THE BURNING HEART

Did not our heart burn within us? (Luke 24:32 KJV)

We need to learn this secret of the burning heart. Suddenly Jesus appears to us, the fires are kindled, we have wonderful visions, then we have to learn to keep the secret of the burning heart that will go through anything. It is the dull, bald, dreary, commonplace day, with commonplace duties and people, that kills the burning heart unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus.

Much of our distress as Christians comes not because of sin, but because we are ignorant of the laws of our own nature. For instance, the only test as to whether we ought to allow an emotion to have its way is to see what the outcome of the emotion will be. Push it to its logical conclusion, and if the outcome is something God would condemn, allow it no more way. But if it be an emotion kindled by the Spirit of God and you do not let that emotion have its right issue in your life, it will react on a lower level.

That is the way sentimentalists are made. The higher the emotion is, the deeper the degradation will be, if it is not worked out on its proper level. If the Spirit of God has stirred you, make as many things inevitable as possible, let the consequences be what they will. We cannot stay on the mount of transfiguration, but we must obey the light we received there; we must act it out.

When God gives a vision, transact business on that line, no matter what it costs.

"We cannot kindle when we willThe fire which in the heart resides,
The spirit bloweth and is still,In mystery our soul abides;
But tasks in hours of insight will'd
Can be through hours of gloom fulfill'd."

COMPLETE OVERHAUL

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and ... see if there be any wicked way in me." (Psalm 139:23-24)

by Raymond N. Hawkins

THE lawnmower engine coughed, spluttered, stopped. Outwardly there was no sign of a problem. It had petrol, oil, a new spark plug. Still, no amount of cord pulling could get it going. The problem? Pebbles in the fuel tank! My young grandchildren had been at work.
Sometimes my spiritual life reflects "pebbles" in my "fuel tank." Outwardly I seem okay. But inwardly, the joy of being with the Lord is blocked, and I sputter to a stop. However this happens, I cannot blame others for the presence of pebbles within. It's my responsibility to address the problem.

First I have to identify it. The pebbles of greed, jealousy, self-righteousness, unforgiveness, lust, laziness, hurt feelings, and so on clog the fuel line of the spirit. The Bible gives us directions for fixing the problem, but I still have to read and obey them. I may have to work at making spiritual and relational "repairs." When I call on God in prayer, grace is instantly available. God does a complete overhaul, renewing me and preparing me for the tasks ahead. Praise the name of the Lord!

ARE YOU A DOUBTING THOMAS?

“IT IS BETTER TO TRUST IN THE LORD THAN TO PUT CONFIDENCE IN MAN” (Psalm 118:8)

We are born with the fallen nature to trust only ourselves. It is evident, not only in the fact of the security features we have surrounded ourselves with, but in how we treat others as well. It is born in us to believe, “trust no one; they are all out to hurt you”. We can’t even trust someone to finish a job for us; we end up doing it because we can’t trust someone to do it the way we want.

And, if we can’t trust the people we see, it is against our fallen nature to trust in one whom we have not seen. But we must destroy this nature in us. It is the enemy of God. Our scripture this morning shows us the trap we are chained too. Even we as Christians are guilty of giving in to this Adam nature. We will do everything in our power to handle a crisis first. We will call out all our resources; we will try all our bag of tricks first. And then when these don’t work, then will we try God as our last resort. I wonder what would happen if we trusted God first? I wonder how that mountain you face would move, if you gave it to God first, and trusted him. Maybe you would have a little more energy at the end of the day.

Here is a treasure for you today; God has what you need already mapped out for you! Before you even ask, before you came into this time of trouble, God had placed way ahead of you, the provision you would need before you entered in this valley! This should make you shout right now. Why did God do that, you may ask? Because he is the one who led you here in the first place. He led Moses to the banks of the Red Sea; he led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil. Why does God do such things? He is trying to show us to trust in him, not our powers and devices. He is showing us how faithful and powerful he is to preserve and keep us, not any man or politician.

Beloved, make a conscious decision today to trust God. Not only in the things you can easily give to him, but the things you wouldn’t trust him with before. You are going to need this trust in him in these last days. Trust him for your next meal, paying your next bill, and for your job. Trust him for you family, your health, and your provision. Trust him first; don’t let him be the last thing you trust in. Jesus Christ will always be our present help in time of trouble, stop being a doubting Thomas.

WAKE UP! SOMEBODY'S AT THE DOOR!

Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. (Revelation 3:11)


I wanted to take time in this devotional today to express my feelings on this particular scripture. I know time and space here will constrain me to not be able to convey what I feel in my heart to you. It will not allow me to shake you and wake you from the daze you are in. Jesus is coming again! His return is just as real as death and taxes. You must realize, everything that is happening in the world and in your personal life is bringing about the coming of Jesus Christ again.

