Stormwall Devotional

Michael Wilkerson's (@MW_Stormwall) daily devotional designed to inspire, encourage and strengthen your faith in Christ.

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Exciting News! Launch of Stormwall Devotional Hi everyone! For the past three years, I’ve been working on a daily devotional with brief (less than one page) but profound readings designed to inspire, encourage and strengthen your faith in Christ. This labor of love, which will total 365 entries, is now ready for digital release. I’m confident that this will benefit your spiritual walk and practical life, and I trust you’ll want to incorporate it into your daily routine. You can receive a reading each morning in your e-mail by subscribing to the Stormwall Devotional Substack and in your X feed by following @stormwalldevo

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Beatitudes: Poor in Spirit

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
—Matthew 5:3

The previous entry [https://t.co/GJthUZjwvj] opened our conversation on the Beatitudes by establishing Jesus’s role as priest, prophet, and king. We explored how, as King of Kings, Jesus is creating His heavenly dominion on earth, inviting us to build and inherit it with Him. Matthew opens the Sermon on the Mount with Jesus saying to His disciples that the poor in spirit are blessed, and that they will inherit this kingdom. But what does it mean to be poor in spirit?

The parallel passage from Luke’s gospel does not include the phrase, “in spirit” (Lk. 6:20). Some people Luke’s version superficially, implying that the economically poor are inherently blessed—simply because of their lack of material goods or financial resources. This misunderstanding has led to heretical theology and a “poverty spirit” that embraces lack as a spiritual virtue. This teaching denies the generous nature of a loving Father to meet our spiritual and material needs and negates the abundance of a Kingdom in which there is always enough. This idea denies scripture and God’s promise for covenant blessing on those who obey Him.

Matthew, by including “in spirit,” reveals Jesus’s primary concern for the posture of the heart, not the size of one’s wallet. The poor in spirit are not haughty. They are not full of spiritual arrogance at their degrees or knowledge, nor do they take pride in their worldly possessions. They do not look down disdainfully at the sinner, at the poor, at the outsider. They depend on God in all things. This humble posture is the opposite of the pharisaical spirit, which is full of self-righteousness, self-satisfaction, and self-will. How often did Jesus rebuke the Jewish scribes and Pharisees, who thought they knew God but did not, and welcomed and embraced the tax collector, the harlot, the adulterous, the divorced, the broken, the sick, and the lost?

The spiritually prideful are blind to their own poverty. Jesus warns the complacent Laodicean Church to repent before it is too late: “because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see” (Rev. 3:16-18).

To be humble, to grieve over one’s own sin and that of the world, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to show mercy to others, to make peace, and to long-suffer under persecution, are all traits of one poor in spirit (Mt. 5:3-12). This is the one who follows Jesus on the road to the Cross. We will explore each of these traits in turn as we continue in the Beatitudes.

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Beatitudes: A King and a Kingdom

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
—Matthew 4:17

Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount starts out with a list of blessings. The Beatitudes, as they came to be known, summarize the ideal heart posture towards God and the way of the disciple in the world. The oft-cited blessing of reward is “the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew introduces the idea of the kingdom of heaven when he notes that Jesus had been going around telling people that it had arrived, and that they must take notice and repent.

This raises the obvious question, just what is the kingdom of heaven? According to Matthew, its arrival is “gospel,” i.e., good news. He reports, “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.” Here we catch a glimpse of what the kingdom of heaven looks like. There is no sickness, no disease, no mental illness, and no evil spirits to harass God’s people. Now God brings this kingdom to earth through Jesus, the promised Messiah (Mt. 4:23-24).

Matthew says that Jesus “went up on the mountain” and sat down to teach His disciples. This image simultaneously evokes the prophet Moses, going up Mt. Sinai to encounter the Lord and receive the Law, and a king who, upon entering his court, sits on his throne of authority to judge and rule the people. Jesus asserts his superiority in inheriting both the prophetic mantle, declaring “something greater than [the prophet] Jonah is here,” and of kingship, declaring “something greater than [King] Solomon is here” (Mt. 12:41-42). Finally, we come to understand that Jesus is the great eternal High Priest whose authority stands above the Jewish high priest representing God to the people (Heb. 4:14). In Christ, the roles of priest, prophet, and king are united as one.

Jesus is the King of Kings (Rev. 19:16), and His kingdom is “heavenly,” meaning permanently fixed, eternal, of a spiritual nature, not of this world, incorruptible, and free from sin, suffering, and death. The role of the Body of Christ is to manifest this heavenly kingdom on earth by the power of the Holy Spirit. The coming of the kingdom happens slowly, as we are engaged in spiritual conflict and resisted on all fronts, then suddenly. For one day He will return to fully and finally vanquish evil and establish His dominion on earth. “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).

