Withered Hand

In 2 Corinthians 12 the Apostle Paul referred to a “thorn in the flesh,” which has led to a lot of speculation over the centuries. But if we are not careful, we miss the crux of what Paul is trying to teach us, and that was God’s response to his request for God to remove the thorn."My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."  Paul’s response is, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” I Corinthians 12:9

We are not too good about boasting in our infirmities or weaknesses. We usually boast in our strengths and hide our weaknesses, or we are embarrassed by or frustrated with our infirmities. In Mark chapter three, Jesus approaches a man with a withered hand and commands him to “stretch forth his hand.” When he does, his weathered hand is healed and Jesus is glorified. It is only in stretching forth the withered part of our character, life, and ministry at Christ’s command that we can be healed and God glorified. As long as we hide our withered hand in shame, we remain handicapped and unable to reach our full potential in Christ and be used for His glory.

We all tend to operate in the areas of our strengths and abilities. However, when we do, we box ourselves into the limitation of our vision, resources and talents, and God does not receive the glory. God wants to do far beyond what we could ask or think but can only do so as we are willing to seek His will and launch out beyond the borders of our comfort zone into the area of our inability.  As Jesus glorified the Father in the earth, God in these last days is looking for a people He can empower and through whom He can be glorified.

“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption — that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord." I Corinthians 1:26-31

God is not looking for gifted, talented, educated and beautiful people, though He can use all these things for His glory. God is looking for people who, despite all their shortcomings and frailties, are willing to launch out into the deep and respond to God’s initiative, people who are willing to cast their net out again when they have already fished all night with no success. God is looking for people who are willing to be foolish in order that He may be glorified, people who despite all the odds are willing to believe God for the impossible.

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”  (2 Corinthians 4:7) The world is looking for real people, not perfect people.

May God, by His Spirit, be your strength and enabler today.

Andy Clark

Be Strong and Courageous

Joshua 1:6-9

“Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Joshua was facing an overwhelming challenge. He was to take a nation of Bedouins with their families and herds of animals to conquer a land of great walled cities, and men in armor riding in chariots. It was like the Masai warriors taking on the US Marines. The odds were totally against Israel. However, in this portion of Scripture God gives Joshua three reasons they could be strong and courageous against these odds.

The first reason was that their victory was based on God’s promises. “You shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.” “You shall!” It was a done deal, no matter what the odds were against them. Revelation 13:8 says, “Christ was slain before the foundation of the earth.” In God’s mind and time frame, redemption of man was accomplished before man was created. In God’s mind Canaan was already belonging to Israel before the first battle was fought, because God had promised it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”

The second reason for success was God’s law. God’s promises are based on God’s ways. God’s law is not bondage, but a lifestyle that leads to victory. God’s laws are an expression of himself. David said, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” (Psalms 119:97) David was in love with God, and he was in love with God’s law. Psalms 119:165 says, “Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.” God told Joshua, if you meditate on my law day and night and do all that is written in it, your way will prosper and you will have good success.

The third reason we can be strong and courageous when all odds seem to be against us is because God commanded it. Our success is not contingent on our ability, other people, or our circumstances. Out success is based on the authority of Almighty God. Hebrews 6:13-14 says, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." God’s word, God’s promises and our success are based squarely on the character and authority of God.

No matter what you are facing today, dust off God’s Word and His promises and be strong and courageous, “for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Andy Clark

The Fourth Watch

In the story of Mark 6:46-51, Jesus had sent the disciples away in a boat to the other side, and “He departed to the mountain to pray. Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.”

As we look out over the Middle East and North Africa, the hopes of the Arab Spring that began in Egypt are quickly fading and a frost is setting in with signs of a deepening winter and growing darkness over the land. With the growing darkness a new tempest is coming to blow across the waters bringing waves that will threaten to swamp the feeble boats filled with believers straining at the oars to reach the safety of the shore. Much of what has been accomplished appears to be threatened.

But we must be encouraged, for our High Priest who conquered death and rose again is seated at the right hand of the Father. Through the darkness and the tempest, He sees those who are straining at the oars and is interceding for them. As we look out over the darkness and the tempest that our brothers and sisters face, we cannot be complacent, but must come into agreement with our High Priest to intercede for those who are caught in the storm. We need to intercede for their protection and that they will not become fearful and discouraged, for at the fourth watch when there seems to be no hope, the Lord Almighty will come walking on the water, bringing peace and deliverance from the storm.

Maybe today you are facing a tempest in your life, your family, your business, job or ministry. You feel that the wind is against you. I want to encourage you that your High Priest sees you straining at the oars and He is interceding for you. When the night is the darkest and the waves seems about to swamp your boat, the Savior in whom you put your trust will come walking on the water to bring you deliverance and good cheer.

We live in trying days, but also days of great opportunity to see the glory of the Lord as we never have before. It is not time to pull back, but it is time to intercede for one another and for the persecuted church. As the Apostle Paul encouraged us in Galatians 6:9,

“Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Despite what you see or what you hear, it is harvest time!

Andy Clark

Maintaining or Obtaining

As I was reading my daily Bible reading this past week, the Spirit quickened this portion from Deuteronomy 11:10-12:

“For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.”

God is trying to help His people who have come out of four hundred years of slavery, to understand how much greater this land of promise is than the land of Egypt. All they have known is subsistence farming, where they could only plant as much as they could physically water and maintain. God is taking them into a land where they will never have to water. In this land they can plant as much land as they can conquer. This is a land of divine provision from the beginning to the end of the year.

We, too like the children of Israel, are often enslaved by our limitations. We work hard by our own might to develop and maintain our vegetable garden. The land which God has for us to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which we have come. God’s kingdom does not operate by the principles of this world. God’s challenge to Israel in Deuteronomy 11:13-14 is the same challenge he gives us today. “If you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain.”

