2 Tim. 3:1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

2 Tim. 3:2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

2 Tim. 3:3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,

2 Tim. 3:4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

2 Tim. 3:5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

A time of great difficulty will arise as we enter the last days. We are moving into a time of great moral confusion, in which those who want to live upright before God will find it very hard to survive. Common sense, and the most basic understandings of right and wrong, will collapse. Society will fall back into the dark period before the flood, when “men did that which was right in their own eyes.” The clear distinctions between the moral standards of the world and those of Christians will also dissolve, and confusion will flood the Church. In Matthew 24:38 Jesus warned us about the times we are now entering:

“As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

The Collapse of Reason…

There is one basic shift in the Christian world view, which will open the floodgates to allow the collapse of reason. It will be a major paradigm shift from a God-centered view of morality to a man-centered view of morality. In other words, the basic concept of right and wrong will be determined by what individuals want rather than what God wants. Morality will be determined by what seems to appeal to people, as opposed to the claims of God, as they are laid out in scripture.

So far as it relates to this era of moral confusion, it is quite apparent by now that we have crossed a line and fallen within the grip of Biblical prophecy. Paul precisely quantifies the root of moral collapse by leading off his commentary with this observation…

“For men will be lovers of self…”

While the events of ecological and political upheavals may be debated, as signs of the end times, the degrading of moral certainty is blatantly apparent.

TODAY this paradigm shift is manifest among Christians in 2 basic moral failures: Addiction To Acceptance and Fear Of Making Judgments.

Addiction To Acceptance…

The principle of Acceptance is simple: Acceptance should be based in Acceptability. If you want to be accepted learn to be acceptable. But because acceptance is associated with approval, there is a dilemma. People want to enjoy the benefits of acceptance from others because acceptance makes them feel approved by others. They can even deceive themselves that they are righteous, when others give them acceptance, even though their actions are unacceptable and undeserving of acceptance. But they refuse to disassociate from unacceptable behavior, and then raise the accusation of discrimination when their actions are rejected. In simple terms, people are demanding that their behavior be considered as off-limits to evaluation while they themselves are shown full approval. So increasingly people are actually believing they have a basic right to acceptance, and crave it, without being responsible to fulfill any standards of acceptability or achievement.

Acceptance today is used as a kind of whitewash for unrepented sin. This sin is compounded among Christians who want acceptance from man while their acceptability before God is kept free from evaluation. As a result they fall prey to the “fear of man”. They become emotionally addicted to the opinions of others, which are fickle, when it is the opinion of God is that really matters.

Matt. 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Prov. 29:25 The fear of man brings a snare…

Giving people acceptance without any discretion, has become the new way to show love. And a right to acceptance without reservation is what many Christians now expect as a show of love. They also believe they have a right to be protected from rejection, and have extended the meaning of ‘grace’, to include freedom from judgment of their behaviors. Most Christians now feel pressured to “show love” towards behaviors that they should be disassociating from. And it’s all because those who practice shameful behaviors have made overlooking them a prerequisite of acceptance and love. We can no longer love the sinner without loving the sin too.

Consider the case of Cain and Abel, the first murder. Cain is furious that his brother Cain’s offering is acceptable and his isn’t. In his competitive insecurity and insatiable need for acceptance, he determines that it’s easier to kill off the competition that makes him feel inferior than to raise his own standards. God even counsels him that the solution is easy; just “do well” yourself, and you’ll be accepted. But in the murderous mind of the craver of acceptance, eliminating the competition is the only answer. In the heart of Cain was born the first twisted logic of political correctness.

Gen. 4:7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you…

God hadn’t initially reject Cain when his offering was poor. He simply explained the needed correction and gave Cain a ‘do over’. Cain was blinded by his craving for acceptance instead of being motivated by the desire for acceptability. He killed his brother out of jealousy instead of submitting himself to scrutiny.

We see the same today when goofed up parents enter the Principal’s Office (sometimes with a lawyer), demanding that their misbehaving child be spared any judgment and extended the same privilege of acceptance as the achievers.

Find out what it takes to be accepted in God’s eyes and let everything else find its place behind that relationship. Let the Lord set the standard for your acceptability. You can survive without acceptance from people but you can’t survive rejection from God. If you’re acceptable in God’s eyes then so you’ll be in the eyes of those who matter.

Tomorrow we’ll look at the second great moral failure of our time: The Fear of Making Judgments. 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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Consider (command w/ official authority) it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Let’s begin with a quick review of the essential purpose of joy…:

…To take command and overcome (through joy) trying temptations.

Joy arises when faith exerts itself over circumstances. That is the key to gladness…

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

Joy begins, not with a feeling of happiness, but with a change of mental focus, a shift from considering the circumstances to remembering God’’s Word of promise.…

Before joy is ever a feeling it begins as a thought, a remembrance….

Recalling the goodness and greatness of God, which lies beyond what you see, is step one. And for this you must know His Word….

In other words, we rejoice in the Truth, not in our circumstances….

Let’’s assume that you find yourself in the middle of a typical set of uninspiring circumstances. Remember the “fog” we spoke about yesterday, and how it shrinks your world down to seeing only the immediate images of your trial. The realities of God’’s blessings become obscured, and typical of navigating through fogs, all your attention is focused on what’’s right in front of you. So how do you begin to bring joy into the situation?

First you realize that joy will not arise from your situation, it must arise from within you. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, a force of God, if you will, that resides within you, as God’’s child. So you don’’t need to find joy, it simply requires an act of authority on your part to release it. You begin with step one, then two,… three, …four, and finally, step five. Joy most definitely is a disciplined progression. And here it is:

We shared this point yesterday. It is the critical start-point of joy. It begins with knowing and recalling the wonderful works and promises of God. Sometimes we need to stop in the middle of a trial, and cast our thoughts out beyond the fog, to behold the vast universe that God has made; the universe He has stretched out and the detail with which He maintains the order of every system. And we are more valuable to Him than all the material of this celestial terrarium in which we dwell.

David said: “O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember you” …(Psa. 42:6)”

Remember God. Think about what the Word says concerning His goodness and faithfulness. Recall His credibility and the deeds that confirm it. This 2^nd step requires that you understand something about God. To recall His faithfulness you must have a revelation about His goodness. Though Moses had seen God’’s acts of power, the first time it’s recorded that Moses worshipped God occurs when God reveals the glory of His goodness to Him.

Ex. 34:6-8 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord! The Lord!A God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, keeping mercy and loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin… And Moses made haste to bow his head toward the earth and worshiped.

We cannot worship, nor can we begin to exercise joy in the Lord until we have a revelation of His goodness. It is remembering God’’s goodness that gives joy a reason to exert itself. Moses was able to rejoice in the Lord even when Israel could not seem to stay faithful. The Israelites under Moses shrank back from facing God because they only saw His acts of power. But Moses understood God’’s essential nature. Therefore Moses could sustain himself with joy while the children of Israel died in their fears, though both faced the same trying circumstances.