We work to bring God’s kingdom to earth, which for the moment remains in the clutches of evil. We can live courageously because we know that our lives are not in this world, but in the kingdom of heaven. Whatever befalls us here, whether suffering, persecution, trials or tears, there is a reward in heaven, and our rejoicing will be great. And in the day when He comes to claim His rightful throne, we will march with Him, sharing in the spoils of His victory.

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Like a Thief in the Night

“But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.”
—Matthew 24:43

Jesus is speaking of His glorious return at the end of the age, when He finally comes to establish His messianic kingdom on earth. This anticipated moment is continuously affirmed in the words of the Nicene Creed: “He will come again to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.” In the meantime, creation longingly awaits the hour with groanings of anticipation (Rom. 8:22). It is no surprise that the world neither understands nor welcomes this day, but it is a shameful tragedy that many believers don’t either.

Jesus tells us that His return will be like the thief that comes in the middle of the night, arriving at the least expected time, when the guard is down, and when the household (the Church) is sound asleep. As it was in the days of Noah, humanity will be “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.” In other words, carrying on their daily lives as if nothing unusual is about to happen.

Jesus goes so far as to say that not only will we not know the timing of His coming, but that He will come at the least likely moment, i.e., “at an hour when you do not think He will.” The angels who will accompany Him in that day as a mighty army don’t know when it will arrive. Not even Jesus Himself knows, only the Father. Nonetheless, Jesus warns His disciples to “be on the alert,” and to live like the good steward who faithfully cares for his master’s household no matter how long his absence. Yet Jesus also warns that those who neglect their stewardship will not go unpunished (Mt. 24:36-51).

A generation later, Paul must remind an increasingly complacent Church to stay awake, be vigilant, and keep sober-minded, for “the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While [people] are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly …” (I Th. 5:2-6).

Whether or not Jesus returns in our generation is not the question. Whether He comes to us, or we go to Him, each of us will meet the Lord face to face. Many will be caught by surprise and unprepared. We will render account for how we stewarded our lives here on earth. Let us live so as to not be ashamed at His coming and our appearing before Him in that hour (I Jn. 2:28).

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Proclaiming the Gospel

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
—Mark 16:15

Jesus commanded His disciples to proclaim the gospel to everyone everywhere. This is often too narrowly interpreted. We assume it means only what is done by someone ministering from the pulpit or platform. Yes, it does mean to convey the message of the gospel in this way, i.e., to tell the story of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, and why it matters, but it is so much more. The gospel isn’t merely practical wisdom for daily life. The gospel is not just principles for success.

The gospel of Christ crucified is the power of God to save and deliver from sin, evil, and death. The preaching of the gospel demands repentance from sin and new birth through baptism. And Jesus makes clear that the gospel has miracles attendant. “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mk. 16:16-17).

Paul, one of the most learned and knowledgeable religious scholars of his time, rejects his erudition, his rhetoric, his logic, and his powers of persuasion. Paul writes, “my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” Paul knew that it is the manifest power of God, publicly demonstrated through miracles, signs and wonders, including deliverance from demons, healing of broken bodies and minds, that the gospel must be proclaimed. People can argue with logic, but they cannot in good faith deny miracle-working power. Paul knew that for this power to operate, Jesus must be the center of the message, the cross lifted high as the only hope for salvation. “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (I Cor. 2:1-5).

The gospel is proclaimed by bringing the kingdom of God into all situations and circumstances of life. This means more than just the preaching of the word. The gospel is proclaimed by praying doctors and nurses who demonstrate the true compassion of Jesus to their patients. The gospel is proclaimed by teachers who gather the little ones unto them and show them the love of the Father. The gospel is proclaimed by the one who stops their busy lives and pays attention to the least of these: the poor, the broken, the aged, the ugly, the prisoner. The gospel is proclaimed by the advisor who brings godly counsel into a confused and complicated situation. The gospel is proclaimed by the leader who practices justice, mercy, and righteousness in a corrupt and wicked world.

As the oft-quoted saying goes, “Preach the gospel. If necessary, use words.”

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Reconciling Fathers and Children

“I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.”
—Malachi 4:5-6

One of the greatest ills afflicting the world is a generation of fatherless children. In the historically Christian West, the parasitic virus of atheistic post-modernism took hold of society. Fathers were deemed as unnecessary relics of a more primitive age and cast off under the guise of liberation and equality. In certain communities up to a quarter of children grow up in homes without a father present. In the expressly Marxist countries, fathers were replaced by the State. In either case, the effect of fatherlessness on both the individual and society as a whole has been devastating, as study after study has shown. Even when fathers are present, many have no understanding of what the role requires, having had no one to properly model it for them.

This is one of the reasons why so many people struggle to understand that God is our Father. They have nothing—or nothing positive—with which to associate the word. When one comes to faith, one of the first places where the Holy Spirit begins His transformational work is in identity. That is to say, to help us appreciate that we are children of a father and members of a family; that we are loved. Coming to understand that we are children of a Good Father, One who loves us and cares for us, One who can be trusted, is essential to a healthy faith in God, and to healthy relationships with or fellow man. The realization that we are not orphans, but sons and daughters of the house, transforms how we see everything around us.