As we celebrate Easter, we celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ to deliver us from the bondages and limitations of our past and to bring us into the fullness of what God has for us. God wants to be our provider, no matter what the need may be. Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life, and that you may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) Let us not be so preoccupied trying to water our vegetable garden that we fail to pursue, love, and serve the Lord our God with all our heart and soul. This Easter season let us purpose once again to allow Jesus to be the center of our life, family, job, and ministry. May we not be satisfied just to maintain what we have but to obtain all that He has provided for us so richly and freely to enjoy.

This Easter season may you celebrate Jesus as you never have before. Lay aside your business and your problems and celebrate Jesus for who He is. Renew your love relationship with Him who died for your sin and rose again in power for your freedom. Dust off those promises He has given you and believe Him again to do the supernatural in your life.

Andy Clark

A New Thing

God is creative by nature and so always wants to do new things in our lives. We, on the other hand are people of habit and tradition and usually don’t adapt well to change, especially if it is out of the norm. In Exodus chapter 3 God was preparing to do something radical that had never been done in the history of the world. He was preparing to deliver a people group who had been in slavery for over 400 years. They had known nothing else but slavery for generations.

I want to look at three essential things that had to happen to prepare Moses and the children of Israel for what God was about to do.

God had to get their attention. Moses is herding sheep just as he has done for years when an angel of the Lord appears to him as a flaming fire in a bush that is not being consumed. Exodus 3:3 says “Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight.” For God to do something new and extraordinary in our lives, He usually has to get our attention. We are so busy running along doing our thing in life that sometimes God has to disrupt our life in order that we will turn aside and be willing to listen to Him.

God had to identify himself according to their past experience. Now that He has Moses undivided attention, God says to Moses, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” Moses and the children of Israel knew all the stories of the call of God on Abraham, Isaac’s supernatural birth, and all the wonderful things God had done in their forefathers’ lives. This was the foundation of their belief system and the hope of their lives. Through Israel’s history, every time God got ready to do a new thing, He would have them review what He had already done. It is from the foundation of our past that God builds our future.

God had to reveal a new dimension of Himself to prepare them for the new thing He was going to do. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob now reveals himself to Moses and Israel as “I AM WHO I AM.” I AM the God of your forefathers, IAM the God of your present in Egypt, and I AM the God of your tomorrow.” This is crucial! In order to move into the new thing that God has for us, we must have a new revelation of God. Our past revelations cannot take us into the future. We live in crucial times when God wants to do extraordinary things, but we must turn aside from our daily routine and come to know this extraordinary God in a new way. We cannot continue to do things the way we have been doing them and expect different results.

“Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19

May God grant you a renewed vision of Himself and what He desires to do in and through you.

Andy Clark

An Everlasting Kingdom

Isaiah 9:6-7

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."

This is a wonderful promise! In the midst of the political turmoil and uncertainty of our day here is a kingdom in the hearts of millions of believers whose government is firmly established on the strong, unchanging, stable shoulders of the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

God is calling His people to transfer their entire focus and trust from the kingdoms of this world to the kingdom of our God and of His Christ. He is the source of everything that we need. Our economy is based firmly on His kingdom and economic principles set out in His Word. In such rapidly changing times, He is our Wonderful Counselor to whom we go and depend upon for all our advice. He is our Everlasting Father who loves us passionately and to whom we can turn in every situation and know that He is always there for us. As the Prince of Peace, peace is His nature, and as we take on His nature we can walk in constant peace no matter what our circumstances.

“The zeal of the Lord Almighty WILL accomplishes this.” We are not the ones to do it. He will finish the good work He has begun in you. He will build His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. He will establish His kingdom, and no political force or military might can stop it. He simply calls us to trust Him and to become a part of what He is doing in these last days.

Let us rejoice today that we serve the King of kings, and “of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.” May you find refuge, counsel, grace and strength in His everlasting arms.

Andy Clark

To God be The Glory

Psalms 100:4-5

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.”

The way into God’s presence is through praise and thanksgiving. No matter what you are going through, whether you are struggling or on top of your game, praise and thanksgiving cause us to refocus from ourselves and our circumstances back onto God In doing so, we preserve ourselves from discouragement or pride and allow God to move in our lives and influence those around us.

Praise and thanksgiving are the way we give honor, reverence and respect to Him who sits on the throne. It is a way of declaring our dependence and faith in God. It opens the way for God to act on our behalf and for His name to be glorified. We are so often in such a hurry that we simply rush into God’s presence with our petitions and requests and fail to honor Him in our prayers and in our lives. We are so consumed with needs and agendas that we fail to promote His Name, Word and will. Lord, not my kingdom, but your kingdom; not my will, but your will be done.

We see this so aptly illustrated in the life of Daniel. Daniel 6:10 says that after the king had signed the law stating that no one could petition any other god but him, Daniel “went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” Three times a day Daniel reminded himself who had made him great. Three times a day he thanked God and declared his dependence on God. Praise and thanksgiving to God was a lifestyle for Daniel in times of success and when his very life was being threatened.

Daniel’s lifestyle of continually praising and giving thanks to God was so apparent that it became the center of the enemys attack and also the source of Daniel’s greatest deliverance. Daniel’s lifestyle had so impacted the king that before throwing Daniel into the lions, he declared, "Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you." (Daniel 6:16) After Daniel’s deliverance the king passed a new decree in Daniel 6:26-28.

“I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”

We truly serve an awesome God! May He be glorified in and through you as you serve Him continually with praise and thanksgiving to His glorious Name.

Andy Clark