.

Here is the Rock of total victory! Here is the Rock of mighty

triumph! Here is the Rock which knows no defeat!

Come with me to the Rock which bears an empty

tomb, and receive the message of the rocks of
Divine destiny of Jerusalem.

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 October 26
____________

Forgive and Forget

“Then Peter came to him and said, ‘Lord, how often
shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?
Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to
you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’”
(Matthew 18:21-23)

P
eter, Jesus’ disciple, was overwhelmed by the capacity
of forgiveness. He thought if you mistreated him seven
times in one day he could forgive you. He was in high
gear. Jesus told Peter to forgive seventy times seven, and that
knocked Peter out of the ring. Marriages break up because
somebody does something that the other doesn’t like. They
finally quit and go their separate ways living miserably the
rest of their lives, because they couldn’t forgive. The Bible
says we have a God that can not only forgive, He can forget.
Forgiveness means forgetting. You can forgive, but every time
someone does something you think, “I’ll remember.” Well
then, you really haven’t forgiven.

It has been said that to err is human, but to forgive is divine.

Here is a formula that can take you through life: be kind; be
tenderhearted. Tenderhearted is the opposite of hardhearted.
We have millions of hardhearted people today living on planet
Earth. You can forgive one another even as God, for Christ
sake, has forgiven us. We can forgive others, because we are
forgiven. Nobody is perfect. Because we are forgiven, we can
forgive. Paul said, “Forbearing one another and forgiving one
another, and if any man have a quarrel against any, even as
Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” (Colossians 3:13) It’s beauti-
ful how simple the Bible is if we follow the Word, accept the
Word and discover that the Word of God has the answers. In
Luke 6:37 it says, “Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.” It indi-
cates that God can only forgive you in the measure you forgive
others.

Forgiveness with forgetting is true forgiveness.

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 October 27
____________

The Antichrist Is Coming

“Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing
Him asked that He would show them a sign from
heaven. … Hypocrites! You know how to discern the
face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the
times.” (Matthew 16:1-3)

T
he Pharisees and Sadducees—they were “Sad-U-See,”
because they refused to believe in miracles and Divine
guidance. They mockingly requested Jesus to show
them a sign from Heaven. The literal teaching Lord respond-
ed and said, “I see that you are very clever at prognosticating
the weather, but you have no spiritual understanding of the
signs of the times.”

Most of us have experienced nature’s storms. I was traveling

along the coast of Brazil on a small boat that almost sank
during a terrible storm. In Manila, after awful typhoons hit
the city, I have seen rowboats paddling down Taft Avenue—
the main artery toward the hospital. In Hong Kong, I have
seen hundreds of people left homeless by terrible typhoons. In
Louisiana, the house I was in was picked up and thrown off its
foundations by a hurricane.

My friend, our world is facing storms mightier than any physi-

cal wind or rain. It is facing Armageddon pushed there by the
irresistible forces of the Antichrist. The storm clouds reveal
that the Great Tribulation is fast approaching. There are sev-
eral reasons we can know the world is getting ready to receive
the Antichrist. For example, the movement toward world
unity of language, transportation, finance, entertainment, re-
ligion, moral bankruptcy and the United Nations (which could
be just such an instrument that the Antichrist will use to dom-
inate the world).

We do not know when the Antichrist will appear,

but he will have a world ready to welcome him.
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 October 28
____________

How Americans Can Stay Free!

“…out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant
in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”
(Hebrews 11:34)

Y
ou were created to be a conqueror, not a slave, as the
highest order of creation patterned after God’s own im-
age, “Crowned with glory and honor.” You were made to
experience the whole wide range of freedom. Jesus declared,
“If the Son, then, makes you free men, you are really free.”
(John 8:36)

You may say, “Brother Sumrall, I want to know freedom in all

reality. How can I be free? How can I be emancipated from all
forms of bondage and fear?” I answer by pointing to six things
that will guide you to freedom and to spiritual mastery.

You must be free from Satan’s dominion. You must know that
Christ conquered Satan truly and eternally. You must be free
from personal condemnation. (Romans 8:1) You must know
your legal rights; your redemption is a legal transaction. Je-
sus Christ established a new covenant between God and man
by His death on the cross, and paid the redemption price for
your soul. You must be God-minded. Your spirit must be
the throne room of God upon this earth. You must be Christ-
minded. You must be like Christ—let Christ be your example.
Finally, you must possess faith. Your words and your actions
will release God’s power. As you have faith you will know the
true meaning of emancipation, for every chain the devil has
forged will be broken. You will live the life of freedom on this
Earth.

Turn your life and your problems over to Christ—

He will set you free.

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 October 29
____________

Prisons Without Keys

“When they were past the first and the second guard
posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city,
which opened to them of its own accord…” (Acts 12:10)

D
uring the Middle Ages it is said that a poor man was
arrested by appearing guilty for some small offense,
and incarcerated in a jail cell deep under a castle. The
offender heard the door of the prison cell clang closed. Here
he was in a dark dungeon; his hope of freedom vanished. Here
the prisoner remained for twenty long years. Often times, the
prisoner wanted to die, but couldn’t. However one day, in sheer
anger and despair, he grabbed the cell door, shook it violently
and turned the knob only to discover to his amazement that
the door was not locked! He was in a prison which had no
keys! He was a captive, but not a captive of iron or stone. He
had only been locked in prison in his own mind and his own
thinking. He could have opened that door at any time, but he
didn’t; his thoughts locked him there.

Literally, there are millions of people of our generation living

behind prison bars of one kind or another. Usually the prison
is of their own making. Prisons created by their own beliefs or
disbeliefs. Prisons created by their own limitations. All they
have to do to be free is to walk out!

You are only limited by your decisions!

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 October 30
____________

Unmasking Your Deadliest Enemy

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear,
because fear involves torment.” (1 John 4:18)

F
ear has been called the Black Monster. This Black Mon-
ster, stalking through the nations with universal armies
waging aggressive warfare upon helpless humans, is
TODAY striking with demonic fury. Multitudes of modern
lives are suffering material destruction, moral degradation
and spiritual annihilation by this dark and wicked ogre. In
my world travels, the problem presented most often by people
of many nations, every color and varied social positions, is that
of fear.

Fear has no respect of persons. It haunts those who are illiter-

ate and those with university education. It strikes at the high
born the same as those of humble origin. Fear walks the floors
of the mansion and palace as well as the hovel. Some of the
greatest human tragedies have been victims of fear.

There is “real” fear and “shadow” fear. Real fear is what you
would feel if you were to meet a lion outside a cage! Shadow
fear is when you fear something that does not exist. It is shad-
ow fear that brings maladjustments to the personality. It is
this unreal quantity that we must fight.

Fear can be a profitable servant or a malignant

master!

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 October 31
____________

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

“Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night.”
(Psalm 91:5)

N
ight is when people have the most terror. One of
the greatest problems that people have to confront is
darkness because it is unknown. Millions of humans
are haunted by the unknown. The problem with darkness,
and the unknown, is possibly man’s greatest problem. Our
parents helped bring this on us when we were young. “If you
go in there somebody will get you.” They know there’s nothing
there, but they’re just trying to keep children out of trouble.
However, the children become afraid of the darkness and the
unknown. They don’t know what is in there, and they become
afraid of it. There are people that actually have to go into
psychiatric care because of their fears. They just can’t face
what they don’t understand, what they can’t see and what
they don’t know.

As far as possible in our lives, we should keep our spirits open

to understand something new every day. I personally learn
something new every day of my life. All of us should. Every
day of our lives should be a new experience, because every day
we do live in the unknown whether we like it or not. Not much
you can do about that except jump in and get to know it. But if
you are afraid of it, you don’t have any hope of learning much.
Your natural person wants to live in the little bit that it knows
right now, but your spirit person wants to say, “I want more.
I’m reaching for more. I want better. I am not satisfied. I’m
reaching out.” And then you have to reach into what you don’t
know in order to get it. We are to have no fear. God wants us
to face the future, or to face anything that we don’t understand,
with courage in our hearts; to know that we are conquerors.

Thomas Edison believed you could bring light

where there was no light, while others were con-
tent with candles.
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 November 1
____________

Plowing Deep and Wide

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as
some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us,
not willing that any should perish, but that all should
come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

E
arly one morning in the city of Jerusalem, I was on a
rugged rock near the old Scott Presbyterian Church
looking across the Hinnon Valley and up Zion’s Hill,
standing at my most treasured spot to pray. Looking at one
of the most historic religious scenes in the world, I was truly
inspired. Feasting on this familiar scene, and watching the
hills of Moab on the eastern horizon turn a dazzling purple,
blue, and red before the rising sun, I was worshiping God and
thanking Him for my salvation, when the Lord spoke to me and
said, “You are responsible to win one million souls for me.”

Immediately I said, “Lord, this would be impossible with my

limited ability.”

The Lord answered, “If you plow as of old in this land, digging
only a few inches deep, following the slow-moving camel, this
would be true; but if you plow the modern way, with large
tractors, piercing deep into the ground and many furrows
wide, you can bring in this harvest of immortal souls.”

God said that plowing deep is my personal relationship with

Him, and plowing wide is my working with others of the same
spirit. Only with strong hands clasped together can this vic-
tory be won.

Prayer can plow deep and wide.

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 November 2
____________

The Church of the Poor

“For you see…that not many wise according to the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called…”
(1 Corinthians 1:26)

I
t should be noted that the early church was mostly com-
prised of the poor. There might be some Christians read-
ing this who would find it difficult to identify with those
early Christians. Paul says that God chose the foolish and
weak things of the world to put to shame the wise and the
mighty. What are some of those “foolish things”? In the Old
Testament we find a bleeding lamb (Exodus 12), a smitten
rock (Exodus 17), and a brass snake (Numbers 21). What are
some of those “weak things”? A rod to defeat the Egyptians
(Exodus 4), a sling to defeat a mighty giant (1 Samuel 17), and
a bone to defeat the Philistines (Judges 15).

Never forget it. At both exodus and the emergence of the early
church, God chose poor folk. God is not impressed with wealth,
size, power, or status. There is a consistent theme in the Bible
that shows God’s love for the poor and downtrodden. Consider
the disciples. Although Luke was a physician and Matthew
a tax collector, God chose more lowly men to be His special
instruments of proclaiming the Gospel. Ordinary people are
His special concern.

God is not partial, but He is just!

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 November 3
____________

Slaying the Giants

“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My
name they will cast out demons…” (Mark 16:17)

T
he Bible mentions various giants. It is interesting that
there is no place in the Bible of any giant being dedi-
cated to God. They were creatures born of sin, and dedi-
cated to destruction. In Genesis 6:4, the Bible records the first
giants who came to this earth through the illicit relationships
of the sons of God (Elohim) and daughters of men. They be-
came mighty men of evil.