Malachi describes that the prophetic voice of Elijah would come to both turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, and the hearts of children back to their fathers. It is the fathers that must turn first, just as it was the Father who first reached out to reconcile His children to Himself. The children will respond, but it is the fathers who must take the first initiative.

Whether or not you knew your own father, or had a good relationship, ask God for a revelation of who He is as a Father. Specifically, what does it mean for Him to be your father? Ask God to heal any wounds that you may have from your father or other past relationships, whether known or unknown, and to show you the Father’s heart for you. As Him to show you that you are a son or daughter, and not an orphan. If you see the Father rightly, and your identity as His child, you will be better able to love your own children—whether physical or spiritual—as He does.

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Rivers in the Desert

“I will open rivers on the bare heights
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water
And the dry land fountains of water.”
—Isaiah 41:18

The Israelites were made to wander in the barren wilderness of the Sinai desert not as a punishment, but that they might learn to trust in God to provide for them in impossible circumstances. Time and time again, when the situation looked desperate, God showed up and delivered His people. He feed them manna from heaven and quail from the skies. On at least two occasions, when they had no water, God brought forth a gushing fountain of life-giving streams in such abundance that they formed pools on the ground large enough to provide for hundreds of thousands of people and heads of livestock. “He opened the rock and water flowed out; it ran in the dry places like a river” (Ps. 105:4; cf. Ex. 17:1-7, Num. 20:2-13).

It is in the driest places of our lives where God wants to pour out the water of the Spirit. He cares for us so much that He wants to rejuvenate the dry places of our lives and turn them into a fertile field. Wherever we face barrenness, whether in relationships, finances, health, or otherwise, we must be careful not to grumble and complain and blame God, as the Israelites did, but rejoice with gratitude and thanksgiving that He has already provided hidden resources sufficient to meet all our needs. Like the Israelites, God wants to teach us that He can be trusted, and that He will provide.

While on the surface there appears nothing but dried up soil and bleached bones, below the surface lie abundant waters and treasures untold (Is. 45:3). He wants us to inquire of Him to learn what we should do to access them. He wants to reveal the keys to unlock the doors. There is water in the rock, but are we to strike it or speak to it? Praise and worship amidst difficulty and lack serves to usher us into the Presence, where the solution always lies.

As with the Israelites, who were literally standing on a massive underground aquifer, unbelief and bitterness over our circumstances is enough to blind us to the hidden streams prepared for us. Never say that you don’t have enough. Even the poor have abundant resources available to them waiting to be unlocked (Prov. 13:23). One small boy with a five loaves and two fishes fed 5,000 (Jn. 6:1-14).

The Israelites were provided with the water they craved. Yet they would thirst again. Now God promises us something better: living water. Drink of it and you will never thirst again, but rather it will become in you a forever flowing “well of water springing up to eternal life” (Jn. 4:13-14).

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The Waters of Meribah

They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah,
So that it went hard with Moses on their account;
Because they were rebellious against His Spirit,
He spoke rashly with his lips.
—Psalms 106:32-33

The Israelites, encamped in the barren wilderness of Zin, had no water to drink, neither for themselves nor for their livestock. They grumbled against God and against His servant Moses. Moses and his brother Aaron did what they always did in times of trouble. They went into the presence of the Lord. Consistent with His promise, God met them there. “Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them; and the Lord spoke to Moses…”
God instructed Moses to do three things: take the rod (i.e., the scepter of authority God had given him to perform miracles), assemble the congregation, and, most importantly for our purposes, “speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water.” Moses, annoyed by the grumbling of the Israelites, speaks rashly to the people: “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” Then, rather than obeying God in speaking to the rock, Moses angrily strikes it twice with his rod, “and water came forth abundantly” (Num. 20:2-13).

Like King Saul, who after successfully defeating the Amalekite army failed to obey God’s command to destroy King Agag and “all he has” (I Sam. 14), Moses partially obeyed God, but not fully. Both leaders of Israel—in moments of frustration and stress—chose to take matters into their own hands and operate out of their natural capacity rather than obey God. Both lost their leadership positions as a result. Moses chose to do it his way, relying on his experience and God-given authority, rather than humbly obeying God’s command. This was a serious sin against the Lord for someone who had beheld His glory and spoken to Him face to face.

Moses and the congregation had previous experiences where God told Moses to use his rod to strike the ground. Moses struck the Nile to invoke the plagues over Egypt, and at the Rock of Horeb he struck it and water flowed out (Ex. 17:1-7). Both times were done as God commanded. But this time, God instructed Moses to do something different, and he didn’t obey. Consequently, Moses would be banned from entering the promised land with the children of Israel.

