Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Let me tell you a funny little story. An old mountaineer and his wife were sitting by the fireplace one evening, passing the time in silence. After a while, the wife broke the stillness and said, “Jed, I think it’s raining. Go outside and check, will ya?”
Jed stared into the fire a bit longer, sighed, and replied, “Aw Ma, why don’t we just call in the dog and see if he’s wet.”
Now, doesn’t that sound familiar? Sometimes we can get a little lazy, don’t we?
But let me tell you about someone who wasn’t lazy—John Wesley. This man traveled 250,000 miles on horseback, averaging twenty miles a day for forty years. He preached 4,000 sermons, wrote 400 books, and learned ten languages. And get this: at eighty-three, he was frustrated he couldn’t write more than fifteen hours a day without straining his eyes! By eighty-six, he was upset he could only preach twice a day and even complained in his diary about “sleeping in” until 5:30 a.m.
Mow, if Wesley wasn’t bored at eighty-six, why should we be? Let’s take inspiration from his dedication and make the most of today. Let’s ask God what He wants us to do and dive in with all we’ve got—because there’s plenty of work to be done, and every bit of it matters for His glory!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]During the past two weeks, I’ve received numerous emails responding to our understanding of Israel in the Bible, clearly indicating a need for a more comprehensive explanation of my point of view. This will require a bit more space than …
Yeshua (Jesus) is described as the “image of the invisible God” [; ], that is, God, manifesting Himself in a visible, tangible form, a human form in whom dwells all the fullness of Deity [; ; ], equal with God before Creation [; ], but choosing to be emptied of His glory for the purpose of incarnating as a flesh and blood human being on Earth; [].
Among the mighty men of David were those of the tribe of Issachar whose special gift was their understanding of the times, a gift of prophetic insight; and this was such a precious gift because included in their discernment was the ability to know how to apply it. In our time prophecy is everywhere. Yeshua (Jesus) warned us that there would be false prophets in the last days, especially approaching His second coming, and He said the prophecy would be so subtle and the false signs so powerful that even the elect might be deceived if that were possible; [Mt. 24:24] While it’s clear to many of us that we’re living in prophetic days, there are also millions who have no clue of the current times and seasons.
Have you ever considered why Abraham was called the father of faith? Why not Enoch, who was translated from this world? Or Noah, who by faith created an ark to save mankind in the days of the flood? Abraham didn’t perform any miracles, signs, or wonders, which would qualify him by today’s standards of spiritual performance, yet he is known as the Father of Faith, simply because he trusted in the Kingdom to come.
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The expectation of the coming Kingdom of God is intimately connected with the restoration of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. The preceding passage describes Zion in labor, as once again, we find the metaphor of birth used to convey this scriptural promise. It is a national gestation which will not be aborted, but will come to fruition. But first, before this labor begins…a “male child” is born… This can be none other than Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, Israel’s King, Himself, arriving beforehand, (on a donkey, at that), quite some time before the labor which gives birth to the nation; and causing the prophet to wonder if a nation can be born in a day.