The Blessing of Abraham

Dear God seekers,

I would like to show you what the blessing of Abraham is that God gave to him and how it relates to you as a believer in our Lord Jesus Christ.

The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Gen 12:1-3)

He took him outside and said, "Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." (Gen 15:5)

I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." (Gen 22:17-18)

Components of the Blessing
Let's look at the six components of the blessing:

1. The promise to bless Abraham

2. The promise that he will have a great name (reputation) 

3. The promise that he would become a great nation (have many descendants)

4. God will bless those who bless him

5. God will curse those who curse him
6. Abraham will be a blessing

Fulfillment of the Blessing
Here are some biblical examples of how the blessing of Abraham is fulfilled:

1. Abraham 

a) Great name: Had a great name and was considered a mighty prince among the people (Gen 23:6)

b) Many descendants: Had many descendants through Jacob and Esau/Edom his grandsons. 

c)   Became extremely wealthy (Gen 13:2)

2. Jacob 

a) Had good relationships with the Canaanites among whom he lived as a stranger

b) Became a nation called Israel that possessed the land of Canaan

c) God blessed Jacob’s unusual breeding practices

d) Laban was blessed through his association with Jacob (Gen 30:27,30)

e) Became exceedingly wealthy shortly after Rachel his wife gave birth to Joseph (Ge 30:43)

3. Joseph 

a) Joseph prospered while in Egypt (Ge 39:2)

b) The Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in everything he did (Ge 39:3)
c) Joseph found favor in the eyes of his Egyptian master Potiphar, who put him in charge of his entire household and entrusted to his care everything he owned (Ge 39:4)

d) From the time Potiphar put Joseph in charge of everything, the Lord blessed his household because of Joseph, and the blessing of the Lord was upon everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field (Ge 39:5)
e) While in prison, the warden put all the prisoners under his authority (Ge 39:21-23)

f) Became ruler of all Egypt (Ge 41:37ff)

g) Saved Egypt, Israel, and other nations from perishing during famine.

4. Judah became a tribe from which the line of David and many kings descended, included the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

5. Solomon son of David became a very wise, wealthy and great king that was sought out by other rulers like the Queen of Sheba. God promised him wisdom, riches, honor, and a long life if he continued in righteousness, and it was fulfilled. (2 Chron 9:13-29).

6. Esther became Queen of Persia (Est 2:18) and all the Jews in the Persian realm were blessed through her, because through her intervention they were not annihilated.

7. Mordecai became a high official of King Xerxes as well, and the same is true of him that all the Jewish people were blessed by him, just as King Xerxes was blessed when Mordecai reported the two, would-be assassins that intended to kill the king.

8. Daniel became ruler of the province of Babylon 

a) The head prefect over all the wise men there. 
b) He remained through the reign of 5 kings

c) Influenced those kings for the glory of God, and they were blessed through him.
d) He wielded tremendous power and influence
e) He served with great honor and distinction

9. The Lord Jesus - The blessing of Abraham is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the “Seed” of Abraham (Galatians 3:16).

10. The apostle Paul brought the gospel to the entire known Roman world of the first century (Rom 15:19), many people came to know Christ through him, many were healed, delivered from demons, and many churches were planted through him. Many people in Israel also received support from the Gentiles during the famine through the collection that Paul took up and the offering he brought to Jerusalem.

How This All Applies to Us Today
This blessing continues today in the life of every true disciple of Jesus Christ, possessing the faith of Abraham that led him to obey God, since we are descendants of Abraham, the children of promise (Gal 3:7,14, 29; 4:31).

1) The promise to bless us 

a) Blessed spiritually with justification and with every spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3)

b) Blessed in every area of our temporal and eternal lives

c) “…the land [God promised to Abraham] is the type of the better land; the nation of the spiritual nation, the temporal blessing of the eternal blessing.”

2) The promise that we will have a great name (reputation) 

3) The promise that we would have many descendants, especially spiritual ones

4) God will bless those who bless us

5) God will curse those who curse us 

a) “Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.” (Psa 34:21)

b) Also see Ps 35:1-8, 26

c) “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.” (2Th 1:6-7)

6) We will be a blessing to others whom we associate with

a) Not merely a recipient of blessing, but a medium or conduit of blessing to others.

b) Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” So this is not a “bless me” message, but one that clearly has others in mind.

Closing Words
This is the gospel that was announced to Abraham. “The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith,” (Gal 3:8-9).

This is what we were redeemed for. “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promised of the Spirit.” (Gal 3:14).

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Image courtesy of Jan van 't Hoff Dordrecht, copyright 2023 Gospel Images, www.gospelimages.com, used by permission.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, please also see the following: Being Blessable, The Blessings of Being in Christ, The Afflictions of the Righteous, God Exalts the Humble and Brings Down the Proud, and The "Never" Promises to the Righteous. Also see What's Wrong with the Prosperity Gospel? You may find the Main Directory for this blog at Home, and you may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." 

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe. 

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Seeking Him in the Wee Hours of the Night

Jesus Praying All Night

It's natural and normal for us to prioritize sleep, since our physical bodies and brains need time to rest, and when we don't get it properly, then we don't feel well. However, the passages of Scripture about people in the Bible being awake during the night seeking the Lord show us that this was a greater priority than sleep for them. Let's take a look and see.
Paul
Our first example is Paul the apostle. He described the hardships he had suffered for Christ, saying that he had served the Lord "in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger." (2 Cor 6:5, NIV).