Psa. 103:7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

Once you have focused on God, remembered His goodness and mercy; then it’s time to verbally acknowledge His Truth, as superior to your circumstances. So many of David’’s Psalms are a wonderful mixture of Him laying out his dilemma and then contrasting it with declarations of God’’s goodness and help. At that point it was like David was counseling himself out loud. And that’’s exactly what he was doing!

1 Sam. 30:6 David was greatly distressed, for the men spoke of stoning him because the souls of them all were bitterly grieved, each man for his sons and daughters. But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

Joy will always spring from your own preaching of the Truth. At this point joy begins to exert it’s authority over the claims of your temptations. And the Truth-declarations of your rejoicing are alone, the only force that can defeat your temptations.

Psa. 27:5-6 For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; in the secret place of His tent will He hide me; He will set me high upon a rock. And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me; in His tent I will offer sacrifices and shouting of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

Now it’’s time to give thanks to the Lord …out loud. Innumerate your blessings. Look outside the unpleasantness of your immediate trial and as you remember God’’s goodness, thank Him for each blessing, as though you were holding it in your hand. And joy will see to it that you do. David knew that ‘going to church’ and thinking about God, or even complaining to God was not enough. True deliverance comes through praise and thanksgiving:

Psa. 69:29-31 But I am afflicted and in pain; May Thy salvation, O God, set mesecurely on high. I will praise the name of God with song, and shall magnify Him with thanksgiving. And it will please the LORD better than an (sacrifices) ox or a young bull with horns and hoofs.

Step Five: Praise

Finally after focusing on God, remembering His goodness, acknowledging His Truth, and thanking Him for it, joy is arising! Now you’re ready to praise God with temptation-busting power. Nehemiah said, “The joy of the Lord is YOU’RE strength”. And this is how the joy of the Lord arises in you and becomes your joy, …your strength. This is how praising God lifts you up and defeats Satan’’s strategies against you. When you follow these 5 steps to joy you will overcome rather than being overcome by your trials.

Psa. 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes you have ordained strength because of your enemies, that you might paralyze the enemy and the avenger.

Matt. 21:16 And Jesus said to them, Yea; have you never read, Out of the mouth of babes you have perfected (ordained) praise?

By rejoicing through trials with the Truth of the Word, He has ordained our deliverance. God’’s blessing of joy to every Christian is so powerful and impartial that the only way for us to be defeated is to simply keep us from rejoicing in the Lord.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Praise, Prayer & Devotion by Nick Champlin
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James 1:2 Consider (command w/ official authority) it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

favor with God in the midst of your circumstances. You REJOICE then you ARE glad. That’s how it works.

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

But HOW does one do that in the middle of life’’s trying times, particularly when you are surrounded by unhappiness and drowning in bad news??! Admittedly, it takes a certain level of spiritual maturity, great discipline and focus to rejoice in the midst of trials and temptations. But as difficult as it may seem, every Christian can do it, and must learn to do it, if we are to survive the world, much less, overcome it.

Let’s begin by admitting that most days we don’’t find a lot to rejoice over in our surroundings. And a good deal of the time joy seems almost impossible or even inappropriate, when taken in consideration with your circumstances. In short, we can’’t look for the source, or beginning point of joy, in our surroundings. We must look elsewhere for the joy that God is speaking about in His Word: the joy that takes command over trials and temptations. So what is the starting point of joy? For the answer let’’s consider David’s 27^th Psalm:

Psa. 27:3 Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.

Psa. 27:4 One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to meditate in His temple.

Psa. 27:5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.

Psa. 27:6 And NOW my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.

Psa. 27:7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me.

Psa. 27:8 When Thou didst say, “Seek My face,” my heart said to Thee, “Thy face, O LORD, I shall seek.”

Psa. 27:9 Do not hide Thy face from me, Do not turn Thy servant away in anger; Thou hast been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation!

Psa. 27:10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the LORD will take me up.

Psa. 27:11 Teach me Thy way, O LORD, And lead me in a level path, Because of my foes.

Psa. 27:12 Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.

Psa. 27:13 .

David said that NOW, in the very day of trouble, I will lift up rejoicing to God, which would result in my deliverance. But how did he know what to say to God. Or a better question would be, how do YOU rejoice in the very hour of your trial? How do you know what to say when everything seems so negative? Where do you begin and what do you rejoice about, when YOU are surrounded by unhappy and uninspiring circumstances?

The Starting Point…

David drops a key in verse 13 when he says:

I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.

THERE is your starting point! Joy is completely dependent upon the Truth. And by the Truth, I’m referring to God’s covenant Word to you. For example, Jesus said, “I will never leave you or forsake you”. That is the Truth. Without Truth, joy cannot exist. Whatever other type of feeling of gladness that might arise, it’’s merely a fragile puff of emotion, waiting to be blown away by the next shift in life’’s winds. But true joy is a force of the Spirit of God, that is not subject to the winds of circumstance.

Joy begins, not with a feeling of happiness, but with a change of mental focus, a shift from considering the circumstances to remembering God’’s Word of promise. Joy begins with recollection. Before joy is ever a feeling it begins as a thought, a remembrance.

Psa. 63:5-6 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips: when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the night watches.

The Christian who wants to be an overcomer MUST learn the Word of God. Otherwise you will never have any basis for joy. The Word of God is joy’s resource. It is from the Truth of the Word that joy arises. In other words, we rejoice in the Truth, not in our circumstances. When temptations try you, it’’s remembering the goodness of God and His Word of promise to you that introduces the beginning element of joy.

Psa. 42:6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember you…

Trials and temptations are like a great spiritual fog that rolls in over your life and obscures your vision of God and His goodness towards you. The facts of God’’s Word become obscured by the immediacy of your trials. Through the filter of the fog your vision is affected, everything is hazy and nothing is enjoyable. But the commanding influence of joy, over that fog, begins with remembering that the Sun is shining above you, even though you can’’t see it at the moment. The Truth reaches out through your thoughts, beyond the dimensions of your trial, and recalls the reality of God’’s goodness, even though you don’’t see it at the moment. The fog of trials shrinks your world to what you can see within the dim haziness of your circumstances. But the Light of Truth is in your heart and knows that God has more for you than what you presently see. This is the first step in joy. Before you can begin to rejoice you must first remember – remember what it is that you have reason to rejoice over. Recalling the goodness and greatness of God, which lies beyond what you see, is step one. And for this you must know His Word.

Tomorrow we’ll take another step in learning how to use joy to overcome your circumstances. So until then…

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Praise, Prayer & Devotion by Nick Champlin
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James 1:2 Consider (command w/ official authority) it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Joy is faith exerting itself over circumstances. It’’s praising God for what you believe rather than just quietly having beliefs in the face of circumstances. It’’s not idle contentment, but something more aggressive, more decisive.

