God Is Closer Than You Think

A few years ago, I was rushing through a hectic morning and I was on the hunt to find my glasses. Time was ticking. An appointment was looming, and I had to get out the door. I couldn’t find them anywhere. I searched high and low and they were no where to be found. What had I done with them? Did they fall under my bed? I wonder, did my kids run off with them? There are few things more frustrating than searching and not finding.

I walked in front of the bathroom mirror, sighed and muttered a prayer. “Lord, where are they?” A split second later I looked into the mirror and I spied them. Those long-lost glasses were neatly folded and in my front shirt pocket! I chuckled. How could I be so blind?! Talk about a case of hidden in plain sight. I had worried and fretted over something that was nearer than I could have realized.

That experience took me back to the days just after the tomb burst open and Christ emerged victorious over death and the Devil. Have you ever noticed there’s an interesting theme running through the Gospels at this point? The disciples who followed Jesus, and presumably knew Him better than anyone else, could not see Him. Take a peek at these verses and you’ll see:

Luke tells us about the two disciples walking on the Emmaus Road, “15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” (Luke 24:15-16)

Remember Mary Magdalene’s case of mistaken identity at the garden tomb? “14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus . . . 15 Supposing him to be the gardener” (John 20:14-15).  

While Peter and other disciples were out fishing, Jesus showed up on the beach, “4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus” (John 21:4).   

What muddies the water even more is that Jesus told His followers on multiple occasions what they ought to be looking for—His resurrection from the dead (Matt. 20:17-19). Still, when it happened, they did not have eyes to see the obvious.

Do you find it difficult to see God in your adversity, suffering and grief? The disciples were in a maelstrom of emotions after Jesus’ death and perhaps it was impossible for them to see the Risen Christ through a veil of tears and a shattered worldview. We often see what we want to see in life. Our expectations can create a mirage. We can become blinded and distracted to the obvious. We don’t expect to see God in our disappointment, so we don’t look for Him.

Yet, in each of these instances where was God? He was right there walking with them, waiting for them to see. Don’t let adversity blind you to His proximity. God is much closer than you think. “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). -DM

Something About That Name

In one of his books, Adrian Rogers tells of a hair-raising encounter he had with a demon-possessed man. He wrote:  

           

“The setting was Hyderabad, India. I had spoken to a crowd of some 50,000 in a soccer stadium. Then an Indian evangelist preached with power and was calling men and women to Christ. There was a great moving of the Spirit, and literally thousands were confessing Christ.

I was on the platform observing and rejoicing when I became aware of a disturbance. There was a man to my left who was writhing on the ground like a snake and then convulsing in unbelievable contortions. A small crowd stood in a circle around this man, not daring to get close.

As I watched, it was evident that this was an open attack of Satan upon him. This man was being violently tormented by a demon spirit. I had no desire to get involved and honestly felt somewhat fearful. I breathed a prayer and left the platform and went to the disturbance. I knelt beside this man, put my hands on him, and prayed, ‘In the name of Jesus, I rebuke this spirit. Come out of this man and leave him.’ At that moment, he went limp and fell to the ground. I took him by the hand and lifted him up. He put his head on my shoulder and wept softly, almost like a child. I have him a hug and prayed for him.

He didn’t understand my English, nor I his Telugu, but one thing I know: the powers of darkness understood the greater authority of the name of Jesus!”[1]

Sometimes I think we forget that there is power in the name of Jesus. Not long ago, I was studying the book of Acts and I was stunned at how the early church did their work in Jesus’ name. For example, here’s just a brief list: salvation is in His name (Acts 4:12), healing is in His name (Acts 3:6), demons flee at His name (Acts 16:18), baptism is in His name (Acts 2:38; 19:5), saints suffer for His name (Acts 5:40-41) and preached boldly in His name (Act 9:27).

The early Christians were few in number, meager in finances, and they had no social position or political power. But one thing they did have was—THE NAME!

Now don’t get me wrong, Jesus is not a magic word. There is nothing special about the arrangement of the letters in His name. We can’t just say, “Jesus” and expect fire to fall from heaven. However, we can minister, pray, preach and serve in the authority that His name gives us (Matt. 28:19-20). It is Christ in us who gives us the spiritual power to serve in His name, do His will and bring Him glory. “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all Heaven and earth proclaim

Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,

But there's something about that name.

---

[1] Adrian Rogers, The Incredible Power of Kingdom Authority (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2002), 114-115.

