God Is The God Of More Than Enough

By: Martha Noebel, cbn.com

There are so many people with issues that seem to overwhelm them. Whether it is a father out of work, sickness in the home, broken down cars, not enough food on the table, or even a runaway child looking for their own way in the world, our hearts may seem to long for peace.

From experience, I have found that as long as I try to fix the problems without trusting the Lord to deal with them, then I am left feeling frustrated and without hope. Peace comes as I lean on God for the answers and wait on His timing.

At one particular season of my life, I was living far from family and friends. My husband had a job in which he traveled one hour from home. I had a teenage son, a toddler, and I was pregnant. There was barely enough money for food and expenses; except for the gas money to get my husband to work. It was a scary time.

I wish I could say that I immediately filled my heart with an abundance of faith and never doubted God’s ability to bring us through for a single moment. But my attitude was to face things one day at a time. I am so much wiser now. Having seen so many miracles in these recent years I know that He is more than capable of working all things out for our good.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (KJV)

The Bible even shares how, in Matthew 15, Jesus saw the multitude was hungry after listening to Him teach for three days. Jesus, being full of faith, told the disciples to gather the seven loaves of bread and fishes. He blessed the food and sent the disciples into the crowd with these items. After they all ate and were full, the leftover food filled seven baskets. The crowd consisted of four thousand men and included the women/children. Now that is how faithful our God is when a need is presented to Him.

So what is your concern today? How much faith do you possess? Even faith the size of a grain of a mustard seed is all you need to see the victory in your life.

“…Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 NIV

The paths you are following are hard to understand at times. God is with you! He is passionately in love with you and cares about your every need. The trials of today will one day be over and as you look back you will see how far you have come. As I share in a previous devotional: Hope Is Real.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 NIV

With a heart full of faith and hope for the days ahead, move onward. Trust the Lord. You will be amazed!

Will We Know Each Other in Heaven?

By: Colin Smith, crosswalk.com

Will we know each other in heaven?

Let’s cut to the chase with a one-word answer: Yes!

The two-word answer would be, “For sure!”

And the five-word answer would be, “You can count on it!”

But being a wise and discerning reader, you will want more than the word of a pastor on this. You will want to see it in your Bible.

So let me offer seven Scriptures that I have used to help people who wonder if they will be reunited with their believing loved ones in heaven. All of these point to our knowing one another in the resurrection, and some of them point to believers knowing one another immediately after death.

1. David and his son

King David had a son who died in infancy. When the little boy died, David said, “I’ll go to him” (2 Samuel 12:23).

David knew that he would see his son again in the presence of the Lord, and knowing that he would be reunited with the son he loved brought him comfort in his bereavement.

2. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Our Lord said that many will come from the east and the west and recline at table “with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11).

Abraham was the father of Isaac and the grandfather of Jacob, and in heaven he enjoys the company of his son and his grandson, while Jacob enjoys the company of his father and his grandfather.

3. Jesus and the disciples

Jesus told his disciples, “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in a new way in my Father’s kingdom with you” (Matthew 26:29, emphasis mine).

The eleven, who shared the Last Supper with Jesus on earth, will eat and drink with him in heaven. Peter, James, John, and the others will be named and known in heaven as clearly as they were named and known on earth.

4. Moses and Elijah

When the glory of Jesus was revealed in the transfiguration, we are told that “Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him” (Matthew 17:3).

This is fascinating because when Moses and Elijah appeared, they did not have the resurrection body. They were souls made visible as the angels were made visible to the shepherds, and as the souls under the altar were made visible to John (Revelation 6:9). Although they were still waiting to be clothed with the resurrection body, Moses and Elijah were known. They were recognizable, and they were able to engage in conversation. That tells us a lot about the conscious joy of fellowship that believers share immediately after death in the presence of the Lord.

5. The gathered souls in heaven

The writer to the Hebrews speaks of “the spirits of righteous people made perfect,” that is, the souls of believers in the presence of Jesus. These souls, he tells us, are gathered in “the assembly of the firstborn” (Hebrews 12:23). Right now, in heaven, the spirits of the righteous made perfect are gathered. Gathered means community, and community means relationship.

6. Paul and the Thessalonians

Paul makes it clear that the believers he loved on earth will be his joy in heaven. “For who is our hope or joy or crown of boasting in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?” (1 Thessalonians 2:19). When Paul says this, he clearly anticipates that relationships forged on earth will continue in heaven.

7. The reunion of believing loved ones

When Paul writes to believers who grieve the loss of a loved one, he offers them this comfort: “We who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17, emphasis mine).

“Them” refers to believing loved ones who are now in the presence of the Lord. A wife who grieves the loss of her believing husband has the comfort of knowing that when the Lord comes, she will meet her husband again. Sons and daughters who grieve the loss of a believing father or mother can find comfort in the prospect of this happy reunion when we will be reunited with those who have gone before us into the presence of the Lord.

That’s more than enough to settle the issue for me, and I hope that it is for you as well.

Christians who know and love each other on earth will know and love each other in heaven.

“Light in the Darkness”

by Ryan Duncan, TheFish.com Editor, crosswalk.org

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Have you ever been in complete darkness? I don’t mean this figuratively, I mean physically. Have you ever walked in a place where there was absolutely no light? I have, and it’s an experience I’ll never forget. When I was in high school, my family went on a vacation to Mammoth Cave National Park.

Mammoth Cave, for those of you who don’t know, is the longest known system of caves in the world and the park, which itself is no small place, covers only a small portion of it. My family arrived at the park early in the morning and quickly joined the group of people who had come for a guided tour of the cave. As we slowly descended underground, our guide pointed out interesting rock formations, different types of minerals, and the occasional historical tidbit about Mammoth Cave. It was all very interesting, but the biggest moment on the tour was when the guide led us into a large cavern and asked everyone to take a seat.

“In a moment we’re going to turn off the lights,” he explained cheerfully, “That way you can get an idea of what it was like for people to explore the cave in the early days.” As soon as the lights went out, everything was pitch black. I held my hand to my face but couldn’t see a thing. Over thirty people were on the tour, but had they not entered the cave with me, I might have thought I was alone. It was complete darkness. Then our guide struck a match, and that little flame illuminated the entire cavern.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” our guide chuckled, “Bet you never thought a single match could light up a whole cave.” He doesn’t know the half of it. The Bible has a lot to say about light and darkness. To quote the book of John,

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” – John 3:19-21    

In many ways, our world is as dark as the caverns of Mammoth Cave. It can leave us lost, confused, and unsure of the things around us. But just as our world resemble the cave, so do Jesus words resemble the little match struck in the darkness. The light may be small, and we still may stumble in the darkness, but if we let it, that tiny light can illuminate even the darkest corners of our world. So take a moment and ask yourself, do you have the light of Christ in your life?

When You Feel Like You Can’t Hear from God

Sharon Jaynes, Author, proverbs31

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’” Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV)

I was so confused. I was talking to God, but it seemed He wasn’t talking to me. There seemed to be a barrier between us. I was a single 20-year-old who needed to make an important decision about my future, but I wasn’t hearing from God.

Mr. Thorp was an older, godly gentleman who mentored my Christian friends and me in our teen years. After a Bible study meeting, I asked him to pray for me.

“Let’s read some Scripture about prayer before we pray,” Mr. Thorp suggested.

First he turned to Matthew 18:19-22, which says:

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’”

Then to Matthew 6:8-15. Then Mark 11:22-26.

Every passage Mr. Thorp turned to regarding God answering prayer had verses about forgiveness either before it or after it. He stopped reading, looked me in the eye, and said, “Sharon, I sense that God is telling you that you have unforgiveness in your heart. Have you forgiven your father for what he did to you and what he withheld from you?” (Mr. Thorp had walked with me on my spiritual journey and knew very well what had gone on in my home.)

I was stunned. “Mr. Thorp,” I respectfully replied. “I came here to pray about my future, not talk about my past.”

“But, Sharon, God can’t talk to you about your future until you obey Him regarding your past.”

It was a rough morning, but a good one.

At that time, I’d been a Christian for seven years. My father came to Christ six years after I did. He’d been a violent, heavy drinker with a rage disorder who gambled, indulged in pornography and had affairs. Dad hit my mom, terrorized my brother and treated me as if I were non-existent.

When he gave his life to Christ, he was truly a new creation.

The change was (and still is) one of the most miraculous transformations I’ve ever seen. Only Almighty God could have orchestrated the twists and turns that led my father to the cross.

However, I had a nagging resentment toward my dad, which I clung to with a closed fist. Yes, I saw the change, but no, I didn’t trust him. I didn’t even like him. I still had nightmares, fits of fear and trigger points of panic. Whenever Dad made a mistake — because he still wasn’t perfect — the bitterness of my childhood rose up. God was speaking to me through Mr. Thorp, saying, “Now’s the time to let it go.”

Mr. Thorp and I spent hours talking through the pain of my past and the purpose of forgiveness. We prayed. I cried. Finally, in my heart, I could sense myself releasing years of hurt and anger. In turn, God filled my heart with a tender love of a daughter who saw her dad through the lens of grace. I was free.