James talks about meeting your trials and temptations with the force of joy. But first you must see temptations and trials as 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. But the way many people read James 1:2, and the words “Count” or “Consider”, might 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 grace-growing buddies. And mental passivity the last thing we should be showing them.

A closer look at the definition for the original Greek word, “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, take the lead and 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 a force of the Spirit of God.

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

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. You’re called to OVERCOME your trials.

Joy isn’t dependent upon circumstances either. It’s enforced by faith. If you truly believe that God has already provided your victory over circumstances then joy will exert what you believe by rejoicing in the Truth. That is the key to gladness.  It’’s not waiting for favorable circumstances, that brings gladness, but rejoicing because you already have favor with God in the midst of your circumstances. You REJOICE then you ARE glad. That’’s how it works.

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 “take the lead and command it all joy”. In other words, “Rejoice and be glad”.

Joy also involves authority. Our text talks about taking the lead and commanding it all joy. That requires authorization. We sometimes overlook the fact that this was one of Christ’s great purposes in restoration. Jesus was anointed to authorize your use of Joy in praising God. He gave you back the “garment of glory” which Adam lost. He has planted you in righteousness so that you might be identified with Him through your joy. In short, joy covers the nakedness that sin once exposed.

Is. 61:1,3 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to…appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them…the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Praise, Prayer & Devotion by Nick Champlin
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John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

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

John 1:5 And the light shined in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Jesus puts the LIFE in living. Nothing and no one produces life of themselves, or has brought themselves into existence, or maintains the force of life within them. Everything exists, deriving its being from the Creator. And Jesus is the Creator and sustainer of all that lives.

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

The most we can do is to decide the qualities of our existence. The least we can do is just exist. You can exist or you can have LIFE. It all depends on whether you live through Jesus or not. Consider carefully what these verses might mean:

John 5:25 Truly I say to you, The time is coming, it has even now come, when the voice of the Son of God will come to the ears of the dead, and those hearing it will have life.

John 5:26 For even as the Father has life in himself, so he has given to the Son to have life in himself.

Who is more “dead” than the sinner who simply exists without receiving the eternal LIFE that comes from Jesus Christ. Those who pass from this world into a Christ-less eternity, do so by leaving without having LIFE in them. They’’re dead before they die.

“To you did he give life, when you were dead through your wrongdoing and sins…” Eph. 2:1

So having real Life – life worth living, life that energizes the soul with happiness, life that causes fulfillment, and the life that comes from God – this life is not the same as just getting up each day and moving forward. But rather…

This life is being offered to us in Jesus Christ……

“I have come so that they may have life and have it in greater measure.” John 10:10

This life must be sought and chosen……

“And still you have no desire to come to me so that you may have life.” John 5:40

This life comes through actively exercising faith in Jesus Christ……

“That you may have faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and so that, having this faith you may have life in his name.” John 20:31

Having established the point that there is a Life to be gained, which does not automatically come with simply existing, we must confront ourselves with this question: “Am I simply drinking from experiences of my existence, or am I truly experiencing Life?”

For the unsaved sinner, this question simply boils down to realizing that you really don’’t have Jesus Christ living in your heart. But for the true Christian, with the Holy Spirit in his heart, this question probes our every action, and prompts us to examine from where we are deriving our comfort, identity and sense of fulfillment. Many are the believers whose pursuit of Jesus ends when they receive His blessings. Remember that only 1 out of 10 healed lepers returned to worship Jesus. Too many of us stop seeking God for His will once we become employed in His purposes. Faith becomes replaced with assumption. Prayer is replaced by experience. And Life diminishes into religious existence.

For the Christian, staying saved is not nearly as challenging as staying dependent. The strong emotional bonds we form with God’s blessings and provisions can replace the bonds we had with Jesus when we were seeking Him for our Life. Once Jesus has become your Life – emanating into your soul His radiant glory as you face Him – He then does not transfer that life-giving radiance into the gifts or ministries with which He has blessed you. All that He gives us, every task He assigns us, every vision by which He employs us, are all simply “things”. However good or godly they may be, they all have the potential to serve as a false fulfillment. God gives Life as Jesus Christ. To Him and Him alone, must men come for their daily bread. Holy tasks do not give power. Righteous causes do not provide their own self-fulfilling strength. Blessings of provision cannot fill your soul with what it needs. Every wife and husband has eventually learned that even the best of earthly love cannot quench the thirsty soul.

God has always challenged those, into whose hands He has entrusted His work or deposited His blessings, to hold them with a special understanding. Understanding that however faithful in our stewardship or intense in our service, it is to Him alone that we must continue to go for our fulfillment, our Life. God’’s work will wear you out. God’’s blessings will wear you down. If you shift your identity from Christ alone to your own service for Him…if you look to His work for your satisfaction, instead of Him alone…if you draw your happiness from His blessings instead of joy from His Presence…then Life will escape you.

The most tragic failings of Christians have occurred when God’’s servants forgot to be His children. When they began to align their identity with the work they did for Him. When they tried to fill their need for strength-giving joy with the happiness of a successful work. When an answered prayer became the reason to stop seeking God. In providing for us, in using us in His purposes, God always runs the risk of losing us to His blessings. By blessing our existence He runs the risk that we will forget where our Life comes from.

Yet God has never stopped opening His Hands towards us. He who made us knows the design of our being. He knows that our deepest craving is for a thing called Life. And that thirst for Life can never be quenched by anything less than He Himself. And God knows the great secret that men will come to the Fountain of Life if He is lifted up among them. The only reason why men die parched within reach of the waters of Life is that they have been too consumed with existence to look up and see their Life.

John 4:10 In answer Jesus said, If you had knowledge of what God gives freely and who it is who says to you, Give me water, you would make your prayer to him, and he would give you living water.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Portraits Of Jesus by Nick Champlin
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Eph. 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

“Marriage is that unique sacred Bond of Oneness that partners a man and woman together in life’’s journey.  More than a romantic relationship and more than sharing living accommodations… marriage is the framework for forging a shared consciousness out of the two personalities of a man and woman.”

Many people enter their marriage covenant as a Prince or Princess rather than a Servant. The Prince or Princess is looking for fulfillment and support from the spouse they’’ve chosen. Unwittingly they pull the marriage off-balance, with their me-first perspective. This doesn’’t mean they don’’t love their mate. It just means they don’’t know HOW to love them. The Prince or Princess enjoys the company of their spouse but doesn’’t perceive happiness as a ‘couple’ but rather, as a fulfilled individual. It is very hard for them to wrap their attention around things that don’’t pertain to their immediate interest. It’’s hard for them to get motivated by the interests of their spouse or children if those interests are not naturally important to them.