This is a warning for all of us. Just because God led us to do something one way one time, doesn’t mean that is what we should always do. We must take care to listen to and heed the word of the Lord in the moment. Aspiring leaders of organizations and people should take particular note. God holds those in charge to a higher standard. If God has given you a rod of authority, do not misuse it for your own purposes. With the anointing and mantle of leadership comes particular responsibilities. Obedience brings blessing and honor, but attempting to manipulate the anointing of the Holy Spirit for selfish ambition will bring a curse.

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The Way of the Cross

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
—Matthew 16:24

The therapeutic culture of the modern world tells you that you can have it all. You can live out your dreams for the perfect job, the perfect spouse, the perfect home, and the perfect life, and that without sacrifice. If you will just have strong enough faith in your vision for your life, you can “manifest” it into reality. The secret to success is to believe in yourself, to develop a life derived of human confidence and natural effort. God role in the process is just to help you fulfill your dreams. This is an egoistic philosophy that exalts Self above all things, and implies that you can be a self-creating god. It is comforting because it is coddling, making no strong demands on the individual to sacrifice or make changes. It keeps us at the center of our universe. It is a deception that feeds our most narcissistic appetites for self-aggrandizement.

But this is not the Gospel. It is an idolatry that quietly creeps into churches and faith teachings generation after generation. It is a heresy that waters down the truth, deceptively mixing it with lies, until it renders the individual unfit for the kingdom of God.

Jesus comes and confronts us with the opposite message. He insists that we must deny ourselves. We must lay down our own desires and ambitions, subjugating them to the will of God. He warns that the pursuit of success in this world will end in tragedy, whether sooner or later. Instead He invites us to give up our dreams and desires, and to lay down our lives and walk the road of suffering and sacrifice alongside Him. Only here, in death to Self, can true life be found. Those who will not walk this road are not His disciples. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matt. 10:38).

True life is found in relinquishing our lives in this world to follow Christ. Jesus inverts the wisdom of the world, “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it” (Mt. 10:39).

Any message that doesn’t require you to lay yourself down on the alter—to die to Self—is a counterfeit to the Gospel. Christ bids you to follow. And where is He going? His face is set towards Jerusalem and Calvary. Will you join Him even if it means rejection and suffering? Today He speaks to your heart. What will you say to Him in response?

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Turn From Folly

I will hear what God the Lord will say;
For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones;
But let them not turn back to folly.
—Psalms 85:8

The psalmist warns Israel not to return to folly, which was a reference to the nation’s own history. Israel had abandoned the Lord and—in direct disobedience of the first commandment—bowed down to the abominable idols of the pagan nations around it. This led the nation down a path of demon worship, gross sexual perversion, and eventually, human sacrifice. Folly, as portrayed in Greek mythology and medieval morality plays, is the spirit that deludes people through their own sensuality and carnal desires to take impulsive, reckless, and rash actions that lead them blindly to their own ruin.

Like in ages past, Folly is a dominant spirit in the world today. It is one of sensuality, which blinds people to wisdom and truth. It is a hedonism that focuses only on the pleasures of the day, and considers neither eternity nor the consequences of one’s actions. This intoxicating spirit doesn’t initially lead to the hatred of God, only to the forgetfulness of Him. It is therefore all the more dangerous.

The Israelites had been purified in the wilderness from the fleshpots of Egypt. They were learning the ways of the Lord God, but they had not yet matured into them. Indeed, they were still sensual, and longed for the luxuries and comforts they had left behind. So when the constraints of Moses’ authority were lifted, they quickly returned to idolatry and to orgiastic immorality (Ex. 32).

The experiences of Israel in the wilderness are to serve as warnings and instruction for us. Paul writes, “Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.” He links idolatry with immorality: “Do not be idolaters, as some of them were … Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did … Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did …” In each case Israel’s return to Folly resulted in disease, death, and destruction for the rebellious amongst God’s children and chosen nation (I Cor. 10:6-10).

The temptations of the world will come. It is impossible not to be confronted with the enticements of a world awash in sensuality. But God has equipped us to escape the traps laid by these spirits. We face nothing that is stronger than the Holy Spirit living inside of us. Paul writes, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” Nonetheless, we have our part to play, which is to extract ourselves from the sources of temptation. “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (I Cor. 10:13-14).

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Comfort To Those Who Mourn

To grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
—Isaiah 61:3

Ashes were used to acknowledge bereavement, funerals, defeats, and losses. They signified destruction, desolation, and death. The reflect the wearer’s humiliation and brokenness. A garland, on the other hand, was worn for celebrations of marriage, victories in battle, feasts and other moments of rejoicing. Made of flowers and greenery, they signaled life and renewal. This is the offer God gives us in Christ Jesus.

