There is a great blessing in being submissive and obedient to our all wise Father. God comforts those that will comfort others. He guides us that we may not lead others astray, but walk in the light as he is in the light. No “blind leading the blind”. He fills us that “our cup” may run over and quench the spiritual thirst of all those around us. I John 3:16 states, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” In Genesis He blesses Abraham and makes him a blessing, but how quickly we can fail as Abraham did. Joseph Parker writes, “As the minister of God, Abram is great and noble, but as the architect of his own fortune, he is cowardly, selfish and false. Abram went out at God’s bidding, cheerfully encountering all the trials of pilgrimage in unknown places, yet he cannot trust God to take care of his wife. How little are the greatest men! If we are never stronger than our weakest point, we should take heed lest in our proud sufficiency the dart strike us in the vulnerable spot.

I Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” The devil is an opportunist! Carradine writes, “Peter never dreamed at first that he was capable of denying the Lord, but under circumstances of testing in which we find involved man-fear, self-interest and self-protection, he went down. Saul, the king of Israel, had a new heart and started out humble enough, but temptations to pride and self-will soon came in sufficient number and force to show him he was not really as lowly as one would have supposed when he was found “hiding in the stuff.” David, in spite of his beautiful psalms and leaping before the ark of God, had a weak place in his character and there was most likely to fall. In due time the circumstance came which revealed the vulnerable spot. He got to know himself under the sad power of temptation.”

1 A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
our helper he, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe does seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.

2 Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,
were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing.
You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth his name, from age to age the same;
and he must win the battle.
Martin Luther

Romans 8:31, “…If God be for us, who can be against us?”

Ephesians 3:17-19 states, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye being rooted and grounded in love,” “May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;” “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” I want to draw your attention today to a statement in verse 18, “able to comprehend”.  In his commentary on Ephesians entitled “The unsearchable riches of Christ” Martin Lloyd-Jones devotes 5 chapters to this one thought, “able to comprehend”. The chapter titles are as follows: “Able to comprehend with all saints.” “Breadth, Length, Depth, Height.” “Knowing the Unknowable.” “The Innermost Circle.” “Seeking to Comprehend.”

Our capacity to understand is directly related to our faith in God’s Word. Jesus said in John 8:43, “Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word.” The Bible teaches that “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”  Some would call this blind faith. No! Faith is seeing Him Who is Invisible. Unbelief is blindness. And what are we able to know by having this faith? Verse 19 says, “…to know the love of Christ,…”. The results of knowing this is “…that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” To know the wonders of redemption is a marvelous knowledge. But to understand the motive for that redemption is to have our heart open to God. The greatest story ever told is “God loves you”. It has been stated many times that God’s greatest attribute is His love. “God is love”. Spurgeon wrote, “Consider what you owe to His immutability. Though you have changed a thousand times, He has not changed once.” His love is constant, consistent and eternal. Romans 8:28-39.

I remember, when I was a boy, going to a missionary meeting. A missionary was there from Africa, and was showing us a whole lot of curious things, and then he said, “Now, boys, I want to tell you the kind of Gospel we preach to the people of Africa. How many good boys have we here?” A lot of us thought we were good, but our mothers were there, and so not one of us dared hold up his hand. “Well,” said he, “not one good boy here; then I have the same message for you that we have for the heathen in Africa; God loves naughty boys. “My,” I thought, “he is getting all mixed up,” for you see I had heard people say, “If you are good God will love you.” But, dear friends, that is not true. God is not waiting for you to be good so He can love you; God loves sinners. “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
— H. A. Ironside

“Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made;
Were ev’ry stalk on earth a quill, And ev’ry man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,Though stretched from sky to sky.”
— Song

“The squeaky wheel gets the grease”. We use that saying or understand it to mean complain until you get what you want. Or it could mean that the irritation of the squeak demands immediate attention. But let’s choose to interpret it, not as complaining or irritating, but as needy! The wise mechanic or repairman knows how to identify and fix the troubled area for the purpose of a smooth operation, a profitable outcome and performance. Sometimes the repair or “greasing” of the machine means “down time”. Sometimes the machine can be greased while operating. The repairman knows!

Our God delights, not in our complaining or our irritation, but in our asking Him to meet our need. The Psalmist said, “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised:…” “The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.” “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice…” “He delivered me from my strong enemy,…” “…he delivered me because he delighted in me…” Psalm 18:3,4,6,17,19. “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4.

The Bible is full of promises of help from our almighty God. There is nothing too hard for Him. We can cast all our care upon Him, for He cares for us. He said in the book of Isaiah, “I will help thee…I will uphold thee.” He restores, refreshes, revives and renews. “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” Jeremiah 33:3 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all that we ask or think…” Ephesians 3:20. His grace is sufficient for you.

God promises us in His Word that He hears every word (squeak) that we pray to Him. Like a good parent, He is waiting, ready, and willing to listen to our worries, concerns, and needs. Whether we are seeking forgiveness, strength, or help, prayer provides the channel to communicate with God and receive supernatural strength and power!

Our life does not always run smoothly and without trouble. Just ask Moses, Abraham, Job, Paul or any Christian for that matter.

“The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, ‘O God, forgive me,’ or ‘Help me.'” – Billy Graham

“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.” – Abraham Lincoln

Many times God will help us with a human instrument. We help one another, we pray for one another, we are kind one to another, we encourage one another. Jesus said, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40. Let’s listen for the “squeak” and do something for Jesus.

Proverbs 29:18 states, “Where there is no vision, the people perish…”  The Old Testament Prophets were called “Seers”, because they saw something.  Jesus said, “If the blind lead the blind, they both fall into a ditch”.  He was speaking of a spiritual blindness.  The prayer of the Psalmist was, “Open our eyes that we might behold wondrous things out of thy law”.  Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God”.  The physically blind have no physical vision.  The spiritually blind have no spiritual vision.  What a tragedy to not be able to see and understand the things of God.  Personally, no vision of what God has done and is doing for us, and no vision of what we have the privilege to do and accomplish for God, is the cause of spiritual ruin and destruction.  This lack of knowing God affects the family, the church, the community, the country and ultimately the world.  I want to focus our devotional on the purpose of our local churches.  There certainly is a spiritual battle set in array against the Church.  Paul said, “A great door and effectual is opened unto me, but there are many adversaries”.  But in another text he said, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”  The Biblical local church has the right vision of God and His purpose.  It is a Lighthouse in the midst of a dark world.  The fellowship of believers is important.  Christians encourage one another when they meet together to pray, sing, learn and worship.  But there is a great work that the church must be involved in wholeheartedly.

Acts 1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”  We are to share the Gospel with our families, friends and neighbors.  “Beginning at Jerusalem!” But we should not stop there.  Our mission is the whole world.  Erwin Lutzer wrote, “Christianity spread rapidly during the first century because all Christians saw themselves as responsible for disseminating the gospel.”  The church is responsible.  You are responsible.  I am responsible.

“The only way the corporate Body of Christ will fulfill the mission Christ has given it is for individual Christians to have a vision for fulfilling that mission personally.”
David Jeremiah

“A common vision can unite people of very different temperaments.”
Tim Keller

May our church be united for the cause of Christ.  There can be no greater purpose.

“Often our influence in our communities extends to church programs, musicals, or weekly services. While those things can help present the Gospel, God desires for us to personally be influences on the world around us. Spreading the Gospel isn’t solely the church’s job; it’s the job of every Christian.”
Paul Chappell

Let others report bad news; we’ll share the good news.