One instance for which we have a record of one of those sleepless nights he had was when he and Silas were singing praises to God at midnight in the Philippian jail. Scripture says, "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them." (Ac 16:25, NIV). They chose to stay awake singing hymns to God rather than sleeping, and the Lord used it mightily by sending an earthquake that opened the prison doors. But Paul chose instead to use that as an opportunity to share Jesus with the jailer rather than to escape.

Another instance is when he received the vision of the man from Macedonia, which happened during the night also. "During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” (Ac 16:9, NIV). This was not a dream but a vision while he was awake during the night. Perhaps he was seeking the Lord alone while the others were sleeping.

Psalmists
The next example is the psalmists, who had many sleepless nights.

The blessed man is the one who meditates on the Word of God day and night, so he spending time with the Lord at night. "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night." (Psa 1:2)

"I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears." (Ps 6:6, NIV).

"When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches..." (Psa 63:6)

"In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness; My soul refused to be comforted...You have held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, The years of long ago. I will remember my song in the night; I will meditate with my heart, And my spirit ponders." (Psa 77:2-6)

"O LORD, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before You." (Psa 88:1)

"Awake, harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn!" (Psa 108:2). Normally the dawn awakens man, but in this case, the psalmist said he would be the one to awaken the dawn, as he got out of bed to sing and worship.

"O LORD, I remember Your name in the night, And keep Your law." (Psa 119:55)

Even after the psalmist was in bed, he would rise at midnight for a time of thanksgiving to God. "At midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You Because of Your righteous ordinances." (Psa 119:62)

"I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words. My eyes anticipate the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word."(Psa 119:147-148)

"Surely I will not enter my house, Nor lie on my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, Until I find a place for the LORD, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob."
(Psa 132:3-5)

Jesus Christ

The third example is Jesus Himself. "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." (Mar 1:35, NIV). Since he got up and went off to pray alone outdoors so early in the morning before dawn, it was probably sometime between 4:30 and 5:00 AM.

Then there was the time when He went up into the hills to pray all night while the disciples struggled at the oars, rowing against the wind all night on the lake. "After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea." (Mat 14:23-25). In this instance, He prayed from evening (anytime between 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM) until the fourth watch of the night (between 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM). So he may have prayed alone in the hills from 7:00 PM until 4:00 AM. He was not sleeping, but spending time with the Father.

That was certainly not an isolated incident. Another instance when He prayed all night was before He chose His twelve disciples. Luke wrote: "One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God." (Lk 6:12, NIV).

We can't forget the late night prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night He was betrayed. Scripture records:

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me." And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, "My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done." Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. Then He came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. "Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!" (Mat 26:36-46).

First of all, He chose to spend that night in prayer rather than sleep, so the enemy would not catch Him off guard, because He knew He would be betrayed on that night. He won the victory in prayer in the garden, and that is why He was able to endure the cross the next day. He expected the three disciples Peter, James, and John to keep watch with Him while He prayed. He was probably just as tired as they were, and perhaps even more so, since He routinely arose earlier than they did for prayer in the morning. 

How did Jesus address His disciples who were supposed to be praying with Him late at night? When He saw them sleeping, He asked, "...you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." That proves that He prayed for a full hour that night, and He was expecting His disciples to do the same with Him. He was surprised that they could not do it, and He admonished them to keep watching and praying as He had told them to do, since their flesh was weak, even though their spirits were willing.

We know the attitude that Peter had expressed earlier that evening at the last supper, when he said he would go to prison with Jesus and even die for Him. His spirit was willing, but since his flesh was weak, and since he slept rather than prayed that night, he later ended up denying the Lord three times.

First Century Saints
The fourth example is the saints in the first century. Were the saints in the first century more concerned about getting enough sleep or hearing the Word of God and breaking bread together? Scripture says:

"On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight..." (Act 20:7-8).

During this all-night church meeting, a young man fell asleep and fell from a window he was sitting in, plunging to his death three stories below. After Paul went down and raised him from the dead, he went back up and rather than send everyone home because it was late, he continued the meeting until dawn. The Bible says, "When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left." (Act 20:11). Obviously Paul was undeterred by that incident and proceeded with the all-night meeting as planned. He didn't apologize and the church didn't complain to him that they needed their sleep or that the meeting was going too long. They were hungry for God. Being together in that place breaking bread and listening to the Word of God was more important than sleep. This is foreign to the twenty-first century church, which prefers short messages and meetings.

Apparently that occasion was another one of Paul's many sleepless nights that he wrote about in his epistle to the Corinthians, as I mentioned earlier (2 Cor 6:5).

He Gives Sleep to Those He Loves
All of this talk about praying and meeting together in the middle of the night might cause you to wonder if God even cares about sleep at all. If it does, then let me assure you that God knows your need for sleep and He fulfills it. The psalmist said, "In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for He grants sleep to those he loves." (Psa 127:2). This means that people who assume too much of the burden of toiling for life's basic necessities, and fail to trust the Lord to provide, are burning the candle at both ends for nothing. They need to remember that the Lord gives sleep to those He loves.