The economic upheaval, the rise in school shootings, murders, sex crimes, homosexuality, and abortions are all part of what Jesus said would happen as his return comes closer. I wish I knew what it would take to shake you, make you live today like he could return at any second! There is a parable (in Luke chapter 12) that records what I believe is happening to the church today. It states a servant of the Lord was told to wait and tarry till he would return. As time went by, that servant began to run out of concern and patience. And, after a long period of time, he gave up!

This servant stopped looking, stopped being concerned with his lord’s imminent return to the house. The bible states he began to drink alcohol, get drunk, and abuse and hurt the ones around him in his life. Then the terrible happens. The lord of the house returns, when he was not looking and not prepared. The bible states his punishment was being cut off, and winding up where the hypocrites and unbelievers go, (this would be Hell). What a horrible thing to happen, you say? But this is the state the church in general is coming too!

Jesus said as his coming draws closer, a great falling away would happen (2 Thessalonians chapter 2). We can see this as we go to church and look at the ever increasing numbers of empty seats, and people we know who have quit on God. I ask you, does his return still enter your mind every day? Are you concerned with your walk with God? What about your family? Do you live like today could be it? Dear saint, wake up, Jesus is soon coming. Walk soberly, and be diligent (looking) for his return. Don’t let it catch you like that servant who no longer cared to wait.

CORRIE TEN BOOM AND THE RAPTURE!

(THIS IS A LETTER WRITTEN BY CORRIE TEN BOOM IN 1974, A FAMOUS SURVIVOR OF A NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMP. WE WILL BE PRINTING IT HERE IN THIS DEVOTIONAL. PLEASE READ AND LISTEN TO WHAT SHE HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE RAPTURE. YOU NEED TO KNOW THE TRUTH, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE-- the Watchmen)



"The world is deathly ill. It is dying. The Great Physician has already signed the death certificate. Yet there is still a great work for Christians to do. They are to be streams of living water, channels of mercy to those who are still in the world. It is possible for them to do this because they are overcomers.

Christians are ambassadors for Christ. They are representatives from Heaven to this dying world. And because of our presence here, things will change.
My sister, Betsy, and I were in the Nazi concentration camp at Ravensbruck because we committed the crime of loving Jews. Seven hundred of us from Holland, France, Russia, Poland and Belgium were herded into a room built for two hundred. As far as I knew, Betsy and I were the only two representatives of Heaven in that room.

We may have been the Lord's only representatives in that place of hatred, yet because of our presence there, things changed. Jesus said, "In the world you shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." We too, are to be overcomers – bringing the light of Jesus into a world filled with darkness and hate.

Sometimes I get frightened as I read the Bible, and as I look in this world and see all of the tribulation and persecution promised by the Bible coming true. Now I can tell you, though, if you too are afraid, that I have just read the last pages. I can now come to shouting "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" for I have found where it is written that Jesus said,
"He that overcometh shall inherit all things: and I will be His God, and he shall be My son."
This is the future and hope of this world. Not that the world will survive – but that we shall be overcomers in the midst of a dying world.

Betsy and I, in the concentration camp, prayed that God would heal Betsy who was so weak and sick."Yes, the Lord will heal me,", Betsy said with confidence. She died the next day and I could not understand it. They laid her thin body on the concrete floor along with all the other corpses of the women who died that day.

It was hard for me to understand, to believe that God had a purpose for all that. Yet because of Betsy's death, today I am traveling all over the world telling people about Jesus.
There are some among us teaching there will be no tribulation, that the Christians will be able to escape all this. These are the false teachers that Jesus was warning us to expect in the latter days. Most of them have little knowledge of what is already going on across the world. I have been in countries where the saints are already suffering terrible persecution.
In China, the Christians were told, "Don't worry, before the tribulation comes you will be translated – raptured." Then came a terrible persecution. Millions of Christians were tortured to death. Later I heard a Bishop from China say, sadly,
"We have failed. We should have made the people strong for persecution, rather than telling them Jesus would come first.Tell the people how to be strong in times of persecution, how to stand when the tribulation comes, – to stand and not faint."

I feel I have a divine mandate to go and tell the people of this world that it is possible to be strong in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in training for the tribulation, but more than sixty percent of the Body of Christ across the world has already entered into the tribulation. There is no way to escape it.We are next.
Since I have already gone through prison for Jesus' sake, and since I met the Bishop in China, now every time I read a good Bible text I think, "Hey, I can use that in the time of tribulation." Then I write it down and learn it by heart.

When I was in the concentration camp, a camp where only twenty percent of the women came out alive, we tried to cheer each other up by saying, "Nothing could be any worse than today." But we would find the next day was even worse. During this time a Bible verse that I had committed to memory gave me great hope and joy.
"If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you;on their part evil is spoken of,but on your part He is glorified." (I Peter 3:14)
I found myself saying, "Hallelujah! Because I am suffering, Jesus is glorified!"

