“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

— Acts 2:42

My friends, we are the witnessing community of Jesus Christ, and we today live in a world where it is possible that we shall one day pay the same price for that witness that the early Christians paid in the arena. What a oneness is created when we realize that among us are those who also are placing their lives upon the line as they boldly witness for the living Christ.

Furthermore, we are the branches, and Christ is the vine, and, thus, we know that there is the same life-giving power flowing through each one of us. We are the body and Christ is the head. We are members of the same body.

All of these are but a few of the pictures the Bible paints of this strange fellowship, this koinonia, this partnership, this oneness, this mystical union we have in Jesus Christ. Ah, my friends, there is nothing like it in the entire world. Despite our differences, there is some ineffable union of heart and mind that has been created by Jesus Christ.

One third of all Americans are involved in small groups today, which is astounding. That is tens of millions of people, and 60 percent of those are in the church. Christians can find that much of their strengthening, their discipleship, and their spiritual growth take place in these caring, sharing, praying, Bible studying groups, which are going to build up men and women to do the work of Christ better than ever before.

Dear Lord, thank You for adopting us into Your family, the largest family in the world. Thank You for the millions of brothers and sisters in Christ with whom we are one. Give us strength for today, Lord, to serve You by serving Your body on earth…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN BE
ONE IN CHRIST WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS.

“For if through the trespass of one man [Adam] many died, then how much more has the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.”

— Romans 5:15

Jesus is the second Adam. Through His death He undid the sin of the first Adam for all who believe. But some people today assume that the first Adam is a myth; therefore, they reject the second Adam and His gift of eternal life. They assume that human origin via evolution is a proven fact.

Well, did Darwin present overwhelming facts? It has been noted by scientists that he did not by any means ever demonstrate the origin of any species. He simply showed how there were variations in species. In his classic book, The Origin of Species, the fourth chapter is the key chapter of the book. It deals with natural selection.

Natural selection is a scientific fact, but as one observer noted about a generation before Darwin, it removes the oddities that occur on either side of the spectrum of the species, thus preserving the order of species.

But Darwin tried to transform natural selection into a process that creates new species, and there is not the slightest bit of evidence that such a thing has ever happened. In that one chapter, Darwin uses phrases like this 187 times: “may have been,” “is supposed to,” “perhaps,” “it is probable,” and “I have assumed.” They are not scientific facts at all. Isn’t it tragic that many people reject the fact of Christ to choose instead mere hypothesizing?

Lord God, may we not create any false assumptions about You or Your creation. You have said repeatedly that You are the Creator of heaven and earth, and we believe that You are who You say You are. Increase our trust in You…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN SEE
CLEARLY THE REALITY OF BOTH ADAMS.

“…but he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; all those who hate me love death.”

— Proverbs 8:36

In Proverbs 8, God’s wisdom cries aloud in the street and beckons men and women to live their lives according to His precepts. She then concludes with today’s verse. I think that there is a great truth found here. It is a very far reaching truth.

For example, none of us would ever think of pitting ourselves against the law of gravity. One would not climb up the Empire State Building and jump off just to see if sometimes it doesn’t work. We know that it works.

One knows that if we violate it, the law will break us every time. The moral law is not different or elastic; it is one. The law is all one given by the same Law Giver and therefore we can but break ourselves against that law. Although Jesus Christ has taken the eternal punishment—the wrath of God—for our breaking those laws, how slow we are to realize that when we sin against the law of God we invariably bring the chastening and displeasure of God upon ourselves. Have we not been foolish? Have we not been slow to realize that the law is all one and that we can no more break the moral law of God than we can break the physical laws of God? All we can do is break ourselves upon them by violating His laws. May God grant us greater wisdom to experience the joy of obedience to Him.

Lord, thank You that You are the source of all wisdom. This day we choose life and eschew death. Thank You that You are the Lord of life. Give us strength for today to follow after You and not break Your laws…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE
CAN EMBRACE HIS WISDOM.

“The sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat were seen as minor for him to walk in, for he took Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, as his wife and went and served Baal and worshipped him.”

— 1 Kings 16:31

Ahab, king of the Israelites, chose a wicked bride, Jezebel, a Syro-Phoenician princess. She was bad and her father was bad. Her children were bad. And her husband was bad. And her grandchildren were bad. She produced calamity in whatever she did, and everything she touched was poisoned by her false belief.

She was part of a very prosperous and highly sophisticated people. The Phoenicians are the ones that gave us the alphabet. The Tyrians and Sidonians had great navies, since they had access to the Mediterranean, and they accomplished many things, like establishing Carthage, and sailing to Spain and Britain.

