John 1:22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

John 1:23 He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Satan wages an effective battle against the Church simply by inspiring a sense of insignificance (click) in those who believe the Gospel. We MUST help you discover your value to God. As simply as I can state this, the point must be nailed down:

God most definitely has a profound interest in you knowing how valuable you are to Him.

And the way to capture the revelation of your value is to let God tell you how much he loves YOU. Go directly to Him in a prayer-quest. Ask Him to open your heart and your comprehension. Ask Him to tell you Himself, who you are to Him. Set your heart to seek God. Put yourself on a fast and push everything else to the background. And go forth to cast your life upon His altar. Push past all the voices of life – go out into the wilderness and seek Him as your refuge. He will meet you there.

Psa. 27:7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

Psa. 27:8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.

If this sounds simplistic just remember that His voice brought life to all things. When His “still small voice” breaks forth into your conscious mind it blows away the darkness and lies that bind your soul. When he speaks it’s nothing like the words of men. When He speaks to you the benefits of His healing grace are imparted. He instills value in your conscience with His Word. Consider the words of a man who let God love him, and drew his destiny from that love:

Psa. 43:3 O send out Thy light and Thy truth, let them lead me; Let them bring me to Thy holy hill, And to Thy dwelling places.

Psa. 43:4 Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And upon the lyre I shall praise Thee, O God, my God.

Psa. 43:5 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, The help of my countenance, and my God.

David’’s soul was in despair. He couldn’’t catch a break. Despite his best intentions and efforts everything went against him. He felt worthless, rejected and that he had no “Voice” of any significance. But David also knew that his soul was in trouble.  He knew he was depressed with a deflated sense of worth and value. Perhaps you see no value in your life. King David was there, where you now are. And he knew that a fresh perspective, a few days off, or a “rest” weren’t going to heal this brokenness. He knew where he had to go to heal his soul. He knew he needed to recapture his sense of Value and NO ONE BUT GOD could give that to him.

Psa. 43:3 O send out Thy light and Thy truth, let them lead me; Let them bring me to Thy holy hill, And to Thy dwelling places.

That’s where YOU must go: to God’’s “holy hill, and to Thy dwelling places.” Determine to go on a prayer-quest, to bring your malnourished soul to The Healer – the One Who loves you. For He has already sent out His “Light and Truth” to find you and bring you to His holy hill, His dwelling place.

We have made a costly error in measuring our value through life’’s experiences.  Our relationships, families, marriages, skills, successes, failures, popularity, respect of others, are not meant to be places we go to get a sense of value. Our personal value can only come from embracing what our Creator/Redeemer has said personally to us. He alone is “The help of my countenance, and my God”.

Before you can find your “Voice” you must find your Value.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ by Nick Champlin
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John 1:22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

John 1:23 He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

There are so many Christians holding onto their faith in Jesus but without any sense of personal value. It’’s so sad – like a marriage without romance. Without a sense of value, every trial seems like a personal rejection. Life’’s thread of disappointments just seems to confirm the feelings of insignificance. Without a revelation of your value, the thought of being or doing anything remotely great or worthwhile seems like an unattainable ideal. Everything seems more important than you. It’’s painful to press ahead everyday when you’’re dragging around the feeling that the world would experience no loss without you. And yet there are many Christians who, despite what they know in their head, feel this way in the secret recesses of their hearts. It’’s more than a crying shame; it’’s a crippling disease of faith. For how can anyone arise with a “Voice” if they have no sense of Value? Their words – regardless of how accurate or truthful – will fall powerless to the ground, because they are spoken from a heart of insignificance. To overthrow the power of the Gospel, Satan doesn’’t have to lure believers into false beliefs; he simply isolates them with thoughts of unimportance.

But a revelation of our personal value is at the foundation of what Jesus gives to us. Upon it He develops our vision and our “voice”. Value is exactly what He seeks to instill within us, with proclamations such as:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Luke 12:6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

Luke 12:7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Luke 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

As simply as I can state this, the point must be nailed down:

God most definitely has a profound interest in you knowing how valuable you are to Him.

Tomorrow I will tell you how to capture the revelation of your value.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ by Nick Champlin
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John 1:22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

John 1:23 He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

In all the experiences through which people search for meaning; of all the skills we develop to achieve fulfillment; none will free us from inner frustration, until we find our Voice in God. Your Creator has made you as a living message, and your life should say something. In fact your life is saying something right now. But it may not be speaking the powerful message of redemption. Yet that is the very message the Lord entered the world with which to free us. Lives lived in the affect of His redeeming love speak sweetly and powerfully to the world. You’’re to be His oracle, His living epistle.

1 Pet. 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God…that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ…

When people have found their voice they have found more than a message, they have found themselves. In order to have your voice you must have a sense of your own value and a view of purpose. Value and Purpose come together in you to create a spiritual epiphany and focus your voice. In the simplest terms, your voice is what your life is saying to the world when everything within you comes together in a common purpose. Most people never consider that their life should even say anything. It’’s nearly impossible to achieve a true state of spiritual wellbeing and contentment by acquiring things, knowledge or experiences. Not until we begin to view the worth of our lives in terms of giving out to the world – finding our voice – can we start to live in a state of godly comfort.  Jesus taught the receiving, gaining, was achieved by giving. In His kingdom the greatest lives are lived by servants. Everything in them points toward a message, and they are ever aware of it. It’s a whole different way of negotiating the terms of their existence.

To find your voice you need 2 things: a Word and Unction. Both of these come from within you but they aren’t created by you. They’’re God inspired and you have to do business with Him to get them.

A Word…

What’’s YOUR word? God is always forming His Word in us. The Holy Spirit is ever at work, making real to us the Words of Life. Our conformity to His word in us produces a living message. That becomes your “say-so” – the authority of “your voice”.  Jesus had this distinction. Paul had it. Every Christian who has ever gone forth in life with a message in their heart from the Lord has had it. It comes from knowing what Jesus has said.…

Heb. 13:5 …for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

Heb. 13:6 so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?”

His “saying” becomes the basis for our confident say-so. What the Holy Spirit speaks to you becomes YOUR word.

Paul used the phrase “my Gospel” in Ro. 2:16 in referring to the Gospel he preached. The fact is that the Holy Spirit had revealed the wondrous insights of the Gospel to Paul so that it became his Word.

An Unction…

You need more than a Word; you need the power of utterance – the anointing to speak it. Some call it passion but it transcends emotion and springs from the indwelling power of God. Unction isn’’t great speaking skills it’s the presence of Heaven in your words. It can’’t be learned; it’’s caught, not taught. Paul, with all his expert oratory ability and training prayed for unction:

Eph. 6:19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,

Eph. 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

When Unction has been united with a Word in your life, to produce a message in you, it’’s very hard to do anything else but be “the Voice”.

A young man asked an old preacher how he might know if God really wanted him to preach or not. The old oracle simply answered, “If you can do anything else, then do it.”

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ by Nick Champlin
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John 1:22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

John 1:23 He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

All the men and women that God used had a “Voice”. Most of them hadn’’t found their voice until God took hold of them. When God found them, some were fearful, like Gideon. Some were insecure, like Moses. Some had been deceived, like Paul.  Some were indifferent and unavailable, like Esther. Yet in the Hands of God, each one found their unique voice, through which they spoke to their world. There is nothing quite like speaking to the world and having the world listen. They certainly will not all agree, but you won’t be ignored. It is no small honor to be the voice of God’’s message. There is quite possibly nothing else in life that can compare.

1 Pet. 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God…that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ…

One who is given a voice in the Hands of God doesn’’t just speak to the world from behind pulpits. In fact, most of the men and women who spoke God’’s messages to their generation did so within the flow of life’’s commonly traveled roads. The world isn’’t going to come to church, so God gives people in the church a voice and sends them into their the world.

In all that we seek to receive in church we should seek to obtain a voice.

It’’s good to be a part of church and come for understanding, refreshing, even correction. But in all that we reach for in church, how many of us come seeking to find our “Voice”?

Eph. 6:19 And (pray) for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

Eph. 6:20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

When you begin to find your voice your path narrows – options fade – but the road ahead becomes more clear. For you find your voice on the same path that you discover your value and find true purpose.

When the Pharisees asked John the Baptist to give an accounting of himself he quoted Isaiah 40:3 in response:

The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Jesus had refered to John saying:

Luke 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist

I’’ve always been deeply impressed that the man Jesus cited as the greatest Prophet of the Old Testament had distilled his identity down to that of “The Voice”. Not The Body, The Brain, The Heart, The Hand, or any other function. But he was elevated to the high status of “greatest among those born” by allowing his life to be guided under the Hand of God to become an oracle.

Finding your voice and becoming an oracle of God is a concept shrouded in misunderstanding and fantasy. You would imagine some mystical process that fashions people into a strange and disconnected pilgrim. What could be more damaging to the Gospel than to associate the business of delivering God’s words with bizarre people. We have also made a terrible mistake leaving the job of speaking to the world for God, in the hands of professional clergy. That leaves the vast majority of Christians simply focusing on “living right” in a lost world. They never consider that there is a voice within them waiting to be awakened by the Hand of God. The most common places of their daily lives are the very paths God desires to enter and meet people. If the world only hears from God by the voice of professional preachers, where then will it learn of His love for them? The world needs for you to find your voice. Tomorrow we’ll begin to look at what goes into finding your voice.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ by Nick Champlin
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Heb. 12:1 Therefore, surrounded as we are by such a vast cloud of witnesses, let us fling aside every encumbrance and the sin that so readily entangles our feet. And let us run with patient endurance the race that lies before us,

Heb. 12:2 simply fixing our gaze upon Jesus, our Prince Leader in the faith, who will also award us the prize. He, for the sake of the joy which lay before Him, patiently endured the cross, looking with contempt upon its shame, and afterwards seated Himself– where He still sits–at the right hand of the throne of God.

Heb. 12:3 Therefore, if you would escape becoming weary and faint-hearted, compare your own sufferings with those of Him who endured such hostility directed against Him by sinners.

Heb. 12:4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted so as to endanger your lives;

Heb. 12:5 and you have quite forgotten the encouraging words which are addressed to you as sons, and which say, “My son, do not think lightly of the Lord’s discipline, and do not faint when He corrects you;

Heb. 12:6 for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines: and He scourges every son whom He acknowledges.”