Jesus says of His mission from the Father, “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted.” But the promise is well more than just to provide a bandage on old wounds, a crutch on which to hobble around. No. Jesus came that he might carry our griefs and sorrows Himself. He would be “pierced through for our transgressions … and by His scourging we are healed” (Is. 53:4-5).

Jesus came to give us, in a great and unequal exchange, the best He has for the worst of what we have experienced. He takes our death and offers us life. He takes our sorrow and grants us His joy. He takes our fears and anxieties and grant us peace. He takes our weakness and imbues us with His strength. He takes our sin and gives us His righteousness. Our mourning is truly turned into rejoicing in His presence.

Do you believe that He can do this? Do you trust Him enough to give Him that which is most painful, most difficult, most humiliating? Will you give him the burned out cinders of your life, fully charred and beyond use, believing that He can and wills to rebuild from it?

Bring to Him your ashes. Bring to Him your tears. Do not hold back. Let them mix. Pour them both out at the feet of the Savior. Words are acceptable but not necessary in this moment. He knows your pain. Look into His eyes. See His compassion, and His passionate heart of love that burns like an eternal fire. Let Him embrace you and give you all that you ever really wanted, and all you will ever really need.

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Slaves no More

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn …
—Isaiah 61:1-2

When the time came for Jesus to make His public ministry debut, He quoted this well-known passage from the prophet Isaiah. These verses were clearly understood by His audience to pertain to the coming Messiah, and to His righteous reign on earth. Shockingly, Jesus declared that the fulfillment of the prophetic promise had finally arrived, in and through Himself. The audience wondered what it could possibly mean (Lk. 4:18-21).

The Messiah had come to bring good news to the hurting and broken. He would set free those who were oppressed, and liberate the captive in body, mind, or spirit. He would comfort all who mourn. He would forgive sins, He would free the demon possessed, and He would heal the sick. This was the fulfillment of the will of God, this was the heavenly Kingdom come to earth. Through the cross and through the blood, we are made whole, cleansed from our transgression, and released from our captivity to sin and death.

Yet there are those who have been freed in their persons, no longer captive to the enslaver or locked in a prison, but who remain enchained in their hearts and minds. They acknowledge that Christ died for the sins of many, but don’t truly believe they are eligible for forgiveness. They accept their physical freedom, but continue to believe that they are not worthy of it. They are still sinners lurking at the door of the house, unable to enter in due to their uncleanness. They remain in a prison of their own minds by holding on to regret over past sins and mistakes. They choose to agree with the voice of the Accuser that still whispers words of condemnation, guilt and shame.

This is an unnecessary tragedy that denies the power of the Cross. Jesus didn’t die that the captives would remain behind bars. He shed His precious blood and died a horrible death to deliver all of sinful humanity from the pit.

Recognize the voice of the Accuser who wants to put you back into chains. Stop agreeing with any word contrary to the promise of God. Discipline your mind in accordance with the word of God. His word is the last word over your life. “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (Jn. 8:36). He declares that you are forgiven. You are free. The past is gone, for He makes all things new. You are loved, and you are accepted in the Beloved. Start to act like it.

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Melting a Heart of Stone

“And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God.”
—Ezekiel 11:19-20

Before Christ came into our hearts, breathing new life into us, we were as men of stone. Yes, we were alive in the flesh, but we were dead in spirit. We walked around as zombie-like corpses, bent on our own appetites. Isolated from God, we were spiritually both blind and deaf, without comprehension of eternal matters.

God reaches down and touches us, not after we have cleaned ourselves up, but while we are still in that half-dead state. He takes the initiative, not us. We respond in our desperation and need. He melts our hearts of stone. He gives us a new heart, one that beats with His. This new heart is full of the same compassion that moved Jesus to tears when he saw the sufferings of the people. This is the heart that feels anger at injustice and tyranny, and wants to do something about it. This passionate heart feels a fire that prevents us from sitting back and doing nothing. It stands us up and gets us moving, when before we felt paralyzed by the weight of sin, sorrow, and disappointments. This heart inflames us with love and a longing for Jesus that could not have been felt before.

Singleness of heart implies integrity and purity of desire. It means to will one thing above all else. This is not possible without the work of the Holy Spirit within us. But if not cared for, a heart of flesh can become weary and tired. Without fresh anointing from the Holy Spirit, the heart can begin to grow hard again.

Fortunately, there is an easy preventative. Jude writes, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God …” (Jude 1:20-21). Paul expands, “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil” (I Thess. 5:16-22).

Learning to pray constantly, as if breathing. This means, in part, to remain consciously aware of God’s presence at all times. Choose to rejoice in all circumstances, whether good or bad, with expressions of gratitude and thanksgiving, and watch how your heart softens once again. Listen for the voice of the Lord speaking through others and to your own spirit. And stay away from anything or anyone that robs you of a clean heart before the Lord.

