Devotions

To remind ourselves of the radical results of the resurrection, my wife Kelly and I have learned to repeat a certain phrase to each other: “Jesus paid it all.” He finished the work, He rose again, and He has blessed us with newness of life. We are to claim His resurrection power, putting it on like a suit of clothes. “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory’” (1 Corinthians 15:54, NIV).

Paul says boldly that without Christ’s resurrection there would be no reason at all to be a Christian. There are voices in the church that say it doesn’t matter whether there was a resurrection. Some have famously written, “I would be a Christian even if it were proved that there was no resurrection. Christianity has made me a better person and it has made the world better.” Some scholars hold that Jesus’ encounters after the crucifixion were just mythical stories meant to encourage the early church.

Paul rejects all of this in the strongest possible terms. He says that if Christ wasn’t resurrected, the consequences are dire: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised” (1 Corinthians 15:14-15, ESV).

Paul is saying, in effect, “If you don’t believe Christ was resurrected, then stop believing in God at all. Everyone stop preaching, evangelizing and doing good works in Jesus’ name. We’ll all be better off. You would do better to get wisdom from Dr. Phil or Oprah or a pop psychologist. They have more to say than someone whose every action is based on something that never happened.”

In short, the Christian faith is not some moral code to be kept. We don’t gather on Sundays just to get solace about eternity. Christ is either risen or He is not—and if He isn’t, then our sins were never forgiven.

“Amalek came to war with Israel. Moses stood on the top of the hill. The people were fighting in the valley. When Moses lifted his hands to God in prayer, the people of God won and overcame the enemy. Then the hands of Moses became heavy, weary. As Moses’ hands went down, God’s people were defeated and the enemy gained ground. God’s people were defeated and in great danger. Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands, standing on each side of him. Then Moses’ hands became steady again and God’s people were victorious against their enemy” (see Exodus 17:8-13).

When Moses stood on the mountain with his arms extended toward heaven, it symbolized his dependence, reliance and faith in God for victory over his enemies. “The battle is the Lord’s” (1 Samuel 17:47). “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty through God, supernatural for the pulling down of strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). And the victory is acquired “not by might or human capacity, but by My Spirit, says the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6).

In the life of Moses, as in ours, the battles and conquests are the same. I can’t do anything in and of myself and I will fail miserably if I ultimately trust in my ideas, experiences, resources or efforts. In these moments of invisible and eternal warfare, when combat is fierce and our lives, families, ministries or futures are on the line, we find victory as we stand on God’s mountain in prayer, lifting our hands to Him in trust and surrender.

Something fascinating takes place on the mountain. Moses’ arms are getting tired and as they slowly lower, the wind turns on the battlefield and the enemy gains ground. Blood is shed, soldiers are wounded and killed, screams of pain and tears fill the valley, the enemy is galvanized and spine-shuddering, bestial war cries are heard. What’s happening?

The same army that was triumphant a moment before now is being massacred. Aaron and Hur grasp the far-reaching significance of what is taking place. They stand next to Moses, one on each side, and hold up his arms in a gesture and spiritual picture of unity, loyalty and support. It is as if they are saying, “We are with you, Moses. We recognize that God has placed you as our leader and we stand with you. We acknowledge the importance of this principle and we want to practice faith; we want to protect and empower God’s people battling in the valley.”

The enemy’s violent and devastating surge, impossible to stop just a short time ago, is now reversed. God’s people have no additional weaponry, but they are now invincible and their army is mighty. They win the battle!

Claude Houde is the lead pastor of Eglise Nouvelle Vie (New Life Church) in Montreal, Canada. Under his leadership New Life Church has grown from a handful of people to more than 3500 in a part of Canada with few successful Protestant churches.

If we love the world and the things of the world, we can’t be God's: “"If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). If we covet, wanting more and more things, we are not one of His sheep: “Nor thieves, nor covetous . . . shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:10).

These believers will be goats, but not just because they lust for things or they didn’t help the needy. The Lord will tell them, “You misrepresented Me to the world. You caused the ungodly to identify Me with prosperity, money, success. You deceived the poor by telling them I wanted to make them rich. And you told the sick they were suffering because they lacked faith.

