The Apostle Paul knew the three aspects of the character of God—His goodness, His presence, and His power—not only intellectually but experientially since he had the experience of being taken by God to the throne room of His presence. Yes, even in the darkness of the horror of the pandemic we find ourselves in today, we are in our Lord’s presence that is with us, and in us, and around us for our good and God’s glory.
Thank God that His truth doesn’t change with the ebb and flow of our world or our culture. The Bible is clear: He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
Hebrews 11 speaks of men and women who walked with God in all the circumstances of life and experienced God’s goodness, His power, and His presence. These people that walked with God experienced His peace no matter their outcome.
They weren’t fearful of saying:
“What if, God? What if I fail?”
“I need some more information.”
“But remember how bad my past was? God can’t use me.”
On and on—the enemy fires his blank bullet, and fear overcomes us.
Times are serious, brothers and sisters. God’s call to go public with Jesus is now. The truth of God and His love for each of us is calling us—the Church—to go public with God’s truth and love.
I speak this way because of God’s grace to me and my family. You also live because His love, mercy, and goodness have followed you all the days of your life (Psalm 23:6).
My friend, Joe Gibbs, former head coach for the (former) Washington Redskins, said the following one Sunday after I gave a devotional to the team:
“Men, today in the first three quarters our ability will match theirs. But in the fourth quarter your character must come to the forefront. To win today, this game will come down to the last two minutes, and I ask you to play with total abandonment.”
Brothers and sisters, I believe we have entered the “Two-Minute Drill.” I believe our Savior and Lord is calling us anew to a total abandonment in whatever world we live in today.
My greatest joy is to be in that fight with you—the good fight, our fight as followers of Jesus Christ.
“For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” -Hebrews 12:2b, CSB
John Maisel
John's travels for ministry behind the Iron Curtain led him to found East-West Ministries International in 1993. John and his wife, Susie, live in Dallas, Texas and have a grown daughter and two grandchildren.