Luke 19:12-13 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
During the American Civil War in the 1860's, a fierce battle took place at Altoona Pass. It was a key supply point for the Union Army, so the Confederate Army led by General Hood sought to take Altoona Pass which held over a million and a half rations. When Union General Sherman realized Hood's plans, he dispatched General Corse along with 1,500 men to hold the city.
As the battle ensued, General Corse and his forces were forced into a small fort on a crest of a hill. The Northern army was being overwhelmed, with nearly half the men either killed or wounded in the battle. Things were looking extremely bleak when in the distance from a mountain top twenty miles away flags were being used to dispatch a message, and those in the fort knew the message being sent, "Hold the fort; I am coming. W.T. Sherman."
This sign gave the beleaguered army renewed strength to continue fighting the battle for another three hours until reinforcements finally arrived.
From this battle, a famous Christian song was written and its chorus is so eloquent for us today, "Hold the fort, for I am coming, Jesus signals still; Wave the answer back to heaven, By thy grace we will!"
In the midst of spiritual battles we can often feel besieged on every side – but HOLD THE FORT! Get some rest this weekend and renew your strength in the Lord for the victory is already won – we just need to continue fighting because He is coming!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]I’m not sure how much I enjoy the freezing weather here as we’re traveling across the United States, but I certainly can’t wait till Spring comes! On the Hebrew calendar Nisan is the month that transitions from winter to Spring.
Gas is going up…a lot. But your tank is the same size, and not filling up is not an option, unless you want to park in the shoulder lane, or leave the car in the garage. Leave the car in the garage (if you have a car)….now there’s an idea. Perhaps, this weekend, the best way to refuel is NOT to spend money on gas, or go driving somewhere!
“Some time ago, an advertisement appeared in which the devil was putting all his tools up for sale. On the day of public inspection, each one of his tools was marked with its selling price: Hatred, Envy, Jealousy, Doubt, Lying, Pride, and so on, were each on the block. Set apart, however, from all the rest of the pile, was a harmless-looking tool, well-worn, but priced very high — it was discouragement!”
One of my favorite passages in the Scriptures is Psalm 1, and clearly this psalm holds an important key for our lives as believers to be fruitful and prosperous. That key is meditation. The psalmist describes the one who prospers as one who meditates “day and night”; a continual meditation developing the Godly habit of disciplining one’s mind in divine truth.
Over the years I’ve often gotten emails asking “When do you think revival will come?” Well…. first, what is “revival”, exactly? One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions is “a renewed attention to or interest in something”.
Approaching a new year always seems to carry a sense of adventure and expectation, although that attitude is not normally mixed with the level of trepidation we might be feeling just now. Moses’ successor Joshua, one of two faithful spies, seems to have embodied this sense of courageous expectation much of his life, but even he needed an extra dose of Divine encouragement as the Lord commanded him to cross the Jordan and take possession of the promised Land.
As we approach the New Year, we’re back to making New Year’s resolutions … but this year is a bit different, since it’s not only a New Year but a New Decade! During the past ten years we’ve seen such radical changes in our society; the definition of marriage, millennia-old norms of gender identity, bath and locker-room privacy, have all been affected by court decisions as a sea change in social mores has swept through the western world. People of Biblical faith are witnessing the fulfillment of Isaiah’s warning, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” [Isaiah 5:20]