“I blessed you. I poured out My resources on you, because I loved you. But you didn't open your ears to the needy cries around you. Instead, you choked on your own goods. If you were Mine—if you loved Me—you would have obeyed My commands.”

You may say, “Brother Dave, this is too hard. Surely God isn’t like that.” Read the words of Ezekiel: “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness . . . neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy” (Ezekiel 16:49, italics mine). When God judged Sodom, He didn’t mention their homosexuality or idolatry. It was all about pride, ease and neglect of the needy. They had no concern for the poor.

How can you get involved with the needy? That’s the work of the Holy Spirit. If you are convicted by this message, go to Him. He will lead you directly to the needs He wants you to meet, in one of these areas of hands-on love ministry. This is not meant to put you under guilt or condemnation, but to help you search your heart in light of Jesus’ words.

The Lord doesn’t expect any of us to do it all. But I know He expects us to be personally committed to hands-on involvement in at least one of these areas of need. Can you say you’re ready to stand before Christ on that day, knowing you’re helping feed or clothe the poor, visiting prisoners, blessing or visiting widows and the fatherless?

For months I have been praying for widows, the fatherless and the poor. We receive letters from destitute people who can no longer pay for insurance or afford housing. I’ve pleaded with God, “You are the Lord of hosts. Feed them. Meet their needs.” Finally, the Lord answered me, “You must do more than pray for them, David. You can do something about it. You feed them. It’s within your power to do.”

Make no mistake: no one can be saved by good works alone, but we will be judged by whether we did them. Yet the issue isn’t how many needy people I feed or clothe. The central issue is: “Do I profess Christ as my Lord, and then live only for myself? Do I misrepresent Jesus by hoarding and spending time accumulating things? Do I shut my eyes to the needs of the poor and helpless?”

Our witness to a sin-cursed world must include both preaching and manifestation, both Word and deed. Our proclamation of Christ can’t be divorced from our helping works. As James says, such works help to prove the power of the gospel.

“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?” (James 2:14-16).

Multitudes of Christians respond to Jesus’ prophecy in two ways. There are those of the “easy gospel” who say, “God isn’t that hard. This is all doomsday preaching. My God is too loving to judge that severely.” Then, those of the “hard gospel” say, “This is just too strict, too demanding. I can’t accept such a disturbing word. I can never measure up to it.”

So both gospels go their own way, justified and unmoved. One group continues staging revivals for the unsaved. Others keep holding prayer meetings, asking God to meet the needs of the poor. At Christmastime, we distribute baskets to needy families, and at other times, we slip a few coins to beggars. But, tragically, little is done about having a full-time, hands-on commitment to do as Jesus has commanded.

We will never know God’s peace in our time of affliction until His purpose for it has become a settled truth in our souls. We have to understand that our dark hour, our painful testing, has been permitted by the Lord for His own glorious purpose. What is that purpose? Simply put, we are going to be the focus of incredible Holy Ghost comfort.

We are going to come out of the fire cleansed and stronger. And we’ll be given a ministry that is greater even than that of the world’s most famous preachers—the ministry of proven comfort and victory for a hurting people. The result of this ministry will be as Daniel described: “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand” (Daniel 12:10).

What an incredible calling we have! We suffer great trials in order to become God’s comforting hands to others.

My daughter Debi and her husband Roger lost their twelve-year-old daughter, Tiffany, to brain cancer. I know the agony they went through, the nights of wondering, “What possible purpose could God have in this?”

Some time ago, Debi was in a mall when she saw a woman sitting on a bench with tears streaming down her face. Debi approached her and asked, “Can I help you at all?” The woman responded, “You could never understand what I’m going through.” Finally, Debi coaxed the woman to tell her about her pain. The woman explained, “I’ve lost a child to cancer.”

At that moment, the sweetness of heaven descended. Debi put comforting arms around that woman, and as my daughter shared her own story, both women found a measure of God’s healing love.

Dear saint, God has not forgotten you in your deep, dark trial. I leave you with this encouragement from the Psalmist: “The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.  Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all” (Psalm 34:17-19).