Heb. 12:7 The sufferings that you are enduring are for your discipline. God is dealing with you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Heb. 12:8 And if you are left without discipline, of which every true son has had a share, that shows that you are bastards, and not true sons.

Heb. 12:9 Besides this, our earthly fathers used to discipline us and we treated them with respect, and shall we not be still more submissive to the Father of our spirits, and live?

Heb. 12:10 It is true that they disciplined us for a few years according as they thought fit; but He does it for our certain good, in order that we may become sharers in His own holy character.

Heb. 12:11 Now, at the time, discipline seems to be a matter not for joy, but for grief; yet it afterwards yields to those who have passed through its training a result full of peace–namely, righteousness.

Heb. 12:12 Therefore strengthen the drooping hands and paralyzed knees,

Heb. 12:13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put entirely out of joint

Heb. 12:14 but may rather be restored. Persistently strive for peace with all men, and for that growth in holiness apart from which no one will see the Lord. (Weymouth Translation)

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The warning from the text above is: “do not think lightly of the Lord’s discipline, and do not faint when He corrects you”. And the reason for this admonition is because in our quest to be happy we don’t see God’s correction as gratifying. We like to try and get past it as quickly as we can, because it’s not a “happy” experience. In fact, God’s correction brings grief. But it’s the kind of grief that’s good and warns you that something is wrong. If you ignore it or simply try to get past it as quickly as you can you’ll probably keep heading right into trouble.

I remember years ago reading about David’s sin with Bathsheba, and the mess he created through his lust, by getting her pregnant and having her husband killed. But once it was “over” he married her and probably figured he was back “on track with God”. And when I read how Nathan the Prophet came in and exposed David’s sin (after it seemed to be a thing of the past), it struck me how that you can never put behind you want God hasn’t “put away”. David thought he had gotten past it all. I’m certain that he was very sorry for what he had done, and I’m sure he had no allusions about it being wrong. Yet like many of us, he probably figured, “It’s past. I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll stick close to God for now on…etc, etc.” But sin has a terrible and dangerous influence upon us, as it dowses our soul with it’s highly flammable solution. All it takes is a close brush with the flames of temptation. So God had to step in and deliver David from what he could not see, nor free himself from. When Nathan revealed the sin David thought he had put behind him, David was shocked and dragged down into a most grievous experience of repentance. And when his time of repentance was thoroughly completed the Bible reports that, “And David said to Nathan, Great is my sin against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, The Lord has put away your sin; death will not come on you” (2 Sam. 12:13). It is so important to realize how utterly impossible it is to put away your own sin. You cannot put behind you what God has not put away. We NEED God’s reproof and correction, and if it weren’t “grievous” we wouldn’t pay much attention to it.

In the letters to the Corinthians Paul reproved the Church for certain sinful behavior. His letter of correction pierced them with painful reproof. But after they wrestled with the issue, and went to God for correction over it, the result was thorough and produced a revival in them.

2 Cor. 7:8 For though my letter gave you pain, I have no regret for it now, though I had before; for I see that the letter gave you pain, but only for a time.

2 Cor. 7:9 Now I am glad, not that you had sorrow, but that your sorrow was the cause of a change of heart; for yours was a holy sorrow so that you might undergo no loss by us in anything.

2 Cor. 7:10 For the sorrow which God gives is the cause of salvation through a change of heart, in which there is no reason for grief: but the sorrow of the world is a cause of death.

2 Cor. 7:11 For you see what care was produced in you by this very sorrow of yours before God, what clearing of yourselves, what wrath against sin, what fear, what desire, what serious purpose, what punishment. In everything you have made it clear that you are free from sin in this business.

It’s human nature to resist God’s correction because of the sorrow it causes, but it’s divine nature that calls us into the Refiner’s Fire, knowing that it’s the door to deliverance and true joy.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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Heb. 12:1 Therefore, surrounded as we are by such a vast cloud of witnesses, let us fling aside every encumbrance and the sin that so readily entangles our feet. And let us run with patient endurance the race that lies before us,

Heb. 12:2 simply fixing our gaze upon Jesus, our Prince Leader in the faith, who will also award us the prize. He, for the sake of the joy which lay before Him, patiently endured the cross, looking with contempt upon its shame, and afterwards seated Himself— where He still sits—at the right hand of the throne of God.

Heb. 12:3 Therefore, if you would escape becoming weary and faint-hearted, compare your own sufferings with those of Him who endured such hostility directed against Him by sinners.

Heb. 12:4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted so as to endanger your lives;

Heb. 12:5 and you have quite forgotten the encouraging words which are addressed to you as sons, and which say, “My son, do not think lightly of the Lord’s discipline, and do not faint when He corrects you;

Heb. 12:6 for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines: and He scourges every son whom He acknowledges.”

Heb. 12:7 The sufferings that you are enduring are for your discipline. God is dealing with you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Heb. 12:8 And if you are left without discipline, of which every true son has had a share, that shows that you are bastards, and not true sons.

Heb. 12:9 Besides this, our earthly fathers used to discipline us and we treated them with respect, and shall we not be still more submissive to the Father of our spirits, and live?

Heb. 12:10 It is true that they disciplined us for a few years according as they thought fit; but He does it for our certain good, in order that we may become sharers in His own holy character.

Heb. 12:11 Now, at the time, discipline seems to be a matter not for joy, but for grief; yet it afterwards yields to those who have passed through its training a result full of peace—namely, righteousness.

Heb. 12:12 Therefore strengthen the drooping hands and paralysed knees,

Heb. 12:13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put entirely out of joint

Heb. 12:14 but may rather be restored. Persistently strive for peace with all men, and for that growth in holiness apart from which no one will see the Lord. (Weymouth Translation)

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

I am preparing to make one of my trips back into the jungles of the Niger River Delta. There I am bringing Jesus to people who have never heard the Gospel, and live a very remote and hard life. Their native culture and our “Christianized” society are sharply contrasted. Making the adjustment in my mind, in order to preach effectively there, I realize there is something fundamental to Jesus’ Gospel that we have forgotten here in America. And that is that God more concerned with our holiness than our happiness.

We are obsessed with the pursuit of happiness in post-modern culture. And it is a multi-billion dollar business; because the advertising industry knows that it can easily separate us from our money by convincing us that we are unhappy. Happiness depends on “happenings”. If we happen to get what we want, well then we’re happy…for a while anyway. However, the soul is not satisfied with happenings or happiness. Your soul seeks meaning, rest, revelation and purpose. None of which result from happenings: things going the way you want them to. The carnal desires of the flesh are always imposing themselves upon the soul. And the soul that isn’t disciplined in God will simply cave into the demands of the flesh. Isaiah the Prophet wrote:

Is. 55:1 Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost.

Is. 55:2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance.

Is. 55:3 Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live;

The modern western church is steeped in the pursuit of happiness. Messages are tailored to appeal to the interests of every specific group. Preachers who use to write about the claims of Christ now write How-To best sellers. Yet the true need of our life is Holiness, not happiness. Holiness is the work of the Spirit of God, freeing us dependence upon carnal gratification. It’s the process of deliverance from distractions, addiction to entertainment the powers of selfishness. Holiness cuts away the thick fleshy bulk from our hearts and minds, allowing us to feel the love of God and see the worth of Jesus Christ.

Heb. 12:14 Persistently strive for…growth in holiness apart from which no one will see the Lord.

We see many styles of churches, thoughtful accommodations, impressive messages, talented productions, even spiritual “manifestations”. But we don’t see the Lord …really see the Lord. Christians would zealously follow Jesus if they saw Him, but instead, must be constantly coaxed into faithfulness.

People can be happy with things that take them away from God.

The pursuit of happiness has resulted from a misguided interpretation of the Gospel. The love of prosperity and the fear of losing it, has caused us to redefine the meaning of life and the purpose of ministry. And we have bought into some wrong assumptions. We believe that God wants us “happy”. But God wants us holy - knowing that holiness brings us into something that the pursuit of happiness can never deliver: fulfillment and the Joy of the Lord.

You can never be truly happy immersed in yourself. Our Heavenly Father loves us far too much to pour out His anointing upon us before we are redirected into the pursuit of holiness rather than happiness. He chastens us with conviction and reproves us till we respond to Him and begin to wholeheartedly seek His face. The pursuit of happiness (rooted as it is in our flesh) dulls our souls to God’s dealings. We become chronically unhappy, and can’t seem to find a satisfaction level. The pursuit of happiness becomes an increasing burden as we drag the weight of conviction along with us. But godly sorrow leads to repentance and awakens our hearts to higher joys and deeper purposes. Happiness without God is a cruel hoax, but the joy of the Lord works regardless of what is happening.

More tomorrow, so until then…

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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Eph. 2:5-6 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Jesus wasn’t raised from the grave to live in the Temple at Jerusalem or the Palace at Rome. He went all the way straight to the Throne of God! He wasn’t raised up as a new religion, or a deposer of oppression and ruler of governments. But He was raised up as God of the Universe and Savior of the World. The Bible makes very clear that Jesus ascended directly to the throne of God.

1 Pet. 3:21-22 …the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

He was raised to Heaven as the LORD of Life…Administrator of Salvation…Governor of Grace.

He has all authority to forgive sins & all power to transform sinners.

Satan is under His feet.

The throttle of Eternity is firmly in His Hand.

With His resurrection, He opened up Heaven to the world!

John 1:51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

This is a very important point, because according to the Bible, we were raised with Him, and wherever He ascended became the place of our new identity, the seat of our authority.And we became the portals of Heaven upon the Earth.

Just as Jesus did not go from the grave to the Temple, in order to take over an earthly religious system, neither do we depend on such places to give us identity or acceptance. We are not a “religion” and we don’t require the religious institutions of the world to give us acknowledgment, in order to have credibility. Our credibility comes from the place that Jesus rose to.

Just as Jesus did not go from the grave to the Palace at Rome, to change earthly governments and make them into churches, so too we do not look to governments to make us free and provide our living.

We were raised with Jesus as Sons & Daughters of the Living God. We walk the Earth as a new species of mankind. The resurrection for us, is not a 2^nd chance or a “Do over”. We are not simply sinners, who have been given forgiveness so that we can try and make Heaven when we die. We have made Heaven; at least in the legal sense of the word. The Bible teaches that true Christians are “new creatures” or species. At our core we are a new being.