In America, the churches sing, "Let the congregation escape tribulation", but in China and Africa the tribulation has already arrived. This last year alone more than two hundred thousand Christians were martyred in Africa. Now things like that never get into the newspapers because they cause bad political relations. But I know. I have been there. We need to think about that when we sit down in our nice houses with our nice clothes to eat our steak dinners. Many, many members of the Body of Christ are being tortured to death at this very moment, yet we continue right on as though we are all going to escape the tribulation.

Several years ago I was in Africa in a nation where a new government had come into power. The first night I was there some of the Christians were commanded to come to the police station to register. When they arrived they were arrested and that same night they were executed. The next day the same thing happened with other Christians. The third day it was the same. All the Christians in the district were being systematically murdered.
The fourth day I was to speak in a little church. The people came, but they were filled with fear and tension. All during the service they were looking at each other, their eyes asking, "Will this one I am sitting beside be the next one killed? Will I be the next one?"

The room was hot and stuffy with insects that came through the screenless windows and swirled around the naked bulbs over the bare wooden benches. I told them a story out of my childhood.
"When I was a little girl, " I said, "I went to my father and said, "Daddy, I am afraid that I will never be strong enough to be a martyr for Jesus Christ." "Tell me," said Father, "When you take a train trip to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks before?"
"No, Daddy, you give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train."
"That is right," my father said, "and so it is with God's strength. Our Father in Heaven knows when you will need the strength to be a martyr for Jesus Christ. He will supply all you need – just in time…"

My African friends were nodding and smiling. Suddenly a spirit of joy descended upon that church and the people began singing,
" In the sweet, by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore."
Later that week, half the congregation of that church was executed. I heard later that the other half was killed some months ago.

But I must tell you something. I was so happy that the Lord used me to encourage these people, for unlike many of their leaders, I had the word of God. I had been to the Bible and discovered that Jesus said He had not only overcome the world, but to all those who remained faithful to the end, He would give a crown of life.
How can we get ready for the persecution?

First we need to feed on the Word of God, digest it, make it a part of our being. This will mean disciplined Bible study each day as we not only memorize long passages of scripture, but put the principles to work in our lives.

Next we need to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Not just the Jesus of yesterday, the Jesus of History, but the life-changing Jesus of today who is still alive and sitting at the right hand of God.

We must be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is no optional command of the Bible, it is absolutely necessary. Those earthly disciples could never have stood up under the persecution of the Jews and Romans had they not waited for Pentecost. Each of us needs our own personal Pentecost, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We will never be able to stand in the tribulation without it.
In the coming persecution we must be ready to help each other and encourage each other. But we must not wait until the tribulation comes before starting. The fruit of the Spirit should be the dominant force of every Christian's life.

Many are fearful of the coming tribulation, they want to run. I, too, am a little bit afraid when I think that after all my eighty years, including the horrible Nazi concentration camp, that I might have to go through the tribulation also. But then I read the Bible and I am glad.
When I am weak, then I shall be strong, the Bible says. Betsy and I were prisoners for the Lord, we were so weak, but we got power because the Holy Spirit was on us. That mighty inner strengthening of the Holy Spirit helped us through. No, you will not be strong in yourself when the tribulation comes. Rather, you will be strong in the power of Him who will not forsake you.

For seventy-six years I have known the Lord Jesus and not once has He ever left me, or let me down.
"Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him", (Job 13:15)
for I know that to all who overcome, He shall give the crown of life. Hallelujah!"

BEWARE OF THE LEAST LIKELY TEMPTATION

Joab had defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom — (1 Kings 2:28)
by Oswald Chambers


Joab withstood the greatest test of his life, remaining absolutely loyal to David by not turning to follow after the fascinating and ambitious Absalom. Yet toward the end of his life he turned to follow after the weak and cowardly Adonijah. Always remain alert to the fact that where one person has turned back is exactly where anyone may be tempted to turn back (see 1 Corinthians 10:11-13). You may have just victoriously gone through a great crisis, but now be alert about the things that may appear to be the least likely to tempt you. Beware of thinking that the areas of your life where you have experienced victory in the past are now the least likely to cause you to stumble and fall.

We are apt to say, "It is not at all likely that having been through the greatest crisis of my life I would now turn back to the things of the world." Do not try to predict where the temptation will come; it is the least likely thing that is the real danger. It is in the aftermath of a great spiritual event that the least likely things begin to have an effect. They may not be forceful and dominant, but they are there. And if you are not careful to be forewarned, they will trip you. You have remained true to God under great and intense trials— now beware of the undercurrent. Do not be abnormally examining your inner self, looking forward with dread, but stay alert; keep your memory sharp before God. Unguarded strength is actually a double weakness, because that is where the least likely temptations will be effective in sapping strength. The Bible characters stumbled over their strong points, never their weak ones.

". . . Kept by the power of God . . ."— that is the only safety. (1 Peter 1:5).