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A Refuge and a Fortress

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
—Psalms 91:1-3

We can trust God to deliver us from evil. Whether plagues, pandemics, pestilence, war, famine, terrors of the night, or persecutions, we can stand firm knowing that we are protected and that He will deliver us. God’s protection guards us day and night from any of the weapons that the enemy tries to use against us, including the accusatory attacks of others. (Is. 54:17). Lies and allegations may come against us like arrows, but they will not penetrate the armor of God. Do not take your own revenge, but wait and watch for His deliverance.
The promise of protection from evil is unto those who abide in the presence of the Lord. For those who know Him intimately, there need be no fear, for God knows those who are His, and He will send His angels and deliver them from peril. This promise empowers us to go on the offensive, treading on lions and serpents (Ps. 91:11-14). Bullets are dodged, accidents are prevented, attacks are thwarted, and traps are laid bare.
Yet Satan tried to quote this psalm and its promises of protect to entice Jesus to sin. Taking Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple, he goaded Him to throw Himself off, both to miraculously prove He was the Son of God and also to challenge the scripture that the angels would rescue Him (Mt. 4:5-7). Jesus would not be provoked into testing God by doing something His Father had not commanded. And neither should we. The promise that He will “guard you in all your ways” applies when your ways are aligned with the will of God. This is not as hard as it sounds. It just requires listening ears and a heart yielded to the Holy Spirit.

But the promise does not extend to those who defiantly pursue their own will, their own plans, and are then surprised when they come to a disastrous dead-end. Do not be presumptuous, but learn to listen and then follow Him into the storm with courage and confidence.

There is security for the one who trusts in God. Angels are gathered round us. And the Lord Himself is our Defender, for “His faithfulness is a shield and fortress” (Ps. 91:4).

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A God to be Trusted

God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
—Numbers 23:19

In reading the literature of the ancient Greek and Roman poets and writers, nothing better characterizes the nature of the pagan gods than their capriciousness. These fickle idols could not be trusted or relied upon. Their character reflected the worst of mankind. They were always lying, deceiving, and playing tricks to gain some advantage. They frequently and fatally betrayed their human followers, whom they saw as little more than pawns for their power games. And they demanded frequent blood sacrifice (animal or human) to appease their cruel wrath. They were to be feared, not loved.

Contrast this with the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord of Hosts, the captain of heaven’s armies. He is not like mankind, and nothing like these demons masquerading as pagan gods to be slavishly served (Deut. 32:16-17; I Cor. 10:20). He builds His reputation and renown on His faithfulness, His trustworthiness, an unbreakable covenant with His people, and an eternal love for His children. God does not lie. God’s word is the first and last word. “For the word of the Lord is upright, and all His work is done in faithfulness” (Ps. 33:4). If He has said it, He will do it. All of His promises are “Yes!” and “Amen!” (II Cor. 1:20).

Moses, who saw God face to face, and knew Him better than anyone then living, declares of the Lord, “the Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He” (Deut. 32:4). God can be relied upon to do what He says He will do. He is not fickle; He does not change His mind.

David describes the nature of God’s kingdom: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; lovingkindness and truth go before You” (Ps. 89:14). God’s kingdom is built on love and truth. The kingdom of darkness is built on fear and lies. Learn to recognize which spirit—what nature—you are dealing with in every situation of life. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding” (Prov. 3:5).

God reveals Himself as our Father, our Husband, our Savior, and our Lord. He is the friend that sticks closer than a brother (Prov. 18:24). He is our inheritance, and we are His. He is faithful. He is a God worthy of our trust.

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Recognizing the Season

There is an appointed time for everything.
And there is a time for every event under heaven …
—Ecclesiastes 3:1

When one has been in a season of life for a long while, it is not always easy to recognize or accept when it is coming to an end. But just as there are natural seasons: summer and winter, springtime and harvest; so there are seasons in our spiritual lives. It is important that we recognize when they are set to change, and that we do not try to continue living in the season that is passing.

In the natural, we see and recognize signs of seasonal change. The air grows colder or warmer, the days longer or shorter. The winds blow differently. The rains fall or cease; the clouds come and the clouds go. So it is when the seasons of life begin to change. There are signs in the spirit: a growing restlessness or discontent; a lack of fruitfulness in activities or modes of life that used to produce in abundance. A door long open now closes, and a new one suddenly appears.

There are seasons of mourning and seasons of rejoicing. There are times to fast and there are times to feast. There are times to be active in community and times when God calls away, not to be lonely but to be alone with Him. There are times to be hidden away and times to be revealed and manifest to the world. There is “a time to search and a time to give up as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away” (Eccl. 3:6).

Even when the past season was painful and difficult, there is a tendency to hold onto to what has become familiar. We grow acquainted with hardship and suffering, and are hesitant to let it go. But this old familiar friend no longer belongs to us.