2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

The Greek word, “creature” is literally, “species”. The wombs of Earth are no longer the mother that begat us. We are begotten by the elements of Jesus’ life and blood, through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are no longer looking behind us to the world for our support, but forward, to God, Who is our Heavenly Father.

1 Pet. 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

We have undergone a “begetting” – the death of our old being and a spiritual resurrection into newness of life as new beings. And of what are we composed? We are a composite, made up of the heart of our old identity, stripped of its sinner status, and the nature of Jesus Christ – the God of Creation, become a man, become us.

John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

John 17:21 That they all may be one; as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that you have sent me.

John 17:22 And the glory which you gave me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

Well, all this can be dizzying if you strain hard enough to wrap your mind around the concept. But what does it mean on a Monday morning, when you get up and head off to work or school, as a Christian? It means you’re not just another sinner trying to be a good example. But in reality, TODAY you are a child of God upon Earth, trying to make the most of your heavenly position, to influence the people of the world. You have become part of the real estate of Heaven. The more you pray and remain in tune with your Heavenly citizenship, the more Jesus shines through you to open the eyes of those in darkness. The more you rejoice in Christ, the more those shackled in sin can see Heaven’s happiness extended to them. You are a beneficiary of Jesus’ resurrection. The more you walk as a child of Heaven, the more God walks among men.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Portraits Of Jesus by Nick Champlin
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Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Today the world is under the Age of Grace. Jesus not only shocked the religious leaders of His day by announcing to people that their sins were forgiven, but He also declared that He had not come into the world to judge the world at this time.

John 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

John 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

Jesus made clear that His present mission was to offer salvation to a sin-cursed world. So when He hung up on the cross, with open arms and cried, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do!”, He was issuing the defining sentiment of a whole new dispensation. That was not merely a passionate expression of the moment. It was the covenantal decree for an age! Jesus, with that cry, in that very moment; representing God and representing man, and possessing the perfect right to establish divine policy; spoke forth the anthem of the New Blood Covenant; and established the attitude of God in relation to man. His words form the ground of ministry, upon which God will anoint men, and upon which he will hear their petitions.

2 Cor. 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Jesus had made clear that we were entering the times of refreshing, when God would turn His heart of grace towards sinners, and extend, with great divine patience, His Hand of salvation. Judgements would be withheld, so that the skittish hearts of those dwelling in the dark, might have boldness to come out into the Light. Do not diminish the tremendous ramifications of this statement:

It is almost hard to believe what this statement is suggesting. Though God is not now condoning sin, nor is He going to allow it to go unpunished; but, in this statement we have the clear indication that God is withholding judgment of sin until a later time. But even more astounding is the means by which God is extending His grace.

Matt. 18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Matt. 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

Matt. 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

The entire mechanism of this ambassadorial mission of mercy from Heaven to Earth, rests upon the shoulders of the redeemed former slaves of sin. Heaven will now stand on the orders of men acting as its representatives upon the Earth! We have been given the right and responsibility to extend God’s forgiveness of sins to others. While it’s not my purpose here to go into the conditions or limitations of this authority, the fact that we have this power is indisputable in scripture. We can stand as the Lord’s intercessors, on the behalf of the lost and guilty, and not only plead their pardon, but declare it. It infuriated the Pharisees when they saw Jesus decree the pardon of sins over people who did not appear to have undergone a “proper religious repentance”. And that precise ministry of reconciliation has been given to us.

We have not, however, begun to understand the depth of our calling and the power of our ambassadorship. We can’t exercise an authority that we don’t understand. While bound in oneness to the Father through Christ in a fabulous New Covenant, most Christians live in an Old Covenant mentality of legalism and condemnation. Most Christians still don’t accept their own forgiveness and the access Jesus gives them to God’s Throne, much less, the authority they have to forgive the sins of others.

Take a look at Jesus words to the disciples, during an appearance, after His resurrection.

John 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

John 20:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; andwhose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, we as recipients of His forgiving grace, are to be the very ones who act as His agents in dispensing it to others.

All of this is why Jesus calls us the “Salt of the Earth”. Christians who are armed with the advanced knowledge of their covenant authority, can assert themselves as agents of the grace of God in the face of a sinning world. And we have a preserving effect upon a culture that would otherwise rot without the influence of “Salt”. When we enter a community as Christ’s Ambassadors, we bring God’s favor to them if they receive us. Then grace begins to work, souls are saved, lives delivered and healed and divine blessing fills every available place where we are welcomed. I wonder if you knew you had that much influence with God? I’m convinced that we have more faith in the power of sin than we do in our own authority to extend forgiveness.

Abraham and Moses did it for the sinners of their day. How much more can we, who are the sanctioned Ambassadors of Christ, in the world today? They did it utilizing nothing more than their own relationship with God. We have the full authority of Sonship. Determined believers who KNOW their position and refuse to be swayed, can bring the visitation of God’s grace upon a dark land, or maintain the patient favor of God in a compromised society. God had agreed with Abraham not to destroy Sodom if only 10 righteous were found in the city. What is amazing is that God was on His way to destroy the city when Abraham turned Him around! Had Abraham taken the position that many believers do today, he probably would have said something like, “I figured they were gonna get judged, the way they were going at it in there. I wonder what took God so long?” And God would have moved right in and judged the city. But Abraham stopped Him. It was the influence of Abraham’s relationship with God, that made the difference.

Sure our society sees it’s share of corruption. How much do you think God sees? Yet He looks more to the blood of His Son, than all the failings of man. We’re ready to walk off and let the fire start reigning from the sky, as though we were the ones being crucified. Yet it was Jesus Who spoke out from the cross, those words which bind the forgiving mercy of God to Earth, wherever enforced by interceding Christians:

“… Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…”

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Portraits Of Jesus by Nick Champlin
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Psa. 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Working while you weep???!! This goes against much of the popular trend that allows believers to withdraw from ministry and service if they’re “going through trials”. In our modern Christianity, with its focus on the emotional needs of the believer, the biblical principle of Christian service is suffering serious neglect. In his book, The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren sites the modern church stating,“Today thousands of local churches are dying because of Christians who are unwilling to serve.” (pg 230, par 4) Considering that we are using the same Bible we always have, we have to answer the question, “Why?” Why are the numbers of laborers who are willing to faithfully carry on, even under personal suffering, dwindling? The answer is that the church has undergone a great shift in its central focus. While we still preach and declare that Jesus is Lord and He comes first, in reality we have been taught by our Me-centered culture that Jesus’ ultimate purpose was to come and bless us. In large part, the churches that still maintain the idea that serving Jesus is the non-compromising commission of the church; they are dwindling. On the other hand, the churches that thrive are largely focusing their ministry on catering to the sensitivities of the people. So they attract a lot of people and the work gets spread among many shifts of people who schedule in their hour-at-the-plough. This way, there’s no “weeping”. What individual wouldn’t be attracted to such an appealing picture as this: a bunch of happy, relaxed worshippers?

But that is not the image of God’s servant in the Bible. From Moses to the end-time martyrs; Jesus is being served by people who are faithfully sowing their seeds at great personal expense. Our Lord Himself had to give His greatest service while undergoing the worst abuse. On the cross Jesus didn’t say, “How can you expect Me to forgive and think of others while I’m in the middle of such a personal crisis?!” But just about any personal crisis is reason enough for modern Christians to turn away from their responsibilities to fellowship and service, in order to focus on their own “weeping”. Jesus came to make us strong by leaning on Him. Not weak by focusing on self’s sufferings. We are kept strong by staying in the yoke of service and learning that He will deliver His “servants”.

The 3 Hebrew young men exiled in Babylon, told the king who had ordered them to worship his idol or else face execution in the furnace:

Dan. 3:17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

Dan. 3:18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Because they weren’t about to take themselves off the clock, as God’s servants, just because of personal crisis, Jesus got right into their situation with them, and delivered them.

All the Apostles and early Christians, as well as many throughout history, have found the secret of taking up the work of the Lord and refusing to let up or step away from it, particularly in times of personal stress and suffering. The “secret place of the Most High” isn’t worshipping in the inner sanctum of withdraw from labor, it’s worshipping through tears in His yoke.

Faithfulness under pressure is only found in the life of the selfless mission-minded. The sinner isn’t impressed with anything less. And why should he be? We’re leading people to the Jesus of Calvary. And a dedication that’s less fades to invisible in this world.

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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Mark 7:24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.

Mark 7:25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

Mark 7:26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

Mark 7:27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the childrenís bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

Mark 7:28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the childrenís crumbs.

Mark 7:29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

Mark 7:30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Faith that is unwaveringly fixed upon Jesus Himself can overcome ANY disqualification!

Jesus came for the disqualified. The woman in this story had no basis, under Old Testament Law, to obtain anything from the Jewish Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. But fortunately for her - and for us - Jesus is Lord, Creator and Redeemer of all the world. A direct appeal to Him, that bypasses all regular religious prescriptions, is possible. But it is only possible in that boundless realm called FAITH. Faith is the material of Heaven’s throne. It’s the by-product of God’s entry into the skeptical world. From the outside, what looks like Faith in Jesus, on the inside, is simply REALITY. It only looks like faith to those who don’t see reality.

Heb. 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Never ever, forget that Jesus is not the conductor of a Bible quiz. He is Savior, Lord and Loving Healer. You may have gotten the buzzer at every attempt to receive from God on the basis of your performance. So you probably have some things to work on. BUT, on the issue of receiving what you need from the Lord, remember, disqualification is not denial. If you are disqualified on all grounds, FAITH in Jesus is the one basis that God will hear. I’m talking about the kind of faith that KNOWS that God is good even if you’re not. This is faith that knows that approaching Jesus on basis of WHO He is instead of who you are, will always get you farther with God.

Mark 7:28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord (I am a dog): yet the dogs under the table eat of the childrenís crumbs.

Rom. 8:3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, Goddid: sending His own Son…

The Faith that’s based in Who Jesus is won’t take “No” for an answer, because it KNOWS that the Lord is essentially good and a Responder to faith, in spite of religious disqualifications. Faith is the persistent, unrelenting acknowledgment of what it knows to be real.