Sleep Deficit of Christ

Did you ever wonder when Jesus found time to sleep, since He often prayed during the middle of the night or in the very early hours of the morning before daylight? Not only that but during the day He stayed very busy serving others by preaching to them, teaching them, healing them, feeding them, and casting demons out of them. When did Jesus sleep? Perhaps He got a little bit of sleep at night, and on certain occasions He caught a brief nap during the day. Did He always get enough sleep? I suppose He probably did not. I'm sure there were plenty of times when he got less than eight hours of sleep, which is that amount that most people today associate with their basic, daily requirement. In fact, it is my opinion that He probably got around five hours or less of sleep per night on average. On some occasions He may have only gotten three hours of sleep or none at all, so it's likely that He lived with an ongoing sleep deficit, and since He was fully human as well as fully God, He probably felt the physical effects of it in much the same way we do when we don't get enough sleep. 

Sleeping Through a Storm
Children are known to be sound sleepers who can sometimes sleep right through a major thunderstorm. Perhaps it's because they don't have any worries and they enjoy deep, peaceful sleep.
How do you suppose Jesus was able to sleep in the boat during the storm? Probably because he had faith in His Father in heaven to protect Him from all harm, which would explain why He asked His panicking disciples when they awakened Him, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Here is the account from Mark's gospel:

"Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, 'Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?' And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Hush, be still.' And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, 'Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?'" (Mar 4:38-40).

Luke's gospel states: "As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger." (Lk 8:23, NIV). It was as they sailed that Jesus fell asleep, because he was probably tired and entrusted Himself to the Father. Even though the boat was being swamped and they were in great danger, Jesus remained asleep, because He had peace in His heart. As He slept, His heart was as placid as the sea was after he calmed it.

Matthew's gospel says, "Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping." (Matthew 8:24, NIV). This emphasizes the fact that it was not just a typical rain, but a furious storm that suddenly came upon them, and the waves were actually washing right over the top of the boat. However, throughout all of that noisy, intensely turbulent action, Jesus was sleeping. That's one of the benefits He enjoyed of spending those long nights in prayer. Whenever He did get some sleep, He slept like a rock.

He could say with David, "I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me...In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety." (Ps 3:5; 4:8, NIV)

The Lord experienced what the Holy Spirit spoke through the mouth of Isaiah the prophet, who said, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You; because he trusts in You. Trust in Jehovah forever; for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength." (Isa 26:3-4, MKJV). May the Lord help us to keep our minds stayed upon Jehovah. As we do so, He will keep us in perfect peace, even in the midst of life's storms, because we trust in Him. That was the secret to Jesus sleeping during the storm.

Primary Source of Rest
Does our rest primarily come from sleep or from God? Scripture says it comes from God.

As David said, "Truly my soul finds rest in God...Yes, my soul, find rest in God." (Ps 62:1,5, NIV).

The Lord replied [to Moses], “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Ex 33:14, NIV). This means that it is God who gives us rest through His abiding presence with us. When you have the presence of the Lord with you, then you will experience rest as He refreshes you. For times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord (Ac 3:19b, NASB).

In this way, the Lord sustains us -- both young and old -- even when we have not gotten adequate sleep. As Isaiah said:

"He gives power to the weary; and to him with no vigor; He increases strength. Even the young shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but those who wait on Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isa 40:29-31, MKJV)

There is rest for the weary, if they will come to Jesus and trust Him. He said, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Mat 11:28-29; cf., Mk 6:30-37). May the Lord help us to understand that He alone can give us rest. The flesh, the world, and the devil will run us ragged and lead us to exhaustion. But in Christ we find true rest, which is not merely a physical rest resulting from sleep, but much more than that -- rest for our souls. Until you have found that rest in Him, you would not be able to understand how or why anyone would miss sleep to be with Him, because you might be incorrectly associating rest only with sleep. As someone said, "Sleep really is overrated."

Essentials of Getting Good Sleep
What are some essentials to getting good sleep?

The second wisest man in the world taught us how to enjoy sweet sleep when he said, "The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, By understanding He established the heavens. By His knowledge the deeps were broken up And the skies drip with dew. My son, let them not vanish from your sight; Keep sound wisdom and discretion, So they will be life to your soul And adornment to your neck. Then you will walk in your way securely And your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet." (Pro 3:19-24). So the key to sweet sleep is keeping sound wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and discretion.

Loving Sleep
Although we all need to get some sleep for our health, should we love sleep? No, we shouldn't. There are actually numerous warnings against loving sleep in the Bible.

Solomon warned, "Do not love sleep, or you will become poor; Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with food." (Pro 20:13)

And again, "How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man. (Pr 6:9-11, NIV)

Be careful not to look only to sleep as your comfort, because then what will you do if it is disrupted? Job said, "If I say, 'My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,' Then You frighten me with dreams And terrify me by visions." (Job 7:13-14)

That's why a hard working man can enjoy sweet sleep, regardless of how much he eats, while a rich man may not. Solomon said, "The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much,
but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep." (Ecc 5:12, NIV)

We must be careful not to love sleep, because it should not become a top priority in our lives above the Lord. It is possible to de-prioritize the things of God like worship, prayer, the Word, preaching, breaking of bread, and doing His will, and thus fall asleep spiritually. What good is it if you get a full night's sleep every night but lose your soul?