Of course this leads to a great deal of strife in a relationship where their partner feels invisible and often times ends up neglected. The Prince or Princess can’’t understand why their ‘love’ is not enough to satisfy, seeing that it’’s sincere. But the problem isn’’t lack of love as much as it is the presence of selfishness. On the other hand, the Servant sees their role as a contributor. They are there to serve, not to be served. The Servant has the desire to be treated like royalty, too. But they aren’’t in the relationship to make that happen. They are there to give the royal treatment to the one they love and have pledged themselves too. They take great joy in serving. A marriage between two servants is like Heaven on Earth.

Matt. 20:28 Just as the Son of Man came not to be waited on but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many [the price paid to set them free].

Jesus came to take a Bride. But we often forget that He also came to ‘make’ a Bride. Jesus wagered His life on the idea that He could raise us to compatibility with Himself by the sacrifice of His love. And He was absolutely right. Love never fails. And for love to be successful the Prince had to become a Servant in order to receive His Bride.

People often enter marriages as a Prince or Princess and spend their years fighting to be seen, heard, considered and catered to. But in a healthy marriage two must contribute their individualities to the covenant in order to produce “Us”. The blended identity that results from the unselfish surrender of two individuals will be impervious to the forces that would defeat the individual. Servants always win in the end.

John 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.

It is not too far of a stretch to say that if the Prince or Princess will lay self aside and serve each other, that the resulting marriage will arise to bless and honor them both.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

Eph. 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Marriage is that unique sacred Bond of Oneness that partners a man and woman together in life’’s journey. More than a romantic relationship and more than sharing living accommodations…

…Marriage is the framework for forging a shared consciousness out of the two personalities of a man and woman.

And it is the condition of oneness that results from successfully living within that shared consciousness. The very thing that constitutes marriage as a sacred state of existence is this Bond of Oneness. You can apply all of the elements of relationship, including shared living arrangements, but if the two don’t bond no real marriage will evolve. Shared interests and romantic passion alone do not make a marriage bond. The oneness is achieved on a deeper level.

Matt. 19:6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Jesus endorsed the concept of oneness and conceded that it was indeed possible to damage and separate the bond. He referred to it as being “put asunder”, or to separate. There are certain things we do to “put asunder” the bond of oneness. Sometimes couples are no sooner off to their honeymoon before they begin practicing behaviors that “put asunder” or bring separation between them. The greatest threat to the bond of oneness is ignorance and lack of preparation. It is the inability to understand what this oneness is and properly prepare to enter it that has led to the demise of so many marriages today. In fact, the popular modern concept of what makes a marriage bond is itself a self-destructive element. In our modern culture people usually decide to marry when what they feel towards another becomes intense enough that they want to make their relationship exclusive. But as important as strong feelings and compatible interests are for making a bond of oneness, they’’re not enough to keep that bond in tact. Here is what is missing from many marriages:

John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Many love and marry to gratify the strong feelings that their love-interest evokes in them. And in a way, we marry to bring a sense of fulfillment to ourselves. It’’s understandable that husbands and wives often fall into the trap of hanging their expectations of happiness around the neck of their spouse. In a subtle way, marriage begins to turn around and become an indicator of unhappiness and unfulfillment. When two people who view their marriage to each other as an answer to their needs begin to drain one another, love quickly turns to frustration. The problem lies in the fact that people enter the marriage covenant without any intention of letting go of their former individual life. They don’t see themselves as laying that life into the ground as a seed, and forfeiting their independence to invest in a new shared consciousness. Some marriages survive because one very strong personality is able to subdue the more accommodating member and make them an accessory to their own life. But the true bond of oneness occurs when both contribute their individuality in a continuing act of love, in order to reap a higher joy of companionship.

John 12:24 …it abideth alone

Making the transition from solitary living to companionship is a huge jump into covenant living that must be made equally by both. Remember the 3-legged race?It’s work to achieve rhythm. Both minds and bodies must share a common consciousness. The moment one decides he or she would rather run alone they both fall over. I must find my fulfillment in “Us”. And in order for that to happen I must live as a contributor and die as a user. I, as a solitary man, am a seed. If I want to enjoy the fruits of life I must give myself up to become blended into a new corporate personhood. Companionship isn’t achieved by trapping another life but by surrendering to another life.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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Rom. 4:16 Therefore, [inheriting] the promise is the outcome of faith and depends [entirely] on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of grace (unmerited favor), to make it stable and valid and guaranteed to all his descendants—not only to the devotees and adherents of the Law, but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, who is [thus] the father of us all.

Rom. 4:17 As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations. [He was appointed our father] in the sight of God in Whom he believed, Who gives life to the dead and speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed.

Rom. 4:18 [For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, believed on in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be.

Rom. 4:19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah’s [deadened] womb.

Rom. 4:20 No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God,

Rom. 4:21 Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised.

Rom. 4:22 That is why his faith was credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God).

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Yesterday I shared the second of three principles that you have to apply yourself to if you’’re going to receive from God the things for which you pray. That first principle is to base your faith on what God has said; on His revealed will, and not simply upon your needs and wants. Faith springs from God’’s Word and not from human necessity. The second is to pray and let God make His Words real to you, because the faith with which you believe and receive is not that which your own mind and emotions produces. It’’s a shared faith, which proceeds from God into your heart and when you act upon it, it moves both you and God at the same time. Plus I shared the fact that God lays His Word before you in the form of promises, in order that you will vigorously pursue them, and in the process, become what He has destined you to be. Your becoming is then determined by your believing.

Now let me share with you the third step in what to do between believing and receiving.

#3 - Commit Your Confession To The Truth

Jesus is the Apostle (Sent One) and High Priest of your confession. It is your profession of faith in Him, and the life you live in pursuit of Him, that causes you to be a recipient of Christ’’s ministry to you. In short, your profession of faith is the Truth of the Gospel you have believed, your vocal testimony of it’s Truth, and the life you life in pursuit of His will. All this together constitutes your profession (or confession) of faith. Now add to that definition the action that Jesus is sent to be the High Priest of your profession. He advocates on your behalf based, not upon anything less than your profession of faith. So if you do not produce an ongoing profession of faith, there is little for Him to work from in ministering to you on a day-to-day basis. This explains why there are many Christians who are saved and believe in Jesus, but who show little involvement from God in their daily lives. There is little confirmation of God’’s favor towards them. The Lord works through us from our profession of faith.

Now it is vitally important to point out the difference between a sterile confession of theological belief, as opposed to the vibrant confession of true faith in God’’s Word. Abraham’’s confession of faith concerning his coming son, was spoken from a deeply convinced heart. And by his unwavering confession of faith God was able to bring fulfillment to him. God was the High Priest of Abraham’’s confession of faith, just as He is ours.

Heb. 3:1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession…(“confession” is Homologia=to say the same thing as God).