There were still giants born after the great flood. They inhab-
ited Palestine upon the arrival of the children of Israel. (Num-
bers 13:28-33) One warlike giant was Og, King of Bashan.
In Joshua 11:21, we read that Joshua discomfited the giants
who lived in the Judean hills, and the most notorious giants
were those who were called the giants of Gath. They roamed
the land like walking trees, but were killed by David and his
mighty men.

There are still “giants” of evil marching across nations and

cities today. They are giants of drugs, illicit sex, pornography,
cults, and the greatest of all challenges, Satanism and demon
worship. I am convinced that education can kill none of these
giants, nor can science, philosophy, or psychiatry. Our hope
is in the militant church of the Lord Jesus Christ, which has
been made invincible by the shed blood of Jesus!

No negative power can stand against the positive

forces of Jesus Christ!

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 November 4
____________

The Kingdom of God

“…The kingdom of God does not come with ob-
servation...The Kingdom of God is within you.”
(Luke 17:20-21)

J
esus Christ said the kingdom of God came without obser-
vation. He meant that you could not measure it by miles,
buy it with gold, or treat it as a material thing. 1 Cor-
inthians 4:20 states, “For the kingdom of God is not in word,
but in power.” This is an assurance that the kingdom of God
is not demonstrated in weakness, inefficiency or corruptness;
God's kingdom is eternally good and strong. Our Lord said in
Luke 17:21, “...The kingdom of God is within you.” This sepa-
rated it from human kingdoms, from geographical boundaries,
and affirmed that this kingdom is within the human being.

Romans 14:1, 2 and 3 describe how some people believe the

kingdom of God has to do with the keeping of days and of eating
proper food. There are those who believe that abstaining from
certain foods is an act of holiness and part of the kingdom of
God. The apostle Paul boldly asserts that the kingdom of God
is not meat and drink. It has no relation to material things,
though it does govern them.

The apostle declares the kingdom of God to be a divine Trinity

of righteousness, peace and joy. To enter the kingdom of God,
to become a son of God and a member of the body of Christ, is
achieved by the imputed righteousness of the blood of Jesus
Christ. It is the righteousness of Jesus Christ which gives
us citizenship in the kingdom of God. Peace is part of the
kingdom of God and cannot be bought. This is the peace that
passes all understanding. One-third portion of the kingdom of
Heaven is joy. The happiest people in this world are those who
are vitally involved in the kingdom of God.

Be righteous, peaceful and joyful now!

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 November 5
____________

The Law’s Cold Hand

“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and
especially for those of his household, he has denied the
faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8)

T
he subtle difference between law and justice is often
overlooked by people who have no troubles. But let your
affairs become entangled in a legal web, and you may
wonder if the two are equal. The law is cold and impersonal,
with no thought for human emotion, human need, or frailty.
It’s especially cruel when a poor widow in her grief and loneli-
ness tries to mange her finances when her departed husband
did not leave a legal will. How many family feuds have broken
out before the casket has settled in the grave, because of dis-
puted inheritances? Isn’t it sickening how the devil can pile
misery upon misery, sorrow upon sorrow, and agony upon ag-
ony, because a well-intentioned man neglected to do his civic
duty—to make a legal will?

God made a will—we call it the New Testament. Thank God

we have an inheritance with saints through the death of our
Lord Jesus Christ. We have a great bequest: eternal life!

Paul the Apostle clearly envisages making a legal will in this

Scripture, as he gives this injunction right after dealing with
the question of impoverished widows in the church. Let us
not forget either God’s work or our own loved ones, then. Not
a penny of your savings will ever save a single soul if you die
without a legal will. The State will administer your estate,
and will NOT remember the work of the Lord. A stranger
will decide how your legacy is distributed, and at significantly
higher cost; all of this can be avoided by creating your own
legacy before it’s too late.

Don’t let the law’s cold hand freeze your estate!

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 November 6
____________

The World at the Cross

“And when they had come to the place, which is called
Calvary, there they crucified Him…” (Luke 23:33)

E
very human emotion emerged at the central point of all
history…the cross. The world is still at the cross. The
world will be judged by its attitude concerning the cross.

There were angels at the cross who stood by to do His bidding

while archangels bowed their heads. (Matthew 26:53)

There were religious leaders at the cross; the high priests stood
by mocking and jesting about Jesus as He died. (Matthew 27:41)

There were political leaders at the cross whom Rome delegated

to rule the land peacefully and to ensure justice for all who
joined in the mocking. (Luke 23:35)

There were gamblers at the cross. Christ’s robes were taken,

and bloody-handed, wine-soaked soldiers gambled to see who
would steal His clothes. (John 19:24)

Bloodthirsty men were at the cross. Crucifixion was not

enough, so they pierced His side with a spear. (John 19:34)

The sympathetic were at the cross, and a man took a vinegar

soaked sponge and put it to Christ’s fevered lips. (Matthew 27:48)

The sinner was at the cross, and the dying thief next to Him
pleaded for mercy. (Luke 23:42)

The ENTIRE world was represented at the cross; which group

are you with?

You can find yourself represented at the cross of

Jesus Christ!

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 November 7
____________

Trees and Children

“Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the
ungodly…He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers
of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his
leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does
shall prosper.” (Psalm 1:1, 3)

A
newly planted tree can be associated with a newborn
child. The growth of most saplings depends on the
water they can receive and whether they are planted in
a soil with good mineral content. Many young trees must have
fertilizer added to the topsoil and worked into the ground so in
later years the same small tree will produce lovely branches
with beautiful leaves. The caretaker keeps close watch over
the tree for any disease that may spread and bring death to
any of several limbs. Careful and constant attention given to
the tree from its beginning will cause it to grow into a tall and
sturdy tree that will live for years and years.

If a tree can be given such care, how much more should a

human life be cared for! A child should be cherished and loved.
Think of the thousands of children who are orphans. All too
often they have experienced the gnawing pains of hunger,
shivers caused by the cold, and the fear and misery of being
unwanted.

Helping to shape the life of a child is one of the greatest and

most rewarding experiences of life. A life spent caring for
children is a life well spent.

Somewhere there is a lonely child who desper-

ately needs you today; resolve today to find and
help that child.

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 November 8
____________

Show Us the Father!

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of
darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

M
ultitudes of rational men and women are groping
their way through this life, stumbling and stagger-
ing into the vastness of eternity with little or no di-
vine acquaintance. Most do not even know where to look for
Him. There was a time when people could behold the tower-
ing mountains and see God’s thoughts in grand array; they
could consider the flowers which are God’s thoughts in intri-
cate beauty. But the exploded gases of this machine age have
stifled the sweet fragments of nature. The flowers have wilted
beside polluted streams and lakes. The voice of Heaven is al-
most lost amid the roar of today’s world.

How then, is man to find God? And how is he to come to know

Him, whom to know is life eternal? The people of the world
are crying out from their lost and lonely state. Jesus told
His disciples, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”
(John 14:9)

At least a third of the people alive in our world today have

never once heard the name of Jesus Christ, much less looked
with spiritual eyes into His glorious face. When they pass into
eternity, they will lose their only hope of seeing Him face-to-
face. If He is not seen in this world, He will not be seen in the
world to come. If they do not know Him now, they shall not
know Him then. We who believe in His name, who obey Him
and confess that He came from God, we who diligently seek
His face—WE SHALL SEE HIS FACE!

We who have seen His face should become in-

struments of His love; extensions of His hands
of mercy.
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 November 9
____________

A Three-Way Marriage
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one
flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)

A
merica is suffering a spiraling divorce rate. Divorce is
not a statistic. Divorce speaks to us of broken hearts,
broken dreams, broken homes, and human sadness.
Marriage consultants have not been able to stop this ava-
lanche of divorce proceedings. Divorce courts have not been
the answer as the divorced remarry and again get divorces.

When God created man, He became convinced that “…It is not

good for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18) Therefore, God in
divine wisdom created Eve. In marriage, or the joining of man
and woman, they are to be united in three areas:

1. Body marriage or physical union is when male and female

feel the physical attraction of a sweet smile or a tender
touch. However, as they walk down life’s road, and the
way becomes rough and weary, the body becomes agitated.
There is a breakdown of mutual love; therefore, physical
attraction alone will not hold two people together.
2. Soul marriage includes emotions such as joy and sorrow,
likes and dislikes, and ambitions, as well as mind or
mental abilities. The man and woman give consideration
to their thinking alike, their emotional compatibility, and
their willingness to be subservient one to the other by
their willpower.
3. Two-thirds of all the people who come to my office for
marital advice have problems in the third world, that of
spirit marriage. They can make the other two work, but
they find that they cannot pray together, release faith
together, or attend church and worship together.

The lowest divorce rate is among those who are

united three ways.
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 November 10
____________

Symbols of Demon Power

“What say I then? That the idol is anything, or that which
is offered in sacrifice to idols is anything? But I say, that
the things which the nations sacrifice they sacrifice to
devils, and not to God: and I would not want you to have
fellowship with devils.” (1 Corinthians 10:19, 20)

G
od warns His people against all supernaturalism that
is not of Him. There are two areas of supernaturalism:
One is demon power, and the other is God’s power.
Anything with relationship to demon powers should have no
relationship with Christians. Paul the Apostle says that the
idols and even the offering are nothing, but behind each idol
is a demon that craves for worship. The idol is a symbol, and
behind that symbol is the devil’s power.

Christians should never have symbols of the devil’s power in

their possession. The symbols may have strength that you
don’t know about. A Bible school teacher in England told me
that after breakfast each morning he had a class where the
students would get drowsy and go to sleep. It was abnormal.
He looked around the classroom, and discovered a bronze
serpent from India on a window ledge. It was a coiled cobra,
worshiped in India as a god. He moved the statue out into the
yard and told no one about moving it, and the next morning
not a single student became drowsy. We must clean our homes
of all symbols of the devil’s power, dig out the very roots of
superstition and all that has to do with the devil’s power.

Our homes are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ!

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 November 11
____________

Sacrifice
“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there
may be food in my house, and try me now in this…”
(Malachi 3:10)

W
hen I lived in England, the newspapers carried a very
remarkable story. They told of a boy who was born
without ears. He heard well but looked strange with
no ears. Because of this, the children teased him and called
him names. His mother bore the greatest sorrow, as her son
would come home from school crying due to the teasing. One
day, the mother took her boy to the hospital, and when he
emerged several days later he had two ears. However, to the
astonishment of the neighbors, the mother had none. She
had the surgeons remove her ears and transplant them to her
son. It’s sacrifice like this which defies all forces that seek to
destroy the home.

