Highway of the Lord

Isaiah 19:23-25

“In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria — a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, "Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance."

As we look out over uprising in Syria, increasing tensions between Iran and Israel, and the elections taking place in Egypt, we need to be inquiring of the Lord what He is doing throughout the Middle East in this day and hour. While I do not lay claim to be an interpreter of prophecy, I do believe we have a responsibility to be aware of the signs of the times and seek God’s face as to our response to what is happening in our world.

As we look at the prophets of the Old Testament, we clearly see that God is involved in the political world, raising up and taking down nations to fulfill His purposes and plans. In Daniel chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream of a great statue representing the great empires of history. When God reveals the interpretation to Daniel, his response in Daniel 2:20-21 is,

"Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

For wisdom and might are His.

And He changes the times and the seasons;

He removes kings and raises up kings;

He gives wisdom to the wise

And knowledge to those who have understanding.”

As we look out over the turmoil in the Middle East, it is hard to imagine the fulfillment of Isaiah 19:23-25, where God is going to create an highway of blessing between these nations. But we need to remind ourselves that we serve a God of wisdom and might, the times and seasons are in His hand, and He removes government leaders and raises up government leaders. We cannot be fearful and should not be indifferent to the turmoil that surrounds us, whether it is at home or abroad.

Daniel goes on to say that our God of wisdom and might wants to give us wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of the times and what He is doing. We cannot allow the world, politicians, economists and the media interpret for us what is going on in our world today. We like Daniel, must seek the face of God for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding regarding how to pray and respond to what is going on around us.

Pray for the elections in Egypt June 17, and for Syria, Iran and Israel. Pray for the highway of the Lord between these countries.  May our God, who spoke light into the darkness, walked on water, and calmed the sea be glorified in us and in the world.

Andy Clark

Inheritance

Numbers 18:20

“Then the LORD said to Aaron: "You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.”

In Numbers we see that God gave Israel the land of Canaan as their inheritance but to the tribe of Levi, the priestly tribe, God declared, “I am your portion and your inheritance.”  While the Land of Canaan or Land of Promise was a wonderful place of divine provision, it was physical and temporal. What God promised the priests was that He would be their provision and inheritance. While they lived as Israelites in the Promised Land, the land of abundance, their provision and inheritance were not tied to the land but were from God. Their inheritance was not physical land and natural riches but an eternal inheritance that flowed for the very character and nature of God.

Jesus said, “Do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33)  We are not like the Gentiles who receive fulfillment from earthly provision, but our focus and source of life is our inheritance of Christ’s righteousness and kingdom.

I Peter 1:9 says, we are a “royal priesthood.” Revelation 1:5-6 says, “He washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father.” As priests unto God, our eternal inheritance is the righteousness of Christ. We receive this inheritance by the grace of God through the blood of Christ. yet Jesus also admonishes us to seek His righteousness. As priests of God we have to guard this righteousness that we have been given as our inheritance, for it is out of this righteousness or right standing with God that everything else flows and God is glorified.

In Luke 15:13 we see that the prodigal son squandered his inheritance. In the day and age in which we live, the temptations of this world that are paraded before us, as they were before Christ in the wilderness, cry out to us to trade some of our inheritance for the pleasures, possessions, and positions that the world offers to us. The church often walks two steps behind the world. We give a little here and a little there to be politically correct or socially acceptable. We must guard our inheritance which was bought for us by the precious blood of Christ.

In a temporal, changing world, the Lord says to you today, “I am your portion and your inheritance.”

Andy

Pleasures

Psalms 16:11

“You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Recently, in one of our staff prayer meetings was a couple who had served as missionaries for years and are now semi-retired. She has been suffering debilitating pain for the past year that has made it difficult for her to do much. As we prayed around the room for missionaries and nations, I could see the pain in her face, but when it came to her turn, I was struck by these words in her prayer; “Lord, I so enjoy your presence.”

We are so often performance-oriented that we often fail to enjoy God’s presence. In fact, when we pray our minds can become so full of what we need to do that we really can’t enjoy the pleasure of His presence. Our heavenly Father, however, is more interested in spending time with us than our performance. We are His delight!

