Your Life Will I Give Thee For A Prey

Jer 45:5  And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not; for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD; but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.'

This is a promise given to you for the difficult places in which
you may find yourself—a promise of safety and life even in the midst of tremendous pressure.

And it is a promise that adjusts itself to fit the times as they continue to grow more difficult, as we approach the end of this age and the tribulation period.
 
What does it mean when it says that you will escape with your life?

It means your life will be snatched from the jaws of the Enemy, as David snatched the lamb from the lion.

It does not mean you will be spared the heat of the battle and confrontation with your foes, but it means “a table before [you] in the presence of [your] enemies” (Ps. 23:5), a shelter from the storm, a fortress amid the foe, and a life preserved in the face of continual pressure.

It means comfort and hope from God such as Paul received when he and his friends “were under great pressure, far beyond [their] ability to endure, so that [they] despaired even of life” (2 Cor. 1:8).

And it means the Lord’s divine help, such as when Paul’s thorn in the flesh (2 Cor.12:7 KJV) remained, but the power of Christ came to rest upon him, and he learned that God’s grace is sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9).
 
May the Lord “wherever you go . . . let you escape with your life” and help you today to be victorious in your difficulties.
 
We often pray to be delivered from afflictions, and even trust God that we will be. But we do not pray for Him to make us what we should be while in the midst of the afflictions.

Nor do we pray that we would be able to live within them, for however long they may last, in the complete awareness that we are held and sheltered by the Lord and can therefore continue within them without suffering any harm.

The Savior endured an especially difficult test in the wilderness while in the presence of Satan for forty days and nights, His human nature weakened by the need for food and rest.

The three Hebrew young men were kept for a time in the flames of “the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual” Dan. 3:19. In spite of being forced to endure the tyrant’s last method of torture, they remained calm and composed as they waited for their time of deliverance to come.

And after surviving an entire night sitting among the lions, when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God” (Dan. 6:23).
 
They were able to endure in the presence of their enemies because they dwelt in the presence of their God

Flirting With Sin

The wicked have always been “destitute” of the truth—despising it, trampling it, mocking it with disdain. I saw an example of this recently in The New York Post, as one writer confidently declared, “Science has now replaced faith.”

Paul's greater concern was always for those who had known the way of truth, confessing their faith in Christ, yet continued to flirt with sin. 

Paul wrote of those who attempt to hold the truth in unrighteousness—an act that enrages God. “Who changed the truth of God into a lie . . . for this cause God gave them up unto vile affections” (Romans 1:25-26).

Others, held in bondage by their lustful pleasures, turned to false teachers to try to find peace. They ended up accepting “damnable heresies . . . and many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of” (2 Peter 2:1-2).

All of Paul’s messages on apostasy and the Antichrist were aimed at such carnal Christians. 

They were not meant for the idolaters of Rome, the heathen
of Greece, the pagan tribes in unknown places.

Paul’s message was one of great importance to the church and he wrote it to be read in churches, directly to believers!

You see, Paul was calling God’s people everywhere to love the truth—to search it out, study it and obey it.

He wrote, in essence, “Let the truth be your guide and do not turn aside from it.

Ask the Holy Spirit to give you eyes to see it, ears to hear it, and a heart to love it. Otherwise, you will open yourself to deception and end up believing a lie. Satan will be able to initiate you into the cult of Antichrist!”

If you do not believe this, simply recall the Scriptures. The Bible says that in the days just prior to Jesus’ return, Satan will bring such an overwhelming flood of seduction that he will attempt to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.

It will not matter how long a Christian has walked with Jesus; he will face temptations he has never had in his life. Even the strongest believer will be tempted to doubt God’s faithfulness and mistrust His Holy Word.

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24).

~David Wilkerson~

God’s Thought

What is this basic thought? The words are so familiar, but I believe everything in history from the beginning to the end in relation to the people of God turns upon this one familiar fragment —
 
Whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son (Rom 8:29).