"For this reason it says, 'Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.' Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil." (Eph 5:14-16). This Scripture is just as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago. Many are fast asleep spiritually in these last and evil days, and are in desperate need of an awakening. Let's wake up, people!

"And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. (Rom 13:11, NIV).

Listen to what Jesus said to the Church of Sardis:

"To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: 'I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.'" (Rev 3:1-3)

Jesus says, "Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame." (Rev 16:15)

Modern Examples
In addition to all the examples I have already given of people who prayed in the wee hours of the night and morning, I'd like to cite some examples of modern day people who have done so. One person who comes to mind is John Wesley, who rose daily at four or five o’clock in the morning for private prayer.

Another one I'd like to mention is brother Yong Doo Kim, a South Korean pastor, who led his church in all night prayer meetings for a month one year in January. During that time, he and the members of the Lord's Church that he pastors began to have supernatural encounters in the spirit realm. This brought about a mighty, spiritual awakening not only in that church, but in the lives of people like me around the world who have read his series of books called Baptized by Blazing Fire, which recounts many of those supernatural encounters that his church experienced. Many people like me have also attended his all-night meetings called holy fire revival meetings that go on for three or four days at a time in locations around the world where he travels. I am a life that was changed after reading his books and attending his all-night revival meetings that he held in Liege, Belgium in 2012. That in turn impacted my whole family and brought about a spiritual awakening among us all, as well as transformed my ministry and powerfully touched the lives of many people to whom I have ministered.

If you would like to learn more about that, then I recommend reading my articles Baptized by Blazing Fire -- a Korean church's testimony and Holy Fire Baptism.

Closing Words
While it may be natural to prioritize sleep, we see plenty of examples of people in the Bible being awake during the night seeking the Lord, which teaches us that this was a greater priority than sleep for them. These people included our Lord Jesus, in whose steps we should follow, as well as Paul, who said to follow him as he followed Christ. Other examples include the psalmists and the saints in the first century church, who sometimes pulled "all-nighters" in prayer, worship, and listening to the Word.

Based on what we know from Scripture, due to the prayer life that Jesus maintained, we could safely conclude that He probably operated with a sleep deficit during His days on earth. The same could also be said of Paul and many of his fellow first-century disciples. These students were not above their Teacher, but once they had been fully trained, they became like their Teacher. As Jesus Himself said, "The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher." (Lk 6:40, NIV).

According to Scripture, the Lord gives sleep to those He loves, so we don't need to fret and toil at our occupations from the time we get up until we go to bed. We can go to bed trusting Him to provide for us. Yet even though He does give sleep to us, we should not love sleep or make it a top priority above God and His will for our lives. We should always remember that God and His glorious presence with us is our primary source of rest, not sleep. When we come to Christ and He is our focus, then He'll keep us in perfect peace and give us rest for our souls. Then we will be able to sleep peacefully through the furious storms of life. As we maintain wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and discretion, we will enjoy sweet sleep.

Finally, the time has come for us to wake up, arise from the dead, and strengthen what remains, so that Christ may shine on us. We are nearer now to Christ's soon return than when we first believed, and each day we are another day closer to it, so let's stay awake and keep our clothes, so that we will not go about shamefully exposed.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, copyright Lockman Foundation, used by permission. Other Scriptures where indicated are from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission.Image of Jesus Praying All Night may be subject to copyright, used according to the Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes. The first boat in the storm painting is Christ Asleep in His Boat, by Jules Joseph Meynier. The second boat in storm painting is Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee - 1695, by Ludolf Bakhuizen.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, please also see the following: Who Intercedes for Us, Crying Out to God Loudly, Lifting Your Face in Prayer, Lifting Hands in Prayer, Praying Heart-Prayers, Standing in the Gap, and Baptized with the Holy Spirit. You may find the Main Directory for this blog at Home, and you may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Forgetting the Past

It's natural to think back on  the past and either take pleasure in it or regret it. I want to encourage you to forget the past, regardless of whether it is something good or bad. The Lord says,

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” (Is 43:18b-19a, NIV)

As Smith Wigglesworth once said, “God’s plan for you is to forget the past in every way, because the future is so amazingly wonderful."

The apostle Paul was an excellent example of someone who put this into practice. He had achieved a faultless level of legalistic righteousness, and had superior religious credentials. Yet he said, “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ…” (Phil 3:7-8, NIV)

He could have carried those things over into his walk with Christ and boasted about them, but instead he considered them as garbage compared to knowing Christ. He considered them loss for the sake of Christ. He wasn't neutral at all about them, but radically threw out anything that could cause any pride. As Wigglesworth once said, “Whatever has happened in my life up to this moment is of no importance. What matters is what God is to me now.”

Paul put it this way: “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Php 3:13b-14, NIV). He practiced forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.

You cannot rely upon your past achievements for God or your past relationship with the Lord or how He has used you in the past. The important thing is how your relationship is with Him today.

God is doing a new thing. If you stay focused on the past, you will miss the new thing He is doing. It keeps getting better and better. He always saves the best for last, just as when He turned the water into wine. The master of the banquet said, "You have saved the best till now." (Joh 2:10b, NIV). The same is true in our lives that the Lord saves the best for last. No matter who you are, you can always say, "The best is yet to come," because if you are still on earth, heaven is yet future. The Lord has set before us the joy of being in His glorious presence for eternity. We know there is great joy set before us that lies just ahead. Indeed, the future is amazingly wonderful.