Jesus very often humbles the soul that seeks His Hand.

Mark 7:27 But Jesus said unto her…..it is not meet to take the childrenís bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

But He does this in order to peel away any diluting pride and ego, so that the pure concentration of faith can come forth. In other words, He was helping the woman to bring herself to a point of power in her faith. The kind of power that transcends the prejudices and disqualifications of the world.

So when you really need help from God, but you have used up all your “get out of jail free” cards; and you don’t have any elevation, rights, or position, upon which to launch your claim before God; simply acknowledge your lowly condition and stake your claim in the fertile soil of the merciful promises of Jesus, from which even the disqualified are fed.

Mark 7:29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

Stay On The Path!

Nick Champlin

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises by Nick Champlin
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Luke 10:42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

How often have we felt cheated or overlooked when, after doing a good job or “the right thing”, or providing assistance, that we ourselves haven’t been “blessed by God”, for the good work we’ve performed. We’ve put in the extra time, gone the extra mile, stayed late, worked alone, did an extra nice job, invested personal expense, even sacrificed to please God in the effort we made. But when it was over and we needed something for ourselves - a little gratitude, a little help w/ our own burdens, a small favor, some “good fortune” to flow our way - it didn’t come. The good works that we did didn’t produce the blessings for ourselves that we needed. They even went unnoticed, unrewarded. We expected the cycle of sowing and reaping to work automatically and it didn’t. The Orientals referred to it as “Karma”, but it must only work in the Far East. Even the Bible leads us to expect to receive according to our giving.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

But what do you do when it looks like EVEN THE BIBLE DOESN’T WORK? When it looks like our reward has been robbed on it’s way to us! It’s enough to discourage you from unselfish service or good works. It’s enough to make you think you’re cursed or under some kind of sentence of judgment. But before you throw in the towel, consider this:

If receiving divine favor or attention were simply produced by doing “the right thing” or extending yourself sacrificially, then Jesus would never have had to come. You could just have a good life by doing the right things. God’s blessing would simply flow automatically through a system laws. You wouldn’t need to have a relationship with Him that involved prayer, praise and fellowship; no personal seeking. Just do good things and know that God was watching. And when you pushed the right buttons the goodies would flow down the chute to you.

But the reality is that all the blessings, favors and help that we need in life are actually extended to us in the Person of God Himself. And that person is Jesus Christ.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

All the attention, reward, appreciation, special favors, help and blessings REALLY ARE AVAILABLE TO US. The Father actually IS EXTENDING them to us. But they are not found in the system of good works. They are offered by Jesus to us. They are sheltered from the potential corrupting influence of the world, with it’s cheating and unfair dealings. And your blessing and favor is offered through the Protecting love of Jesus.

You see, the Father doesn’t want us simply to toil for satisfaction, even if it’s good toil. But He wants our satisfaction to come directly from and through Him.

Jesus told Martha that Mary was receiving the good part that could not “be taken away from her”. The world always has a way of taking away whatever benefit or opportunity life may afford you, regardless of how fairly you may have obtained it. But the encouragment and favor of God is beyond the reach of life’s spoiling hands.

In the world of cruel fates, David found the place of secured blessings:

Psa. 16:11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy;at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

So after you have done well, instead of waiting for recognition, relief or blessing to arrive; go to God, sit at Jesus’ feet, praise and worship the Lord. Your rewards in in His heart and in His Hands to give you. Get your rest from Him.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises by Nick Champlin
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Matt. 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Matt. 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Matt. 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

1 Pet. 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

God opened His mouth to speak and at 186,000 miles a second, the first element of His creation came forth: LIGHT

· The element God uses to reveal things.

· The element by which He describes Himself.

· Light is the element God uses as a metaphor for the Truth.

· Light is the element God uses as a metaphor for the conductor of Life.

The element God uses to reveal things…

Eph. 5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: forwhatsoever doth make manifest is light.

Light must begin IN YOU. Before Light can manifest the condition of others around you; before it can reveal for you, the way of success or the pitfalls of failure, it must first cause you to properly discern yourself. People aren’’t defeated by the darkness without, but the darkness within. It’s what you won’’t see about yourself that becomes your worst enemy. The Light of God always reveals YOU first. If you allow yourself to see what is manifest in the penetrating Light of God’s holy love; if you embrace first the mercy of God for yourself, and never stray into the shadows; then what can the Accuser use against you? Once you and God have looked at you in the naked Light, and you are accepted in Christ, what else do you need to hide?

The element by which He describes Himself…

1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

LIGHT: the first element of God’s creation, is quite naturally a physical representation of His very nature. Light defeats darkness by its mere presence.Darkness is simply the condition that exists by the absence of Light. To dispel darkness you simply present Light. God doesn’t have to fight against evil. His Presence dispels it. Evil only exists where God isn’’t. The more you introduce the Presence of Christ (through His Word) into the avenues and alleyways of your own mind and heart, the less area evil has to exist. The diseases and bondages of sin and its torments are merely allowances made by a lack of Jesus’ Presence: Light.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].

The Earth turns toward the darkness of outer space every day. It enters the night by turning away from the light of the Sun. The Earth rotates. But it is impossible for God to ever turn towards the dark, because He is The LIGHT. Most of us don’’t really know that about God. But it’s true nonetheless. God NEVER says one thing insincerely. It is impossible for Him to lie. It is impossible for any of the magnificent statements of Jesus to fade into obscurity. Not now, not ever. He is eternally the Healer and the Deliverer. There can NEVER be any “shadow of turning” in Him regarding any of His promises. Men and theologians can twist with the changing social climates and worldly pressures, but God NEVER turns His back on His own Word. Never!

Light is the element God uses as a metaphor for the Truth…

Psa. 43:3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

Truth and Light are irrevocably bound. Truth is revealed as a manifestation of Light more than just an impartation of facts. We can learn facts without having any personal attachment to them. But Truth is something that grabs and motivates you. In fact, you can have the facts about a Truth long before the Light goes on and it dawns on you. But once it “dawns” it has become Truth to you, and casts you under its Light. For example, on an academic level you can accept that you’’re a sinner without being convicted by a revelation of your sin. But once the Holy Spirit shows you what is sinful about yourself, you then have Truth that can set you free from sin’s claim and condemnation. In 2 Sam. 12:7-9 David was confronted with the Truth about his sin with Bathsheba, when the Prophet Nathan exposed him. David knew he was wrong long before Nathan rebuked him. But Nathan brought the Light of God’’s Truth about David to bear upon David’’s sin, and David crumbled before God. Out of David’’s crushing purge, under the influence of the Truth that Nathan revealed, David wrote one of his greatest Psalms. Ps. 51 is the most probingly honest and yet wonderfully merciful passages of the Bible. It stands as freedom’s gate before you today.

Light is the element God uses as a metaphor for the conductor of Life…

John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

There is NO Life outside of truth; only shadows of death. If you want Life; if you want to live; you must enter the Light of Truth. You must let Jesus’ Gospel be your judge and your salvation. You ARE wrong if His Word says you are wrong! You ARE forgiven if His Word says you are forgiven! And you ARE what His Word says you are! If you cling to excuses you are damned. If you cling to self-condemnation you are damned. If you cling to self-righteousness you are damned. To do any of these to resist the Light, then you must cover yourself with the darkness of lies and delusions. You will be the first person that you have to sell your lies to, as you walk among the living-dead. It’s called self-justification. You will have to delude yourself with emotions and feelings because true Life – only found in the Light of Truth will not be available to you.

This is a very “real” condition, which most people choose to live under. Yet most people settle for this reality rather than surrender to the Truth of Christ. Truth and Reality are not the same thing. Life and death are not the same thing. Death is “real” enough, but the Truth is not in it. That’’s why it exists. It’’s the condition of darkness – the absence of Light. It is the lair of lies and the haunt of liars. People end up there not because they choose death but because they choose lies and reject the Light of Truth.

In the same way you are free to choose Life. Though LIFE is too great for you to produce in your own strength, you can enter it by choosing the Light of Truth. LIFE is a by-product of Light. If you walk in God’’s Truth, refuse the broad-easy way of lies, choose the higher narrow path of Light, then LIFE will be there for you. And it will follow you all the days of your life.

Psa. 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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Matt. 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Matt. 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Matt. 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

1 Pet. 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

A flashlight becomes a tool in the hand of the one who uses it.  But it can be a kind of weapon against the one who is stopped by it.  When you’’re frozen in the beam of a powerful flashlight the user can see you but you can’’t see them.  Though they have the light, they are safely barricaded by the darkness, behind the light’s beam.  And that is the whole problem with trying to use the Gospel of Jesus like a  flashlight.  The light gets used as a tool and it leaves the user in the dark.

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. 

The Pharisees used God’’s Word like a flashlight.  Because they handled it, and because they used it to ferret out sin in the community, they thought they had the Light of Life within them.  But they continuously resisted stepping into the Light themselves. They were more interested in controlling the beam than being revealed in it.

The truth is that Jesus, and His Gospel, is the Light of the world; but not like a flashlight.  The construction of a flashlight shields one side of the light and narrows it down to a beam, for selective viewing.  But God is not a selective beam.  He is an all-consuming Fire.  In His Light you can’’t expose one selective detail and leave the rest shrouded in anonymity.  The reason people fear the Light of God is because you can’’t control it.

Heb. 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Heb. 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

God reveals everything in His vicinity.  There is no darkness that can succeed in His Presence.  When the Light of Christ’’s salvation comes into a person’’s life it begins its burning search from deep within the heart.  Before His Light can be trusted in our hands we will have had its fire reveal our true inner intent. 

It was always God’’s plan to show the Light of His love from within the lives of people refined by its purging Truth.  God would never have sanctioned the Pharisees.  They were spiritual thugs, holding captive an entire society, paralyzed by fear in the light of religious condemnation.  In fact, the vicious use of Flashlight Religion is one of the bondages that the true Light of the Gospel sets us free from.  But the way it frees us from religion is not by dimming the Light of Truth so our sins don’’t look so obvious.  But rather by moving the fiery Light within us so that our own sins are manifest in the illumination of His Love.  There in the presence of His holiness, our brokenness can receive forgiveness, so that we no longer have any fear of being exposed.  What can a mere flashlight in hands of a blundering amateur do to me once I’’m walking in the fiery truth of His grace?