Amazingly, after forgiving my father, my inability to hear from God was lifted. I knew exactly what I was supposed to do. I’m not saying that once you forgive, everything in life falls into place. However, my refusal to forgive my earthly father hampered my communion with my heavenly Father.

So here’s what God’s asking you and me today … Is there someone in your life you haven’t forgiven? It’s time to let it go. Forgiveness isn’t saying that what the person did was right, and it doesn’t necessarily mean you reconcile. But forgiveness does mean you’re going to let go of the angry resentment, give the person to God and live free. Remember, the only person we hurt when we choose not to forgive is ourselves.

Jesus didn’t tether our forgiveness to the caveat that someone we forgive has changed or asked for forgiveness. Why? Forgiveness really isn’t about the other person at all … it’s about what we choose to do to forgive as Christ forgave us, and set ourselves free.

Lord, today I choose to forgive _________ for ____________. I have been terribly hurt [misused, abused], but I’m not going to allow the offense to control me any longer. Just as You’ve forgiven me, I now forgive ____________. I relinquish any need for revenge and place the consequences of this person’s action in Your hands. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer of forgiveness, leave a comment and say, “I did it!” Let’s celebrate together.

God Is FOR You

Yuisa Vazquez-Brooks, author, cbn.com

Jesus never promised that life would be easy. On the contrary, Jesus said that we would have trials.

At times, our difficulties make us question our relationships, our feelings about ourselves and others, and if God is truly concerned about our situation. It may appear like God is not present and if He is, that He is not tuned in to our cry for help. Our problems persist and our relationships suffer. But know this, whether we go through financial struggles, physical or emotional problems, God is near to us.

Joshua 5:13-14 says,

“Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come … (NIV)”

In this passage, Joshua was being prepared to go into Jericho to take the city. The Israelites had just celebrated the Passover and the Bible says that the manna had ceased. Still, Joshua thought to ask the angel of the Lord whether he was for the Israelites or for Jericho. When the angel answered “neither” he was saying that he was not for him or against him, just as he was not for Jericho or against Jericho. The angel was there to do the will of the Lord.

Now, let that soak in for a moment.

Have you ever felt that God was against you and for someone else? After reading that verse, I have come to understand that God is not out to take sides, but He sends His angels to accomplish His will in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

In your situation, pray about what is God’s will for your life and understand that God does not have anything against you. The enemy would love for you to believe that God is angry with you and therefore has abandoned you; especially when you see others prosper or the wicked blessed.

No, whether you see it or not, the Bible says that the “Father is always at His work” (John 5:17, NIV). God is working on your behalf. His will is to bless you and to set you free from the lies of the enemy. His will is for you to grow in Him and be the person that He has created you to be. Meditate on the fact that you are loved by God and that He is for you to accomplish His will in your life.

Is God’s Love Sufficient?

Kay Camenisch, author, cbn

The dark cloud of Alzheimer’s threatened. I kept forgetting things said and done. Time concepts, simple vocabulary, and familiar names eluded me.

Shocked that firemen sat in front of the firehouse in shorts, I thought it was early March, not late August after a blistering summer. Later, on December 8, I was sure it was the day after Christmas. Once, I thought my name was Pat, not Kay.

Once I had no recollection of home. While taking off in an airplane, I couldn’t recall the name of the town I was from, what my house looked like, what airport I was flying from, or how.

It was 1999, and I was terrified of what the future might hold for me. And for my husband. Desperate, I prayed, seeking strength, courage, and understanding of what God wanted from me.

The Lord spoke as clearly as if I’d heard words. He said, “If you decline until you can’t do anything and don’t know anything except My love, will that be enough? Will you be content?”

Is God’s love sufficient? My measure of worth was too tied up with how productive I was. I doubted I could be content if I was not productive.

After wrestling with God, I conceded, “I’m willing to be content to know only your love, but I need for you to teach me how.”

I discovered I had mercury poisoning. When the mercury was removed, my cognition greatly improved. God gave me a second chance.

However, headaches began to trouble me, increasing in frequency and intensity until my days were dominated by migraines. Doctors couldn’t identify their source or find any help. Headaches ruled my life and greatly curtailed my productivity. For four months, I had one day and two half days when I was headache free and felt okay.

God’s question returned, “Am I enough? Would you be content with just knowing My love?”

God has been with me. I’ve experienced His love, grace, and strength in the midst of migraines. I’ve known that His grace is sufficient.

But, that is not the same as knowing I’d be content with only His love.