The apostle exhorted us to practice, “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2, NIV). Notice that even Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him.

Paul said, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Rom 8:!8, NIV). There is no comparison between our sufferings and the glory to be revealed in us. In fact, in his epistle to the Corinthians, he took it a step further to say, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Cor 4:17, NIV). That means that our troubles are actually helping to bring about the glory we look forward to. It also means that if you had a balance used for weighing things and on the one side you put all your troubles, while on the other side you put the glory of God to be revealed in us one day, then no matter how many troubles you pile onto the scale and no matter how big they are, they will never come close to tipping the scales. Nothing could ever outweigh the glory to be revealed. It far outweighs anything we could ever experience here on earth, whether good or bad. If we keep that in mind, it will help us put our trials into proper perspective, as well as our greatest joys and achievements. Nothing compares with the promised eternal inheritance we have in Christ.

One thing we must not forget are the sins we have committed, which we have not yet repented of or asked God to forgive us for. We must repent of these and seek forgiveness from God, as well as anyone we have offended, and make restitution as necessary. Once we have taken care of these things, then we should forget about them. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1Jn 1:9). Once you have taken your trash to the dump, leave it there. Don't go digging it up again and again.

Another thing in the past we must never forget are the Lord's mighty deeds and the wonders He has performed. These we must remember and ponder -- deeds such as His work of atonement on the cross, his death, burial, and resurrection, and the mighty acts of power He has displayed throughout history. We should remember what He did for Israel as a nation, such as His parting of the Red Sea, bringing them out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. We should remember what He has done for people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Elijah, Daniel, Shadrach, Mischach, and Abednego. We should remember what He did on the day of Pentecost, and what He did for the apostles like Peter and John in the first century. We should remember what He has done for the saints down through the ages like Martin Luther, John Huss, William Carey,  John Wesley, Adoniram Judson, Ida Scudder, Mary Slessor, Smith Wigglesworth, and Hudson Taylor. We should remember what he has done during the Welsh revival, the Asuza Street revival, the Great Awakening, and the Second Great Awakening. We should remember His might deeds that He has done for us and those we love. We should not forget that we have been cleansed of our past sins (2 Pet 1:9). Let us forget the past, but always remember the Lord's great and marvelous deeds.

Attribution notice: Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like For the Glory of God Alone, The Light and the Glory, Whatever You Do, Do All Like This, Pleasing the Lord, Success in God's Eyes, Having a Servant's Heart, Holy Living in a Perverted World, The Difference Between a Disciple and a Believer, Seeing Jesus, Loving Him, Character and Glory, Walking in the Perfect Will of God, One Thing, Our Senior Pastor, Ask for the Ancient Paths, Striving to Enter the Kingdom of God, Living a Life Worthy of the Lord, Aim for Perfection, and The Wardrobe of the Saints. I highly recommend reading Only the Holy -- Three Shocking Testimonies and Holy Fire Baptism. You may find the Main Directory for this blog at Home, and also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Amazing Grace

All throughout the Bible we see that God is gracious and compassionate. “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” (Ps 145:8, NIV). I for one am a recipient of His amazing grace! Let’s look at some examples of those who received His grace in Scripture.
Adam and Eve
Through sin they knew that they were naked, so they became afraid of God and hid themselves from Him.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" (Gen 3:7-11)

God graciously made garments for them to cover their shameful nakedness. “The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.” (Gen 3:21). These garments required the shedding of blood. Therefore, we see God's grace all the way back to the garden of Eden.

Noah
All men on earth were wicked in the days of Noah. “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The LORD said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.’"  (Gen 6:5-7)

However, Noah found grace in God’s sight. “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” (Gen 6:8-9).

He was obedient. “Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did. (Gen 6:22)

He built the ark by faith. “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” (Heb 11:7)

He was thankful and built an altar to the Lord. “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, ‘I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.’” (Gen 8:20-21)

Abraham 
He was justified by grace through faith. “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,” (Rom 4:2-5)

Lot 
Although he hesitated when he was told to flee from Sodom, the Lord spared his life and that of his daughters. The Scripture says “But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city.” (Gen 19:16)

“Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.” (Gen 19:24-25)

The Israelites
God had compassion on them and heard their groaning in Egypt, when they were in bondage as slaves.

"Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, "I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt."'" (Exo 3:16)

"So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low and worshiped." (Exo 4:31)

'I HAVE CERTAINLY SEEN THE OPPRESSION OF MY PEOPLE IN EGYPT AND HAVE HEARD THEIR GROANS, AND I HAVE COME DOWN TO RESCUE THEM; COME NOW, AND I WILL SEND YOU TO EGYPT.' (Act 7:34)

Though they worshiped idols and grumbled and complained, and many died because of it, He sent them bread from heaven and water from the rock, which was Christ.

"Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, 'THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.' Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." (1Co 10:5-11)

In the Promised Land, they went astray and worshiped idols again. They committed adultery with the false gods of the nations. Therefore, God gave them over to the hands of their enemies, sending them into Babylonian captivity for 70 years. Yet He brought them back to their land afterward and restored them. God was willing to take them back in spite of their unfaithfulness. He preserved a remnant.

Rahab the Harlot
Though she was a harlot, because she had faith and feared God, welcoming the Hebrew spies, she was spared when the Israelites destroyed Jericho (Heb 11:31).

Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go into the harlot's house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, as you have sworn to her." So the young men who were spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives and placed them outside the camp of Israel. They burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. However, Rahab the harlot and her father's household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. (Jos 6:22-25)

She became the wife of a Hebrew named Salmon. Together they had a son named Boaz who married Ruth the Moabite, whose grandson was Jesse the father of David (Mat 1:5-6).

David 
"David found favor in God's sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.” (Act 7:46)

Then David the king went in and sat before the LORD, and he said, "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far? "And yet this was insignificant in Your eyes, O Lord GOD, for You have spoken also of the house of Your servant concerning the distant future. And this is the custom of man, O Lord GOD. "Again what more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord GOD! "For the sake of Your word, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness to let Your servant know. "For this reason You are great, O Lord GOD; for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. "And what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people and to make a name for Himself, and to do a great thing for You and awesome things for Your land, before Your people whom You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, from nations and their gods? "For You have established for Yourself Your people Israel as Your own people forever, and You, O LORD, have become their God. "Now therefore, O LORD God, the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house, confirm it forever, and do as You have spoken, that Your name may be magnified forever, by saying, 'The LORD of hosts is God over Israel'; and may the house of Your servant David be established before You. "For You, O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have made a revelation to Your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house'; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to You. "Now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are truth, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant. "Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord GOD, have spoken; and with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever." (2Sa 7:18-29)

David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, "I am pregnant." (2Sa 11:4-5)

When the time of mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house and she became his wife; then she bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the LORD. (2Sa 11:27)

Nathan then said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. (2Sa 12:7)

Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. (2Sa 12:13)

Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her; and she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved him. (2Sa 12:24)

Gideon 
He is listed in the book of Hebrews as a man of faith, although he took the gold earrings he received and made them into an ephod and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

Yet Gideon said to them, "I would request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his spoil." (For they had gold earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) They said, "We will surely give them." So they spread out a garment, and every one of them threw an earring there from his spoil. The weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the neck bands that were on their camels' necks. Gideon made it into an ephod, and placed it in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household. (Jdg 8:24-27)

Barak
Although he did not go to battle without Deborah against Sisera and his army, he conquered by faith and is listed in the Hebrews hall of faith (Heb 11:32).

Samson
Although he fell into sexual immorality with a harlot in Gaza, as well as with Delilah, he walked by faith and was used mightily by God to deliver the Israelites. He too, is considered a man of faith in the book of Hebrews (Heb 11:32).

Jephthah
He was the son of a harlot (Jdg 11:1), who made a foolish vow that cost his one and only child her life, yet he conquered the enemy by faith and was another recipient of God’s amazing grace (Heb 11:32).

Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, "If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering." So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD gave them into his hand. He struck them with a very great slaughter from Aroer to the entrance of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel. When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter. (Jdg 11:30-34)

Peter the Apostle
Though he denied the Lord three times, the Lord restored him and used him mightily.

Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know the man!" And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, "Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. (Mat 26:74-75)

So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He *said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He *said to him, "Tend My lambs." He *said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He *said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He *said to him, "Shepherd My sheep." He *said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus *said to him, "Tend My sheep. "Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go." Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He *said to him, "Follow Me!" (Joh 21:15-19)

The Adulteress Caught in the Act
Although she was caught in adultery, in the very act, Jesus did not condemn her, but told her to go and sin no more.

The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they *said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?" They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more."] (Joh 8:3-11)

As the apostle Paul said, the grace of God teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness (Tit 2:12).

Woman at the Well
She was another adulteress the Lord saved wondrously. Though she had had five husbands and was living with a sixth man who was not her husband, the Lord saved her and used her to bring many to Himself.

He *said to her, "Go, call your husband and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus *said to her, "You have correctly said, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly." (Joh 4:16-18)

From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all the things that I have done." So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world." (Joh 4:39-42)

Paul the Apostle 
Although he did much harm to the saints and persecuted the church, God had mercy on him. He considered himself to have been the chief of sinners.

He said, "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (1Ti 1:15-17)

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight." But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name." But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake." So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; (Act 9:10-18)

Therefore, Paul could say of himself, "By the grace of God I am what I am." (1 Cor 15:10)

Corinthian Adulterer
Although this Christian man committed sexual immorality with his father's wife, and had to be put out of the church, he was later forgiven and restored to fellowship. The people comforted him and reaffirmed their love for him.

Paul said, “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife.” (1Co 5:1)

Later Paul wrote to the Corinthians about him saying, “Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” (2Co 2:6-11)

Jezebel the False Prophetess
Although she taught and led the Lord’s servants astray so that they committed acts of immorality and ate things sacrificed to idols, He gave her time to repent.

'But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 'I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. 'Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. 'And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. (Rev 2:20-23)

Putting it All Together
From Genesis to Revelation, we see that while God hates sin, He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. He is constantly showing amazing grace to people all over the world, and will continue to do so until the end of the age. It's no wonder He is known as the God of all grace (1Pe 5:10). Let’s remember that we are saved by grace through faith. As Paul said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph 2:8-9).