Conformed to the image of his Son—that is the basic, all-governing thought of God where His people are concerned.

That is what He has been at work upon from the beginning with His people.

That is at the very heart and root of our present experiences, our trials, our suffering.

God is at work upon you and me with this one thing in view—conformity to the image of His Son.

That means many things, which we do not now stay to consider, but we take fresh note of it as the underlying, undergirding fact.

Going right back before time, "foreknown, foreordained," on to "the ages of the ages," the realization; "conformed to the image of his Son." The previous verse (v. 28) expresses this- God is working all things for good with those who are called according to His purpose.
 
What good? What is the good of the suffering and trial that we go through?

It is this—that God is (may I use the word?) reproducing His Son in us; and His Son is His hope, and His ultimate glory is to be revealed manifestly in the saints in terms of sonship.

It is the hope for the whole creation—"subjected to vanity... in hope."

We are travailing in hope. The hope is in God's Son, and the hope is the manifestation of that Son in the saints. 

Christ in you the hope of glory.

~T. Austin Sparks~

Compromise With Another Order Of Things

                                                                              

The whole question of spiritual fulness is at stake.

I have spoken of what might have been in the case of Jonathan. David came to the kingdom in fulness, and Jonathan might have been there at his side, his strength and support in the kingdom.

But no; instead of that, he passes out in this tragic way. In a sense, there is nothing wrong with Jonathan; but he has become involved in compromise with another one and another instrument and another order of things, because he did not make a clean cut.

It is not for us to judge why, but it does seem that it must have been that he argued on the ground of natural reasoning about this thing. 

What does it all amount to? If spiritual fulness is to be reached, we have to be governed by Divine and heavenly principles, and not by human considerations.

Divine principles; not, What will the consequences be? not, What shall we lose? not even, What will the Lord lose? - because that is a very subtle argument.

The Lord does not ask us to reason this thing out on that level at all. He says, 'What is the Divine principle? Let that principle govern and guide.'

You may not see at all how it is going to work out.

If you are governed by Divine principles you may seem to lose a lot here; you may, for a time, have to go out with David and wait.

But in the end the principles will be vindicated. 

You have to recognise that compromise on principle only brings disaster. You see it everywhere.

~T. Austin Sparks~

Rely With Confidence On The Word Of GOD

Rom 4:18  Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

Abraham’s faith seemed to be in complete agreement with the power and constant faithfulness of Jehovah. By looking at the outer circumstances in which he was placed, he had no reason
to expect the fulfillment of God’s promise.

Yet he believed the Word of the Lord and looked forward to the time when his descendants would be “as numerous as the stars in the sky” (Gen. 26:4).
 
Dear soul, you have not been given only one promise, like
Abraham, but a thousand promises.

And you have been given the example of many faithful believers as a pattern for your life. 

Therefore it is simply to your advantage to rely with confidence
upon the Word of God. 

And although He may delay in sending His help, and the evil you are experiencing may seem to become worse and worse, do not be weak.

Instead, be strong and rejoice, for God usually steps forward to save us when we least expect it, fulfilling His most glorious promises in a miraculous way.
 
He generally waits to send His help until the time of our greatest need, so that His hand will be plainly seen in our deliverance.
 
He chooses this method so we will not trust anything that we may see or feel, as we are so prone to do, but will place our trust solely on His Word—which we may always depend upon, no matter our circumstance.

~C. H.Von Bogatzky~
 
Remember, the very time for faith to work is when our sight begins to fail

And the greater the difficulties, the easier it is for faith to work, for as long as we can see certain natural solutions to our problems,we will not have faith.

Faith never works as easily as when our natural prospects fail. 

~George Mueller~

Is ANYTHING Too Hard For The LORD?

This is God’s loving challenge to you and me each day. He
wants us to think of the deepest, highest, and worthiest desires
and longings of our hearts.He wants us to think of those things
that perhaps were desires for ourselves or someone dear to us,
yet have gone unfulfilled for so long that we now see them as simply lost desires.