Never fear to enter the fiery Truth of God.  Never resist His penetrating grace.  For you who are tempered in His Light, are freed from guilt and have been qualified to shine for His glory.

1 Pet. 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

It is the design of God to give Light to the lost through people who are full of Light……

To give Freedom to captives through Freed captives……

To present Truth through people walking in the Truth………

He demonstrates Redemption through Redeemed people………

Change through Changed people…….

We are called to be Lights, not use the Light.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Outreach & Evangelism by Nick Champlin
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Matt. 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Matt. 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Matt. 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Do you shine or do you just point to the Light?  If people don’t see the Light shining through men then what good is it?  God as Light can be a very obscure and abstract concept until He is seen burning in the hearts of people.  A man in love with God, possess the Light like a bulb possess electricity.  God’s love for the world is unknown until someone makes it manifest by putting God’s love on display through their life.

Truly, Jesus Himself is the Light of the world.  There is no such thing as a work that we can perform in itself, that will produce a beneficial Light.  If there were, the world wouldn’t need Jesus, just more do-gooders. It is specifically the work that is done by someone being motivated by the Holy Spirit of God, which has a Light in it that can benefit men.   Jesus Himself made it clear that there was no “work” that qualifies by itself, as a work of God, except one:

John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

So let’’s understand that to “let your light shine”, is not to go around doing good works, as though mankind is furthered towards Heaven by doing good.  Letting your Light shine is really nothing more complicated than making your relationship with Jesus Christ the most well maintained and prominent feature of your life. 

“…(put it) on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.”

James was right to say:

James 2:18 “You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

But works by themselves, regardless of how needed or useful they are, have no eternal divine Light in them.  People who hate God can do good works.  Jesus said:

Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Ultimately, Hell will receive many people who were helped in this life; and no good works can save them.  No work that can be performed has God’s saving Light in it, just because it’s a good work.  Good works can reveal the Light of Christ in you, only when they are wrought under the power of His influence.  Jesus alone is the Light of the world.  And His works were never done because they were “good” to do, or needed doing.  They were always done from His simple obedience and love for the Father Who was guiding Him.  Jesus wasn’t responding to man’’s need but rather God’’s will. 

And we are the lights of the world so far as we let Him shine through our works. Jesus never said our works would produce Light that would open the eyes of those blinded by sin.  That Light is not produced.  It’’s not the by-product of a good work. That Light is eternal and can only be received or rejected, conveyed or quenched. So …do you shine when you do good works? 

Matt. 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Outreach & Evangelism by Nick Champlin
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Heb. 2:10 For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Let’s review from yesterday…

The phrase, bringing many sons unto glory, is one of those great statements of purpose that open a highway to the Throne of God. It cuts through all the lesser explanations for our salvation and presents us with the BIG PICTURE: SONSHIP. It was never God’s intention that we should be born a man and die a grocer.

…All the forces of Hell and all the influences of life, work together to throw a blanket of confusion over our heads. To prevent us from seeing “our glory”. I know. It sounds strange to speak of “our glory”, when we should be praising the glory of God. But what is the glory of God?

…It is the reflection of His greatness, the revelation of His purpose. All creation speaks of His order and greatness, BUT WE reveal His deep personal attributes and purpose, which is LOVE. God made us, risking the rebellion we’d commit and the mess we’d produce, because LOVE can settle for nothing less than our creation.

Now hear this, if nothing else has rung a bell of revelation in you yet: In order to bring us back to glory…back into our environment…back to our function…the Father made us sons of God.

Continuing on…

Sons…Children….Heirs, not drones, sophisticated animals, or creatures for amusement. We are very much like God, apart from our flawed nature and darkened spirits. Divine connectivity was designed into us. Our spirits were a hub for fellowship with God before the Fall.

Gen. 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Adam wasn’t alive until God breathed His breath into him. The word for breath in the Hebrew text is “Spirit”. Adam’s spirit was alive, aware and full of the Love of God.

Prov. 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

Man was not only fashioned by God but he derived his being, his life, from the Spirit of God. And despite our fallen nature, we still feel traces of His Presence in our being, calling us to our “glory”. We were fashioned to fellowship and created to commune, with our Heavenly Father. Our calling to “rule and reign” was never intended as an independent ability. We were made to rule WITH God, not apart from Him.

Rom. 5:17 For if by one manís offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

Apart from a sonship relationship with our heavenly Father, our attemps to rule in life range from frustrating to disastrous. We don’t do well without God. And that’s why God came to us the way He did, in Jesus Christ. He became a Son to offer Sonship to us, through Himself. He didn’t show up in the sky bellowing frightening orders and convincing us of His deity. Because, though convinced into submission, many of us would not have responded from a willing heart of love. That is definitely not the kind of relationship God wants with us. If that’s what He wanted He could go scare some chipmunks into submission. No, God came as Jesus the Son of God, to offer you Sonship. You are ordained to inherit Jesus’ relationship and position with the Father. Take a deep breath and think about that. Jesus came to die in order to not only pay the claims of sin, BUT TO LEAVE YOU AN INHERITANCE. And what did you get? What did He leave you?

Rev. 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

He left you His relationship with the Father.

John 17:22 And the glory which thou gave Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

John 17:23 I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them, as You have loved Me.

Notice in Jesus’ prayer, just moments before His betrayal, He associates giving us His “glory” with sharing in His Sonship. Remember, the glory of any living thing is it’s intended function - doing what it was designed to do. Jesus refers to His glory - the glory of the Son, and prays to impart it to us by inheritance through His death. HE IS PRAYING HIS LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT! Too few Christians have understood what Jesus came to give them. They have received Him but don’t know what they have in Him. Much less, have we considered the depth of grace and boundaries of this sonship which binds us to the Father. If we KNEW who we were we’d pray differently, act differently, live differently, love differently, believe differently.

John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If you knew the Gift of God, and who it is that said to you, Give me to drink; you would have asked of Him, and He would have given you living water.

No there is the million dollar “IF”.  “If you knew the Gift of God.”   You say you know Jesus, but do you know The Gift?…the inheritance? What did you get? What do you know? Read the will again. Read your New Testament again. This time overlay it with Hebrews 2:10, and watch the topography of sonship rise from the scriptures. That’s YOU they’re writing about!

Heb. 2:10 For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

 Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ by Nick Champlin
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Heb. 2:10 For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

God’s purpose in creation can be seen in our transition from knowing God as Creator to meeting Him as Father. The phrase, “bringing many sons unto glory”, is one of those great statements of purpose that open a highway to the Throne of God. It cuts through all the lesser explanations for our salvation and presents us with the BIG PICTURE: SONSHIP. It was never God’s intention that we should be born a man and die a grocer. All the forces of Hell and all the influences of life, work together to throw a blanket of confusion over our heads. To prevent us from seeing “our glory”. I know. It sounds strange to speak of “our glory”, when we should be praising the glory of God. But what is the glory of God?

Eph. 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

Eph. 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints (God’s people…

God created glory into everything He made. And the glory of each created thing is it’s function. The glory of the eagle is to fly. The glory of the Salmon is to swim. And the glory of man is to fellowship with God, and partner with Him in ruling over His creation. That is what we were designed to do. Everything about us - our ability to dream, our desire for passion, our drive to excel, our need for intimacy; these are all engineered into us to enable us to walk with God. And these very qualities drive us into futility and the frustration of unfulfillment, when we walk apart from God. The reason for this is simple.

Every glory has it’s environment that God created in which it will function. Take the creature out of his environment and his glory will not function. Eagles cannot swim under water. Their environment is the sky. The Salmon won’t survive in the air, much less swim in the sky. The Salmon looks pathetic and defeated in the air, but put him in the river and watch his glory in action. Likewise man was designed to be gloriously effective in a certain environment. That environment is the Presence of God. The physical location of that environment was originally the “Garden”.

Ezek. 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;

And this environment of fellowship between God and His man, was to expand as man exercised His glory.

Gen. 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

But man took himself out of the presence of God. He stepped into a world of blindness and confusion. He became like the fish-out-of-water, gasping and flailing for survival rather than living powerfuly in glory. When we, in the environs of His Presence, walk in our glory, exhibiting our God-given abilities, IT GLORIFIES GOD!! It reflects back on the Creator.

So at this point let’s answer the question we opened up with, “But what is the glory of God?” It is the reflection of His greatness, the revelation of His purpose. All creation speaks of His order and greatness, BUT WE reveal His deep personal attributes and purpose, which is LOVE. God made us, risking the rebellion we’d commit and the mess we’d produce, because LOVE can settle for nothing less than our creation. And LOVE will provide nothing less than our salvation, to redeem our fall. LOVE chased us. LOVE paid the price to purchase us back from the claims of sin.

Now hear this, if nothing else has rung a bell of revelation in you yet: In order to bring us back to glory…back into our environment…back to our function…the Father made us sons of God.

Heb. 2:10 For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

This elevation to Sonship is the very original purpose of our creation. This is the design of LOVE.

1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

You will never be more complete in any relationship than you are as a child of your Heavenly Father. You will never coordinate your skills, passions and mental powers more perfectly than when you are walking with your Heavenly Father. Through Paul the Apostle and Mother Theresa and all the thousands of unnamed men and women who have radiated the glories of God, whose sacrificial virtues exalted the Savior, the world has seen the flickering lights of glory from the doorway of Jesus.

Rev. 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

More tomorrow…

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ by Nick Champlin
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Gal. 6:6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Let’s have a brief review from our previous devotional…

We have established that there can be no power or function in a particular part of the body if there isn’t a completed circuit of communication. Receiving and Giving data. The free and constant flow (cycle) of communication between the parts and the brain is what actually causes the parts to function as a body. Applied to the church, the same truth is essential if the church is going to have a purposeful existence. The members need to share their responses back to the Pastor who is sharing the thoughts God gives Him with them. We’re calling this: “Circulation”. And we shared in the previous devotional that without circulation between the Pastor and the members you don’t have a church, you have an audience. Each member must decide if they want to be the member of a church or a member of an audience. If everyone decides by their actions (in beginning to circulate) that they want to be a church, then the Pastor is a “Pastor” and not simply a Performer. Audiences have Performers. Churches have Pastors. As the member of an audience, you simply get up and walk out when the performance is over. And you have no further obligation the rest of the audience or the Performer. You paid your money - you got your show. Many churches complain that their Pastor is a Performer. In some cases however, you have a church that behaves as an audience and the Pastor will never be more than a Performer to them, no matter how genuine he may be. Then he gets blamed for not helping them, as a Pastor should. But the help they need is part of the flow that happens when they are “circulating” with the body in communication w/ the Head.