I have not only known such sacrificing families but have even
been moved to tears by sacrifices friends of mine have made
to God’s work. In the great city of Manila, we had to build the
Bethel Temple Church as a faith project. A high school teacher
gave her entire month’s salary by signing her paycheck to
Bethel Temple. It happened again the next month and again
the following month. When I offered to return all or part of
the money, she very politely told me it was none of my concern.
She showed me her shoes that were worn through, and how
she was placing paper in the bottom to walk on. She said,
“Pastor, I do this because I love Jesus…”

It’s sacrifice like this which opens the windows

of Heaven.

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 November 12
____________

The Time Has Come

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their
strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk,
and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

N
o country on the planet Earth except Israel has had
as exciting a history as America. No nation can boast
of more sacrifice than that which was paid to make
our country strong and prosperous. Our frontiers record the
story of blood, sweat, and tears. We can only keep America
great with the same kind of sacrifice. There are too many
Americans waiting for the government to care of their every
need and too few people willing to suffer and work to make
national prosperity a reality. Freedom can only be won by
sacrifice. Some must die for others to enjoy the fruit of peace.
Nations only remain great by the sacrifice of their citizens. As
we celebrate the birthday of America, our entire nation must
come to realize that if we don’t sacrifice with the same spirit
of our forefathers, this nation will perish. We need to pray for
America that God will send a great revival and give us men of
true love for the country and a spirit of sacrifice. True sacrifice
brings fulfillment and joy. These are two of the great needs in
our land. People are confused and bewildered by selfishness.
They seek pleasure and joy to find only disappointment and
sorrow.

You personally have a strong position regarding

the survival of America.

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 November 13
____________

Words That Heal

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pitchers of
silver.” (Proverbs 25:11)

A
s soon as a little child is able to form syllables on his lips,
we begin teaching him words he must learn. The child
must know there are words that kill, there are words
that hurt, and there are words that heal. Words are a most
interesting study. We often use them without understanding
their terminological significance.

Jesus understood the dynamic importance of words. He said to

speak the word and miracles would be performed. Therefore,
we must learn to speak with truth and power. God’s power is
real. It’s real for your soul. It can break all the infernal powers
of Hell. God’s power can break every evil power from your
life. He can bring joy into your troubled heart. He can bring
tranquility into your troubled mind. He can bring healing into
your troubled body. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today,
and forever. He has not changed. Jesus wants to help you
right now. Open your heart’s door, and let Jesus come in.

Clear the stream of everything that would keep

God from blessing you, and let His blessing flow
like a river.

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 November 14
____________

Mass Communication
“Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.”
(Genesis 11:1)

M
odern mass communications is a sign of the times.
In many ways, the Bible scripture above has come to
pass again. In order for the Antichrist to effectively
pollute the entire world, he must use and control total commu-
nication to the human mind. In this way, he will control mor-
als, education, politics, economy and the souls of the masses.
There is no greater sign of the return of Jesus Christ to this
Earth than the power of mass communication.

A generation ago, man had not conceived that the mass media
would dominate and direct the thinking of modern man. The
mass media is in position to actually damn our modern world
as multitudes of people believe what they see, hear or read not
realizing there might be lies and propaganda behind it. As
our eyes, ears, minds and spirits are assaulted by polluted and
perverted mass communication systems, the Christian must
learn to separate the good from the bad. Above all, they must
learn to use their eyes to read the Word of God, their ears to
hear the Word of God, their feet to walk in the ways of God
and their mouth to speak words of praise to God. Our youth
must learn this, for just because propaganda is on television
or elsewhere, it does not necessarily make it true. Propaganda
seeking to destroy our government is wrong. Propaganda
against the Bible is antichrist. It is now time for the American
public to rise against the men and women who control the
mass media of our nation.

After Christ’s return, He will use the entire mass

media to bring peace and understanding to the
whole world.

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 November 15
____________

Memories
“God brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the
miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established
my goings.” (Psalm 40:2)

Y
our memory is one of the very remarkable parts of your
complex being. It stores feelings, impressions, experi-
ences, things seen, things heard and things felt. Many
segments of memory are negative and hurtful. There are mul-
titudes of people who feel they can never survive the hurts
of the past. Some of these dark memories come out of our
youth. Sorrows can come so crushingly people can’t forget
them. Some of these lingering bruises may come from busi-
ness, homes, parents and grievances that depress us day and
night.

To those with sick memories, I have a sincere word. It is not

what happens to you—it is how you respond to what happens
to you. Maybe you have come through your sorrow, yet still,
you live in the sorrow of the past. If you can get anyone to
listen to you, you say, “Let me tell you what happened to me.”
Friend, God can wash away the past. Every sorrow can be
washed away; your problems can be washed away until you
are fresh to bless our world. This can be the greatest day in
your life. Tomorrow is going to be greater than today! Yes, the
spirit of Jesus can heal our yesterdays.

When you think of the past you say, “The Lord

brought me out of all that…” That is the secret!

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 November 16
____________

Divine Patterns
“… See that you make all things according to the pat-
tern shown you on the mountain.” (Hebrews 8:5)

G
od draws patterns for the lives of men and women to
instruct and direct them. He creates a special design
for each rational being who is destined to live on this
planet. If the individual wisely follows this Divine blueprint,
He will build a strong, successful and happy character. One
thing is imperative: “Make all things according to the pattern
shown you on the mountain.” Our mountain is Calvary. When
a sinner kneels at the foot of the cross and accepts Christ as
his personal Savior, he is fitting into God’s plan for his life.
The blueprint may not be perfectly clear at the moment of
Salvation, but Christ progressively teaches His disciples to
decipher its instructions.

Have you ever viewed the gigantic Empire State building and
been amazed at its symmetrical rhythm in stone? Did you
consider that an intricate blueprint was drawn up by the most
competent draftsman available, and that the master builders
followed the instructions perfectly?

Have you witnessed a glorious, victorious Christian life? Did

you take time to analyze it and see that it was not achieved
by accident or good fortune, but was a life built according to a
pattern? People who try to live without a Divine pattern do
not know how to live, and thus create the direct cause of much
misery in the world today. Those who refused to follow the
pattern have marred lives without beauty.

God has an individual pattern for each person;

a pattern which He destroys after it has been
executed.

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 November 17
____________

A Gospel in the Gutter

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for
it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who
believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
(Romans 1:16)

T
oday’s true story is a witness to the power of the Bible
in bringing a sinner to a decision for Christ. Gerhard
walked with a bowed head and discouraged heart along
a narrow cobblestone street. The tall lanky youth was disgust-
ed with life. He had been recently released from a concentra-
tion prison, and was unable to find a job. As the flaxen haired
young man stumbled along the street, he saw a small booklet
lying in the gutter. Gerhard picked it up. It was a Gospel
of Matthew thrown there no doubt by some person who had
received it and considered it worthless. He knew the booklet
was part of the Bible, so he kept it. On the back cover was a
message that instructed him to write to a certain missionary
if he desired more information. In the dirty room where he
lodged, Gerhard read the entire Gospel. It pierced his hard-
ened heart, and he felt compelled to write the missionary for
more information. He received a kind letter and Gospel litera-
ture soon after, and he and the missionary corresponded for
some time. In time, the missionary led him to accept the Lord
as his personal Savior. A new day dawned; a new chapter in
his life began!

The glorious joy of Salvation transformed the

saddened and broken life.

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 November 18
____________

The Son of Man

“Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the
cloud sat One like the Son of Man…” (Revelation 14:14)

A
t least seventy-nine times Jesus Christ called himself
the Son of Man. He came to identify Himself with you
and me.

When I am on the mission field I become a native. When I was

in the Philippines, I refused to let anybody ever think I was
anything but a Filipino. When I am in Hong Kong I am no
longer a Filipino, I’m Chinese. I once told my church in Hong
Kong to never call me a foreigner. I said, “I’m more Chinese
than you are. You’re one by accident of birth, and I’m one on
purpose.”

That’s why Jesus became the Son of Man—to identify Himself

with you and me. It’s like Billy Graham said, “If you were to
step on an ant bed and kill one thousand ants, you would not
know how they felt about it, because you are not an ant. But if
you were an ant and somebody stepped on an anthill, then you
would know how an ant felt.”

So, in order for God in Heaven to know how we felt down here,
the Son of God became the Son of Man—to enter into our
problems, our suffering, our confusion and our weaknesses.

Oh, that man might see Christ in His simplicity

and truth.

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 November 19
____________

The Power of a
Personal Testimony
“He first found his own brother Simon, and said to
him, we have found the Messiah…” (John 1:41)

A
fisherman of Bethsaida on the shores of Galilee Lake
was the first disciple of Jesus Christ: not a doctor of
law, a master of science or a professor of theology, but a
sturdy muscular son of the nets.

After meeting the Messiah, his entire life underwent a re-

markable change. Andrew became a fisher of men. His name
has been praised for centuries. However, to be a follower of
Jesus was not sufficient for Andrew. Others must know the
Messiah too. He felt impelled to tell the glad news. Andrew,
a man of positive convictions and courageous heart, went first
to Simon to win him to Christ.

What strategy would Andrew use? Were his arguments no-

tated and chronologically arranged? Did he memorize Scrip-
tures to quote? No, Andrew set a precedent in soul winning;
his approach to Simon cannot be improved. He gave his per-
sonal testimony. No argument, no proving, but simply: “I have
found the Messiah!” A personal testimony is irrefutable. It is
the most convincing approach to unbelievers.

Hard boiled Simon, without looking up, probably ironically re-

plied, “Yes, you’re always finding something!” But something
in Andrew’s voice compelled Simon to look up. He saw the
new expression on Andrew’s face, and noted the eagerness in
his eyes. Andrew won Peter, and Peter won thousands.

Who could be greater than Peter? Andrew, who

led Peter to Christ.

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 November 20
____________

Heartbeat
“Now Jesus called his disciples to Himself and said, ‘I
have compassion on the multitude…’” (Matthew 15:32)

J
esus had a tender heart and sensitive feelings. He sensed
those around Him whose heart did not beat as His heart,
who were not in tune with Him, who lived in a selfish
world and who had no faith. The heartbeat of Christ was seen
in every look of the eye, every touch of the finger and every
footstep He made. The heartbeat of Christ today is for the
salvation of the entire world.

When your heart beats as one with Jesus, you love people and
you have faith. When you love people, you want to see them
saved, healed and delivered. No happiness on earth compares
with that which comes from getting people through to God. No
sacrifice is too great.

You are one, I know, to whom the word heartbeat has meaning.
You have a capacity to feel deeply. Your heart beats with the
compassion of Jesus. You have a compassion for the lost, and
are moved to tears at the thought of men perishing without
Christ.