And God urges us to think of even the one thing that we once saw as possible but have given up all hope of seeing fulfilled in this life. 

That very thing, as long as it aligns with what we know to
be His expressed will—as a son was to Abraham and Sarah—God intends to do for us.

Yes, if we will let Him, God will do that very thing, even if we know it is such an utter impossibility that we would simply laugh at the absurdity of anyone ever suggesting it could come to pass.
 
Is anything too hard for the Lord? No, nothing is too difficult when we believe in Him enough to go forward, doing His will and letting Him do the impossible for us.

Even Abraham and Sarah could have blocked God’s plan if they had continued to disbelieve.
 
The only thing “too hard for the Lord” is our deliberate and
continual disbelief in His love and power, and our ultimate
rejection of His plans for us.

Nothing is impossible for Jehovah to do for those who trust Him.

Ahab's Covenant With The World

                                                                            
At one time Ahab did repent at the preaching of Elijah: “And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me?" (1 Kings 21:29). 

From that day on he could look back and say, "Repentance? Yes, under the preaching of that great prophet of God, Elijah."
But to Ahab it was a one-time experience, not a daily walk. The problem was that he had become a friend and brother to the world. Brother, meaning "affinity, one just like me, one I respect." He was in covenant with what God had cursed. Ahab claimed to love the truth, but deep inside he hated reproof.

Many today say, “We want only the truth. Preach it like it is!” But in their hearts they are saying, "Too much gloom, it’s too hard. I can't stand anymore of this."

Ahab was blind to the terrible fact that he was being guided by a lying spirit. This lying spirit caused Zedekiah, a false prophet, to boast that the Spirit of God was upon him (see 1 Kings 22:24). Ahab was now fully persuaded he was hearing God's voice and that he would come back victorious.

Christians bound by the Jezebel doctrine are 100 percent sure they are right. They cannot see the deception. Ahab did not go up thinking, "The four hundred are false; they have no word from God.” No, he went up fully convinced—fully deceived totally seduced.

Why do some Christians fall into deception? "Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?"
Jeremiah 7:8-10.
 
There is the answer. A clinging to some pet sin, some secret idol in the heart. A justifying of sin, a brotherhood with the world. Then they come to God's house boasting, "I'm not convicted." This is an open invitation to lying spirits.

~David Wilkerson~

Gideon's Army GOD'S Illustration Of HIS Qualities

The story of Gideon is an illustration of how God seeks his qualities within us and is not concerned with us just as numbers or statistics.

Gideon was about to face the enemy and he had an army of 32,000 soldiers. But the Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many-let all who are afraid go back."

So Gideon gave the word to the troops, and 22,000 of those men turned back.

Then the Lord said to Gideon again, "There are still too many. I can see those among you who are not prepared for what we are going to do. You will never be able to make Israelite soldiers of them."
 
I presume that there are few preachers among us on the top side of this terrestrial ball who would have turned down those 22,000, but God was putting the emphasis on quality, on those who would cooperate in the performance of the will of God. 

Then Gideon took the 10,000 men to the river and tested them as God had directed and when this sifting was all done, Gideon had an army of 300 men.

God seeks out those who are willing that their lives should be fashioned according to His own grace and love.

He sifts out those who cannot see God's purpose and design for our blessing.

~A. W. Tozer~

GOD'S Hiding Of Himself

                                                                          

Now right in that setting come these words which we hardly need to dwell upon. Firstly, "He hideth himself."

I doubt whether there is one of us who does not know something of the poignancy that lies in that statement. "He hideth himself." 

That is one of our greatest occasions of suffering, the fact that the Lord hides Himself.

Our cry all the time is that He will show Himself, come out into the open, let us see Him and see what He is doing. But "He hideth himself."

He was enshrouded in the mystery of His ways with His beloved servant.