Although simply running around parroting scriptures does not constitute a confession of faith, but simply a confession of knowledge; the fact is that you do not have a confession of faith until it begins to come out of your mouth. The entire third chapter of the Epistle of St. James, is devoted to emphasizing the importance that God places upon the proper use of your tongue. Proverbs says that your tongue will influence your heart:

Prov. 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].

So the third thing you must do to go from believing to receiving is to maintain your profession of faith. This isn’’t a blab-it-and-grab-it technology of Believer’ism. But this is what is necessary on your part if the Lord is going to be able to preside over your faith.

Secondly, you are His covenant partner. As you praise God for the promise He has made to you, the faith you share with Him, empowers you. In short YOU are energized by your use of faith. Look at what Paul wrote about Abraham:

Rom. 4:20 No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God.

Abraham wasn’t magically made “strong” in order to stand for the promise of God those 25 years. He “GREW strong”! And he did so, being “empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God”. Abraham surely experienced growing temptations to express fear, aggravation and doubt, as the years between God’’s promise and His fulfillment grew longer. But he fought off the urge to complain by continuously professing what God had said to him. And God (“Who speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed.”), helped Abraham discipline his confession, by changing his name. For 75 years Abraham’’s name was Abram, meaning Exalted Father. But when God made covenant with Abram He told him he needed to upgrade his name to fit his new identity. God told him that he would be Abraham,– Father Of A Multitude – from that day forward. Imagine Abraham’’s next trip to the neighborhood deli. It was bad enough being called “Exalted Father” for 75 years of childlessness. But now Abraham would introduce himself to the butcher as “Father Of A Multitude”, for the next 25 years of childlessness. No doubt the butcher at the deli, and everyone else must have thought the poor old guy had gone around the bend in his old age.

Standing in faith for the things God has said is not easy if you want to remain in harmony with the world. Because the world flows contrary to faith in God. It’s fashionable to complain, doubt and fuss about living a futile life. The world loves to rail against God with charges of hopelessness and abandonment. But when God has spoken to you and about you, YOU cannot remain neutral. You will become an anomaly to the world of reason as you become a Confesser of what God has said. And go ahead and let the world build up a good case against you. Let them bring it on. You will be the one laughing on the day God’’s package arrives at your door. No one who has ever endured in faith, to see the fulfillment of God’’s Word, has ever escaped the ridicule of a cynical world of unbelief. But stand fast and use your own mouth to say the same things God has said. For in so doing you exercise covenant partnership with Him. You activate His High Priestly ministry on the behalf of His Word to you.

Finally, here is an often-neglected reality of faith. God’’s fulfillment of His Word to you depends upon your remaining in a position of righteousness. That position of righteousness is not maintained by your moral perfection but by your refusal to allow doubt to move you from your stand of faith.

Rom. 4:20 No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God,

Rom. 4:21 Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised.

Rom. 4:22 That is why his faith was credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God).

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises by Nick Champlin
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Rom. 4:16 Therefore, [inheriting] the promise is the outcome of faith and depends [entirely] on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of grace (unmerited favor), to make it stable and valid and guaranteed to all his descendants—not only to the devotees and adherents of the Law, but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, who is [thus] the father of us all.

Rom. 4:17 I have made you the father of many nations. [He was appointed our father] in the sight of God in Whom he believed, Who gives life to the dead and speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed.

Rom. 4:18 [For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, believed on in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be.

Rom. 4:19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah’s [deadened] womb.

Rom. 4:20 No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God,

Rom. 4:21 Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised.

Rom. 4:22 That is why his faith was credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God).

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Yesterday I shared the first of three principles that you have to apply yourself to if you’’re going to receive from God the things you are believing Him for. That first principle is to base your faith on what God has said; on His revealed will, and not simply upon your needs and wants. Faith springs from God’’s Word and not from human necessity. Now let me share with you the next step in what to do between believing and receiving.

#2 - Pray and Let God Make It Real To Your Heart

The faith with which we believe the things God has spoken, is a shared faith with God. It’’s a faith that proceeds from His Word into our hearts. It’’s a faith that is a product of the Holy Spirit and cannot be separated from Him. When we operate in the faith He has given us He Himself is connected to it. Our faith moves us and God at the same time. This is a far cry from the believ’ism which some have mistaken for real faith.

Heb. 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher (developer) of our faith;

The faith with which you stand upon God’’s Word, awaiting the fulfillment of His promise, is developed in your prayerful communion with the Lord, and not as a result of you straining to believe. When you pray and worship the Lord; when you acknowledge His Word as Truth, before Him in prayer, He gives His faith to you.

So your faith is not a technology of Bible legalities and verse-quoting techniques, but the power to believe, produced by your fellowship with God.

When someone has made you a promise, you base your confidence of receiving on the credibility of the Promiser. Abraham and Sarah considered Who it was that had promised them a son and a lineage to the Messiah. It was their unwavering consideration of the Promiser that gave them the confidence to dismiss their natural doubts and fears.

Rom. 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

Heb. 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he isfaithful that promised)

Heb. 11:11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

And finally, within this second principle lay the profound truth that your becoming is determined by your believing. God presents His Word before you in order to give you a path to become what He has destined you to be. And your becoming is governed by your believing. God announced His Word to Abraham, that He had made him a father of nations, 25 years before he had one son. Remember……

God speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed.

And Abraham believed that he might become what God had said:

Rom. 4:18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations,

So remember, when you find yourself in the place between what God has said and its fulfillment in you, pray and let God make His Word real to your heart. His faith will lay hold of you if you will take hold of His Word.

Tomorrow I’ll share step three, so until then……

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises by Nick Champlin
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Rom. 4:16 Therefore, [inheriting] the promise is the outcome of faith and depends [entirely] on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of grace (unmerited favor), to make it stable and valid and guaranteed to all his descendants—not only to the devotees and adherents of the Law, but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, who is [thus] the father of us all.

Rom. 4:17 I have made you the father of many nations. [He was appointed our father] in the sight of God in Whom he believed, Who gives life to the dead and speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed.

Rom. 4:18 [For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, believed on in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be.

Rom. 4:19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah’s [deadened] womb.

Rom. 4:20 No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God,

Rom. 4:21 Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised.

Rom. 4:22 That is why his faith was credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God).

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

There’’s nothing more essential to your walk with God than knowing how to stand between the time you begin believing God to the point where you receive His promised provision. To make this point, Paul uses the example of Abraham – the man with whom God made the covenant to come into the world as Jesus Christ, our Savior. God tells Abraham that He HAS (past tense) made him “the Father of many nations”. And then He goes on to say that he will begin with a son, and multiply from there till his descendents are as numerous as the stars of the heavens. He tells him that out of his lineage will come a special man – the Son of God – Who will become the Savior of the world.