Eph. 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

Eph. 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Now then….

For all this to take place we must all have the same mind, vision, concept, plan, and commitment. There is simply NO WAY that we Christians can fulfill our calling from God if we fail to adopt a common view, share the same vision, and talk the same plan together. The scripture is adamant about this point:

1 Cor. 1:10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Phil. 1:27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

When members refuse to participate in the process, the whole body experiences “short circuit”…break down, and loss of function. At this point I have to site a very common misconception. When members isolate themselves by not joining in the flow of communication, they WILL end up suffering a malfunction: pain, loss, sense of abandon & uselessness. Then they usually complain that “no one is reaching out to me!”. But the truth is they have broken out of the flow and aren’t reaching back. The reality is that Jesus didn’t set up His Body as a social counseling service for people who don’t want to circulate, be part of a body, fellowship. Because the help we all need IS IN THE CIRCULATION, the flow, the fellowship, the COMMUNICATION CIRCUIT. Now there are the newly saved babies who require total care. And there are the occasional wounded who need special attention. But, aside from that, aren’t the chronic babies and perpetually wounded really just withdrawn members who won’t join the flow but want the benefits? What they want is an impossibility. If you don’t obey what God says, you can’t have what He offers. Simple. Even sinners would agree to that.

So here’s what I believe the Bible recommends:

Phil. 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Phil. 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

Phil. 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

We must undergo a great paradigm shift in our thinking. In other words, we need a total reverse in the way we look at life. Instead of joining a church and evaluating it’s performance based on how well it ministers to your needs; evaluate YOUR performance based on how well you minister to the needs of the church! The common mind we must all share is the “Mind of Christ” which circulates through all the members of the body. That “Mind” is referred to as the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is here to draw us together in JESUS WORK, not to anoint you to do “your work”. If 100 people come together to be a church but they all live basically in their own world, pursuing their own lives and preferring their own needs, then the gathering will never become a Church. It’s an audience, needing a Performer to “meet their needs”. BUT, if they ALL decide together that God has a will and they are going to lock arms and hearts together to find that Will and do it, then they will be an unstoppable force, called The Church. And the individual members will share a corporate happiness.

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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Gal. 6:6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Just as the human body requires circulation in order to survive, so also does the local church. When the human body loses circulation the parts that don’t receive the flow of blood and impulses from the brain, begin to die. It’s not enough to have information sent from the brain to a particular part. That part must send information back to the brain in order for communication to take place and that part to be able to function. The entire circuit of giving and receiving communication is essential, or the ability to be useful is lost, and you end up with paralysis or amputation. This is the way God has ordered His Body, the Church. No one part can succeed without the proper flow of information. Our enemy Satan depends upon our failure to maintain a flow among us in order to isolate and defeat us. Even if a part is suffering: without communicating the problem back to the brain, that part can lose it’s function, before the body can respond, if it doesn’t return the communications from the brain.

Eph. 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

Eph. 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

No Pastor can do a good job unless the congregation does a good job. No Pastor can be successful w/o the congregation being successful. No church will succeed because the Pastor is an eloquent preacher or effective communicator, unless the congregation also becomes effective in communicating. Derek Prince said many years ago, that a teacher hasn’t taught anything until his students learn. A Pastor can speak the Word of God to a body of believers, but if they don’t complete the cycle by communicating back to the Pastor, and share what they are learning & experiencing - the good and the bad - then all you’ll have is an audience instead of a church; a collection of individual parts instead of a body.

To be a Body that God circulates through, every joint must supply.

Eph. 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Paul wrote to the Galatians telling them that they who were “taught in the word” needed to “communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.” In that way God inhabits the completed circuit of communication and the Body increases itself in love.

In short, it is necessary that you, as a member of the church, reach back to the Pastor who reaches out. That you reply, sharing your heart and response, to the words you receive from the Pastor. He can’t be a Pastor of an audience, but only of a body. Your response determines whether the man God has sent you is a Pastor of a church or a Performer for an audience.

For the Church to succeed at God’s will it must decide if it wants to be a Body or an audience. Each and every one of you must make that decision, because each of you is either a part of the body or part of an audience. The circuit of communication is what determines the difference.

Stay On The Path,

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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James 1:2 My brethren, count (command) it all joy when ye fall into various temptations;

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The last thing that normal people feel when they’re under the pressure of trials is “Joy”. Much as we hate the stress of trials they usually become the subject of numerous testimonials for years to come. They are million dollar experiences we wouldn’t pay a nickel for today. But trials are opportunities to put our faith to work. Every soldier wonders how he’ll do in battle. Every Christian gets the opportunity to prove themselves under fire as well.

The Moody Blues weren’t far off when they recommended that we, “Face piles of trials with smiles.” The fact is that for the Christian, the moment of temptation is the opportunity to see if we will use the authority Christ has bestowed upon us. Temptations and trials are a challenge to your position in Christ, and an attack on your faith. The last thing a Christian should try to do is passively weather out the stormy trials and assailing temptations.

In our theme verse, James seems to be saying:

“…count (consider) it all joy when ye fall into various temptations”

The original Greek word, penned by James, for “count” is listed in the Strong’s Concordance as follows:

2233. hegeomai, hayg-eh¥-om-ahee; middle voice of a (presumed) strengthened form of 71; to lead, i.e. command (with official authority); figuratively, to deem, i.e. consider

Many people have translated the word “Count“ as “Consider”, which would suggest that we endure trials and temptations by “considering them as joy”. Or another way of putting it would be to say, we should try to think of our trials with happiness. Think happy thoughts.

Well I don’t know about you, but I hate temptations and don’t have any “happy thoughts” about them. They are vicious, bone-grinding attempts to defeat us. I can’t see how any “happiness” comes from temptations. The devils that poke at our weak spots are NOT our little buddies. And mental passivity the last thing we should be showing them.

A closer look at the definition for “Count” shows that the word literally means:

to lead, i.e. command (with official authority)

This changes the whole force of the verse from passive to aggressive. The verse now reads:

James 1:2 My brethren, command it all joy when ye fall into various temptations;

In other words, FIGHT BACK against your temptations and trials with JOY. Happiness depends on happenings but JOY is force of the Spirit of God:

Gal. 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…

Joy isn’t dependent upon circumstances, it’s enforced by faith:

Psa. 40:16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee…

You see that Joy is an action taken upon the authority of Heaven. If you want to “be glad“ rather than “fall into various temptations“, then “command it all joy” and “rejoice“.

Listen to this complaint by God, through the Prophet Jeremiah:

Jer. 6:14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

Here, God is saying that basically, passive “happy thoughts” solutions don’t change anything. But when you “command joy”, then you are overriding the force of the Tempter. Satan wants to silence the Christian under a weight of temptation and trial. Believe me, whatever Satan is trying you with, he really has no interest in it. It’s your authority and your willingness to use it that he is after. Satan doesn’t care how much you praise God and testify AFTER a period of temptation and trial, so long as you don’t do it WHEN you’re going through the ordeal. Because your praise of God in the face of temptation, is the means by which you OVERCOME it. Too many Christians set aside their joy until they “get over” their trial. But you aren’t called to “get over” your trials, but rather to OVERCOME your trials.

Psa. 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

Psa. 27:6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

David was a man after God’s own heart because he understood the authority his relationship with God gave him. He used his “commanding joy” to demonstrate the worth of knowing God by defying his tempter. Contrast David’s use of Joy with the Jews of the Captivity in Babylon who wrote:

Psa. 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

Psa. 137:2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

Psa. 137:3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

Psa. 137:4 How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?

How pathetic? Now there’s a picture of people who have allowed themselves to be stripped of all their sense of “commanding joy”. They have completely lost their bearing and relinquished their authority. They couldn’t have any joy unless they were in the right conditions. Sounds like a lot of church folk I know! Our joy doesn’t come from Jerusalem or any church building. Our joy comes from the Holy Spirit. And the next time the Tempter wants a song, give him one of those “songs of Zion” and let him know that you’re authorized to sing the song of Joy in EVERY land!

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Praise, Prayer & Devotion by Nick Champlin
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John 1:16 And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

America is unforeseen, through the lens of Bible prophecy. Not like the nations of the Middle East, Europe, Russia, China, etc., who are cast in scripture with fair certainty. There are unwritten pages of history, lying before us. People have stretched a few indirect verses, attempting to make them fit over America. But truth is, there’s no prophetic forecast in scripture, that solidly dictates our outcome. That leaves me room for hope and faith, and encourages me to get busy, and use all the influence I can muster. I would like to see (and I believe it’s within the realm of possibility), America retain enough spiritual “saltiness” and true Christian Light, in order to hold back the threatening tide of humanistic depravity and secular rebellion. This doesn’t mean we won’t have the kind of corrupt moral filth and political lunacy we see challenging our society today. But what it does mean is that the believers can stand in determined, united and vigilant accord; asserting their hold of grace upon this nation. We won’t drive sin from our shores, but like “salt”, we’ll attract the preserving influence of God’s favor, upon the land.

Matt. 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Mark 9:50 … Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.

WHY keep God’s grace upon America, you may ask? Well, if you’ve been to remote regions of the world, and seen the fruit of American dollars, sown by Christians, into the Gospel; if you’ve heard the pleas for help and seen the tears of gratitude; if you’ve listened to their prayers, imploring God to bless, help and use America, for the sake of the Gospel; you wouldn’t have to ask that question. For those who think it would be better, or adventurous, or spiritually motivating to have to live as a Christian in a collapsed America, let me assure you, that you’d be weeping and mourning for just one of the former days when grace was upon this land. You may have no idea of what it’s like to live in a nation under the dense dark cloud of spiritual repression, where sinners are so totally possessed by darkness, your words bounce off them like stone. But I assure you, there’s nothing glorious about it. It is true that judgment, loss of freedom, persecution and collapse of liberties, can create an environment where believers repent of their indifference. But every believer who’s ever been there, prays for freedom. I don’t believe we have to lose our freedoms to appreciate them, if we will rise up and challenge our fellow Christians properly, instead of pandering to their consumer-driven appetites, in fear of offending.