But they were molded according to their religion and therefore they were a very bold and cruel people. It was into this nest of the Priest King of Sidon that the weak and wicked king of Israel, Ahab looked for his mate. Now this was a gross mistake.

It may very well have looked to be politically a very attractive move. But, it was a violation of the law of God, which had forbidden the Israelites to take wives of the Canaanites or the other unbelievers. That has always been God’s law; we are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. A sin like this can have a negative impact on everyone, and in Ahab’s case, on the nation.

Lord, forgive us for serious compromise on major issues. Forgive us for allowing ourselves to be allied with the world in the wrong way. Give us strength for today that we might glorify You in all our relationships…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN STAY FAITHFUL TO
CHRIST, INCLUDING IN OUR KEY RELATIONSHIPS.

“…and call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me.”

— Psalm 50:15

The Constitution was written, as it says, “in the year of our Lord 1787.” And during that long, very hot summer in Philadelphia, tempers flared and the progress was slow. Indeed, the fact that they ever finished the whole enterprise was a “miracle” to quote George Washington, for they almost gave up midway through.

The turning point came on June 28, when Ben Franklin rose to his feet and appealed to them to pray. He said, “In the beginning of the Contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection—Our prayers, Sir, were heard, & they were graciously answered… And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?…”

He added, “I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?”

After that they attended a worship service at a local Christian church and prayed together. Much of the acrimony subsided. They were finally able to produce the Constitution. My friends, this is one example among many that testify that if it weren’t for the Christian faith, there would not be an America as we know it. If you are facing a crisis in your life, can you honestly say you have prayed about it? Don’t let prayer be a last resort, as almost happened with the Founding Fathers.

Thank You, Lord God, for blessing the undertaking of those godly men who gave us our nation by Your wisdom and guidance. Lord, give me strength for today to expand Your kingdom in our nation…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN RECOGNIZE HIS HAND
IN THE RAISING UP AND TEARING DOWN OF NATIONS.

“But there were none compared to Ahab, who sold himself to evil deeds in the sight of the Lord, which Jezebel his wife stirred up.”

— 1 Kings 21:25

When you hear the name Jezebel, what images are conjured up in your mind? She personifies evil. Jezebel is certainly an intriguing character.

She is the Lady Macbeth of the Scripture. She was in many ways a remarkably strong woman. In fact, she was the worst of all combinations. She was a very strong character and a very bad character. These are the types of people who wreak havoc on their centuries, and Jezebel most certainly did that.

She was the daughter of the king and high priest of the worship of Baal, the king of Sidon, a Phoenician city on the west coast of the Mediterranean by Tyre. Her father, Ethbaal, was the king of that city of the Phoenicians and he was also high priest of the temple of Baal. It was into this powerful home that Jezebel was born and molded. Molded as a woman who was born to rank and power, and secondly, as a woman who was taught all of the cruel and licentious and evil ways of Baal worship, which was a most venomous form of pagan superstition.

The name Jezebel means “unexalted,” and she was a great defender and propagator of her religion, and here we see an example of the damage that an evil religion can bring. Unfortunately, there are many Jezebels around in our day. But one day their due punishment will come. Hopefully, some of them will repent and turn to Jesus before it is too late. Meanwhile, we pray for deliverance from her seductive spirit.

Oh God, purge the wickedness in our hearts. Remove from us the Jezebel spirit that seeks to pull us ever downward and away from You. We live in a land that glorifies Jezebel, without coming to grips with her true end…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH,
WE ARE UNSEDUCEABLE.

“Still, I have preserved seven thousand men in Israel for Myself, all of whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

— 1 Kings 19:18

Elijah, the bold prophet of the Lord, thought that he was the only one left in Israel who worshiped the one true God. But God told him there were seven thousand who did not bow the knee to the false god, Baal.

In the great struggle that we have with the forces of unbelief, we need men and women of faith like Elijah. Men who have something of that unyielding spirit, that iron in their backbone that will enable them to stand up against the forces of evil and godlessness. Men and women who will see the great battle that is really before us.

But so many people in America today seem oblivious to the great spiritual struggle of our time. We need men and women of faith today who are not afraid to stand up and confront the unbelief of our day.

When Elijah confronted the forces of Baal on Mount Carmel, God answered powerfully with fire from the sky, proving that He alone was God. What consequences hang in the balance for this nation if the forces of godlessness succeed in completely overthrowing the followers of Christ? We thank God that in our day there are far more than seven thousand who have not bowed their knee to Baal. May God grant us that we may have something of the courage and something of the faith and something of the determination and steadfastness of Elijah in the critical hour in which we live today.

