Worthy Devotions – Daily Christian Devotion » Endurance

Luke 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Knowing He was about to depart, Yeshua (Jesus) left His disciples with a final command: stay in Jerusalem, and wait…for the promise. Of the thousands who had witnessed His miraculous ministry and heard His amazing teaching, and the hundreds that had actually seen Him after the resurrection, we read in Acts that only 120 stayed and tarried until the promise arrived. But these 120 were steadfast. They waited the full term…

What would have happened if they had left after the 4th day? Or the 6th day? Or the 9th day? They would have missed the promise and the amazing blessing that came with it. But those 120 believers stayed – they stayed and pressed in until the Holy Spirit came!

Do you want the fullness of the Spirit in your life? Continue pressing in. Wait with relentless faith and patience. Perseverance is often the critical factor in receiving the promises of God. Our Lord will fulfill every good promise in His perfect time.

Heb 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

In 490 B.C., the Athenians won a crucial and decisive battle over the forces of King Darius I of Persia, on a plain near the Greek coastal town of Marathon. Upon delivering the important message of their victory, the Greek soldier who came to tell the good news died — he had completed the 26 mile course running and bearing good news, and did it totally unreserved until the moment he died. Today marathons are run all over the world, commemorating that event 2500 years ago.

Anyone who has run a marathon can tell you how difficult the race is. No matter how good you are, how well trained, how prepared, there are times in the race you just want to quit. But those who persevere till the end receive a prize. Back in King Darius’ day, one would win only a crown made of laurel leaves. Today, athletes compete for trophies and medals. But in God’s race, we win something far more precious — a crown that is incorruptible.

I bet you’re tired today. You are done… overworked, overstressed, overwhelmed. But be encouraged! Just when you think you can’t run any further, you can! C’mon! Press through and press on for the great prize! God is with us, strengthening our feeble knees and moving us in the right direction!! There’s so much work to be done!

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

During the 1990’s in an NCAA Division II national championship cross-country race in California, a bizarre twist of events took place. Mike Delcavo and 127 of the best runners in the country were battling for glory over the 10,000 meter course. About three miles into the race, Delvaco was somewhere in the middle of the pack, when he realized that the runners had made a wrong turn. So he yelled out, “You’re going the wrong way,” but they didn’t listen. Only 4 others followed Mike when he turned in the right direction…and suddenly, he found himself in the lead.

However that lasted only about a mile, since Mike and the runners who followed him soon reunited with the larger pack who, having gone the wrong way, actually shaved about a half a mile off the course, and were now in the lead again. The final blow came when, because so many of the runners had gone the wrong way, the officials changed the official course route to accommodate their error. So when Mike Delcavo finally crossed the finish line, he was number 103 overall.

At the end of the race, some of Delcavo’s competitors “thought it was funny that he went the right way.”

In our mixed up world, when everybody is wrong, then wrong becomes right. However, in the world to come there is only one Judge and He will not change the correct course regardless of how many or how few actually run it. His rewards will be based on our having stayed the true course.

It’s easy to follow the crowd. But it takes courage and conviction to follow wholeheartedly after God. Sometimes it can get lonely running your race, wondering where the crowd is going, and even whether you, yourself are on the right road. But you my friend, keep running with the Lord. And when the race is over and you have finished your course, may the He say to you, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!”

Php 3:13-14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

This morning, as we’ve been preparing to set up the new Worthy News site, one of our servers went down! Hackers hit the server with a DoS attack (Denial of Service).

Isn’t it the way it is sometimes? As soon as you make that leap and take on a responsibility that stretches your faith, the enemy comes and tries to find a way to hinder you from going forward with it!

But we have NO intention of allowing him to squelch our plans! We are pressing forward toward the “high calling of God in Christ Jesus!”

You don’t let him either! Has God been calling you to do something specific? Has He laid something on your heart to do and you keep being sidetracked with other things? Go do it! Don’t let anything stop you! There is FAR too much work to be done!!

Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

One of the most fascinating sites to visit in Washington D.C. is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. For 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, a platoon of 30 honor guards protects the tomb through rain, snow and even hurricanes! It’s been guarded every minute of every day since 1937.

A single sentinel takes his post guarding carefully, walking exactly 21 steps then pausing for 21 seconds before turning around and continuing his duty. The number 21 is in reference to the 21 gun salute which is the military’s highest honor given to a soldier. When the changing of the guard takes place, the orders are passed from one soldier to the next – “Orders Remain Unchanged.”

As we enter into a New Year, the world is rapidly changing before our eyes! As the war unfolds in Israel, a new President takes the helm in the U.S., the world economy is on the brink of complete collapse – one thing hasn’t changed — our orders from Yeshua to preach this gospel of the Kingdom to every one!

Continue to stand guard, watching and being ever alert of the times in which we live; and never forget that our “Orders Remain Unchanged!” With so much work to be done, let’s be sure we enter 2009 with our priorities intact –

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you…”

Isaiah 58:11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

One of the great marvels of the Roman Empire was the invention of the aqueduct system to provide water over vast distances. It was an absolutely ingenious method which made use of gravity, with stone arches to support the water channels. An aqueduct was built in 109 AD which carried water to the city of Segovia for eighteen hundred years. For nearly sixty generations this aqueduct provided cool water from the mountains above. But fairly recently, it collapsed.

A well-intentioned citizen, observing the ancient structure, remarked, “This aqueduct is so great a marvel that it ought to be preserved for our children, as a museum piece. We shall relieve it of its centuries-long labor.” So the city decided to construct a modern water system with iron pipes to carry the water, intending to give the aqueduct a long-deserved rest. What they failed to realize, of course, was that attempting to preserve the aqueduct by stopping the flow of water through it, assured its rapid disintegration! As the sun beat down on the now dry mortar and stone, the centuries old structure quickly began to fall apart. Amazingly, nearly two millenia of service would not accomplish the destructive work of less than a century of idleness!

