Aug. 07, 2014–Surrounded by so great a cloud…

August 9, 2014 By

surrounded by so greatTwo summers ago, Sulojana and I and our sons were at Yankee Stadium in New York for the very first time, watching a game between the Yankees and the Orioles along with our sons. For the record, we were in Section 202, Row 14, seats 32-35.

As the first inning began, we heard an unfamiliar chant erupt from the section next to us. Not the usual “Go Yankees, Go!” that one would expect. We soon deciphered the chant and discovered that the fans were calling out “Dickerson, Dickerson”. Chris Dickerson, the center fielder that day, turned toward the chanting fans, promptly took off his cap and bowed slightly, acknowledging their cheer.

They then called out “Ichiro, Ichiro” and waited for Ichiro Suzuki, the left fielder to respond, which he did with his patented smile. They moved on to Raul Ibanez, the right fielder and then on to every one of the infielders except the pitcher and the catcher. It was quite obvious that every player relished their name being called out.

Later on, I would learn that we were witnessing a Yankee Stadium tradition. These are the famous (notorious?) Bleacher Creatures who occupy a block of seats in Section 203 and go through this “Roll Call” at every home game.

It reminded me of Hebrews 12:1 which begins with the words: “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us…”

Friends, the Lord wants us to remember that as we run towards our destiny, we are not alone.

The Father watches over us.

Jesus runs ahead of us (that is why v. 2 says that we run “fixing our eyes” on him. The Holy Spirit is within us.

And, if that wasn’t enough, we have this “cloud of witnesses”–here on earth and in heaven–cheering us on, calling out our name…

Wow! I get goosebumps just thinking about it. That is why we are able to run “with perseverance”, with that “Never Give Up” attitude. Amen?

“Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, we will never surrender to our circumstances.”

(This post first was first published as the DWOD for Oct. 16, 2012)

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

Aug. 06, 2014–To Serve, not To Be Served

August 9, 2014 By

Darren Canning“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24)

The self matters very little. What I desire, what I think I need, what I think I want to do does not matter. All that matters is God. This life that I live must be lived in absolute surrender to the will of God. Those that live for self will die to self. Those who live to promote their own agenda will die in abandonment and the grave. This longing for self is a false longing.

I will be honest with you, dear reader. There are times that I notice my self wanting to be served rather than to serve. There are times when I would rather sit at a table and have someone wrap a cloth around his or her arm and wait upon my every desire – to be treated with respect and dignity. This desire is false because it does not emanate from the heart of Christ. Christ came to serve and not to be served. He came to give his life and not to pick it up.

Even when I work hard and have success I still do not deserve to be served. Even if I have worked for 12 hours straight and feel weary and tired I do not deserve to come home and expect to be waited upon hand and foot. The heart of Christ within me must come home – pick up the towel – and wash the feet of those whom I love. In this dying to self and the desire to be served I will find my new life. Christ within me will glow and those that I love will be edified and built up rather than torn down.

When I expect something from those I love they will live in the pain of my expectation, but when I expect nothing and give, then those that I love will be free to love me in return, since there will be no expectation from me to unsettle them.

My prayer becomes: “Father in heaven, please free me from the desire to be served and radiate a servant’s heart within me. Help me to come to the place of pure desire – a place of serving you and those you bring my way. Holy Spirit, help me to die to the need to have others serve me. Help me to be a servant to the world.”

I believe if you will pray this prayer now a new anointing will come upon your life and you will be set free to serve the body of Christ in a brand new way. Try praying this prayer sincerely. It is my belief that you will be surprised by the joy it brings to your spirit.

(This post first appeared as the DWOD for Oct. 24, 2012)

Filed Under: Pastor Darren Canning

Aug. 06, 2014–To Serve, Not To Be Served

August 9, 2014 By

Darren Canning“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24)

The self matters very little. What I desire, what I think I need, what I think I want to do does not matter. All that matters is God. This life that I live must be lived in absolute surrender to the will of God. Those that live for self will die to self. Those who live to promote their own agenda will die in abandonment and the grave. This longing for self is a false longing.

I will be honest with you, dear reader. There are times that I notice my self wanting to be served rather than to serve. There are times when I would rather sit at a table and have someone wrap a cloth around his or her arm and wait upon my every desire – to be treated with respect and dignity. This desire is false because it does not emanate from the heart of Christ. Christ came to serve and not to be served. He came to give his life and not to pick it up.

Even when I work hard and have success I still do not deserve to be served. Even if I have worked for 12 hours straight and feel weary and tired I do not deserve to come home and expect to be waited upon hand and foot. The heart of Christ within me must come home – pick up the towel – and wash the feet of those whom I love. In this dying to self and the desire to be served I will find my new life. Christ within me will glow and those that I love will be edified and built up rather than torn down.

When I expect something from those I love they will live in the pain of my expectation, but when I expect nothing and give, then those that I love will be free to love me in return, since there will be no expectation from me to unsettle them.

My prayer becomes: “Father in heaven, please free me from the desire to be served and radiate a servant’s heart within me. Help me to come to the place of pure desire – a place of serving you and those you bring my way. Holy Spirit, help me to die to the need to have others serve me. Help me to be a servant to the world.”

I believe if you will pray this prayer now a new anointing will come upon your life and you will be set free to serve the body of Christ in a brand new way. Try praying this prayer sincerely. It is my belief that you will be surprised by the joy it brings to your spirit.

(This post first appeared as the DWOD for Oct. 24, 2012)

Filed Under: Pastor Darren Canning

Aug. 05, 2014–Keep Paddling Upstream

August 9, 2014 By

paddling upstream(Be blessed by this DWOD for Aug. 05, 2014 by guest contributor Kenneth Copeland)

“Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” (Psalm 141:3)

Do you really believe that you need to watch over your mouth? Most believers don’t. You can tell that just by listening to their conversations. They profess, for example, to be trusting God concerning their health. But you’re likely to hear them say something like this: “I’m just sure I’m going to get the flu. I get it every year. I’ll be sicker than a dog too, you’ll see….”

Do people like that have what they say?

Oh yes! Check with them a few weeks later and they’ll be quick to tell you that they got just as sick as they said they’d be. But, odds are, if you try to tell them there’s any connection between the words they spoke and the illness they suffered, they’ll look at you as if you were out of your mind.

Of course, if they’d dig into the Word of God and find out what it has to say about the subject, they’d realize that the words they speak have a tremendous impact on their lives. They’d see that it quite literally determines their future.

If you’re a born-again believer, you’ve already experienced the most powerful example of that. You believed with your heart and confessed with your mouth the Lord Jesus and you changed the eternal course of your life. You know firsthand just how powerful your words can be.

Yet, even so, if you’re like me, you still find that speaking faith-filled words consistently is tough to do. I’ve been at it myself for many years now and, despite all the time I’ve spent on it and all the experiences I’ve had, it’s still something I have to watch all the time.

You see, the world around you is in negative flow. Like a rushing river, it’s always pulling at you, trying to get you to flow with it. Living by faith and speaking words of faith is like trying to paddle upstream. You can do it–but it’s a great deal of work. And there’s never a time you can afford to take a vacation from it. If you relax a little bit you’ll just start drifting right back down the river.

Make the decision right now to set a watch over your lips. Determine to consistently fill your mouth with the Word of God. “Attend to my words; incline your ear unto my sayings” (Prov. 4:20). Let God’s Word be your watch and everything you say will take you a little further upstream!

(This post appeared first in “From Faith to Faith”, a daily guide to Victory. To subscribe to this daily devotional and access other great resources, please go to www.kcm.org)

Filed Under: Guest Authors