People in the world are burning up their energies trying to find

a way out of the political mess. You and I have the answer. It is
simply to move with God as He moved in spiritual deliverance.
No other avenue of hope exists apart from the power of the
Holy Ghost to the lives of God’s people.

All this world needs is the love of God shed abroad

in the human heart.

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 November 21
____________

The Command
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy
Ghost and with power; who went about doing good,
and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for
God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38)

A
s I go from city to city and church to church I observed
many of God’s people with chains of oppression. Some
are oppressed with cancer or other dreadful illnesses,
and some are oppressed with fear. Their lives are tormented
and distracted by it. Others are oppressed with sadness; the
spirit of suicide runs wild. Even some ministers of the Gospel
have committed suicide. The cares of this life have depressed
and oppressed many.

But God said, “Tell My people,” and at this point He is not

speaking to sinners, but to His own people. God said oppres-
sion is a chain that binds, subdues and imprisons. The Lord
specifically said His people must not bow down under Satan’s
power. Just think of the millions bowed down today.

As a servant of God, I ask you to hear these words, and live

and walk in the victory Christ purchased for you on Calvary.

He breaks the power of sin.

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 November 22
____________

In the Image of God

“God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, after Our
likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish
of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creeps upon the earth.’” (Genesis 1:26)

N
ote particularly the words, “Let us make man in our
image.” Out of sheer desire and infinite love God cre-
ated a part of His creation like unto Himself, and that
part was made. In order that you would know for certain that
you did not evolve from lower forms of life, God reiterated His
statement: “So God created man in His own image, in the im-
age of God created He him, male and female created He them.”
(Genesis 1:27)

Not only did God create man in His own image, but He also
allowed man to reproduce the image. Not only was Adam in
the image of God, but his seed as well. In the New Testament,
Paul wrote concerning the image of God: “As we have borne the
image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heav-
enly.” (1 Corinthians 15:49) Not only do you bear the image of
God in your mortality, but when you see Him you shall be like
Him. You shall bear His image in immortality also.

God made Adam and Eve in His own image with

the capacity to fellowship with Him.

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 November 23
____________

The Last Days

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times
will come; for men will be lovers of themselves…
having a form of godliness but denying its power…”
(2 Timothy 3:2-5)

W
e live in the most momentous age in the history of the
world. The stage is clearly set for the coming of the
Lord and the end of the world. Surely we are seeing
the unfolding of what must be the last days.

When I started out as a boy preacher, you could preach the

Gospel to a congregation, and they would believe what you
said. You could talk about sin, and they knew what you were
talking about. I don’t mean they all repented and got saved,
but at least they knew they were sinners. They believed the
message I preached. They knew I was telling them the Truth.

The great apostle Paul said that the day would come when
people would refuse to believe the Truth when it was present-
ed to them. I’m afraid we are seeing this take place right here
in America today. Thousands and thousands of people, young
and old, are rejecting the Truth of God’s Word, and choosing
to believe lies. We have a whole generation that is rejecting
the teachings of the Word of God. But it makes no difference
what you call it—immorality is immorality, sin is sin, and no
amount of fancy words, rationalizations or excuses can change
it. So those who deliberately choose to do wicked and ungod-
ly things believe a lie deceiving themselves, and they will be
judged. Dishonesty, immorality and violence have become so
common in our nation that they are just expected; they are the
“norm.” Sin will destroy you, smash your hopes and ruin your
dreams. “Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity…”
(Isaiah 1:4)

The devil is a liar and a destroyer of everything

good, fine and noble.
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 November 24
____________

The Cry of a Native Son

“Woe to the inhabitants of the earth… For the devil
has come down unto you, having great wrath, because
he knows he has but a short time.” (Revelation 12:12)

America, I love you.

I am a son of your native soil.
I am most at home in your big cities.
I have drunk deeply of your freedoms.
I have enjoyed your abundance.
But, America, can you not see the “Handwriting on the wall”?
Your enemies are deadly within and without.
You have poisonous viper’s posing as your friends.
They are ready for a fatal thrust.
America, you bear the hatred of many lands.
I have heard you cursed in foreign tongues.
I have seen you misunderstood by men and nations.
You are unloved and unwanted in a world of peril and need.
America, worst of all you are sick inside.
I see your news stands filled with pornographic reading.
I see your clothes styled by sex deviates.
I see your lust for pleasure like a Roman delight.
America, I see you worshiping the golden calf of material greed.
You need Christ… NOW.
You need His love, His delivering power.
America, it may not be too late for you to find God now.
God save America—land that I love!

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 November 25
____________

A Tough Fellow
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
(Matthew 5:5)

J
enaro Mendez was a tough fellow! When he was intoxi-
cated there were two things he wanted to do: gamble and
fight. Both he did so often that the community in East-
ern Puerto Rico knew him as a tough fellow. Jenaro and his
friends commonly got together to drink and gamble the en-
tire night, which usually ended in a brawl where someone was
usually wounded. One Saturday evening, Jenaro and a group
of his cronies became involved in a quarrel that reached its cli-
max when Jenaro, using a razor sharp machete, killed one of
his friends. He wandered into the night, laughing hysterically
and spattered with blood.

While he was in jail, I asked him if it worried him that he had

taken a man’s life. He replied that when he was sober the fact
troubled him, but when he was drunk he wanted to kill again.
Once released from jail, he immediately became intoxicated in
order to impress his friends that he was still a tough fellow.
However, while awaiting his trial, Jenaro fell in with a group of
Gospel believers, and seemingly by accident he met the pastor
who invited him to attend church meetings. The minister’s
sermon seemed almost a biography of Jenaro. It concluded by
declaring that God would forgive the worst sinners, and give
them a new life. Jenaro came to the altar, and was indeed a
changed man. A new life came to him. He became a fervent
witness for the Lord, and won a number of his family to Christ.
Today he makes a living as a bread salesman who tells his
customers that he has two kinds of bread: earthly bread and
the eternal bread.

God still performs miracles!

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 November 26
____________

I Saw Excitement in the Orient

“…they reported all that God had done with them,
and that He had opened the door of faith to the
Gentiles.” (Acts 14:27)

T
he Apostle Paul, upon his return to Antioch, gathered
the church together and rehearsed all the miracles that
God had performed on his first missionary journey stat-
ing that a tremendous door had been opened.

When I was invited and urged by the Living Sound musical

and preaching group to do missionary evangelism with them
in the Orient, I prayed and felt God leading me to do it. I was
an engineer at WHMB, channel 40, and my father graciously
released me for this missionary work.

We witnessed deep spiritual need in every place, including Ko-

rea, Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore. Indonesia presented
the greatest spiritual challenge. We lived right with the na-
tives, and in many towns we were the only foreigners there;
however, we were well received and appreciated ministering
to the people. We saw miracles in every place, witnessing
people being healed and saved. But, it was so exciting to see
Muslims converted to the Lord Jesus Christ at great risk to
their lives.

I am a different Peter Sumrall. I have now seen the harvest

of the world on my own. I have personally loved the people of
many different cultures and languages. I have felt the need of
depressed nations. I am dedicated. I am ready to do anything
God calls me to do. I wish to challenge you to a personal
consecration and dedication to world evangelism.

Editor’s Note: This passage was written by Peter Sumrall, reprinted from
the 1974 July/August World Harvest Magazine.

Today it is possible. Tomorrow it could be too late.

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 November 27
____________

The Wonder of Nazareth

“…can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46)

Y
ou might say, “What is so wonderful about Nazareth?”
Well, there was no other place in all the world where
Jesus could have seen the past, the present and the
future. Jesus had to live in Nazareth. God planted Nazareth
there where His Son could live and see eternalness every day.
Every day Jesus envisioned the history of the past, he felt
the pressures of the present, and dreamed of the majesty and
glory of the future! There simply was no other place for Him
to be brought up except Nazareth.

The destinies of God are amazing. You might not know why
God has you where you are. We only know God plants people
in places that He might bless them. It was no accident that
Jesus’ father lived in Nazareth. God has put you where you
are today through Divine destiny that He might speak to you,
that He might guide you, that He might do something rare,
beautiful, lovely, and gracious in your own life.

The plan of God in your life is the sweetest thing in the world.
God has a plan for every human being. God has put you in a
place where He can bless you, talk to you and help you.

Let the Lord have His way in your life; His bless-
ings will flow like a river.

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 November 28
____________

Foundations
“For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which
is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11)

I
f the foundations of a building are faulty, you have a real
problem. If the foundations are sure, one can build any
size or any type of building. Whether it is your life, church
or a nation, it is so important as to what kind of foundation
you have. God is the layer of foundations, and when He lays a
foundation it is a good one.

In Isaiah 28:16 the Bible says, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone

for a foundation. A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure
foundation: Whoever believes will not act hastily.”

Christ is our foundation so we don’t get swept around by all

the intrigues of the devil. 2 Timothy 2:19 says, “Nevertheless
the solid foundation of God stands…” God’s foundation stands
sure. You want to establish yourself on God’s foundation. You
may be moved, but He will never be moved. And if you are
on Him you will never be moved. When we remember four
hundred years ago when there were so many martyrs for the
church singing at the stake, and how in prison houses they
would sing; that was because their foundations were sure.
They knew in whom they believed, and were sure.

Walk by the Word of God and you will have a sure

foundation.

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 November 29
____________

Shining Lights
“But the path of the just is as the shining light…”
(Proverbs 4:18)

T
he language here refers to a way of life on the part of
those who are justified, who are redeemed and who are
called to do a particular work for God. These people, the
Bible says, are as a shining light. A shining light would not
be necessary if there was no darkness. The night light you
have in your yard turns off during the day, because its pur-
pose ran out. The just are like a shining light, and where the
darkness is greater more light is needed. If we are entering
into the world’s darkest moment, we need more of the shining
lights of the righteous. Certainly we don’t need lesser lights,
smaller lights or weaker lights; we need brighter lights, stron-
ger lights and dazzling lights.

The path of the just is like a shining light. It doesn’t grow

darker, but it gets brighter and brighter. John, the beloved,
had his greatest revelation on Patmos. His most dazzling mo-
ment came when he was an old man, not when he was thirty
or forty.

When a man retires, if you follow his case closely and compare
it statistically, you will find he usually dies before his time.
Retirement can destroy one’s usefulness. A man’s best years
are his mature years. Instead of losing his purpose for living,
as some do, one who works until he dies is happiest. Age has
nothing to do with a man’s capability.

When a church retires into its own four walls, it

has largely destroyed its usefulness.