Of course, grace is not a license to sin (Rom 6:1; Jude 1:4). Anyone who is familiar with my ministry knows that I emphasize the necessity of Holy Living, Practical Righteousness, the Obedience of Faith, and Aiming for Perfection. Yet while the Lord is holy and requires of us holiness, perfection, righteousness, and truth, He also demonstrates abundant grace to the humble when we fall short. The key is to repent and confess your sin to him as David did when the prophet Nathan rebuked him. He said, "I have sinned against the LORD." If you read Psalm 51, you can see how deeply he humbled himself in repentance before God.

James wrote, “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (Jas 4:6-10)

In the words of John Newton:

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found;

Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears relieved;

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I also recommend reading Costly Grace, Drifting Away, By Grace Alone, The Lord Healed My Backsliding, The Conditional Security of the Believer, The Truth Set Me Free!, Is Obedience Optional?, The Cost of Discipleship, God Forgives and Forgets, The Love of Jesus, Aim for Perfection, Walking in the Perfect Will of God, Living a Life Worthy of the Lord, Repentance That Leads to Life, Holding Fast the Faithful Word, No Flesh Will Be Justified By Works, Separation from the World, The Straight and Narrow Path, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, Ask for the Ancient Paths, The Top Ten Things Jesus Taught, The Apostasy Parables, and Salvation with Fear and Trembling. See the Home page of this blog for more of my articles about Seeking the Lord. You can also find my complete collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Saints Alive in Jesus

Who are the saints? Traditionally, many Christians have come to think of saints as those who live exemplary lives for Christ and have been officially recognized for that by the Church after their death. In this traditional sense, these people are elevated and referred to with the title of Saint before their name. In fact, many practices are connected with this tradition, such as the veneration of relics. In one country, they have an annual parade where they carry the hand of Saint Stephen in a box.

As long as this is what the Bible teaches, we are fine. But if not, then once again, we need to follow Scripture as our sole rule of faith and not traditions of men. It was Jesus Himself who told the religious people of His day that they invalidated the word of God by their tradition, which they had handed down. (Mar 7:13). So let’s see what the Bible teaches on this. 

The Usage and Meaning of the Term "Saints"
First of all, the term “saints” is used 68 times in the Bible (Psa. 16:3; 34:9; Dan. 7:18,21,22,25,27; Mat. 27:52; Acts 9:13,32,41; 26:10; Rom. 1:7; 8:27; 12:13; 15:25,26,31; 16:2,15; 1Co. 1:2; 6:1,2; 14:33; 16:1,15; 2Co. 1:1; 8:4; 9:1,12; 13:13; Eph. 1:1,15,18; 2:19; 3:8,18; 4:12; 5:3; 6:18; Php. 1:1; 4:22; Col. 1:2,4,12,26; 1Th. 3:13; 2Th. 1:10; 1Ti. 5:10; Phm. 1:5,7; Heb. 6:10; 13:24; Jude 1:3; Rev. 5:8; 8:3,4; 11:18; 13:7,10; 14:12; 16:6; 17:6; 18:20,24; 19:8; 20:9). In the Old Testament, it is used 8 times and 60 times in the New Testament. The most frequent occurrence of it is found in Revelation (13 times), Ephesians (9 times), Romans (8 times), Daniel (6 times), 1 Corinthians (6 times), 2 Corinthians (5 times), Colossians (4 times), and Acts (4 times). The term in Greek for saint is “hagios”, meaning “sacred (physically pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially consecrated): - (most) holy (one, thing), saint.” (Strongs).

Now that we have established the fact that the term "saints" means the "holy ones", I'd like to say a word about the use of the expression "holy man". The only two people in the Bible referred to as “a holy man” were Elisha and John the Baptist (2Ki 4:9; Mk 6:20). The Lord Jesus Christ, of course, is referred to as "The Holy One", and five of those instances are in the New Testament (2Ki. 19:22; Job 6:10; Psa. 78:41; 89:18; 106:16; Pro. 9:10; 30:3; Isa. 1:4; 5:19,24; 10:20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19,23; 30:11,12,15; 31:1; 37:23; 40:25; 41:14,16,20; 43:3,14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 54:5; 55:5; 60:9,14; Jer. 50:29; 51:5; Eze. 39:7; Hos. 11:9,12; Hab. 3:3; Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34; John 6:69; 1Pe. 1:15; 1Jn. 2:20).

The singular version of the word "saint" is rarely used in the Bible, but it does exist. For example, Aaron, the brother of Moses is referred to as a saint (Psa. 106:16). Moreover, the prophet Daniel received a vision from God, in which he heard one saint speaking, and then he heard another saint reply to the first one (Dan. 8:13). Lastly the apostle Paul told the Philippians to greet "every saint" there (Php. 4:21).

The Believers In Rome Were Called Saints
Paul wrote, "To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom 1:7)

These Roman believers in Christ were called as saints while they were still alive on earth, serving the Lord. Paul was addressing as "holy ones" all who were beloved of God in that city.

This term was used not only of the Romans believers, but also the believers in Jerusalem (Act 9:13; 26:10; Rom 15:25, 26), Lydda (Act 9:32), Achaia (2Co 1:1), Ephesus (Eph 1:1; 2:19), Philippi (Phi 1:1), Corinth (1Co 1:2), and Colossae (Col 1:2).

Let’s see what other things Paul wrote to the saints.

Paul prayed for the saints regularly
One of the things we note in the Bible is that Paul prayed for the saints continually. He wrote, "For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you." (Rom 1:9-10).