In all the values of this book, this is not one of the smallest, that God could say of a man that he is perfect and upright and there is none like him in all the earth, and then could hide Himself from that man. You see the point.

Oh, the misrepresentation of God and of Job which this book brings out! This is one of the things which God set Himself to destroy out of hand.

This misrepresentation came through Job's friends. They were pious men, in their way godly men, who said some very lovely things - and yet they were used by the Devil as instruments against this choice servant of God.

A problem arises here, which we make no attempt now to answer. Were the things spoken by these men Divinely inspired utterances?

Can we take them as Scripture? "Lay thou thy treasure in the dust... and the Almighty will be thy treasure" (Job 22:24-25) - is that an inspired utterance, can we take our stand on that? 

That is something to be fulfilled as the Word of God, and yet that - and many other equally lovely things - were uttered by men of whom God said in the end "Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right" (42:7).) 

Here is a man of whom God can say that he is perfect and upright.

NATURALLY  He can never say that about you and me, or about any one of us - though thank God He can say it of us IN CHRIST. 

Yet He could say it of Job naturally as to outward life. He could say finally of Job that he had said the thing which was right. "Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath."

God could speak so at the beginning and at the end about this man, and draw Satan's attention to him as the most perfect man on the earth, and then hide Himself from him in the time of his anguish.

I say the precious thing about that is that God's hiding does not always mean that God is against you; it does not mean what these men interpreted it to mean, that God had a controversy with Job and that there must be some deep, awful, secret sin in his life which he was hiding or to which he was blind but which the eyes of God could see. 

That is all false, says God: this man is perfect and upright; and yet under the accusation of pious men, under the assaults of the devil to this man's anguish, God hid Himself.

Have you had one boil? You know the misery and the pain. Job was a man covered from head to foot with these things. That was only one phase of his suffering. 

Children gone, flocks and herds gone, camels gone, his home gone, his friends gone, and his wife turned against him saying, "Renounce God, and die." Job was left like that.

And God, affirming this man's perfection and integrity, still hides Himself. "He hideth himself."

What is our case compared with Job's? The Lord deals with us in the same way; He hides Himself.

He must have an object which far outweighs all the dangers of the possibility of His being misunderstood and misinterpreted.

His servant was given plenty of occasion to say, God is unfaithful, unloving, unrighteous; He has turned against me; and so on.

But God ran the risk of it because He saw something of value which far outweighed all that. He knew that in the long run He would be justified and not condemned. "He hideth himself."

Do not think, my beloved, tried, pressed brother or sister, that the fact that Satan assails and things are so difficult and hard means of necessity that you are under judgment.

Even if you are standing on the ground in Christ of righteousness from God, and are not persisting in a known course of wrong over which the Lord has a controversy with you. 

Even if you are able to say, I stand not on any ground of my own, but on the ground of His righteousness through faith, and I repudiate all known, habitual sin.

Even then it does not mean that God is necessarily coming out to you to show Himself always very wonderful. He may hide Himself, and those who mean well may interpret that fact the other way. 

It is one of the most difficult things to bear when calamity falls; people will come along and say, The Lord must have some cause for judging you, you must lie under some condemnation for Him to allow that. "He hideth himself." 

~T. Austin Sparks~

You Can Trust The Man Who Died For You

Rom 6:13  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness

One night I went to hear a sermon on consecration. Nothing
special came to me from the message, but as the preacher knelt to pray, he said, “O Lord,You know we can trust the Man who
died for us.” That was my message.

As I rose from my knees and walked down the street to catch the train,I deeply pondered all that consecration would mean to my life.

I was afraid as I considered the personal cost, and suddenly, above the noise of the street traffic, came this message:“You can trust the Man who died for you.”I boarded the train, and as I traveled toward home, I thought of the changes, sacrifices, and disappointments that consecration might mean in my life—and I was still afraid.
 