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 November 30
____________

Righteousness and Peace and Joy

“For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking,
but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
(Romans 14:17)

T
he Kingdom of God, according to Paul the Apostle, is
righteousness, peace and joy. When you become a
Christian you become righteous; God’s righteousness is
placed within you. You become peace. You don’t search for
peace saying, “Where are you, peace?” You are peace. Wher-
ever you go, you just take peace along with you. You don’t
say, “Lord, give me peace,” for you are peace. The world seeks
for peace, but it doesn’t have righteousness. It tries to obtain
the latter without the former, and that is not possible. The
Kingdom of God is joy. You don’t seek joy; you are joy. Now,
I have found that true. I am joy. Circumstances don’t make
me happy. I am happy—happy all the time. I am happy every
day of my life. I am joy. I don’t run around looking for joy. I
have it right inside of me, and I share it wherever I go. I am
righteousness, peace and joy; and so are you!

Joy is an invincible possession that we can own.

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 December 1
____________

Smith Wigglesworth:
Apostle of Faith
“As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee…” (Joshua 1:5)

S
mith Wigglesworth is a legend in our modern world,
but to me he is real flesh and blood of friendship and
fellowship. He could in truth be called one of the heroes
of faith.

We are all aware of the words of Moses as he transferred his

authority and power to Joshua. It was about my last visit with
Brother Wigglesworth, and Europe was about to go up in the
awful flames of World War II. Not realizing that I would soon
be sent home by the American government because of the war
in Europe, we were sitting in his living room talking when he
said, “Young man, kneel down.” He put his big strong hands
upon my shoulders and prayed, “Jesus, give this young man
the faith that is in my heart. Give him the courage that you
have given me. Let Your anointing be upon him.”

As this giant of faith prayed and wept, I felt the strength

of God and the spirit of the Lord move very deeply into my
inner being. It is very possible that my ministry has been
tremendously influenced by the prayers and the laying on of
hands of this man. As I left his home that day, never to return,
I was almost dazed to think of this man who had walked with
God weeping over my life and ministry and asking God to
anoint me with faith and power by His great Spirit.

God has no room for the man that looks back,

thinks back, or acts back.

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 December 2
____________

The Most Wonderful Name

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a
Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which
is translated, ‘God with us.’” (Matthew 1:23)

T
he name of Jesus was given by an angel from Heaven.
Very possibly, even the angels did not know the strength
or the power of that name. Even the Virgin Mary, in her
earthly means of thinking and understanding, would find it
impossible to comprehend the greatness of the name given to
her Son. She only knew what an angel had said. Jesus, in the
Old Testament, means Joshua; Jehovah is salvation. So his
name would mean God is salvation.

Today, the name given by the angel fills the entire earth. It
speaks justice to the world. You do not have injustice where
the name of Jesus is concerned, for the name of Jesus speaks
of righteousness. When the Lord comes into a person’s heart,
he or she claims the name of Jesus, and turn from their sins to
serve the living God.

Throughout the world the name Jesus speaks of love. He

was sent to the cross deliberately and voluntarily to go as a
sacrifice for your sins and mine. Yes, most of all, the name
Jesus speaks of love.

The name of Jesus also speaks of forgiveness, healing, and

action. I feel that the name of Jesus should be a word which
is held sacred by Christians. It is a name we should hold in
reverence and respect. Yes, the name of Jesus is beautiful.

There may be a time when you are persecuted

and hated for the name of Jesus, but accept it
fully.

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 December 3
____________

A Nail of Strength
“Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail,
out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor
together.” (Zechariah 10:4)

I
n prophecy God speaks of Christ as a nail. In Zechariah
10:4, Christ is that nail. He can bind together the nation
of Israel. He can bind together the church. He can bind
together a broken spirit or a sick body.

“And the key of the house of David will I lay upon His shoulder;
so He shall open, and none shall shut; and He shall shut, and
none shall open. And I will fasten Him as a nail in a sure place,
and He shall be for a glorious throne to His Father’s house…”
(Isaiah 22:22-25) This is speaking of the coming Christ. He
is that nail of God in a sure place. He is Heaven’s perfect plan
of redemption for all humankind. Our world is at loose ends;
divided, broken and angry. Christ is the nail which will bind
it together in His Kingdom.

God’s Word says that all mankind’s transgres-

sions, shortcomings and judgments were nailed
to the cross of Jesus Christ.

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 December 4
____________

Divine Revelation
“… Never man spake like this man.” (John 7:46)

D
ivine revelation is wonderful, and I have desired and
craved for supernatural manifestations. I wished for
a revelation of the true meaning of Christ’s sacrificial
death. The following revelation of Calvary was given to me
by the Holy Spirit. I was talking to a large congregation
several years ago in Brazil. I stood up to preach through my
interpreter, and suddenly I lost my identity with reality. I
began to say beautiful things not of my own thinking. I didn’t
believe I could remember these things, but I was able to write
down a few thoughts that have stayed with me. When I finished
preaching I looked down upon the mass of people who were on
their knees praying. The Holy Spirit had performed a miracle.
I have reason to believe those people were transformed by the
Word of God that went forth under an anointing and blessing
that night.

Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him that sent me, while
it is day; the night cometh, when no man can work.” (John 9:4)
God has His hand upon our lives, and we are the instruments
of Him to combat every evil on the face of the earth. We stand
against all wrong doctrines and teachings. We stand against
all immoral behavior. We take our stand against atheism, and
we believe now is the greatest hour for the Christian church.
It is an hour of victory. It is an hour to challenge the very
gates of Hell.

While the light of reason is in the land, and the

light of freedom still burns, we must labor.

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 December 5
____________

Faith and Greatness

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free.” (John 8:32)

G
od wants you to stand up tall walking through this
Earth with great strength. This is not a time for weak-
lings. It is not a time for fear. It is not a time for people
to be frustrated or confused. However, you must have faith to
be a great person in God. Faith is a positive action. You must
believe God and trust God. You must take His word to be
true and accept the Bible; walk forward with it, and you will
find that it is true. Let living faith be generated within your
being. Stand up tall in faith. Be big in faith. Have faith in
God! If you will do this, it will bring you blessing and power.
It will give you strength rather than weakness. It will bring
you healing rather than sickness; therefore, let faith control
your life.

If you will persistently follow living faith—active faith—you

will find the Lord Jesus Christ making you a king or a queen
in our world today. Are you ready for spiritual greatness?
Whether you are a young person or an older person, this
stands true. Please stand up big by God’s power, and be the
person that the Lord Jesus would like you to be.

Faith never tries; faith commands and receives.

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 December 6
____________

Erasing Guilt
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but
after the spirit.” (Romans 8:1)

I
n the state of Mississippi a man named Rice disappeared
and was not found. Over ten years later a man carelessly
told another man, “See that pond of water? I planted a
grain of rice there ten years ago which has never grown.” This
man felt very strange about the saying, and looked through
old newspapers to discover a man by the name of Rice had
disappeared around that time. He reported it to the police.
They searched the bottom of that pond, and found a human
skeleton with a chain wrapped around it. The man confessed
when confronted with the evidence and was condemned, then
he was sent to prison. His guilt complex finally burst open,
and his act of murder was punished.

Guilt can produce insanity. A nagging emotion can become

an obsession, and produce mental instability. Judas Iscariot
drowned in a whirlpool of guilt taking his own life. King Saul
did the same when he knew God was not with him.

If a person refuses Christ’s forgiveness, he will carry his guilt

through eternity. Abraham said to the rich man in Hell, “Son,
remember.” The awful remorse of guilt will follow the wicked
forever. But whoever comes to Christ, the past is erased and
every feeling of guilt is removed.

The “new birth” is God’s righteousness, God’s

peace and God’s joy!

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 December 7
____________

Truth
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the father except through me.”
(John 14:6)

I
n this season the world is compelled to think of Jesus! The
only intelligent way to think of Jesus Christ is in His own
words, “I am...the Truth…” In a world drowning in lies and
deception Christ cries, “I am. Period. The truth!” Truth is
one of the most dynamic words spoken by human lips. Every
utterance correlated to fact is true. Every written bit of prose
that is correlated to fact is true. Truth is always based upon
fact that exists. That is why we say God is the basis of all
truth, because God is fact. God is reality. You look up into the
sky and God is there, every star is shining. The flowers that
so magnificently and fragrantly bloom demonstrate the fact of
the existence of God.

Truth has a beginning, an establishment. When truth happens

and is established, those who correlate themselves with the
fact walk in truth. They don’t walk in lies or in deceptions.
Therefore, if you are searching for truth you need to discover,
not an idea or philosophy, but a Person, and you will have
Truth. My friend, God can bring you into eternal Truth. You
won’t be confused on doctrines or confronted by experiences.

Jesus said, “The truth shall set you free.” There

is no freedom like knowing.

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 December 8
____________

Knowing God Is Real

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God...’”
(Psalms 14:1)

H
ow do you know that God is real? The answer to this
question begins at your mother’s knee. She says,
“There is a God.”

The child says, “Why? Where is He?”

“God lives in Heaven, but also in your heart.”

Getting to know God is a natural thing. If we have been taught

about God as a child and as we come into our teens and early
twenties we begin to gain knowledge of the Most High. How-
ever, we know that reading about Him or just hearsay is not
sufficient. One of the reasons I decided to go around the world
at twenty years of age was that I wanted to know if there was
a God. I wanted to know Him personally and give Him all of
my life. Because I wanted to know Him, I came to know Him.
God revealed Himself to me through His Word, and by reach-
ing out to Him in prayer.

I further came to know God through testimony. My mother had

cancer of the breast and Jesus healed her! She lived another
forty-five years. You can know God through His creation; the
beautiful flowers, stars or a new born baby.

God wants us to discover Him and to know Him.

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 December 9
____________

The Fire of Life

“… Did not our heart burn within us…” (Luke 24:32)

I
t was the Resurrection day! Jesus Christ had already ap-
peared to the women at the tomb, and they were broad-
casting the news. Two disciples were journeying from
Jerusalem to Emmaus sad and depressed having seen their
hopes and aspirations nailed to a cross and buried in a grave.
As they walked, a stranger appeared and spoke to them. The
stranger began to expound on Scriptures teaching them that
the Messiah must come and die and be raised again. They
invited the stranger to dine with them. During a prayer and
breaking of bread, Christ manifested Himself. The scales
dropped from their eyes, and they cried, “Jesus!”

As Christ disappeared they looked at one another and said,

“Did not our heart burn within us…” A burning heart; this
means a heart with a new hope. This means a new sense of
faith was born. Now they could do anything. Now they joined
a great group of burning hearts.

There are many people today like those two disciples. Your
experience is a “Has been!” Your heart did burn, but burns no
more! You need a new relation with Christ, the resurrection
Christ, the living Christ, the One who resolves problems, the
One who answers questions, the One who strengthens and the
One who gets a burning heart to life. There are millions of
Christians who have lost the first fire of life. It can only be
rekindled with the new and personal relationship with Jesus.
Christ is ready to attach Himself to your problems.