2 Tim. 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

2 Tim. 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

2 Tim. 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

2 Tim. 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

So why preach and warn if it’s a fait ac’compli? The answer is simple: so the warning will be heeded, and disaster averted. I pray and work with all my heart, fighting against the encroaching darkness of secularism, to keep the Light of Christ prominent in America. I do this so that the rich resources of our great land will remain freely disposed to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Lack of appreciation and ingratitude are the greatest threats against the American Church. For those who think they’d welcome a collapse of God’s favor over America, because it would be a good lesson for the church, and wake her up; you don’t know what you’re saying. That’s like saying, “My daughter’s getting rebellious and doesn’t want to go to church. I think a good mugging, beating and raping, would bring her around.” That’s not my prayer! I’ve seen the suffering, and I’ve beheld the destitution of a Christless culture, and the only angle from which it looks appealing, is the skewed bias of the easy chair. There’s nothing glamorous or glorious about a culture steeped in darkness, rebellion, and without the Light of the Gospel. It’s hard, crushing and miserable.

So the next time you’re tempted to cavalierly predict the downfall of America; under the weight of sin; just remember YOU are the light under which the collapse will come. If America falls apart, I guarantee you, that it will not be the will of the sinners but the lack of the will of the Christians, that will be the deciding factor. It’ll come, not because the sinners caused it but because the Church allowed it. WE hold the “keys” that lock and unlock the treasures of Heaven. The Overcomers have the Keys of David (Rev. 3:7-13).  And those are the keys of divine favor, for the overriding grace in the place of darkness. These things I’m saying are the essence of the Gospel and the synthesis of Christianity.

My heart is that the Salt repents and retains its savor rather than standing back in overwhelmed confusion, and waiting for the axe to fall. The wealth of the wicked is suppose to finance the mission of justice. Why in God’s Name, would any Christian want to see the devil walk in after a few years of battle, and just snatch it all up?! We MUST awaken to our birthright of faith, and the call to be the Salt of the world; and stop getting freaked out by the sinners. Our weapons are mighty through God to the pulling down of those strongholds.

2 Cor. 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

2 Cor. 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

2 Cor. 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Greater is he that is in us than He that is in the world. What we lack is VISION…an awakened, unified vision of purpose.

My vision for America? I believe the reason there is no Bible prophecy that specifically consigns America to spiritual collapse and puts us under the Antichrist, is to keep us from using it to become self-defeated and apathetic. It’s so that we can be a resource of people and materials, that are active and dedicated, feeding the Gospel into all the world, right up to the end. There are no prophetic roadblocks to this vision; only the danger of indifferent Christians.

Jer. 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the oldpaths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.

If enough believers get to the crossroads and “ask (in prayer) for the ancient paths, and the good old way (Jer. 6:16)“, there won’t be enough consolidated sin in America to drive out God’s favor. God is more disposed to honor the faith(fullness) of the believer than He is to punish the sin of the evildoers. That’s what being an Ambassador for Christ is all about. “God is in the world through Christ not imputing their sins against them….but bringing them the ministry of reconciliation through us”.

2 Cor. 5:19 ….God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

2 Cor. 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseechyou by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

The Christians walked off and gave France to the fools. They walked off and gave Russia to the Communists. They gave Europe to the secularists. These forces of darkness didn’t just waltz in, slap all the power out of the church, and take over. C’mon, think scripturally. The church GAVE IT AWAY.

Well, I for one don’t believe we must give America to them, also. And I’m joining the other thousands…millions, of believers who are like-minded, working heart-to-heart, to assert the Salt over this land. No, America is not a Christian nation. It doesn’t have to be. It’s a nation spiritually occupied by Christians shining against the backdrop of some very worldly sinners. It’s an amazing portrait of the grace of God. It’s a gigantic portrayal of Jesus defending the woman taken in adultery. That same Jesus desires to stand in me and you, over America. Let’s determine to keep Him here, facing down the accusers and usurpers, and reaching out to the truly lost and open. America needs the presence of dug-in, insistent Christians, who push back when the devil pushes. We need believers who know that their influence with God is far greater than the devil’s ability to aggravate Him with sinners. Those who know their God, are armed with the love and grace He has for the world. They are more desirous to see the salvation of the lost, then they are the punishment of the wicked. Their’s is the true heart of grace that attracts the Light of the Holy Spirit towards a lied-to and lost culture. It is that army of divine Love, that militia of covenant prayer warriors, that will keep the flame of divine favor, burning off the noxious cloud of Antichrist influence that has drifted across the oceans to our land.

You have to have some sort of vision. If you don’t choose one you’ll succumb to one by default. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes and heart to this one.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Outreach & Evangelism by Nick Champlin
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TEXT: Numbers ch.25

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The man who received the greatest commendation from God, in the Old Testament, for his zeal, was not Abraham, Moses or David.  He was a man who is seldom the subject of sermons, yet he single handedly saved Israel and drew the highest endorsement from God.  His name was Phinehas, and this is his story. 

From yesterday’s installment……

Punishment & Tears Can’t Break The Curse Of Sin!

By His own admission, God would have allowed Israel to be wiped out, in spite of the weeping, had an ACT of atonement not been offered. Punishment would not stop them. Tears could not save them.  It is a frightening reality to consider: punishment does not stop the corrosive work of sin once its acid begins to eat into our lives.  And tears from us do not turn God’’s wrath away.  Something else is needed.  And for the lack of it, many Christians, churches and missions throughout history, have been lost.  Once compromise and corruption began its degrading work in God’’s people, the one thing that could stop the destruction and appease the judgment, was never offered.  And its one thing that all of us have the power to do.  Tomorrow we’ll find out what that one thing was, and what it must be today.

Today’s continuation……

Tears Are Not Enough

Num. 25:6 And behold, one of the Israelites came and brought to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and of all the congregation of Israel while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of Meeting [over the divine judgment and the punishment].

Moses and all Israel were gathered at the Tabernacle, weeping before God.  Some probably wept over their terrible loss.  Some probably wept in grief, pleading with God to stop the plague and judgment.  Some may have even wept due to conviction.  But the plague was not stopping, and apparently, neither was the sinning.  The contrast was mind-boggling, to see Zimri and the Midianite temptress sashaying through the church during this outcry.  The crush of conviction and the callousness of sin meet together without any clash; no explosive reaction, just tears.  And as the very sin that laid waste to the great congregation, strutted into the church, the surviving victims just kept crying.  Were was the reaction?!  No wonder the plague wasn’t stopping.  Why would it?  The leaders had all been executed for not lifting a finger to stop the people’’s slide into idolatry, but apparently no one got the point.  The remaining people just sat there impotent and unwilling to act.  

There is a terrible delusion today among Christians, who believe that as long as God sees the intent of our hearts, that’’s what matters to Him.  But when the church spins off into idolatry and immorality, unless someone stands up to stop it, no amount of “heart feeling” is going to keep God’’s favor there. 

The Zeal Of God Brings Results

Num. 25:7 And when Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand

Num. 25:8 And went after the man of Israel into the inner room and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman through her body. Then the [smiting] plague was stayed from the Israelites.

Many people have zeal, but true zeal, – the zeal of God, – is a very rare thing.  It’’s far easier to deplore the existence of evils than it is to throw oneself into active contention against them.  The true zeal of God derives its fire, not from the interests of men, but from the interests of God.  How many zealous Christians, who are ambitious to have the move of God’’s Presence in their midst, truly hate the things that separate them from God?  How many believers, zealous to promote their revelations, are equally quick to slay their sins?

Phinehas acted out of pure, unsolicited, godly zeal.  His reaction was genuine, for God said that he acted with the Lord’’s jealousy.

Num. 25:11 Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the Israelites, in that he was jealous with My jealousyamong them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in My jealousy.

Wouldn’’t you love to be the one to turn God’’s displeasure away, and restore His favor?  Of all the thousands of Christians who intercede for the visitation of the Holy Spirit where are the ones who will act with the zeal of God against the compromises that alienate us from His Presence?  We can’’t even get churches and denominations to admit to the spiritual atrocities, defections and fornications that they commit, much less organize a unified front against them.  And among the Christians who boldly denounce things like homosexual behavior, out in the world, you’’d be hard-pressed to find more than a handful who will denounce the lust for numbers and the exaltation of self, that goes on right in the church. 

True Zeal Not Dependent On Officials

When Moses ordered the execution of the Chiefs for their complicity in the idolatry he was following an order from God.  When the judges began to slay the men who committed fornication and idolatry, they were following orders from Moses, who got them from God.  They all acted.  But none of them acted from pure jealousy for the Lord’’s glory.  But when Phinehas acted, he was not following an order.  Nor was he obeying a specific scriptural edict.  He was not fulfilling any responsibility that had been laid upon him.  Those conditions alone are enough to stop 99.9 % of all people from acting in a moment like this.  But in his hour, Phinehas’ heart beat as one with God’’s.  How often do people leave the responsibility for zeal in the hands of Pastors or professionals, to seek the glory of God and the triumph of righteousness. 

The Highest Commendation Of God

Num. 25:12 Therefore say, Behold, I give to Phinehas the priest My covenant of peace.

Num. 25:13 And he shall have it, and his descendants after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.

There were only a couple of men in the Old Testament, to whom God extended a covenant that succeeded their generation; such as Abraham and David.  And with these two, the Spirit led them into specific acts of obedience, to which they complied and entered into the covenant of redemption, fulfilled in Jesus.  Yet God comes to His feet at the act of Phinehas, to extend a special covenant to him, and his descendants, to stand as intercessors for the people, before God, throughout their generations.  It makes you wonder what God is willing to do for you, should He see that kind of zeal in your life. With our higher moral code, based in the revelation of Christ’’s forgiveness, Phinehas’ act could never be considered as appropriate today.  It’’s hard to comprehend how such a violent act could receive such commendation from God.  Only by a look at Phinehas’’ heart, in context with the circumstances, could one understand how he turned away the wrath of God. Phinehas’ act could never be repeated, but his zeal is needed today as we attempt to manage our own lives.

