Here's How to Be Strengthened!

We are "strengthened with power through His Spirit" (Eph. 3:16). During my 60-plus years in the ministry, I have heard many people declare how weak they feel to witness or work for the Lord. They are like Gideon. When the Lord told him, "Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian," Gideon said, "My family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house" (Judg. 6:14–15).

 

I don't know a single preacher who doesn't feel weak and unworthy. But the answer to those feelings is this: we must be "strengthened with power through His Spirit" (Eph. 3:16). No wonder that in the book of Acts, we read so much about the Holy Spirit. Peter, Paul and all the others were strong because they were filled with the Spirit.

 

You can be strengthened, too. This ministry of the Holy Spirit is just as much for today as it was for the early church. Quit looking at yourself; instead, look to the Spirit to strengthen you and use you to do mighty things. It bothers me terribly to hear good Christians who just can't witness or worship or win the lost or whip the devil. When you make excuses, you're walking in the flesh!

 

The lesson we learn from Samson is that when "the Spirit came upon him mightily," he was strong beyond human comprehension (Judg. 14:6). The sad thing is that when he sinned, the Spirit departed from him, and he became weak. The Holy Spirit never leaves a born-again person today, but He can be "grieved" and "quenched," in which case we will become weak like other men.

 

Prayer: Dear Father, Your Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Thank You that You have the power to meet every need, every day. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

Quote for the Day: "The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us." —Author Unknown

You are the House of God

YOU are a dwelling of God! It has been my joy to visit hundreds of churches and cathedrals all over the world. Sometimes, as I entered a notable cathedral, a hush fell over me and the other people as if God were right there. But far more awesome than that is to realize that my body is the house of God. The Bible says, "in [Christ] you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit" (Eph. 2:22). AWESOME!

 

You and your body are sacred. Now, doesn't that sober you and make you realize that your body and every place you go are sacred? It does for me. I am often aware of it and overwhelmed by the sacredness of my body. It makes me want to sing, "The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the world be silent."

 

Paul wrote, "For you have been bought with a price [the precious blood of Christ]; therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Cor. 6:20). Glorify God through your eyes in what you see on the television or in the movies. Glorify God through your ears in what you hear. Glorify God through your mouth in what you say: "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear" (Eph. 4:29). Don't gripe or gossip.

 

Finally, glorify God through your mind in what you think about; "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things" (Phil. 4:8). That surely does eliminate most of what we see on television, doesn't it?

 

Oh, dear people, life is serious. Time is short, but eternity is long. Glorify God in your body, the temple of God.

 

Prayer: Father, help us to realize the sacredness of life and our bodies so that we may glorify You in all we do. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

 

Quote for the Day: "To love what you do and feel that it matters—how could anything be more fun?" —Katharine Graham