Join God’s ”burning hearts,” and enjoy the fire

of life!

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 December 10
____________

Fifty and Finished

“He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water…
And whatever he does shall prosper.” (Psalm 1:3)

L
ife has many exciting moments. Life has many surprises.
Life can be depressing.

My family and I had just returned from living in the Orient.

God had spoken to me about the great needs in America.
One of the first people I met upon my return was a minister
friend. Rather than mentioning the exploits of faith in my
life, the churches we had built, or the crusades we had held in
many countries, he looked at me and said, “Lester, what you
don’t realize is that you are fifty and finished.” The statement
almost crushed me. I had spent many years of my life in a
hundred nations of the world. I went to God in prayer and the
Lord said, “You are not finished, you are just getting started.
The greatest ministry you have ever known is before you.”

David spoke the message clear in Psalm 1:3, when he spoke

the words of today’s Scripture about a Christian. The palm
tree, even in the moment of its death, is heavy laden with fruit,
and in death its stock springs up into new life and fruitfulness.
The righteous shall be the same.

If God speaks something good towards you, say

it every hour.

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 December 11
____________

Who’s First?

W
ider society forever holds fast to a conventional defi-
nition of what it means to be a success, which today
approximates: reaching the top of the corporate lad-
der, winning the Super Bowl, becoming a famous pop star, and
so on.

However, as believers, we must decidedly seek a radically

different path than the one tread by ‘the world’—and this line
of insurrection is rare. Today, most expressions of so-called
‘rebellion’ against established cultural norms are nothing more
than tired clichés and reinventions of antiquated egoisms—
few actually ‘rebel’ as Christ commands—why? Simply, the
teachings of Jesus require us to move far beyond frivolous
protests against superficial paradigms to calling our entire
societal ideology into question.

How so?

In Matthew 20:16 Jesus said, “So the last will be first, and the
first will be last.”

Here Jesus doesn’t declare everyone a winner for good sports-

manship in post-modern fashion—no—there will indeed be
someone who comes last—in God’s Kingdom, the first are
last—inversely, the last are first.

Incredible.

Today, I encourage you to ask yourself: in God’s Kingdom…

Are you first?—or are you last?

Editor’s Note: This passage was written by Drew Sumrall, Grandson of

Dr. Lester Sumrall.

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 December 12
____________

Man Was Made for Tranquility

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)

T
umultuous living can kill you! Possibly the most tran-
quil and healing words in human literature are found in
Psalm 23.

Man shall, “… lie down in green pastures…”

Man shall rest, “… beside still waters…”

Man shall walk in, “… paths of righteousness…”

This would lead me to believe that man is very well adapted

to a nature oriented life. Man’s constitution within him was
actually made for a peaceful existence. David said, “The Lord
is my shepherd…” Think about the tranquility there is in a
peaceful countryside with only one person present, the shep-
herd and then the sheep.

In our modern world man has violently erupted from that

beautiful setting. He has come to super charge and break up
more than ever in the history of the world. How often can a
human suffer violent change while remaining a normal person?
Even the psychologists are not sure. Humans actually break
up inside after a given number of emotional eruptions.

Christians are the fortunate ones. They have more orientation

than any other people on the face of this earth. They know
more about what to do and how to do it than anyone else.
Know what you believe and believe what you know. Stand
for what you believe; that gives real stability and peace to the
inward man. You won’t have a nervous breakdown with the
tranquility of God inside of you.

God wants people who can take care of them-

selves, and can be caretakers of others.
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 December 13
____________

How to Get Anchored

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the
ungodly…” (Psalm 1:1)

A
mericans need to get anchored. We are being blown,
pushed and tossed. I heard a doctor say that possibly
ninety percent of all sickness is caused by human
emotion. If we can get our insides at peace, get our insides at
rest and get our inner being at peace with God, we can have
a good life.

Create good friendships. Don’t abuse your friends. Be faithful

to your friends. Be a friend to them when they are present
and when they are absent. Be loyal. In Psalm one King David
knew the secret of being anchored. He said, “Blessed is the
man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly…” That is
the anchored man. “Nor stands in the way of sinners…” That
is the anchored man. “Nor sits in the seat of the scornful…”
There is the pure hearted man.

We live in a country today where about a third of the citizens

want to grab something from the government. Our government
doesn’t have anything except what it takes from the rest of
us. Anytime someone says they are getting something from
the government, just tell them YOU are the government. The
Bible says when a man is planted he brings forth good fruit.
He produces something. His leaf shall not wither. We don’t
expect to get weaker, we expect to get stronger. God wants us
to bless and help others. Nervous and mistreated people need
help. Christ is the adequate solution.

Christ said, “My peace I give unto you!”

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 December 14
____________

Think! Think! Think!

“I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to your
testimonies.” (Psalm 119:59)

I
t is not a new thing to say that we are living in days of
rush and turmoil. Dashing here and there, bustling about,
it is a nerve racking age. Men and women do not realize
this haste has been the greatest detriment to their slipping
away from God. It would be the greatest accomplishment if
we could get them to stop and THINK.

David did one of the wisest things when he said, “I thought

about my ways.” Friend, can’t you take time out and think on
your ways? Perhaps you would receive the greatest shock of
your life if you would consider your life. If you find yourself far
from God, follow David’s example. Notice the path you have
been trotting. The Bible speaks of a way that seems right to a
man, but the end is destruction. Consider the road; “The way
of the transgressor is hard.” (Proverbs 13:15) Turn your feet
toward Calvary and Jesus who is the Right Way.

No doubt we would be appalled at the number of those who

once knew the saving power of the Gospel, but have drifted
away. For you, I say…THINK. Do you remember that when
the cock crowed it was then Peter remembered, and the Scrip-
tures tell us, “…When he thought thereon, he wept.” Only that
is what awaits the one who has denied the Lord. Yet another
portion of Scripture relates the story of the young son who
inherited his share and enjoyed it for a while, but soon found
himself destitute of money, friends and the shelter of his fa-
ther’s home. In a faraway country, “… He came to himself…”
(Luke 15:17) He at last found time to sit down and think, and
when a person does just that he invariably comes to himself.

The only way is to stop, think and return to the

only One who can help us and offer us salvation
through faith.
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 December 15
____________

Marking Time
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times
will come.” (2 Timothy 3:1)

G
od is marking time. I do not mean marking time in the
sense of cessation of activity, but rather God is mark-
ing time for clarity of His divine purposes. God has
marked perilous times. The world is facing these prophetic
perils with earthquakes, floods, wars, crime, violence and di-
vorce. Human history has never known times of peril such as
these of our present generation. The Holy Spirit said these
times would come to pass.

God will mark the end time. Christ very graphically described
events of the end time in the twenty-fourth chapter of Mat-
thew when He said, “Do you not see all these things? Assur-
edly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another,
that shall not be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:2, NKJV) Pro-
phetic students observe these end time signs constantly.

God will mark times of sorrow. It seems there has never been
a time so engulfed with human sorrow as at this moment. Mil-
lions of refugees wandering on the face of the earth, millions
of broken homes with bleeding hearts and moral desolation,
and disease-ridden societies with death stalking the corridors
of the hospitals are all evident. It was Jesus who spoke of His
return to Earth, and who marked the times of sorrow.

But God has marked a special people. In the book of Joel, He

said, “I will pour out of My spirit… upon all flesh…” This is
happening right now. Some people are marked for Antichrist
and the Great Tribulation, and other people are marked for
the Rapture of the Church.

How are you marked? You must decide now!

__________
350
 December 16
____________

A Billy Graham Christian

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

I
was facing the immigration officer at the airport in Taipei,
Formosa. After he stamped my passport I said, “Are you a
Christian?” His eyes simply jumped for joy. He said, “Oh
yes! I am a Billy Graham Christian.” With this he pulled out
of his pocket a small booklet in English he had gotten from
the recent Billy Graham crusade. He said, “I am working
very hard to be a Billy Graham Christian.” I paused and said,
“If you will read your Bible every day, pray personally every
day to the Lord Jesus and if you will attend a Bible teaching
church on Sunday you will be a real Christian—a Jesus Chris-
tian.” He exclaimed, “I will. I am so glad to be a Billy Graham
Christian.” Again we were thrilled with newborn life into the
Kingdom of God, and thankful for His servants who preach
the Word without fear and in Holy Ghost fervor.

Oh, that man might see Christ in His simplicity

and truth.

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351
 December 17
____________

Angels Clear the Airways

“… I am the commander of the host of the Lord…”
(Joshua 5:14)

I
was flying across the Atlantic Ocean on a 747 jet, the largest
passenger aircraft in the travel service. Some six or eight
rows behind where I was sitting was a Christian lady, a
widow, a mother in the Church of Jesus Christ. During the
flight she came forward and touched me on the shoulder, and
said, “Brother Sumrall, the Lord has spoken to me, and said
that I should tell you that His angels have cleared the airways
for Christian television.” I thanked her, and assured her of
my gratitude before she returned to her seat. An hour later
she returned and said, “Brother Sumrall, the Lord continues
to speak to me, for me to tell you that His angels have come to
release the American Airways to Christian television. You are
to possess them!”

I was startled! As we flew on across the Atlantic Ocean, my

spirit reached out to God in prayer as to the direction and
decisions to make in American television. The American
Airways of television and radio must be cleared of demons and
devils of lust and violence; delivered from the occult and from
the god of entertainment. We must use the airways for the
greatest revival the world has ever known! The battle for the
airways will be against the “Blue Networks” who bring every
type of obscenity, lust, murder and spiritism into the homes of
America. For sure, this is the greatest battle this nation ever
faced. God has sent the angels to help us in this battle. We
will flood the airwaves of America with the honest truth by the
Power of God.

What a difference in battle when God supernat-

urally enters the struggle and angels fight for us.

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352
 December 18
____________

Princes Walk, Servants Ride

“I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking
as servants upon the earth.” (Ecclesiastes 10:7)

S
olomon lived in the Orient where royalty rode horses and
servants walked. Solomon witnessed this reversed; with
princes walking and servants riding. Our world can be
very strange. Those who should be up can be down, and those
who should be advanced have been pushed back. Sometimes
the unscrupulous usurp the highest places of authority while
the truly great humbly accept obscurity. When the weak rule,
you have some sorry situations. Just before a nation collapses,
the weak are always ruling and the strong have been cast to
one side. We find this remarkably illustrated by David. He
was a prince indeed. He possibly composed the twenty-third
Psalm while in his teens. No doubt he was singing it the day
Samuel, the prophet of God, came to anoint him King of Israel.
David was obliged to wandering the wilderness and sleeping
in a cave all while a man named Saul was ruling in the palace.
Saul was full of hate, jealousy, anger and murder. While the
Prince was walking, the servant was riding. God miraculously
changed this situation.