The same is true after a long harvest season. When the blessings seem to fall effortlessly, like fruit from the trees in autumn, we assume they will continue forever. But that is not their purpose. An overabundance is meant to provision us for the next season. We accept that winter must come, even in the spirit. Some old things must die, so that new life can be reborn in springtime. Jesus notes, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn. 12:24). Do not fear seasons of winter. Embrace and learn from them, knowing they too shall pass. Springtime will come again.

Do not cling to the past season. The time has come to move on into something better, something new, and something life-giving. Hear the promise of God: ““Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert” (Is. 43:19).

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Be Free from Shame

“Fear not, for you will not be put to shame; And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced; But you will forget the shame of your youth, And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.”
—Isaiah 54:4

Satan, known as accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10), relies on the same bag of old tricks he’s used for thousands of years. Our enemy tries desperately to keep us in bondage to shame and disgrace from our past. While our liberty in Christ means that we can throw these chains off, many believers continue to lug them around. Some even derive a small if false comfort in their humiliation, mistaking slavery for piety.

Jesus delivered us not just from our sin, not just from the accounting record of wrong, but from the burden of life-long guilt and regret. When we feel ashamed about our past—and for many, there are indeed things to be ashamed of—Jesus comes and says, “you will forget the shame of your youth.” Even our past can be redeemed in Christ.

Freedom in Christ doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to make amends. There is loss, damage, or injury that requires restitution. There are relationships that need reconciliation. Where wrong has been done, repayment should be made if possible. But beyond doing our best to restore what can be restored, we have to accept that God releases us from the guilt and shame of our past. This truth is challenged by both spiritual and natural forces.

The voice of the Accuser says, “No, that is not enough. You will never be free of your debt. You must take responsibility and bear your guilt forever.” Family members or other close relationships occasionally seem to align with this voice, using reminders of the past like a cudgel over our heads. They speak from their own hurt and brokenness, not from the heart of God. Learn to recognize this accusive voice in whatever form it comes. It is not from God. The accusatory spirit seeks to take your eyes off of Him, focus your attention on your sin, thereby forgetting both the Cross and whom He now says you are in Christ.

God does not see you in your past. He sees you perfect in Christ. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (II Cor. 5:17). You are eternally secure in Christ and free of your past. “Israel has been saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; You will not be put to shame or humiliated to all eternity (Is. 45:17).

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Jesus Reveals the Father

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
—John 14:7

The Jews of Jesus’ time considered Abraham their father (Jn. 8:39). To call the Most High their father would have been viewed as blasphemous. G-O-D was too lofty, too holy, too unapproachable. He was more to be feared than to be loved. Thus, when Jesus says, “I and the Father are one,” the Jewish leaders sought to kill Him (Jn. 10:30-31).

Jesus, however, is insistent on the point. Jesus tells his disciples, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (Jn. 14:9). His followers struggled with the idea, but eventually the apostles would come to understand that Jesus, “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:15). The author of the Book of Hebrews affirms, “He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature” (Heb. 1:3).

So then, what we see Jesus doing is a pure reflection of what the Father is doing. When Jesus collected sinners to Himself—reprobates and prostitutes and tax collectors and scoundrels of all sorts—, He was revealing the longing of the Father for His missing children. When Jesus tells the parable we call the prodigal son, He says the father “ran”—a very culturally undignified thing for an old man to do—towards his lost younger son, ready to receive him with an embrace, a kiss, a ring, a robe, and a homecoming celebration (Lk. 15:20-22). This is the truly prodigal (i.e., reckless and extravagant) expression. It is the perfect demonstration of the heart of the Father for relationship with His beloved children.

We cannot truly receive the love of the Father if we do not understand His nature. We come to know who the Father is by looking at Jesus. Many believers have misapprehensions about the Heavenly Father because they have had poor relationships or experiences with their earthly fathers. By gazing upon the wounded One, who gave His life as a sacrifice in perfect obedience to the Father, we cast off lies and misconceptions and begin to see the true image of the Father who loves us as His own. Through this process, our wounds from our early fathers are healed. The One who gave His life once and for all as a ransom for many (Heb. 9:28) did so out of the Father’s love. We can come to know this love, and to walk in it ourselves. But it is solely discernable in its true nature through Jesus. He is the only Way to the Father.

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Ask in Jesus’ Name

“In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.”
—John 16:23-24

Jesus gathered his disciples for the last time on the night He was to be arrested. In explaining what they should expect after his death, He used more direct language that the parables and figures of speech He had used before. He promised them the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Paracletos (i.e., Helper, Comforter, and Advocate) who would “guide you into all the truth,” and “disclose to you what is to come” (Jn. 16:5-15).

This was an amazing promise that the disciples barely understood, and which would only be fulfilled weeks later with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2). Jesus then makes another startling promise. Followers of Christ would have direct access to God the Father. The Father would hear their prayers made in Jesus’ name—as if it were Jesus Himself praying—and respond accordingly. Believers would receive what they ask in prayer because the Father sees them as one with His Son, loves them as His own, and wants their joy to be made full (Jn. 16:27).