This story ought to really encourage us in Kingdom work…since, continuing to allow Yeshua’s living water to flow through us, we are constantly renewed and preserved, rather than drying up with idleness and atrophy. So…with so much work to be done, let us do it with the life-giving stream: the ever-renewing vitality of Yeshua’s living water!

Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

The other day, our little one year old, Obadiah started playing with a blown up balloon left over from Elianna’s birthday party this past weekend. When it accidentally popped in his face, Obi was a bit startled, as you might imagine. Thinking quickly, in order that he wouldn’t start bawling, I grabbed an unblown balloon from the table, blew it up real big and then let it go. Boy did he love that! He started laughing hysterically as he watched this balloon fly quickly all around the room until it ran out of air and plopped down on the floor. As we playing this game, I thought of a funny analogy.

In a sense, I think we need to be like balloons, filled to entirety with God’s breath and then let go to experience the ride of our lives. Equally important is that we recognize when we’re running out of air — when we’re depleted of His power, anointing, and purpose and need to run back to Him for more. Recieving the infilling of the Spirit is not a single event, but a lifetime of refilling, sothat we don’t become useless for His Kingdom, trying to do things on our own strength. Amen?

The Lord doesn’t entrust us with His power in order for us to sit around idly — but rather that we would boldly share the good news of the Gospel, and do great things for Him wherever He may take us. Let’s get filled again today! Ask, seek, knock, read, worship, meditate on His promises, get FILLED! There’s so much work to be done!

Luke 19:12-13 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

During the American Civil War in the 1860’s, a fierce battle took place at Altoona Pass. It was a key supply point for the Union Army, so the Confederate Army led by General Hood sought to take Altoona Pass which held over a million and a half rations. When Union General Sherman realized Hood’s plans, he dispatched General Corse along with 1,500 men to hold the city.

As the battle ensued, General Corse and his forces were forced into a small fort on a crest of a hill. The Northern army was being overwhelmed, with nearly half the men either killed or wounded in the battle. Things were looking extremely bleak, when in the distance from a mountain top twenty miles away a while flag was being waved, and those in the fort knew the message being sent, “Hold the fort; I am coming. W.T. Sherman.”

This sign gave the beleaguered army renewed strength to continue fighting the battle for another three hours until reinforcements finally arrived.

From this battle, a famous Christian song was written and its chorus is so eloquent for us today, “Hold the fort, for I am coming, Jesus signals still; Wave the answer back to heaven, By thy grace we will!”

In the midst of spiritual battles we can often feel besieged on every side – but HOLD THE FORT! Get some rest this weekend and renew your strength in the Lord for the victory is already won – we just need to continue fighting because He is coming!

2 Kings 23:16-17 And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel.

This is an interesting passage of Scripture which details how Josiah, a young and Godly king, went forth to cleanse the land, and in doing so, finds that he was fulfilling a prophecy given years before. Josiah went forth doing what was right — and in doing so, was walking out the works that God preordained for him — he was fulfilling the calling that God had set into motion years before!

Each of us is alive for such a time as this, living in this day and hour, and all around us prophecy is being fulfilled. Quite honestly, the prophecies of these last days seem to be being fulfilled faster than I anticipated — but nevertheless, we are witnessing the signs all around us, and they are not so comforting.

So what is our mandate, our calling, our destiny for these days? Will we walk as Josiah, steadfast after God? Because in our day as well, there is prophecy spoken by Jesus himself concerning these last days in which we live: “because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” [Matthew 24:12] Josiah walked amidst incredible idolatry and sin in Israel, (just like we are now), but instead of catering or yielding to it, he used all the authority he had to tear it down. He was fearless in his hatred of sin because of his intense love for God. Jesus’ words imply a specific calling for us in these last days: Don’t allow your love to grow cold!

Sin abounds all around us, and maybe to some extent, IN us– but it’s already written that we can triumph over it if we will just keep our love for him HOT! On the cross he won an astounding victory which we can claim and walk in each and every day of our lives! If we walk in his victory, we too can fulfill the prophetic words of the greatest prophet, because he did not say “the love of ALL will grow cold”. So let us be those who fulfill this prophetic destiny the way King Josiah did. We CAN be the ones who keep that passion for God, even in these terrible times!

Joel 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet (shofar in Hebrew) in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

Today in Israel begins the feast of Rosh Ha Shannah, or Yom Teruah — the Feast of Trumpets.  At the end of the summer the Hebrews are commanded to blow the shofar — the ram’s horn, all day long.  The sound of the shofar was a sound of alarm– it told the people to get ready.  It marked in the calendar that the summer harvest was over and the day of atonement was near and it was time to stand before God.

The feast of Trumpets is amazingly prophetic.  Right now we are in the midst of the great harvest and the next major event is the sound of the trumpet — just before the great day of the Lord.  Within the feast of trumpets contains a personal message for us.  It’s God’s wake up call:  We don’t have forever!  We only walk through this life once– and as quickly as steam rises from hot water and quickly disappears, so it is with our lives.  Soon it will be past and we will stand before our Maker.   If we are going to do great things for Him — now is the time!  If we need to repent for anything — now is the time.  The Lord commands us to arise and shine and let our light shine throughout the world! The shofar is sounding, the summer harvest is nearing completion, and the day of the Lord is near.

Become God’s shofar, sound His warning of judgment and radiate the love He’s given us through His Son, that those around you will be able to stand pure before God.