May I address those living today where someone has pushed

you down and you don’t have the place in this life that you
should have? You say, “I am a prince, but I am walking.” God
has a hand in the affairs of men, and God can change things;
we must permit God to do it. Injustices are made correct if
you and I have the right spirit within us, but often you have to
walk in the dust while servants ride.

One day you will find all the princes riding horses,
and all the unfaithful servants walking.

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353
 December 19
____________

The Power of Touching

“And begged Him that they might only touch the hem
of his garment. And as many as touched it were made
perfectly well.” (Matthew 14:36)

W
hen God created Adam with his five bodily senses, He
made the sense of touch special. Touching, or feeling,
can be one of the greatest expressions between
humans. When you reach out to touch someone, you can be
giving or receiving. You can be friendly or fighting. Touching
can be for good or evil. The human being is instinctively geared
to touch. Beginning as an infant and continuing all the days
of a person’s life, every human feels the need to touch another
human. Touch is a strong form of communication.

When we touch things they are often our possessions, and

there is a bond between us and them; however, when we touch
goods that are not our own we touch them differently. Touch
reveals pity. Our compassionate fingers carry our deepest
empathy to those burdened with sorrow and sadness. Touch
demonstrates love. Man also caresses that which he loves. A
touch of love can be communicated to someone in a far greater
manner than we can express with words.

Jesus was a master at touching the right person at the right

time, and knowing the power of touching. He touched those
that were sad and lifted their burdens. He touched those
that were possessed with the devil and cast out demons. He
touched the bread and broke it for the hungry. To have the
right touch for everyone we meet is one of God’s greatest gifts.

Christ also wishes for us to touch others in the

right way, at the right time, to bring His blessing.

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354
 December 20
____________

Unto Us…
“For unto us a child is born…” (Isaiah 9:6)

T
he birth of the Lord Jesus Christ is personal, that is why
the prophet is saying, “Unto us.” These two words stand
out as few other words in the entire Bible. “Unto us,”
means you and me.

Unto us who are undeserving.

Unto us who are idolaters.

Unto us who were bound with the chains of sin.

It was unto us that Christ was born. The most important

thing for us to know is that unto us, to you and to me, is given
a Savior who is part of our very flesh and being; that we have a
counselor who is our mediator between us and God (1 Timothy
2:5); that we have a mighty God who has never lost a battle
and who will win our battles for us; that from everlasting, He
has remained the same, has not changed; that He is in truth,
the Prince of Peace.

He is our Savior, our Healer, our Comforter and our Victor.

We are in a wonderful position to live a glorious life for Him
on this earth. For the believer, there can be nothing else but
glorious health, consoling victory and triumphant living with
such a Savior given unto us by our heavenly Father. Therefore,
unto us there is joy for sadness, there is hope for despair, there
is light for darkness, there is gain for loss and there is victory
for defeat.

No one ever understood our humanity as Jesus

understands.

__________
355
 December 21
____________

Ready for Destiny

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: after
His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they
came together, she was found with child of the Holy
Spirit.” (Matthew 1:18)

A
t the birth of our Lord Jesus, there were many powers
and influences flowing together to make it the most
dramatic moment of our human history. There was
never a time when the cosmos and mankind flowed together so
dramatically. At that moment the world was ready for destiny!

The Virgin Mary was ready to be different from any mother in

the history of the world. The strangeness and the unbelievable
nature of the birth of Christ did not overwhelm her. There is
probably no woman who ever lived more willing to live with
the destiny that Mary the mother of our Lord did.

Joseph of Nazareth was certainly a man ready for destiny. He

may have been a lowly carpenter before men, but he proved
to be a great statesman when the angel informed him that he
was part of a destiny to save the world. He laid aside his own
selfishness, his own feelings and flowed with destiny.

In studying the people who were ready for the greatest moment
in human history, one sees a common denominator. We can
see unusual faith already mature in their lives. In each of
our lives, God is ready to do something very unusual. We are
at the most unusual time in the last two thousand years of
history. God will certainly find those who are ready for this
destiny.

God wants you to be ready for destiny!

__________
356
 December 22
____________

Bethlehem or Armageddon
“No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate
the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the
one and despise the other…” (Matthew 6:24)

O
ur modern world is marching toward the final stage of
its destiny. Its greatest question is to ask, “Where is it
marching?” The nations of this world are marching to a
rendezvous with one of two places: Bethlehem or Armageddon.

There is such a contrast between persons to come out of Beth-

lehem and Armageddon. Christ, the living and healing Savior,
came from Bethlehem; while Armageddon is to be the place of
the Antichrist, a place of rebellion and great bloodshed.

There is a great contrast of the motions. From Bethlehem’s

streams flows the eternal love of God. From Armageddon will
pour forth the accumulated hatred of six thousand years of sin,
for Armageddon holds the fullness of all hatred and bitterness.

Then there’s the moral contrast. Bethlehem represents all

that is holy, the sacredness of the home and of the family. Ar-
mageddon represents perverts, moral lepers, crime, gambling
and every evil. Even today Bethlehem is represented with
bells. The entire world has heard the bells of Bethlehem, the
joyful bells of Bethlehem. Armageddon will be characterized
by screaming, thunderous gunfire and the maddening voices
of dying men.

Everyone must decide to either follow the Prince of Peace of

Bethlehem or the godless tyranny to Armageddon.

Christ was born to fulfill the prophecy of God,

reaching out His hand to offer to us the keys of
the Kingdom.

__________
357
 December 23
____________

Oh Come! Let Us Adore Him

“Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width,
for I give it to you.” (Genesis 13:17)

M
any people ask me why I have been to the Holy Land
over thirty times. I go to the Holy Land because it
was there that God has spoken the most to the hu-
man race. It is tremendous to stand and pray where God
made covenants with mankind. Here He spoke to Abraham
on a rock called Moriah, and the cave underneath that rock
is no doubt where Abraham took shelter. I climb Mt. Sinai,
called by the local people “The Mount of God,” where God gave
the greatest document ever delivered to mankind, the Ten
Commandments. I feel the rolling of the boat crossing the
beautiful Sea of Galilee where Jesus performed many mira-
cles. Probably the greatest of all locations is to stand in the
shadow of Mt. Calvary, and to look upon its desolate top where
Jesus gave His life to save the world. I go to the Holy Land
to stand in that remarkable room called the Upper Room. It
was here the glorious Church of Jesus Christ was born. But
it’s with renewed excitement to lead in singing, “Oh Come! Let
Us Adore Him,” standing where Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
The enrichment of your mind and spirit cannot be described.
The Bible comes alive in a very real way when visiting the
Holy Land.

As you celebrate Christmas this year, consider

visiting the Holy Land—you’ll never be the same!

__________
358
 December 24
____________

The Shepherds’ Vision

“And there were in the same country shepherds abid-
ing in the field, keeping watch over their flock by
night.” (Luke 2:8)

B
efore the startled shepherds’ eyes, angelic hosts appeared
to herald the arrival of the Son of God as the Savior of
the world. The veil between the natural realm and the
spiritual realm was drawn aside by the hand of God. The full-
ness of time had come. God’s great redemptive plan was about
to be consummated.

As ambassadors of God, the angels announced this great

message to Earth. They arrived in a blaze of Heavenly glory.
With a voice of authority, which convinced the shepherds of
their mission, they proclaimed that with the coming of Christ
there would be peace on earth and goodwill toward men.

These same angels had watched God the Father and God the
Son create the world and the universe. Now they saw God
the Son as a babe in a mother’s arms. The swaddling clothes
of the Babe of Bethlehem became a flag of peace between God
and man.

The Festival of the Nativity is a festival for both

Heaven and Earth!

__________
359
 December 25
____________

The Message of the Angels

“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good-
will toward men.” (Luke 2:14)

T
he angels knew what glory was, for they had seen the
glory of God. Now they would see another kind of
glory—the redemption of the human race. The first part
of their message was a doxology, “Glory to God in the highest.”
In other words, let God have the honor of His redemptive work.

God’s goodwill to men, manifested in the sending of His Son,

resounds forever to His praise. Other works of God—His
handiwork in creation, in the mountains and prairies, in the
oceans and in the starry skies—are for His glory. But the
redemption of the world is for His glory in the highest!

Let men have the joy of it; this was the second part of the
angels’ message. God’s goodwill in sending His Son to Earth
introduced peace to the world. Peace among men is for man’s
highest good. All the good we have now and the good we will
have in the future is due to God’s goodwill. Man has the joy of
it; God must have the glory of it. Peace on Earth is not possible
except by way of the Mediator whom God has provided—the
Man, Jesus Christ.

Man’s supreme need was a Mediator who pro-

vided peace with God!

__________
360
 December 26
____________

Is Jesus Christ Acceptable?

“… I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance.” (Matthew 9:13)

T
he religious leaders of Christ’s time refused to accept
Jesus as their messiah. If Jesus came back to Earth
today, His way of living and His means of dealing with
people would be so different that He would be unacceptable to
the religious world.

The priesthood in Jesus’ day lived a double standard, and

when Jesus revealed their dishonesty they mocked Him. He
said in Matthew 23, “… You are hypocrites!” Such statements
will not make you popular. The Jerusalem priest craft hated
Jesus. Those who are dishonest before God and man still hate
those who rebuke them. Religious leaders who refused our
Savior two thousand years ago were the same type of leaders
who refuse the true Gospel today.

Because of Christ, you may be refused by your family, your

friends and your business associates. If that should be the
price for saving the world, let us be strong in the Lord and in
the power of His might! If Christ could not save Himself, let
us not seek to save ourselves, but let us seek to save the world!

God brought a world Savior out of Nazareth!

__________
361
 December 27
____________

Miracles Along the Jordan River

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan
to be baptized by him.” (Matthew 3:13)

T
he Jordan River has witnessed more miracles than all
the rivers of the world combined. It has had more great
people look upon it than any other river in the world.
Moses looked across that river and longed to walk on the soil
of the West Bank. God never permitted him to do so. A gen-
eration of the children of Israel, because they refused to cross
the river, died in the wilderness. The Jordan River mirac-
ulously opened for God’s people to cross. They crossed on a
path not made with hands. God divided the waters and led
them through dry-shod. In 2 Kings 2:8, 14 we read that the
waters of the river opened up so Elijah and Elisha might walk
through.

A further miracle is noted in 2 Kings 6:6. We learn of a young

preacher called one of the “Sons of the prophets.” (v.1) He
lost an iron ax head off the handle. He saw it falling into the
murky waters to hide in the mud of the river bottom. The
prophet Elisha, with burning words of faith, spoke to the ax
head crying out, “Iron swim!” To the amazement of all the
Bible school students called the “Sons of the Prophets,” the
iron ax head came floating on top of those waters.

