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- Written by: Don Goulding
The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the wild beasts, all the things that creep on the ground, and all people who live on the face of the earth will shake at my presence. The mountains will topple, the cliffs will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. (Ezekiel 38:20)
For a while, Dani and I lived in the California foothills, on top of 370 miles of abandoned gold mines. In the neighboring town of Alta, a thirty-two-year-old schoolteacher plunged to his death when a sinkhole opened beneath his living room. Imagine sitting in front of the TV when the world groans, then falls away.
I realize that will be my destiny too. According to Scripture, the world will fall away for every human, then we will face God. We need to prepare for that shock. It’s not a decision that can be postponed until we’re tumbling through the air.
Some rely on an insurance policy to save them when the floor drops out. Years ago they prayed to receive Christ, but nothing in their life attests to that decision. Maybe their dependance on that waiver will save them, maybe it won’t. Personally, I can’t live with that uncertainty.
Jesus taught us to pray like the lost sinner in his story. “The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!’” (Luke 18:13) The Lord assured us that, “this man went down to his home justified.”
Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. That’s a prayer to repeat every day. It’s a prayer not only to mouth, but also to live out in my attitude. The ongoing plea for mercy is the only prayer that appropriates his sufficiency into my need. It’s the only prayer that lets me sleep each night, knowing that when the big crumble hits, I’ll land in his arms.
Prayer: Gracious Father, get ready to catch this sinner.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
But David replied to the Philistine [Goliath], “You are coming against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I am coming against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel’s armies, whom you have defied! (1 Samuel 17:45)
David had no delusions of grandeur as King Saul tried to fit him out with armor. He was a boy who watched sheep. But why would he and his flock be delivered from bears and lions, and not from this overlarge man who slandered the one true Jehovah? David was merely slinging stones and trusting God like he always had.
None of us can plan to be a hero. That would only result in false acclaim from an expiring world. True greatness comes, not of commanding leadership or financial prowess, but from the strength of my dependence on Jesus. Humble faith eclipses temporal gain every time.
Like Superman, I have a kryptonite that destroys me. My nemesis is my own sin. That’s the secret darkness that ruins my story. The only remedy is exposure to beams from Jesus, the Son of God. When I clutch him to my core, forgiveness, purpose, and humble greatness radiate into me.
David’s victory did not come because of his skill, but because he trusted God. No one else in Israel’s army had the boyish faith of David. God turned that humble confidence into a giant triumph over a giant man. The kingdom economy works the same today.
Prayer: Lord Christ, living hand in hand with you makes me a superhero.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
Consider how the flowers grow; they do not work or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! (Luke 12:27)
I am not a paper-thin flower swaying at the slightest breeze. I will not bloom for a lunar cycle only to molder in decay.
People are like a vapor, their days like a shadow that disappears. (Psalms 144:4)
I am not a vapor, a mist that wafts above the field when droplets form in a chance gathering. I will not swirl off to oblivion at the first shift in weather, without name or future.
Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 41:14) (NIV)
I am not a worm writhing underground, blind to the whole of life above me. I will not temp every bird, mole, and fish to make their next meal from me.
I am not a flower, vapor, or worm. I am a child of God. I’m adopted into his holy family, an elevated, eternal being. Co-ownership of all he possesses is bequeathed to me.
Because of who my Father is, fear is not my master. Rather, it bows to me. I breathe that I might never give in to such enemies of Christ—fear, hate, lies, and death.
My Creator planned my existence before the stars were born. I am his dream incarnated.
Prayer: Father of mine, may I stand tall beside you.