Of course when we read this in our Bibles it seems so plausible from our viewpoint of historic perspective. There’’s the story of Abraham, catalogued in the Bible, right along side all the other miraculous events of God. But from Abraham’’s position at the time, it required a dedication to faith that would call him far above and beyond the realm of human reason. You see, Abraham wasn’t 20 years old with a fertile young wife. He was 75 years old and married to a barren woman who was well past childbearing years. And just so that the fulfillment of God’’s promise would surely come as a result of faith, God stretched out the time of fulfillment over 25 years, in which Abraham had to “stand in faith” for the promise to materialize.

During that 25-year span Abraham and Sarah stood in faith, fending off the natural doubts that surely attacked their minds. They maintained a profession of faith and praise to God for the promise they believed He would fulfill.

Using their example, Paul teaches us what it really takes to stand in faith for the fulfillment of God’’s promises in our lives. Over the next several installments we will explore the 3 basic steps that Abraham took in order to go from believing to receiving – from faith to fulfillment.

Step One – What Has God Said?

Rom. 4:17 As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations. [He was appointed our father] in the sight of God in Whom he believed, Who gives life to the dead and speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed.

Abraham surely wanted children. His desire to have children didn’’t begin with God introducing His plan to him at 75 years old. Abraham had probably even prayed to God for years, that he and Sarah would be blessed with children. But the faith with which Abraham would come to possess the promised son; the faith with which he would unite with God to bring forth Isaac, his miracle son; was not a faith that stemmed from his own desire to have children, but from God’’s Word to him about the matter.

Faith comes from what God says, and not from what we want. Even if what we want happens to line up with God’’s Word and plan, our desires by themselves will never produce the faith that can receive what God is offering. It is God’’s Word itself, by which God conveys His faith into our hearts. And it’s our desire for its fulfillment that unites us with His faith. So the faith to receive…the ability to stand for the fulfillment of God’’s Word, comes to us from God, through His Word.

Rom. 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Many believers have entered into great frustration, thinking they were believing God for an outcome. For example, if one were to receive a diagnosis of cancer and begin to pray for healing, motivated by the deep desire to be free of cancer, he would likely end up in frustration. It’s not the need for healing but faith in the promise from the Healer, that brings answers from God. The Bible plainly states that:

“…for by His wounds you were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

Notice the past tense declaration, just as God had told Abraham that He HAD (already) made him the “father of many nations”. But it was not Abraham’’s desperate desire for a child that produced faith in him to eventually receive that child in Isaac. It was believing God’‘s Word to him that gave him the faith to stand those 25 years until the promised son arrived.

The Words of God are pregnant themselves, with the life and power to create and bring forth fulfillment. Jesus Himself taught that the entire Kingdom of God comes forth as a result of His Words being planted in hearts, and growing in faith. Everything God does He does through the agency of His Word. Somewhere at the edge of the universe is the original Word of creation, traveling at 186 thousand miles per second: “Let there be light!”. Abraham realized that God speaks of things that are, as yet unseen, as though they already existed before us.

Rom. 4:17 …God …Who …speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed.

Abraham had many opportunities to throw in the towel during that 25-year span. With every passing year, the Word of God to Him became more unreasonable. Yet as Abraham neared 100 years old his faith had remained undefeated. He decisively refused every occasion of doubt and anger, praising God for the eventual outcome of what he knew He had promised.

Rom. 4:20 No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God,

Tomorrow we will look at step two in “WHAT TO DO BETWEEN BELIEVING AND RECEIVING”. Until then…

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order by Nick Champlin
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John 6:11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

John 6:12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

John 6:13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

John 6:5-13 (click here to read the entire text)

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path

From yesterday’’s edition of the LWP, entitled What God Uses, we see that God never asks man for anything just to put him through a test that the Lord already knows the answer to. We also saw that whatever He asks of you, that He will actually take and use for a two-fold purpose

1. To further the plan of redemption through Christ, and,

2. To meet earthly needs.

And we MUST understand this one point: The reason God asks anything of us is BECAUSE we are in covenant with Him, and our obedience activates the covenant and releases opportunity for Him to meet our action with His blessed reaction.

Today I want to help you have confidence that when God asks you for anything you can expect a couple of things to result from your obedience in giving your stuff to Him.

First, God’’s Hand is a multiplying Hand. His is a Hand of healing and blessing. No death, curse or sickness can come into His Hand without being released from its bondage. The only exception is when God’’s Hand of Judgment moves specifically.

The Lord took the Lad’’s lunch and multiplied it to feed 5,000 men (not counting the women and children).

In 1 Kings 17:8-16 the Prophet Elijah asks a starving woman to use her last bit of batter to make him a cake so that by activating the covenant, the blessing of God could flow into her situation. Read the whole story, it’s rich.

When Moses doubted as to how he would be able to convince Pharaoh to obey him and wanted some assurance from God, the Lord asked Him to give Him his walking stick. The rest is history.

Jesus asks Peter, Andrew, James and John, after cleaning their nets from a night of fruitless fishing, to launch back out and try again. The rest is also history.

In Mark 10:17-30 a rich young man turns away, unwilling to surrender up his wealth and follow Jesus. He obviously assumes wrongly that Jesus is going to leave him in poverty. The disciples are amazed when Jesus comments that rich people have a hard time entering the Kingdom of God because they can’t let go of their wealth. Peter says, “”Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.” ” Amazingly, Jesus responds by telling the disciples that they can’’t out-give God. He will return back 100-fold what they have given up for His Gospel.

Meanwhile let’s return to the scene of Jesus’ luncheon with the multitude:

John 6:12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

John 6:13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

I have a feeling that young lad went home to his parents with a lot more than just an amazing story!

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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John 6:11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

John 6:12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

John 6:13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

John 6:5-13 (click here to read the entire text)

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Never hesitate to hand the Lord your stuff. Putting your things in the Hands of God means really handing it over to Him when He asks for it. That’’s not the same as dedicating something to God. We dedicate lots of things to God, but then when the opportunity comes to put it into His Hands it means really letting go of it. And for the moment it may look as if you’’re not getting it back, while He distributes it to everyone else. The fact is that Jesus doesn’’t just ask for things from people to test them. He actually uses it all for some divine purpose and earthly good. He doesn’’t ask you for things just to see if you’re willing to give it up. God is beyond game playing.

Gen. 22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

Gen. 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

Gen. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

One of the greatest accounts of God requesting something from a man is this case where He asks Abraham for his son Isaac as a sacrifice. Of course, God is not sadistic, requiring us to kill those we love to appease Him. But neither is He cruelly manipulative, tormenting us with tests He already knows the answers to. The real purpose for God’’s strange request of Abraham rests in the precise words that both He and Abraham speak on Mt. Moriah; and in the fact that He and Abraham are in a blood covenant relationship together.