The Psalmist reminds us that the path to life is not in what we do, our accomplishments, or what we accumulate. The path to true abundant life is found in God’s presence; that true joy and perpetual, on-going, eternal pleasure is found in Him. What gives you pleasure today? Is it a temporal pleasure that can evaporate in changing circumstances? Jesus said in John 14:6, 9, "I am the way, the truth, and the life….I am the door.” Jesus says, “I am everything that you need. Our relationship is not based on your performance but upon my character.”

King David said in Psalms 27:4,

“One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the LORD

All the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the LORD,

And to inquire in His temple.”

What is the one thing that you desire of the Lord? What causes you to get up in the morning? What is the driving passion of your life? When you face obstacles and challenges, what gives you the drive to overcome? Or, like the missionary lady, what gives you fulfillment and joy when all else is stripped away? God desires to become our life, our reson de etre (reason for being).

There is a song I learned in Kenya that I love to sing. In His presence, in His presence there is peace. In His presence, in His presence there is joy. I will linger, I will stay in His presence day by day, till His likeness shall be seen in me.

Spend time with Him and you will find that He is all you need.

Andy

Running With Purpose

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

Lately, I have become more aware that I need to work with purpose, God’s purpose. So often we become so absorbed in the multitude of things that demand our time, that we lose sight of God’s purpose. People, jobs, and circumstances put demands on us. Most of those things are good and often necessary but steal away our time from what is most important. I’m reminded of the illustration where you have sand gravel and stones to put into a jar. If you put the sand and gravel in first, you will not have room to get all the stones in. But if you put the stones in first, then pour in the gravel and sand, it will all fit.

Paul challenges us here not to run aimlessly and not to fight like a man beating the air. Sometimes we need to step back and check to see if what we are doing or thinking about getting involved in fits into our gifting and what God has called us to do. And be careful about the fights you pick. Satan often wants us to get so occupied in spiritual warfare or putting out fires, we don’t have time to do what God has called us to do.

God told Jeremiah, “ For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-14

God prospers His plans. When you are in His plans, he will prosper you and give you a hope and a future. As I shared in my devotional God is in Control, we need to ask: “What are you doing, God, and how do you want me to participate in what you are doing?”
It is interesting to note that in God’s promise to Jeremiah that “God knows the plans He has for you,” verse 12 says, “THEN you will call upon me and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” The condition of our prayers being answered is to be in God’s plan.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”

I pray today that God will help you to step back from the urgency of the moment to re-affirm what He has called and equipped you to do and realign yourself with His plans and purpose for you.

Andy Clark

Now Is the Time

John 4:35

“Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”

Of course, we understand from the context of this Scripture that Jesus is referring to the salvation of the Samaritans. He had just finished talking with the Samaritan woman, and because of her testimony the Bible says, “many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him.” The disciples who had just been in the city to buy bread failed to see the harvest because of their prejudice, religious practices, and doctrinal beliefs.

However, there is a greater principle we can also learn from this story in the life of Jesus. The disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying because they were looking at things from a natural perspective. When they looked out over the wheat fields, it was still four months until harvest. The wheat fields looked like green grass that was about two feet high. There was no head of grain ready for harvest. Yet, Jesus saw a harvest where there was no grain.

God’s perspective of things is so different from ours. Many times we are waiting for the right circumstances and time to act. We are waiting for just the right time to tell someone something. We are waiting for adequate resources before we do something. If we are not careful, we keep projecting into the future what God has spoken to us today, because we are waiting for everything to come together before we do whatever it is God is speaking to us to do. We believe God is going to do it, but the time is not quite right.

The writer of Hebrews warns us saying, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:12-13) We see here that unbelief causes hardening of the heart, which inhibits us from responding to the voice of God. As a result, like Israel we fail to enter into the promise because we are overwhelmed by our circumstances.

2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” If we only act when our circumstances are right, the enemy will make sure we never act. We live in uncertain times, but we cannot be paralyzed by uncertainty. We are told to “exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today!”