Which brings us now to the whole point of this dramatic message, which is:

YOU, and you alone, have the power to act against the things that curse your own progress with God.

Don’’t weep over your secret sins.  Don’’t waste a minute’’s time crying in condemnation’’s paralysis. Slay and dismiss from your life, the thoughts and ideals with which you have permitted yourself to live in compromise or sin.  Stop waiting for some Official to corner you with conviction and “make you stop sinning” (because they can’’t).  Remove your foot from the tents of the Moabites.  And when a false sense of personal exception tempts you to believe you’’re immune to judgment, rip that callous from your heart and slay the compromise that is causing your affliction.  God has placed His Spirit of righteousness within you; and with it, the power to act in behalf of your own soul.

Col. 3:5 So kill (deaden, deprive of power) the evil desire lurking in your members [those animal impulses and all that is earthly in you that is employed in sin]: sexual vice, impurity, sensual appetites, unholy desires, and all greed and covetousness, for that is idolatry (the deifying of self and other created things instead of God).

Rom. 8:13 For if you live according to [the dictates of] the flesh, you will surely die. But if through the power of the [Holy] Spirit you are [habitually] putting to death (making extinct, deadening) the [evil] deeds prompted by the body, you shall [really and genuinely] live forever.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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TEXT: Numbers ch.25

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The man who received the greatest commendation from God, in the Old Testament, for his zeal, was not Abraham, Moses or David.  He was a man who is seldom the subject of sermons, yet he single handedly saved Israel and drew the highest endorsement from God.  His name was Phinehas, and this is his story. 

From yesterday’s installment……

Utterly amazing is the fact that despite the plague, the execution of the leaders and of the idolaters, the people did not stop receiving the daughters of Moab. However, they did call a big repentance meeting and began to weep and pray before the tabernacle of God.  Did their brokenness and tears save them? 

Continuing on…

Zimri, the young Israelite is the son of a prominent man and has no doubt enjoyed the privileges of his social status.  And though twenty-four thousand of his countrymen have just died as a direct result of their idolatrous and licentious relations with the Moabite women, Zimri is unphased by the rebuke. Even the execution of the leaders hasn’’t convinced him that fraternization with these female lures was dangerous. The real shock is that despite the fact that the judges were  hunting down and slaying the men who were doing what Zimri was doing, he somehow felt insulated against all judgment.  To say that he saw no wrong in his actions is obvious.  But worse, he somehow believed that he had a privilege that exempted him from the judgment that everyone else was falling under.  There is no advantage in speculating as to why Zimri thought the way he did, because in the end it really doesn’t matter.  The fact is this man had a calloused heart.  He parades his Midianite girlfriend right into the middle of the big repentance service where everyone is weeping before the Lord! 

Before you shake your head in disbelief, consider that many of us walk right into church where the Holy Spirit is dealing with His people; sit there cold-hearted, refusing to budge, indifferent to conviction, too proud to humble ourselves in front of others, and believing we are the exception.  We say we’ll deal with matters privately but we don”’t.  We go through our days paralyzed by the same inaction that we lock ourselves into at church.  We desecrate the name of Jesus, and pollute His gathering, when we assemble together in His name but refuse to come clean or forsake sin.   The celebrations of unrepentant people are a religious farce.  But there’s something far worse than that.

Tears Are Not Enough

As bad as it is to have a calloused heart and an elitist attitude, the refusal to act decisively against the sins that threaten our fellowship with God is far worse.  Cozbi, the woman that Zimri brought in on his arm, to show off to his brothers, was not a common Moabitess.  She was a Midianite woman and the daughter of a King.  The Moabite girls were just loose devil worshippers.  But this Midianite woman was different. Balaam, the Midianite false prophet, was the architect of the strategy to destroy Israel by leading them into fornication and idolatry with the Moabite women.  God later sent Israel to destroy the Midianites because they had hatched this evil peace plan.  Cozbi, as a royal, was no doubt, part of the master plan to insure Israel’s total collapse.  And here was this young fool bringing her right into the special service where Israel had gathered to cry out to God.

Now let’s consider the elements as this drama comes to a head:

·       A plague is continuing to devour the Israelites

·       The Chiefs have been executed

·       The Judges are in the process of slaying the guilty

·       All Israel is gathered, weeping at the doorway of the Tabernacle

·       Zimri parades the very sin that is causing judgment, right into the gathering

There is an alarming message arising from all this:

Punishment & Tears Can’’t Break The Curse Of Sin!

By His own admission, God would have allowed Israel to be wiped out, in spite of the weeping, had an ACT of atonement not been offered. Punishment would not stop them. Tears could not save them.  It is a frightening reality to consider: punishment does not stop the corrosive work of sin once its acid begins to eat into our lives.  And tears from us do not turn away God’’s wrath.  Something else is needed.  And for the lack of it, many Christians, churches and missions throughout history, have been lost.  Once compromise and corruption began its degrading work in God’s people, the one thing that could stop the destruction and appease the judgment, was never offered.  And its one thing that all of us have the power to do.  Tomorrow we’ll find out what that one thing was, and what it must be today.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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TEXT: Numbers ch.25

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The man who received the greatest commendation from God, in the Old Testament, for his zeal, was not Abraham, Moses or David.  He was a man who is seldom the subject of sermons, yet he single handedly saved Israel and drew the highest endorsement from God.  His name was Phinehas, and this is his story. 

From yesterday’s installment…

After victoriously fighting countless battles, and right at the point where their greatest moment was to begin, the Israelites totally fall apart. Instead of nasty soldiers with swords coming across their borders from Moab, cute hoochie girls with buckets of chicken and short skirts, poured into the camp of Israel. They were being destroyed, not on the fields of battle, but in the paralyzing arms of peace…The warriors of Yahweh began to follow their new girlfriends into the temples of Baal and came out the enemies of God.

The Reaction

Judgment from God has already begun in the form of a plague that has claimed twenty-four thousand men.  The plague demonstrated the serious consequences of breaking covenant with God. It showed that those who take the benefits of His covenant, and represent His name, become His enemies by desecrating His name through their idolatry.  But a more serious corruption had occurred in that the leaders of Israel, who were charged with setting and maintaining a godly example, had emboldened the people in their sin, by failing to stand up against it.  Whether through passivity towards the sin or personal participation, the leadership was directly responsible for the complete breakdown of social order. 

God instructed Moses to do two things:

Kill all the chiefs and hang their bodies up in public for the people to see.  And…

Order the Judges over the tribes to kill every individual person who had committed fornication and idolatry with the Moabites.

Leaders are directly responsible for the sins of those under their charge, which they allow, neglect to reprove or participate in.

Eph. 5:11 Take no part in and have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds and enterprises of darkness, but instead [let your lives be so in contrast as to] expose and reprove and convict them.

It is the biggest fault of our modern culture (both secular and Christian) that leaders have become dependent upon popularity with people rather than approval from God for their authority.  When the population or congregation ceases to walk in covenant with God, they no longer allow their leaders to answer to God. They want them to pass muster with their own fallen agendas.  Every church, nation and people group, who live indifferent towards God’s demands, will insist upon leaders who condone their particular pet sins and corruptions.  Only God-fearing people tolerate leaders who answer to God.  The rest demand moral puppets.   Paul laid out the line of accountability in his instructions to Timothy regarding the responsibility of god’s leaders:

1 Tim. 4:16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things; for as you do this you will insure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

2 Tim. 4:1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:

2 Tim. 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

2 Tim. 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but  wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires;

2 Tim. 4:4 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.

2 Tim. 4:5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

It is clear by Paul’s admonition that Christian leaders are directly accountable to God to maintain the standards He Himself has set.  If you rebel in that commission, forget the reproaches or threats of people and their committees and boards, prepare yourself to meet God’s judgment.

Several times throughout the scriptures, God told His servants to steel their resolve to resist the backsliding tendencies of the people they ministered to.  It is abundantly clear that leaders owe their allegiance to God, no matter who voted them in.   King Saul was a typical example of  a man who became cursed of God and plagued by devils, because he looked to his popularity with people rather than his responsibility toward God, in fulfilling his duties.

1 Sam. 13:11 But Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the appointed days, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash,…

1 Sam. 15:10 Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying,

1 Sam. 15:11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not carried out My commands.”…

1 Sam. 15:18 …the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.’

1 Sam. 15:19 “Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD?”

1 Sam. 15:20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of the LORD, and went on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

1 Sam. 15:21 “But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”

1 Sam. 15:22 And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.

1 Sam. 15:23 “…Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king.”

1 Sam. 15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.

1 Sam. 15:25 “Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the LORD.”

1 Sam. 15:26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

1 Sam. 15:27 And as Samuel turned to go, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore.

1 Sam. 15:28 So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.

The chiefs of Israel were all executed and hung up before the people, because when the people had looked to them for a reaction, in the day they began to entertain the “hoochie mamas of Moab”, they saw no resistance.  So now they would get to see just how much power these leaders had to condone their sins.   

When Moses unleashed the Judges to slay everyone who committed fornication and idolatry with Moab, the message became frightfully clear:

You can’t use the bad example of leaders as an excuse for your own sin.

If your leaders turn coward before God and allow you to rebel, God Himself will judge the treasonous leaders and then you will stand for your own sin.  You can never excuse yourself with the failures of your leaders.  God sees right through the excuse and will never accept it. 

As I wrote in yesterday’s installment, take this lesson and apply it to your own private life.  YOU are Israel and the leaders are the ideals, convictions and principles that you have chosen in your own mind and heart, to guide your life.  If they fail to keep you honest before God; if they condone the practices of unfaithfulness to God; then just like the chiefs of Israel, they will not be able to excuse themselves from judgment, nor insulate you from it either.  Self-deception is not ignorance, it’s rebellion. If the ideals and thoughts that lead you are allowing you to rebel against God, and giving you a false sense of security in doing so, you should execute them, and then attack the rebellion in your own life.  The only refuge that idolatry; immorality and rebellion have in the life of a Christian is the delusional thinking of permissiveness.

Utterly amazing is the fact that despite the plague, the execution of the leaders and of the idolaters, the people did not stop receiving the daughters of Moab. However, they did call a big repentance meeting and began to weep and pray before the tabernacle of God.  Did their brokenness and tears save them? Tomorrow we’ll find out.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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