Upon arriving home, I went straight to my room, fell on my knees, and saw my life pass before my eyes. I was a Christian, an officer in the church, and a Sunday school superintendent, but I had never yielded my life to God with a definite act of my will.

Yet as I thought of my own “precious” plans that might be thwarted,my beloved hopes to be surrendered, and my chosen profession that I might have to abandon—I was afraid.
 
I completely failed to see the better things God had for me, so my soul was running from Him.

And then for the last time, with a swift force of convicting power to my inmost heart,came that searching message: “My child, you can trust the Man who died for you. If you cannot trust Him, then whom can you trust?”

Finally that settled it for me, for in a flash of light I realized that the Man who loved me enough to die for me could be absolutely
trusted with the total concerns of the life He had saved.
 
Dear friend, you can trust the Man who died for you.You can trust Him to thwart each plan that should be stopped and  to complete each one that results in His greatest glory and your highest good.

You can trust Him to lead you down the path that is the very best in this world for you.

~J. H. M.~
 
Just as I am,Thy love unknown, Has broken every barrier down,
Now to be Thine, yea,Thine ALONE, O Lamb of God, I come

Under Attack

                                                                             

                                                                        

When you are under attack from the enemy's spirit of discouragement, you will not feel like praying. But you still must go to the secret place and be in Jesus' presence. Do not worry about trying to pray your way out of despair. This is the time for God's Spirit to go to work in you to lift you out of the pit.

When you go to the Lord, be honest with Him about how weak and helpless you feel. Let Him know, "Jesus, I'm dry. I have no strength left. If I'm ever going to get out of this depression, You are going to have to make it happen."

In such low times, the Lord is very patient with us. He does not expect us to exert some intense, fervent effort in prayer. He knows our condition, and He sympathizes with us. Just sit in His presence and trust His Spirit to do in you what He was sent to do. It doesn't matter how cast down you are, He will never forsake you!

We have the notion that every time we fail the Lord, the Holy Spirit flits away like a bird because He is grieved. But how could God's Spirit abandon me when I need Him most? If He leaves me whenever I fail and fall deep into discouragement, how can He be my Comforter?

Jesus promised us, "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever . . . I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (John 14:16, 18).

When the devil's heavy spirit of discouragement settles over your life, you may be so distraught you cannot even whisper a prayer. But even so, you can talk to Jesus in your spirit.

Just tell Him softly, "Lord, help me. This attack is too much for me. I can't do anything but sit here in faith. I am trusting your Spirit to drive it out of me.”

~David Wilkerson~

"It Is Through Dying We Live On"

2Co 6:9-10  As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.  

Last summer I had a flower bed of asters that nearly covered my
garden in the country.They were planted late in the season, but how beautiful they were! While the outer portion of the plants were still producing fresh flowers, the tops had gone to seed,
and when an early frost came, I found that the radiant beauty of the blossoms had withered.

All I could say at this point was,“Oh well, I guess the season has been too much for them, and they have died.” So I wished them a fond farewell.
 
After this I no longer enjoyed looking at the flower bed, for it seemed to be only a graveyard of flowers. Yet several weeks ago one of the gardeners called my attention to the fact that across the entire garden, asters were now sprouting up in great abundance.

It appeared that every plant I thought the winter had destroyed had replanted fifty to take its place.

What had the frost and the fierce winter wind done?
 
They had taken my flowers and destroyed them, casting them to the ground.They had walked across them with their snowy feet and, once finished with their work, said, “This is the end of you.” And yet in the spring, for every one destroyed, fifty witnesses arose and said..."It is through dying we live on."

As it is in the plant world, so it is in God’s kingdom.Through
death came everlasting life.Through crucifixion and the tomb came the throne and the palace of the eternal God.Through apparent defeat came victory.
 
So do not be afraid of suffering or defeat. It is through being struck down,but not destroyed (2 Cor. 4:9) and through being broken to pieces, and those pieces being torn to shreds, that we become people of strength.