I want to encourage you today to begin to act on what the Lord is speaking to you. Take those beginning steps, speak what the Spirit prompts you to speak, and begin to do what God is asking you to do. Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day of harvest.

Andy Clark

Kingdom Conflict

Hebrews11:32-35

“And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again.”

As I read the above portion of Scripture from the chapter of faith, I see action, conflict and miracles. As I look over the mission fields I am involved with and over the world that we live in today, there is ever-increasing conflict. Over the past thirty years the kingdom of God has experienced unprecedented growth, and we are beginning to feel the backlash of the enemy. Our response to this backlash and increased opposition is critical to the future of what God is going to do. We can pull back, become politically correct or engage the enemy.

Our natural tendency of self-preservation oftentimes causes us to avoid conflict, go with the flow, and maintain silence. We can become deceived into thinking that through compromise or peaceful coexistence we can somehow preserve ourselves and draw people into the kingdom. However, as you read and meditate on the portion above, we see that true faith produces confrontation and conflict resulting in the supernatural demonstration of God’s power. It is that demonstration of power that destroys the power of the enemy, delivers us, and draws others into the kingdom.

Jesus put it this way in Matthew 11:12-13, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force.” John the Baptist came to prepare the way of the Lord. Jesus came to usher in a new kingdom. When you usher in a new kingdom, the result is kingdom conflict. The two kingdoms cannot coexist, nor can they run parallel to one another, for they are complete opposites. There is no compromise, and as the day of the Lord approaches, the clash and conflict will increase.

“The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force.” We cannot run away from conflict. It is not time to pull back. It is not time to be silent. It is time to rise up in faith and take on the enemy. When we do, God’s power will be revealed, and we will subdue kingdoms, work righteousness, obtain promises, be made strong, become valiant in battle and receive back the dead. “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Revelations 3:21)

May God grant you the wisdom, grace, and strength to stand up for truth and righteousness in an ever-darkening world.

Andy

A Commanded Blessing

1 Kings 17:8-9

“Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah, saying, "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."

Israel had been experiencing seven years of drought and famine. It must have been terrible. There was no international food supply like we have today. Elijah the prophet of God was caught in the midst of this famine that was brought on by Israel’s idolatry. Yet, God had supernatural provision for this man of God in the midst of the famine.

Notice in the above verse that Elijah’s provision came at “the word of the Lord.” Supernatural provision always comes through divine direction. To walk in God’s provision we need to have a relationship with God to hear his voice. In Matthew 17:27, when Jesus and Peter needed to pay their taxes, Jesus tells Peter to go catch a fish and the money for the tax was in the fish’s mouth. In Luke 5:5, the disciples have fished all night and have caught nothing. Jesus commands them to throw their nets on the other side. They object because they know that in the natural there is no provision there. But Peter said, “nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net," and when they did they caught so much the they had to have help to pull it in. In both these stories God provides through their means of employment, as they were fisherman, but in a supernatural way.

The second key in the story of Elijah is that God tells him, “I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” Notice command is in the past tense. God has already prepared the provision for Elijah even before he speaks to him. However, Elijah has to respond in obedience to God’s instructions, even if did not make much sense in the natural. In Psalms 133:3, God commands a blessing on those who walk in unity. Our provision comes by the authority of Almighty God. God commands provision for those who follow after Him.

We serve a creative God who has a multitude of ways to provide for us. We oftentimes miss God’s provision because we only expect provision in a certain way and, therefore, are not receptive to God’s ways. Elijah and the widow, the receiver and the giver, both participate in the miraculous provision of God. Just like the manna for Israel in the desert, they received a daily provision of oil and flour for the duration of the drought. I have learned through 35 years of ministry in missions that God’s provision comes many times from the least likely source and oftentimes right at the last minute in our point of need.

Today as you walk with God in obedience to Him, He has a commanded blessing for you. Don’t limit God to your ways, but expect God to provide in the most unexpected and creative ways that you may know it only comes from Him. Step out of your world of the natural and into God’s world where the supernatural is natural.

Andy Clark