The blood covenant means that, the other must provide whatever one of the covenant partners needs or asks. The blood covenant between them makes both their assets and liabilities the obligation of both of them. God allows Abraham to represent all of humanity because when He tells him that he will become the father of nations, and that his seed will be more numerous than the stars, Abraham believes Him. So man’’s sin (present in Abraham) is now God’’s responsibility and God’’s provision is now man’’s inheritance, so long as the covenant is upheld. God was enacting the covenant by requiring Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. In Abraham’’s willingness to comply he goes through a number of mental steps, which lead him to conclude that the Lord will have to raise Isaac from the dead, in order to fulfill His promise to multiply Abe’’s seed through the boy.

Heb. 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;

Heb. 11:18 it was he to whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.”

Heb. 11:19 He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.

So God was not just testing Abraham. He was getting Abraham to express his great and desperate need – and indeed, the desperate need of all mankind – freedom from sin’s death penalty. This set God up to be able to stop Abraham and inspire him to issue this amazing prophetic proclamation:

Gen. 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

Gen. 22:14 So Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord Will Provide. And it is said to this day, On the mount of the Lord it will be provided.

You can see that what God asked of Abraham was for the purpose of setting up the great response of sending His own Son to die for our sins and free us from the curse. Rather than Isaac or anyone else having to die for his or her own sins, God would come Himself and take our place.

This dramatic example provides the basis for understanding why God would ever ask anything of man. Before we go further to speak of What God Uses let us understand that every request is based on the same covenant relationship and to further the same purpose.

More Tomorrow. Until then…

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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John 6:9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

John 6:5-13 (click here to read the entire text)

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

There is a whole lot more “will of God” all around us, waiting for someone to take hold of the Hand of God and partner with Him to get it done. Yesterday I shared on of the great and simple secrets about being used of God: being THERE. Today I’’d like to share another important insight into being used of God:

God knows what He Himself will do, and He just wants you to work with Him on it.

I know. That sounds so basic. But when you add up all the time, resource and energy that goes into doing a work FOR God, and consider how much of it actually results in God working; it makes you wonder why we don’t just work WITH God instead.

If the Lord does not build the house,

it is useless for the builders to work on it.

If the Lord does not protect a city,

it is useless for the guard to stay alert. Psa. 127:1

The fact is that there is a vast difference in the attitude of a leader of the work and a helper of the work. When Jesus fed the multitudes (which He did on more than one occasion), He knew exactly what He was going to do. And it wasn’’t like the disciples would be able to even come close to doing it without Him. So Jesus was giving instructions to the disciples to get things set up for the miracle provision, and they were carrying out His orders. They had NO IDEA what He was up to! They just knew He was the Lord and He was going to do something.

John 6:10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

Whenever God is about to do something – manifest His provision or intervene with His delivering power –He always gets us busy doing something in preparation. Paul said:

1 Cor. 3:9 For we are laborers together with God

There’’s an important point that’s often overlooked when considering God’’s supernatural working. And that is that God does these things through the hands of men so that men can see God working with them. He doesn’’t do these things so people will see there’’s a God. He’’s already done works that are suppose to identify Him. It’’s called Creation. But the purpose of His supernatural manifestation among us is to endorse His relationship with us. So He works though our involvement, so that what He does looks like we did it (through Him). When the disciples said there’’s hungry people here, let’’s send them away, Jesus (“knowing what He Himself would do”), threw the responsibility on the disciples for meeting the need. He wasn’’t interested in showing off what He could do, but rather, working through His disciples:

Luke 9:13 Jesus replied, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish. Unless we go to buy food for all these people, that’s all we have.”

Luke 9:14 (There were about five thousand men.) Then he told his disciples, “Have them sit in groups of about fifty.”

Luke 9:15 So they did this.

Jesus was training the men, through whom His miracle ministry would flow, to work in faith before you see the manifestation. Most people are waiting to see God do something before they act as though He’’s going to. They’’ll be waiting a long time. The disciples were preparing the people to eat before they had any food. Now how many churches and Christians operate like that today?

2 Cor. 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight)

If you’re going to be someone God uses then you’re going to have to be willing to go out on a limb, just like the disciples did. If you always just do your works for God, then there’’s little risk involved. But if you do God’’s work with God, then there’’s always going to be that supernatural element of faith, just like the disciples getting the people ready to eat, and there isn’’t any food …yet.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises by Nick Champlin
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John 6:9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

John 6:5-13 (click here to read the entire text)

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

“There is a lad here…”

Yesterday we left off talking about the “Lad” whose lunch Jesus used for the material of a miracle. Though this is just metaphor we would be missing a great lesson if we overlook what this young man represents, for like us, he is facing a world in need of ministry.

The “Lad”, perhaps a Teen-ager. He’’s still growing. Not just starting, but not fully arrived, he’’s in the process. He’’s not where he use to be, but he’’s not yet where he will be. Like David when he slew Goliath, he still has a ways to go but at this very moment he has what God needs to work through. And this young lad is us.

It’’s really amazing how much the circumstances factored in this young man’’s “ministry”. A large part of being used by God is simply being “there” when the Lord is going to do something.

“There is a lad here…”

You need to be where God is wanting to move. We put a great deal of emphasis on training, education and character development, in order to prepare people for ministry. That’’s OK.  Preparation is important. But there are so many people who have been more than prepared for a long time, but never put themselves in the place where God wants to move.

This young man was not pressed into service either. I can’t imagine the disciples starting to shake down the people to find someone with food. And finding the lad, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him to Jesus, saying, “”There is a lad here…”.”  No, more than likely the young man heard they were trying to figure out where to get food and he walked over to Andrew and offered his lunch.  As silly as it may seem to offer a sack of drive-through food for a multitude’s needs, remember this:

Jesus had asked for something…

John 6:5 Jesus…saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

That is HUGE! When Jesus asks for something you’’d better know that something’s about to happen. The very next verse says,

John 6:6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

If you’’ve ever been in a place where God moves then you know that He often leads with a request. Then the atmosphere becomes charged with a peculiar sense of faith. People aren’t sure what’’s going to happen, but the sense of a happening is definitely falling on them. And it causes them to start responding, even if it seems insufficient. In this moment all the preparation and holy living will amount to little if you don’’t step up to say, “Here, I have something to offer.” More of the great men and women of the Bible and of history entered the spotlight simply by stepping through the “moment of availability”, then all the schools and mentoring programs have ever produced. You’’ve got to be there, offering what you can, when the moment comes. No amount of preparation, ability or popular backing, will ever make up for lack of action in the moment of opportunity. Remember that the secret of being used of God to do great things is that HE DOES IT.

John 6:6 …for he himself knew what he would do.

Your little sack of half eaten chicken isn’t going to fill the cavities much less the bellies of the multitude. But the fact that you’re there and step forward, offering it, means you’’re the one God will use. Far more holy and qualified people sit back in jealous judgment of those who are used of God, without ever considering the obvious. And that is this: God isn’t going to come drag you out from in front of our TV to use you. You have to be there.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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John 6:9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

John 6:5-13 (click here to read the entire text)

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

This is one of the most retold and beloved stories of the Gospel.  It’’s full of the character of Jesus and rich with lessons. There are great encouraging insights about WHO, WHAT and HOW God uses people to do great things.  As we begin this devotional series let’s build on at least one prominent truth from God’’s Word:

God always uses people to work through.

