John 9:4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.
Right now, as I pen these words, over millions of Americans are under an unprecedented severe winter advisory. Meteorologists are anticipating records to be broken in this historic storm.
All this talk of snow reminded me of when I was growing up in Baltimore, Maryland during the winter.
I always wished for a snow day so that I didn’t have to go to school the following day. I would anxiously watch the news late into the evening for any hint of snow. Just a ½ inch was usually enough for schools to close!
Aside from the weather report, there was one sign that almost always meant freedom the next day: if Mom and Dad rushed to the grocery store because on the East Coast, the slightest hint of snow sends everyone running for milk, eggs, and bread to be sure they’re ready for the storm.
Anyone with their eyes half-open can see the clouds on the horizon, and we ought to be watching and preparing as carefully as I used to do growing up in Baltimore.
We need to be carefully watching, and at the same time, actively working for the Kingdom, because the day is rapidly approaching when no more work can be done! So take it to heart, continue to press through, press on, and by all means, do not grow weary in well doing — for you shall truly reap if you do not faint!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Throughout the Bible, the faith of the saints was never something passive — but rather a faith of action.
Much of the world is dealing with the greatest disruption of their lives… probably in their lifetimes, particularly in the West, and what is known as the “First World”. Here’s a helpful perspective toward understanding what is taking place.
Continuing our exciting account of the Moravian Revival, I have to highlight the minuscule quantity of saints involved. This was, in proportion to its astounding effect, a very small group, a little church. Yet the amazing demonstration of God’s principle of power through unity re-echoes the events at Pentecost when 120 believers also were in profound unity waiting on the Lord. It wasn’t the numbers but the removal of contention and division that paved the way for a 100-year revival.
The Moravian revival, our current subject, began in the little community of Herrnhut on August 13, 1727, with a tremendous outpouring of the Holy Spirit likened to that of Acts 2. It was a work of God that would transform this group of splintered Christian settlers into a unified missionary endeavor committed to reaching the unsaved around the world.
As we discussed last week, the word for “sign” in ancient Hebrew is “oht”. It was used in Genesis to designate God’s covenant sign with Noah, (the rainbow). And we see now the same word again, in Exodus, identified with the deliverance of the Jewish people from the tenth plague, when the angel of death passed through all Egypt to strike the firstborn. Anyone under the “sign” of the blood was spared.
This is one of my favorite promises in the Bible — that God turns mourning into dancing! He takes away the anguish of being clothed in sadness and replaces it with gladness. However, notice what God doesn’t do — simply stop your mourning and make it disappear. No, He transforms it…into joy!
With war drums beating even more intensely in Iran and Syria, we’ve received numerous phone calls and emails expressing their concerns — and understandably so! Nevertheless, even in this climate of anxiety, we are preparing to enter into Shabbat (the Hebrew word for Sabbath) this afternoon. And as we do, we are remembering again, the deep lesson of God’s entering into His rest following the six creation days.