I know I grow through hard times (James 1:2-4). The Lord is with me, and will never leave or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5-6). He works all things for my good and His glory (Romans 8:28-29), and He is faithful and trustworthy (Deuteronomy 7:9).

And yet I wonder. Can I be content to simply know His love?

In His mercy, God gave me a second reprieve. Unsolicited advice from an acquaintance led to the cause of my headaches and successful treatment. They are almost totally all gone, along with the debilitating symptoms that accompany migraines.

I can’t remember when I’ve felt so good, and am rejoicing at God’s mercy.

But His question lingers. “Am I sufficient?”

We recently sang Bill and Gloria Gaither’s “Because He Lives,” including the line, “Life is worth the living, just because He lives.”  And I wondered, “Do I mean it?”

God not only lives. He chose me, loves me, protects me, provides for me. He said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20), and “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

I have life because of Him. But, is life worth the living just because He lives?

Is He sufficient? The question is valid for all who know Him. Jesus gave His all for us; He “fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:23), and He wants to be our all. The question is, “Is He enough?”

Do you know His love? Would His love be sufficient if He were all you knew?

Songs in the Night

Gerrit Gustafson, author, cbn.com

 A true worshiper sings songs in the night.

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. – Habakkuk 3:17-18

The magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer … put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. – Acts 167:22-25

American theologian, philosopher, preacher, and the president of Princeton University, Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) distinguished between two kinds of gratitude in his Religious Affections: “natural” gratitude and “gracious” gratitude. Natural gratitude involves being appreciative for good gifts: “Thank You, Lord, for a beautiful day.” Gracious gratitude, however, gives thanks for who God is, not just for benefits received: “Thank You, Lord, that nothing can separate us from Your love.” According to Chuck Colson, gracious gratitude is “relational, not conditional.”

Anyone can give thanks for blessings. But true worshipers have learned to give thanks in everything. It was gracious gratitude that flowed from Paul and Silas in the pain of their prison experience. Their story is a high-water mark in God’s search for worshipers. I want to become a worshiper like them.

There was a time when I thought that by exercising faith, almost any unpleasant situation would turn around. When my wife’s mother was sick with cancer, our fellowship mounted a vigorous prayer assault. We were certain she would be healed. After all, didn’t Jesus say, “Ask and you shall receive”? We were stunned when she died. How could that have happened?

That was the beginning of a refining process that my faith is still undergoing today as I learn gracious gratitude. Several years after my mother-in-law’s death, I was in Manila and heard the testimony of a leader in the Chinese church. This man had been sent to prison multiple times and spent years there for his faith. I will never forget how he told of volunteering for a job in prison that required him to wade in human excrement and sewage up to his chest. The stench was awful, but because no one else was around, it provided him with the rare occasion to sing God’s praises unhindered, especially the hymn, “In the Garden.”2 Since that day, I have often cried when I hear the words of this hymn and think of his story: “And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own; and the joy we share as we tarry there none other has ever known.” I want to be a worshiper like this amazing man.

Praise that is dependent upon blessing can easily turn into grumbling when the blessing is gone. It reveals that we measure what is good by a temporal standard, rather than by an eternal one.

When we suffer, we must first learn endurance: “If you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God” (1 Peter 2:20); “endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons” (Hebrews 12:7); “if we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:12).

But beyond patiently waiting out a difficulty is an even deeper response—giving thanks for the difficulty: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12–13).

How can we rejoice in our sufferings? By realizing that through those sufferings, our identification and fellowship with Christ will increase and we will better know Him and His love for us: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings” (Philippians 3:10).

I went through a severe period of financial testing during a time when I had three children in college. Early one morning, I was desperate to know why God was not answering my prayer and ending the trial. He brought to mind that my own father and mother had gone through a business failure and were also nearly bankrupt at a time when they had three children in college. The Holy Spirit led me to remember things to which I had been oblivious at the time. In that moment, I said “thank You” for the trial I was experiencing—I would not have known the depth of my parents’ love without it. In identifying with their sufferings, I knew them better.

Peter encouraged us to “greatly rejoice” when we experience trials. He said that they, like the refiner’s fire, prove that our faith is genuine and will result in praise and glory: “And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8–9).

When Stephen was stoned, he exulted in God’s presence. He “looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55). Jesus is usually seated at the right hand of God, but in Stephen’s case, He stood up to welcome him into His presence.

God is certainly pleased with natural gratitude, the kind that springs up in response to His blessings. But when He hears songs in the night—rejoicing in the midst of suffering—He stops what He is doing and gives it His undivided attention.