Lord, we marvel that You would have saved Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of even ten righteous people there. As it is, You delivered Lot and his family. Lord, send a great revival that the millions of people who bear Your name will truly live for You…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE BOW THE
KNEE TO THE TRIUNE GOD ALONE.

“Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, ‘Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for there are many of you, and call on the name of your god, but do not light a fire underneath.’”

— 1 Kings 18:25

In the days of Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, there was mass apostasy in the land. The people worshiped Baal instead of the true God. One day, Elijah called for a showdown on Mount Carmel between Baal and Jehovah. Elijah was one man versus 450 priests of Baal and 400 false prophets.

Elijah gathered the people and said, “How long will you stay between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him, but if Baal, then follow him” (I Kings 18:21). Sadly, this compromising and equivocating spirit is still alive in the world today. How many there are who have one foot in the church and one foot in the world, and they cannot make up their mind whether to fully follow Christ or to fully seek for the things of the world.

The showdown involved two altars, both with sacrificed bullocks. One for Baal; the other for Jehovah. The priests of Baal went first. But as much as they prayed to him, called on him, and even cut themselves bloody, there was only silence from their god.

When it was Elijah’s turn, he ordered them to drench the sacrifice on the altar of Jehovah. Then Elijah looked to God in prayer to show Himself. Suddenly, the fire of God fell out of the heavens and consumed the sacrifice and consumed the stones of the altar and consumed the dust and consumed the very water itself. This was a victory for belief in the true God. He alone is the one we should worship and not any false gods.

Great Jehovah, God of all gods, we praise You that You alone are worthy of worship. You alone have made us. Forgive us for straying from the path. Help us to be hot for You and not equivocating between worldliness and godliness…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE FOLLOW HIM
AGAINST THE TIDE OF THE WORLD.

“The word of the Lord came to him, saying, Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there. I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.’“

— 1 Kings 17:7

Sometimes God prepares us with little tests to prepare us for the bigger ones to come. Elijah, one of the great Old Testament prophets, lived in Zarephath with a poor widow and her son, no doubt an unusual relationship for a man who had spent most of his life in the desert. He spent about three years there, about half that time there was no rain.

One day the widow’s son grew sick and died, and the widow became very distraught. Elijah took the boy up to the loft where he stayed and laid his body out over the boy: “Oh Lord, my God, I pray that You let this child’s soul come into him again.” The Lord heard his prayer, and the boy began to breathe again. The great prophet brought the child down to his bereft mother, and there was rejoicing. She said, “Now, because of this, I know indeed that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth!”

This was all preparation for the great test that Elijah was to have in the great showdown on Mount Carmel with the hundreds of false prophets of Baal versus just him, representing Yahweh. Don’t despise the little tests God puts in your path. He may well be preparing for larger tasks. Make sure you pass all the tests, or you might just have to take them over again.

Father, help me to not shun small tasks. For it is in the mastery of the basics, so often You shape our lives to take on the much larger assignments You have for us. Lord, give me the strength for today to make myself available to You for big tasks or small…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE MAKE OURSELVES
AVAILABLE TO HIM FOR TASKS, BIG OR SMALL.

“For He has said: ‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’”

— Hebrews 13:5-6

How easily we are brought to fear. How often the dark clouds on the horizon seem to gather and they instill fear in our hearts. May I ask you this: Is there anything that is causing you to be afraid right now? Is there some dark cloud gathering on your life? Do you already feel the cold drizzling rain? Is there some terrible calamity that you feel is coming upon you?

Consider how God took care of Elijah, His choice servant, even when he was on the run from the wicked queen who demanded he be executed.

After the brook Cherith ran dry, God continued to care for him. And though the brook dried up, we see that God’s resources had not dried up, and that God’s love and care was shown in that He gave him the command as to precisely what he was to do. Even in the midst of this trial, God led him to Zarephath, which belonged to Sidon, and there a widow provided for him.

This widow was preparing to eat her last meal, but when Elijah came, God provided for her and her son, and also for Elijah. And he says, “Fear not.” This is a great statement we have so often in Scripture—words that were so frequently on the lips of Jesus Christ Himself, and words which we often need to hear. God takes care of His own.

Lord Jesus Christ, Your perfect love casts out fear. Forgive us for limiting in our own minds what You can do. You are a big God and great and can do the impossible, and You care for us. Thank You that You are our helper.

BY GOD’S STRENGTH,
WE WALK IN COURAGE.