There has also been healing in that river. In 2 Kings 5:10

we read the story of Naaman. He was a general, a Syrian, a
wealthy man, a good man and possessed a strong personality.
However, Naaman was a leper. It was a little slave girl who
told him to go to see ELISHA. This amazing preacher said,
“Go and wash in Jordan seven times.” He dipped himself seven
times in the waters of the Jordan, and he came up healed.
Jordan is a miracle river!

The greatest miracle was when Jesus was bap-

tized in the Jordan River!
__________
362
 December 28
____________

Eating out of God’s Barrel

“For my God shall supply all your needs according to
His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

D
uring a time of drought and famine in Kenya, a poor
woman scraped the bottom of her meal barrel. She
even confessed death was staring her in the face. A
man of God approached her and said, “Little woman, eat out
of God’s barrel.” She obeyed by giving God His portion first.
For over three years she ate out of a barrel that was always
sufficient for her needs.

The Bible tells of a boy who went to a campmeeting with

dinner and found to his amazement that he was the only one
who brought anything to eat. He had to decide whether to
keep what he had for himself or to share; whether to eat out
of his barrel or God’s barrel. By choosing God’s barrel, he saw
the most amazing miracle as his lunch fed five thousand. He
returned home, not with a handful of leftovers in a little sack,
but with twelve baskets full of food as a testimony to what God
can do.

What does all this mean to you? Simply this: You don’t need to
be concerned about oil crises, food shortages or short supplies
of anything you need. God is your source of supply, and He
never has any shortages. Man’s barrel may get so empty he
is scraping bottom, but God’s barrel is full and running over.

Give God what belongs to Him—the miracle supply

you need will be provided.

__________
363
 December 29
____________

The Cycle of Slavery

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free.” (John 8:32)

T
he record of history shows that humans subjected to
bondage and slavery can develop hope! They hope to
be free! Hope gives birth to faith! The captive begins
believing his captivity will end and freedom will come. He has
faith to be free; faith creates courage. A man with courage is
convinced he can be free. He knows no fear. Courage brings
forth freedom. The captive becomes a conqueror, the slave
shakes off his bondage. Then, freedom gives birth to abun-
dance. Free men always outproduce all others. Slaves may
be driven to produce quotas, but only free men reach toward
goals that bestow upon them abundance and plenty.

Often abundance leads to selfishness, and in selfishness man

eventually becomes complacent. Complacency brings on apa-
thy, and finally, history shows that apathy does not produce
for itself. It soon becomes dependent upon the provision and
supply of others. Thus the provider becomes the master. De-
pendency ultimately brings the material equivalent of bondage
and slavery. This has been a history of empires, nations, races
and individuals.

But God wants His people to be free, and to stay free. Jesus
said, “I am the truth.” So knowing Jesus will set you free, no
man should ever become a slave again who depends on the
Lord for his supply.

No man is a fool who gives what he cannot keep

to gain what he cannot lose!

__________
364
 December 30
____________

Blessing Brings Responsibility

“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast
out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
(Matthew 10:8)

W
hen God gives you a blessing, He wants you to recog-
nize that you have a responsibility to share with oth-
ers who need what you have been given. Remember
the story of the lame man at the Temple who asked Peter and
John for alms? Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold, but
I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus, get up and
walk!” You see, Jesus had given him that power, and Peter
went out and shared it.

I’m afraid there are too many in the church today who want
to receive freely, but haven’t gotten around to giving out
freely. They want the blessing without the responsibility. The
opportunities to share God’s power are all around us. You
probably come in contact with people every day who have deep
needs and are hungry for a touch of God’s love and power. You
have been given what they need, and the reason you come in
contact with them is to release God’s power to them.

One of the basic differences between God and man is their

attitude toward power. Man is always trying to harness it and
store it, but God does just the opposite! He always releases
power. He moves through the free flow of unlimited energy.
God wants you to release His power and bless the world today.
He wants to use you to meet needs of others and set people
free!

Too many Christians have been passing out

handkerchiefs instead of the power of God.

__________
365
 December 31
____________

Win a Million Souls

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I
am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes I will help
you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
(Isaiah 41:10)

N
ot too long ago, I was sitting on a boulder outside the
Scott’s Church in Jerusalem looking at the Zion Hill,
the Temple area, at the Mount of Olives. I watched
the sun rise over the Moabite Hills in the distance. At that
moment God spoke to me and said, “Son, you are responsible
to bring one million souls to Heaven.” That was vision. I never
dreamed of anything like this. I felt very inadequate and made
excuses, but God said, “Here is the plan for it.” The vision was
clear. The outreach of this miracle was wonderful—eternal
salvation for one million immortal souls around the world.
Anyone would be excited about it.

Some have mocked me, some have laughed at me and some

have criticized me. I can sincerely say that in all my life I have
never suffered so much hurt, so much misunderstanding and
so much desertion since I have announced the knowledge that
God had called me with the vision to win one million souls for
Him.

How much is a soul worth? What would it be worth to you to

know that a dear friend or loved one was going to Heaven?
How much would you be willing to give to win a soul to the
Lord?

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. And

he who wins souls is wise.” (Proverbs 11:30)

__________
366
 Dr. Lester____________
Sumrall
1913-1996
The voice of Dr. Lester Sumrall re-
mains prominent in the Christian
world today. More than 65 years of
ministry in over 100 nations made
Dr. Sumrall a respected source of wis-
dom and understanding. He was an au-
thor, teacher, missionary, evangelist,
and the pastor and founder of Christian Center Church in
South Bend, Indiana. Throughout his lifetime, Dr. Sum-
rall worked tirelessly to fulfill the Great Commission by
carrying the Gospel to the ends of the earth. In 1957 he
founded LeSEA, a multi-faceted global outreach. Today,
with the help of our faithful partners and friends, the min-
istry continues to blanket the world through television,
satellite, FM and shortwave radio, LeSEA Publications,
and LeSEA Global Feed the Hungry®.

Would you like to be a part of feeding the spirit, soul, and

body of the hungry?

Call or write today!

LeSEA Global Feed The Hungry

530 East Ireland Road
South Bend, IN 46614

Toll Free: 1-888-832-6384

Website: www.feedthehungry.org

www.familybroadcastingcorporation.com

__________
Other Books by____________
Dr. Lester Sumrall
Angels to Help You
Devolution of Civilization
Embracing the Call: Pursuing the Great Call of God
Faith Can Change Your World
Genesis: The Crucible of the Universe
Healing of the Memories
The Human Face of Jesus
I Did Not Quit!
Jerusalem: Where Empires Die
Jihad—The Holy War
Life Story of Lester Sumrall
Living Free!: How to Cope with Life’s Problems
Mercy: Man’s Greatest Hope
Militant Church
Miracles Don’t Just Happen!
Names of God
One World
Overcoming Compulsive Desires
Secrets of Answered Prayer
Spirit, Soul, and Body
Treasury of Lester Sumrall, Vol. 1
Victory and Dominion over Fear
The Will: Potent Force of the Universe
You Can Conquer Grief Before It Conquers You

To receive a catalog of available materials, contact:

LeSEA Publishing
530 E. Ireland Rd.
South Bend, IN 46614

Toll Free: 1-888-584-4847

Website: www.leseapublishing.com

__________
 Prayer of Salvation
____________
A born-again, committed relationship with God is the key
to the victorious life. Jesus, the Son of God, laid down His life
and rose again so that we could spend eternity with Him in
heaven and experience His absolute best on earth. The Bible
says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begot-
ten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
It is the will of God that everyone receive eternal salvation.
The way to receive this salvation is to call upon the name of
Jesus and confess Him as your Lord. The Bible says, “That if
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of
the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:9-10, 13).
Jesus has given salvation, healing and countless benefits to
all who call upon His name. These benefits can be yours if you
receive Him into your heart by praying this prayer with sincerity:
Heavenly Father, I come to You admitting that I
am a sinner. Right now, I choose to turn away from
sin, and I ask You to cleanse me of all unrighteous-
ness. I believe that Your Son, Jesus, died on the cross
to take away my sins. I also believe that He rose again
from the dead so that I might be justified and made
righteous through faith in Him. I call upon the name
of Jesus Christ to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Jesus, I choose to follow You, and ask that You fill me
with the power of the Holy Spirit. I declare that right
now, I am a born-again child of God. I am free from
sin, and full of the righteousness of God. I am saved
in Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer to receive Jesus Christ as
your Savior, or if this book has changed your life, we would like
to hear from you. Please write us at:
Christian Center Church
530 E. Ireland Rd.
South Bend, IN 46614
You may also call us at: 574-291-3292 (ask for the pastoral staff)
24-hour Prayerline: 1-800-365-3732
__________
The Vision Continues
____________ . . .
Since its founding in 1957 by Dr. Lester Sumrall (1913-
1996), LeSEA Publishing and related ministries have
been shining the light of the Gospel to the four corners
of the world. With the vision of reaching millions of lost
souls, with the strength of faithful partners and staff, and
through the power of the Holy Spirit, God continues to
provide many ways for His Word to go forth.

• Christian Center Church — home of LeSEA, Inc.,

is located in South Bend, Indiana.

• Feed the Hungry — global program that

distributes food and supplies through local
churches to suffering Christians, and invites
the lost to receive Christ. Partner with us by
calling toll-free 1-888-832-6384, or visiting us at
www.feedthehungry.org.

• Family Broadcasting Corporation — reaching

the world for Christ through progressive, innova-
tive technology.
* Five full-power television stations
that broadcast inspirational and family
programming in the U.S.
* FETV — a cable and satellite network featuring
classic and inspirational programming that the
whole family can enjoy.
* World Harvest Television — reaches
millions of satellite dishes throughout
North and Central America.
* Five shortwave radio stations that blanket
the entire globe with the Gospel.

__________
 * Prayerline — contact 1-800-365-3732
____________
to receive encouragement and prayer support,
and to share the miraculous answers you
have seen.
* LeSEA Tours — full-service travel agency
specializing in unbeatable fares to Israel and
the Holy Land.

• LeSEA Publishing — Dr. Sumrall’s prolific

writing and teaching ministry continues with the
production and distribution of his books, study
guides, CD, MP3 Audio, and DVD.
(www.leseapublishing.com)

• World Harvest Ministers Network —

fellowship of ministers and churches dedicated to
promoting world harvest by facilitating
excellence in ministry.

• World Harvest Bible College—training

laborers in the classroom and through
correspondence and video courses to go
into the harvest field.
(www.worldharvestbc.com)

Family Broadcasting Corporation

61300 Ironwood Rd.
South Bend, IN 46614

Phone: 574-291-8200
www.familybroadcastingcorporation.com

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