And he taught that we as saints should pray for one another: "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints." (Eph 6:18)

Paul prayed for them often, because they it was necessary. Even the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints (Rom 8:27). Saints need to pray for each other constantly. This is quite different from the traditional view of saints, in which we ask the saints in heaven to pray for us.

Paul, the great apostle, considered himself the least of all saints
To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, (Eph 3:8)

Paul put himself below every other person in Christ who had been made holy, calling himself the least of the saints! This is amazing, considering he lived a selfless life of complete dedication to Christ, suffered much for the Lord, preached the gospel all over the world, and wrote thirteen of the twenty-seven New Testament Bible books that we have today.

Paul longed to impart a spiritual gift to the saints
For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine. (Rom 1:11-12)

So even though they were saints, they needed ministry. They needed to have a spiritual gift imparted to them. And Paul also knew that he would likewise benefit from his contact with them as well. This is always the way it goes. There are no big shots in the kingdom. No matter what our role, whether saints or apostles, we all benefit mutually from one another when we minister to each other.

Saints have nothing in themselves to boast about
Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
(Rom 3:27-28)

Even though the Romans were saints, they couldn’t boast about it. The reason is that it was not by their works that they were considered saints, it was because they had been justified by faith. Neither can we boast, except in the cross of Jesus Christ.

Righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." (Rom 1:17)

Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; (Rom 3:22)

These Romans were justified the same way everyone else is – by faith. This is a revelation you need to receive from the Holy Spirit. There's a lot of meaning packed into that short phrase, "the just shall live by faith." Meditate on this until you get it. To be justified means to be made righteous. We are justified not by our works but by faith in Jesus Christ. And when we’re justified, we are put in right standing with our Holy God.

The saints need to be equipped to do works of service
for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; (Eph 4:12).

The saints are not just those who have finished the race and are in heaven now. Saints are also those of us here on earth who still need to be equipped, so that we can do the works the Lord has prepared for us to do since the world was created!

Saints are all those who call on the name of Jesus who have been sanctified 
Paul wrote, "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:" (1Co 1:2)

The saints will possess the kingdom and judge the world
The heavenly being that spoke to the prophet Daniel said, "But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come." (Dan 7:18)

Paul wrote, "Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts?" (1Co 6:2)

Since the saints will one day possess the kingdom and judge the world, we should be able to settle disputes between saints without taking matters before legal courts. And there are many other implications for the lives of saints today when we consider this glorious future.

There are saints in all the churches of the saints
Paul wrote, "For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." (1Co 14:33)

Not every church is a church of the saints. Some congregations may be churches in name only and have none of Jesus' life in them. The true gospel is not preached there, and they are spiritually dead. But then there are churches of the saints! This is where you will find saints, if you want to meet one or be one, too!

Saints are supposed to live pure and holy lives
Paul said that it is proper among the saints to live pure and holy lives, and that immorality, impurity, and greed must not be named among them. He wrote, "But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;" (Eph 5:3)

How much this message is needed today in the churches of the saints! Holiness is a topic so seldom spoken about. It seems no one believes in holiness anymore. Yet we are taught by the Lord to "be holy, even as I am holy." (1 Pe 1:16). This is perhaps the most important point in this entire article. For more on this critically necessary topic, please see my articles, Holy Living in a Perverted World, Ask for the Ancient Paths, Only the Holy -- Three Shocking Testimonies, Avoid Becoming a Corrupted Christian, and Holy Fire Baptism.

Saints need their eyes opened in order to see
Paul wrote, "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints," (Eph 1:18)

Paul prayed for the saints in Ephesus that the eyes of their heart be enlightened, so they would know the riches of the glory of Jesus’ inheritance in the saints. Have your eyes been opened to this yet? If not, ask the Lord to open them.

He said, "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God." (Eph 3:14-19)

Putting it All Together
So we can see that the saints are all who have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ and sanctified, and who follow Him. This includes those who have passed on into glory already and those of us who are still here on earth. It’s not a special class or title reserved for the elite Christians. That false tradition only renders the Word of God invalid. It leads people to think they should rely on this supposed elite class of officially recognized saints to pray for them and get their messages to God’s throne. Yet no place in the Bible are we taught to pray to those saints in heaven or to ask them to pray for us. Neither does the Bible teach us to adore relics or assign special powers to them.

If you are a believer in Christ, do you normally think of yourself as a saint?
If you have been justified by faith in Christ, have you also been sanctified as well?
If you are truly a saint, how should that affect the way you speak and act?

Once we recognize that all disciples of Christ are called to be saints, then we should begin to act like it. We should pursue holiness that we may be sanctified, pray for the saints, greet the saints, do the works of service the Lord has given each of us to do, and leaders should equip the saints for these works. But none of us can boast, because it is not by our own merits that we are saints. It’s through the shed blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. My prayer with Paul is that the eyes of your heart may also be opened to see who you are in God and what He has given you. It’s glorious. 

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB

Author's Note: If you enjoyed this article, I also recommend reading Holy Living in a Perverted World, Ask for the Ancient Paths, Only the Holy -- Three Shocking Testimonies, Avoid Becoming a Corrupted Christian, Keeping Your Body Pure and Holy, and Holy Fire Baptism. You can access the Seeking the Lord Main Directory or my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.