April 29, 2014–Follow Your Dream

April 30, 2014 By

(Be blessed by this DWOD for April 29, 2014 by guest contributor Gloria Copeland)

gloria-copeland11And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with you. (Exodus 3:11-12)

Have you ever had a Holy Spirit inspired dream, a dream of doing something really great for Jesus? A dream of being so prosperous, for instance, that you can finance a nationwide revival? A dream of leading thousands of people to the Lord?

At one time or another, you probably have, but perhaps you backed away from it. Maybe you thought, “Oh my, I couldn’t do that. Satan’s kept me defeated for so long I have a poor self-image.”

If so, I have some good news for you. If you’ll believe God, even a poor self-image won’t keep you from success. Look in the book of Exodus and you’ll see a man who proved that. His name was Moses.

Moses didn’t have a very good self-image. He’d made a terrible mistake early in his career. It was a mistake that drove him into the wilderness and kept him there for 40 years herding somebody else’s sheep.

He’d once dreamed of being a deliverer of God’s people, but no more. As far as he was concerned, he was finished…a failure…a flop!

But God didn’t think so. In fact, when God came to Moses in that wilderness, He didn’t ask for Moses’ credentials. He didn’t mention his shady history. He just told him to go see Pharaoh and tell him to let God’s people go.

Moses, however, was still wrestling with his poor self-image. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” he stammered.

You know what God said in response? He just said, “Certainly, I will be with you.”

You see, it didn’t matter who Moses was. What mattered was that the living God was with him. The same thing is true for you today. You don’t need a history of successes behind you to answer God’s call. You don’t need a string of spiritual credentials. All you need is the presence of the Lord.

Think about that when the devil tells you you’re a failure, when he says you’ll never be able to do what God has put in your heart to do. Put him in his place. Tell him it doesn’t matter who you are because the living God is with you.

Then dare to follow your dream!

(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

April 28, 2014–Do NOT cling to Jesus

April 30, 2014 By

Jeeva & Sulojana Woodvale March 2014Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” (John 20:17)

You know the story. Mary Magdalene is crying because, as she tells the angels in the tomb: “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

When Jesus asks her why she is weeping, she mistakes him for the gardener and says: “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

But everything changes when Jesus calls her by name: “Mary!” Instantly she recognizes Him and responds right away: “Rabboni!”

The gospel writer does not mention this, but it would appear that Mary then expressed her delight at seeing Jesus alive by hugging him or wrapping her arms around his feet or some similar gesture.

Her expression of affection, no matter what it might have been, prompts Jesus to say: “Do not cling to me…but go to my brethren and say…”

Clearly, Jesus is not opposed to receiving such a warm expression of affection from one of his dearest friends and supporters on earth (see Luke 8:2)…but, at that particular moment, something else took precedence.

Mary’s assignment was not to stay and cling to Jesus, but to go and bring the Good News of His Resurrection to others.

Dear DWOD friend, I believe that this is a “now” word for you and me who are part of the Church today. As much as we would love to simply cling to Jesus and express our affection for a prolonged period of time, He reminds us that we have a task to fulfil.

As a matter of fact, the only reason we come close to Him is so that we may go away from Him, so that we may bring others close to Him, so that they may then go away from Him and bring others close to Him…get the picture?

Let’s flashback to an earlier incident in the life of Jesus. On the Mountain of Transfiguration, Peter, James and John are granted an incredible experience. They see Jesus in all His glory, joined by Moses and Elijah…wow! What a spiritual high that must have been!

Peter is so caught up in that awesome moment that he stammers out these words: “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Mark 9:5).

But before he could finish expressing his desire to prolong the ecstatic experience, a cloud overshadows them, they hear the voice from heaven affirming that Jesus is the Father’s beloved Son and poof! No one is left but Jesus.

When we read the subsequent verses, we realize that the reason they had this incredible vision at the top of the mountain was so they could fulfil the mission that awaited them at the bottom.

There was a boy who was possessed by a deaf and dumb spirit, who needed to be set free. He would not have been delivered from his demonic oppression, had they chosen to set up shop on the mountaintop.

Yes, Jesus is so good and gracious to offer us such high moments of intimacy with Him, but He does not want us to cling to Him at the expense of neglecting those who need us to share the gospel with them.

When Mary Magdalene received this directive from Jesus, she “came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.”

Will we follow suit? Jesus is depending on you and me to act in obedience.

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam