Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
When I spoke in London last year it was on the very same street that William Booth had launched the Salvation Army, a movement that continues to impact the world around us today. However, in the early days of the movement a renowned biologist and skeptic Thomas Huxley known as “Darwin’s bulldog” wrote a scathing article in the Times accusing Booth of ‘religious fanaticism, prostitution of the mind, and exacting blind obedience to unlimited authority.’
This was retribution by Huxley as Booth preached against the theory of evolution which was just beginning to take root in society. When this attack was launched Booth’s son Bramwell was greatly grieved by the hit piece. However, William Booth told his son that he wasn’t going to waste his time-fighting critics else he would be distracted from the Lord’s calling on his life!
“Bramwell,” said William, “fifty years from now, it will matter a great deal how we dealt with the work of God.”
William Booth and his Salvation Army continue to this day to serve and bless the world…proof that a genuine calling on the life of a disciple will bear enduring fruit.
Virtual proof of a genuine calling is that it will face (sometimes vicious) attacks from critics. If you are the target don’t be short-sighted; take William Booth’s wise advice and stay focused on the work, not allowing your detractors to distract you. The fruit of your labor will endure, even forever.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Among those in the court of Alexander the Great was a philosopher of outstanding ability but little money. He asked Alexander for financial help and was told to draw whatever he needed from the imperial treasury.
Make no mistake—the spirit of antisemitism is very much alive today. Yet this isn’t a new struggle. It is an ancient spiritual war that has been ongoing for thousands of years. As people worldwide celebrate Purim, recalling the Jewish people’s deliverance from Haman’s evil schemes that took place in the ancient Kingdom of Persia (Iran), we are reminded of a deeper reality: a spiritual conflict between heavenly powers and demonic principalities.
The Festival of Purim, which we celebrate on the 14th of Adar—the last month in the Biblical calendar—begins this Thursday evening and continues through Friday evening this year. Although Purim isn’t one of the moedim, or appointed festivals named in the Torah, it arose in the 4th century BC and has been cherished ever since.
In the Book of Kings, when King Solomon began his reign, God asked him, “What shall I give you?” He replied, “I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in” (1 Kings 3:7). Such a phrase seems curious, yet it holds deep significance. It is echoed throughout Scripture, revealing a principle that intimacy with God leads to victory!
When Yeshua (Jesus) went into the synagogue in Nazareth and was handed the scroll of Isaiah to read [Luke 4:18], He opened it to the passage we know of as Isaiah 61, a powerful Messianic proclamation filled with hope and promise and fresh with the joyful good news of His arrival. After reading the passage He immediately declared that it was fulfilled in the hearing of those present. The first response was amazement and wonder that the carpenter’s son was so gracious a communicator. But this did not last, as Yeshua immediately challenged his audience with a prophetic expectation…that they would reject Him, which they immediately did…nevertheless…
F.B. Meyer once said, “The education of our faith is incomplete [till] we learn that God’s providence works through loss…that there’s a ministry to us through the failure and fading of things. The dwindling brook where Elijah sat is a picture of our lives.
Most people reading this passage tend to focus in on the fruit that is produced. Okay…But a closer look will reveal that the Lord is really focusing on the tree. The fruit merely demonstrates the quality of the tree. We have all encountered this: there are trees whose fruit is healthy and delicious, and there are trees whose fruit is scarcely edible, or even useless.