The promise that God not only hears our prayers but is disposed to respond favorably is extraordinary. Its significance is hard to grasp. Many believers act as if it were too good to be true. Their practical theology is that there must be some mistake, some disclaimer or caveat in the footnotes of Jesus’ discourse. This denies the truth of the word of God.

When we are one with Jesus, we want what He wants. And what Jesus has always wanted is to do the will of the Father. He made plain His intention to lay down his kingly rights and willingly surrender His life. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (Jn. 6:38).

God’s will for us is for our good, and for our abundance in Christ. Jesus instructs that we petition the Father for “our daily bread,” i.e., our material needs, and expect that He will provide abundantly out of the resources of heaven. When we surrender our own plans, our own will, He fills us with His heart and His dreams. We can pray with confidence that He hears us. When we ask out of our selfish ambitions and worldly desires, we are not aligned with the will of God. James explains, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (Js. 4:3).

Commit to the path of surrender. Follow Jesus, whose way is the cross. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you this same love which was in Christ, and have confidence that the Father hears your prayers and responds with a mighty yes and amen.

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Once for All

By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
—Hebrews 10:10

The first time Messiah appeared, He came as a sacrificial lamb. Indeed, He was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8). His atoning death was no accident, but revealed a plan in the heart of God the Father from all eternity. Long before Adam and Eve were seduced by the serpent and transgressed against God, the Father knew what He would do to forever reconcile mankind to Himself. This was no contingency plan, no last minute audible.

The annual blood sacrifices of animals would never have been enough to permanently take away our sins. The Blood of Christ, however, was the perfect atonement, wholly acceptable to the Father to “bear the sins of many.” By this one sacrifice we have been sanctified and made holy once and for all (Heb. 9:28-29; 10:4; cf. I Peter 3:18).

Following our inevitable death, we will all stand in judgment before God. Those who acknowledge and accept the free gift of God, which is His body and blood, will stand in righteousness. They will be abundantly rewarded for what they have done in furthering the kingdom, and for blessing the “least of these” whom they met along the way.

The apostle John encourages us that we can have “confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world” (I Jn. 4:17). We are, in other words, already remade into His image. The spiritual work is complete, though we will spend the rest of our days working it out in our natural lives and resistant flesh. Consider what He has given us in Christ: “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (I Cor. 1:20). He took on the worst of humanity, and in exchange, offered us the very best of who He is.

When Jesus returns, it will not be as a lamb, but as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He will come “for salvation without reference to sin.” He will return as the conquering King of Kings to take possession of what is His. We are invited to join Him as co-inheritors of His claim. This is hard to fathom without seeing the Cross, understanding the power of the blood shed thereupon, and accepting what He gives us. Paul says, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (II Cor. 5:21). This is our new identity. Many believers refuse to accept this. They continue to see themselves as failed sinners, barely able to lift their eyes to heaven. They are powerless as a result. This is offensive to the One who gave His very life to cleanse and redeem us from our sin.

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Treasures in Heaven

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
—Matthew 6:20-21

Jesus warns us against hoarding and accumulation of material goods, i.e., the “treasures on earth,” which are fundamentally insecure and fading away (Mt. 6:19; cf. Ps. 39:6, Prov. 23:4-5).

There is nothing wrong with wealth or with having and enjoying nice things. The Word of God contains multiple promises for a life of abundance and prosperity as the reward for obedience and humility. God “richly provides all things for us to enjoy,” but scripture also repeatedly reminds us not to put our trust in riches, which are fading away, and not to jealously guard them with a closed fist (I Tim. 6:17). The blessings of God, including material wealth, are to flow through us to bless others.

The problem lies not in the goods, but in the heart. When desire turns to greed and to coveting what is not rightly ours, sin takes control. Jesus warns, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions” (Lk. 12:15).

We create idols out of our possessions, and are unwilling to let them go. At the root of all of this is fear. We do not trust that God is good, that He cares, that He will provide all of our needs, and that He will not leave us. We don’t believe that heaven is real, that this life is trivial in comparison. Greed and possessiveness reflect the orphan spirit that fears above all else abandonment, rejection, and poverty. This is a poverty of soul that doesn’t understand the love of the Father or the reality of the Kingdom of God.

The best protection against greed and possessiveness is generosity. The promise is clear. “The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered” (Prov. 11:25). The best time to practice generosity is when you don’t feel like it. When you are anxious and afraid about financial matters, give. When you don’t know how you will pay your bills and make ends meet, give sacrificially. Take your gift before the Lord, the Giver of all things, and ask Him to bless your offering. He knows and cares.

Your faith and trust in God, especially when circumstances seem to belie His word, is storing up treasures in eternity.

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