Without the prayer or actions of people there is no manifestation of God’’s Presence in the Earth.  Therefore it is absolutely necessary for us to understand that God works through us; and be willing to present ourselves for His use.  Entire elaborate religious institutions have been devised on the theories of just what type of people God uses.  And usually by the time they are finished laying out all the parameters God is somewhere outside their boundaries using someone they’’ll end up rubbing their beards over.  And if God’’s choice is far enough outside their standards they may even persecute them.

But the real tragedy is that the vast majority of people disqualify themselves as potential vessels for God’’s glory simply because they pay far more attention to the approval of men then of God. Men look for candidates who have something that they think can help God: abilities, great resources, natural attractiveness and education. And because most people see too little of these things in themselves, they are usually closed off to the idea of God using them.  But God isn’t looking for help.  He’’s looking for opportunity. And that brings us to our story of Jesus feeding thousands of people with a young man’’s lunch.

The circumstances were dire: a multitude of people numbering five thousand men, not counting women and children, had left their towns to follow Jesus out into the countryside and listen to Him speak.  Now Jesus and the disciples were surrounded by thousands of hungry people with no resource to feed them.

This is THE Ministry!

If ever there were a metaphoric picture of the ministry, this is it. The need was laid at the disciples’’ feet but the solutions were way beyond their abilities.

Matt. 14:15 When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

The disciples were completely unable to meet the need so their answer was naturally, to send the people away to fend for themselves. But Jesus asks Philip where they can buy food to feed the multitude, knowing that the disciples were completely without resources.

John 6:5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

John 6:6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

John 6:7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

Jesus simply wants to draw the disciples into a sense of responsibility for a solution, knowing that only He can solve the problem. The Lord already “knows what He Himself will do”, but He’’s looking for someone to work through. As citizens of the world, we must become engaged in the process of miracle answers.  This must happen for God to work through us to enter the situation.  Remember, He already “knows what He Himself will do”! And so once the disciples become engaged in trying to solve the problem our little vessel for God to use can be manifested…

John 6:8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him,

John 6:9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

It didn’’t matter if all he had was a half eaten Burger King Spicy Chicken sandwich and some cold fries, Jesus knew what “He Himself” was going to do. Now let’’s look at our young vessel:

“There is a lad here…”…

This is not a little boy, too young to leave his Mother.  He was old enough to be out of the house and at this gathering. Not a fully-grown young man, but a “Lad”, perhaps a Teen-ager.  He’s still growing. Not just starting, but not fully arrived, he’’s in the process.  He’’s not where he use to be, but he’’s not yet where he will be.  Like David when he slew Goliath, he still has a ways to go but at this very moment he has what God needs to work through. And this young lad is us. We are on our way, in the process of growth.  We likely wouldn’’t credit ourselves with being “ready” to be used by God in miracle provisions. And we’re probably as unaware of what “He Himself will do” as the lad was. But that doesn’t mean that the Lord doesn’t have a plan to do some great things all around us. And no one is aware of it because it’’s so beyond the “ministry” we will allow ourselves to imagine.

Out of this whole cast of characters, the disciples, the lad and the hungry mass of people; none of them is adequate to meet the need. So why do we consistently withhold ourselves from God’’s Hand until we have reach a level of adequacy?  It’’s Jesus Himself Who makes every single one of us potential donors for God’’s miracle provision to flow through. This lad was largely qualified by his circumstances.  Heroes are cornered, not made. And the same is true for you and I.  There is a whole lot more “will of God” all around us waiting for a sponsor to make his or her meager resources available to the Hand of God.

2 Cor. 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ by Nick Champlin
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Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ by Nick Champlin
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Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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Heb. 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God….

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The expectation of God is that we all become teachers. The cycle of life depends on the process of those who are young, needing care and guidance, to mature into those who will in turn give care and guidance to the young.  The goal of maturity is self-sacrifice for a greater purpose.  In other words, we should outgrown our need to have the world cater to us.  Instead we become those who are “strong” enough to help others.

2 Tim. 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:2 And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

2 Tim. 2:3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

Visualize a Y if you will.  It depicts the path of life.  At the base all children come into the world entering the common process of development.  But as they grow the choice is made between 2 paths, 2 vastly contrasting orientations.  The path on the left leads to Individualism and one on the right leads to Maturity.  We choose between being “an individual” or “being Mature”.  For some “individuality” is their great concern. They need attention, not necessarily the limelight of popularity, but persoanl attention and service.  They crave it and fear a life without it.  For others, the limelight of popularity, or the obscurity of quiet service, neither are goals; but their satisfaction is in the growing maturity and wisdom that comes from helping others.

Those on the right seek fulfillment through service.  They enjoy the light of greater purposes and are drawn to serve them.  For them, sacrificing personal pleasure is a necessity to achieve important goals greater than themselves.

Rom. 15:1 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.

Rom. 15:2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.

Rom. 15:3 For even Christ did not please Himself…

Those on the left are motivated to develope their talents for their own personal gratification.  They live in the light of their own happiness.  For them, self-sacrifice only makes sense if it leads to greater personal pleasure.

Notice how God equates maturity with one’s ability to make the needs of others their own priority, without mourning the sacrificed opportunities for personal pleasure.  This is true maturity.  It is what is needed in order to guide and assist the young and needy.  Those who live for Individuality rather than Maturity, either never experienced much self-sacrificing help in their developing years, or in their self-centeredness, have never regarded it.  They have little respect for the sacrifice of the Mature, see it as a foolish waste, and shun it’s path.  They can’t relate to it. Their whole orientation, even through their adult years, is attention for themselves. They have little left to give to others.  Like many Celebrities, even their “charitable acts” are carefully orchestrated to benefit their own ego.

Matt. 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

When someone from the left path of Individualism becomes a Christian they must undergo a complete reorienting of their thinking in order to fulfill Jesus’ mission and receive any personal blessing. Because the entire treasure of Jesus’ blessing is designed for the benefit of servants.

John 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.

Those who pursue Individualism often develope fine intellectual skills, are well versed in worldly matters, and have honed impressive talents that draw fanfare.  This is their goal and reward.  Yet for all this, they are often unhappy and find no real goal.  Where does the path of Individuality lead?

Those who pursue Maturity realize that you can grow old and never mature.  Maturity is a goal to strive for.  It’s never automatic.  Graveyards are full of the bones of self-indulgent fools.  They know that life can be wasted on the pursuit of Individualism.  They realize that they do exist as an individual, but that the quality of their individuality is defined by what they do not by what they feel.

Matt. 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
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Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Faith & God's Promises by Nick Champlin
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