And it is the endurance of one believer that produces a multitude.
 
Others may yield to the appearance of things and follow the world. 

They may blossom quickly and find momentary prosperity, but their end will be one of eternal death.

~Henry Ward Beecher~
 
Measure your life by loss and not by gain,
Not by the wine drunk but by the wine poured forth.
For love’s strength is found in love’s sacrifice, 
And he who suffers most has most to give.

What Good Has Worrying Ever Accomplished?

Do not be anxious about anything. Phil.4:6

Quite a few Christians live in a terrible state of anxiety, constantly fretting over the concerns of life.

The secret of living in perfect peace amid the hectic pace of daily life is one well worth knowing.

 

What good has worrying ever accomplished?

 

It has never made anyone stronger, helped anyone do God’s will, or provided for anyone a way of escape out of their anxiety or confusion.

Worry only destroys the effectiveness of lives that would otherwise be useful and beautiful.

 

Being restless and having worries and cares are absolutely forbidden by our Lord, who said, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or What shall we drink? or ‘What shall we wear?’” Matt. 6:31.

 

He does not mean that we are not to think ahead or that our life should never have a plan or pattern to it. He simply means that we are not to worry about these things.

 

People will know that you live in a constant state of anxiety by the lines on your face, the tone of your voice, your negative attitude, and the lack of joy in your spirit.

 

So scale the heights of a life abandoned to God, and your perspective will change to the point that you will look down on the clouds beneath your feet.

 

~Darlow Sargeant~

 

It is a sign of weakness to always worry and fret, question everything, and mistrust everyone.

 

Can anything be gained by it?

 

Don’t we only make ourselves unfit for action, and separate our minds from the ability to make wise decisions?

 

We simply sink in our struggles when we could float by faith.

 

Oh, for the grace to be silent! Oh, to “be still, and know that [Jehovah is] God” (Ps. 46:10)!

 

The Holy One of Israel (Ps. 89:18) will defend and deliver His own.

 

We can be sure that His every word will stand forever, even though the mountains may fall into the sea. He deserves our total confidence.

 

So come, my soul, return to your place of peace, and rest within the sweet embrace of the Lord Jesus.

 

~Selected~

 

Peace your inmost soul will fill When you’re still!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Our Darkest Hour He Will Deliver

Act 12:7  And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.  

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. . . .Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.
Acts 16:25–26
 
This is the way God works. 

In our darkest hour, He walks to us across the waves, just as an angel came to Peter’s cell when the day of Peter’s execution dawned.

And when the scaffold was completed for Mordecai’s execution, the king’s sleeplessness ultimately led to his action favoring God’s favored race. (See Esther 6.)
 
Dear soul,you may have to experience the very worst before you are delivered, but you will be delivered! 

God may keep you waiting, but He will always remember His promise and will appear in time to fulfill His sacred Word that cannot be broken.
 
~F. B. Meyer~
 
God has a simplicity about Him in working out His plans, and yet He possesses a resourcefulness equal to any difficulty.

His faithfulness to His trusting children is unwavering, and He is steadfast in holding to His purpose.

In Joseph’s life,we see God work through a fellow prisoner, later through a dream, and finally through lifting Joseph from a prison to the position of governor.
 
And the length of Joseph’s prison stay gave him the strength and steadiness he needed as governor.
 
It is always safe to trust God’s methods and to live by His clock.

~Samuel Dickey Gordon~
 
God in His providence has a thousand keys to open a thousand different doors in order to deliver His own, no matter how desperate the situation may have become. 

May we be faithful to do our part, which is simply to suffer for Him, and to place Christ’s part on Him and then leave it there.

~George MacDonald~

Difficulty is actually the atmosphere surrounding a miracle, or a miracle in its initial stage.

Yet if it is to be a great miracle, the surrounding condition will be not simply a difficulty but an utter impossibility.

And it is the clinging hand of His child that makes a desperate situation a delight to God.