Rags to Robes

In his book, The Cross and the Switchblade, pastor David Wilkerson writes about the incredible miracles he witnessed the Lord perform while he ministered among the street gangs of New York City during the 1950s & 60s. One of the wayward kids that Wilkerson reached out to was Nicky Cruz, who was the worst of the worst. Cruz was the leader of the brutal Mau Mau gang, a position he gained by being the most violent and feared knife-fighter on the streets.

When Wilkerson showed up and started preaching to the gangs, Cruz reacted hatefully by spitting at the preacher and telling him if he came back, he would kill him. Wilkerson replied, “You could cut me up into a thousand pieces and lay them in the street. Every piece will still love you.” Those words haunted Cruz until he showed up again at one of Wilkerson’s youth rallies.

David Wilkerson and Nicky Cruz

Upon hearing the Gospel and the love of God, Cruz amazingly gave his life to Christ. His transformation was radical. He traded his switchblade for a Bible. He got rid of his gang garb, removing the “MM” patch from his jacket that labeled his membership in the gang. Almost immediately, Cruz felt a calling to become a preacher (which he did) and attend Bible college.

Cruz talked about one particular moment soon after his conversion in which he realized that Jesus had dramatically changed him: “While walking down the street one day, a rival gang member confronted me and said, ‘Is it true you don’t carry weapons anymore?’ I told him it was true and he pulled out a ten-inch knife and went for my chest. I threw up my hands and caught the blade between my palms. I don’t know why but the other guy ran, and I stood there looking at the blood coming from my hand. I remembered how the sight of blood would make me go crazy with rage, but it didn’t that day. Words came into my mind that I’d read from my Bible—“The blood of Jesus cleanseth us from all sin.”[1]  

In Colossians 3 Paul writes about the believer’s salvation and sanctification by using the analogy of a wardrobe change. When we come to Christ, we take off the old rags of the sinful life and put on the new robes of Christ-like character. “8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self . . . 12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience . . . 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (Col. 3:8-9, 12, 14).

Nicky Cruz took off his gang clothes and put on Jesus Christ. The spiritual wardrobe that Jesus offers, changes us from the inside out. Though we come to the cross dressed in sin, we leave the cross dressed in the righteousness of Christ. As the old hymn says, “Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin and be washed in the blood of the lamb.” But this isn’t just a one-time action. We must daily shed the garments of the old life and put on the character of Christ. -DM

---

[1] David Wilkerson, The Cross and the Switchblade (New York: Jove Books, 1962), 91.

Cleft in the Rock

Before the Civil War between the States erupted, Gen. Robert McAllister was a railroad executive. When the first shots were fired, McAllister left his fortune and joined the Union Army. He quickly rose to the rank of General and led his regiment through some of the fiercest fighting the War had to offer—like the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. At Gettysburg, McAllister was wounded and carried off the field. After a four-month convalescence, McAllister returned to the front lines and when the end of the conflict came at Appomattox, he was there.

McAllister was not just a battle-hardened soldier, but he was devout man of God who loved his wife. During his time on the battlefield he wrote some nine hundred letters home describing his experiences in The War. On April 11, 1864, he wrote his wife, Ellen: “One day I was riding out to hunt a safe place to fire at a target. I rode up on a little bluff; and as I reached the summit, I heard a voice. On looking down into a stone quarry I saw two of our boys earnestly engaged in prayer. I turned away as quietly as possible, thinking how delightful it was to find such deep religious feeling in my regiment.”

Finding a quiet place, McAllister dismounted and made a crude altar to beseech the Lord. He wrote, “I bowed down by the root of a tree and thanked God for His protecting care over me and my regiment that day and asked continuance of it through the day that was about to dawn upon us.”[1]

Times of war and want have a way of driving people to their knees. The reality is that we as soldiers in the Lord’s army are in an ongoing spiritual battle no less real as the one McAllister faced. Writing about this cosmic conflict Paul said that one of our greatest weapons was prayer, “12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm . . . 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” (Eph. 6:12-13, 18)

Each one of us needs a cleft, closet, altar or foxhole to retreat to so what we might fight the battle on our knees. David penned some of his prayers while holed-up in caves (Psalm 34, 57, 142). Three times a day Daniel prayed near an open window facing towards Jerusalem with enemies eavesdropping (Dan. 6:10). The Apostles gathered in the Upper Room to pray, as they awaited the promised power of the Holy Spirit to arrive (Acts 1:13-14). Moreover, Jesus often retreated from the crowds to pray (Mark 1:35). Think of it—if Jesus, the sinless Son of God, needed prayer then how much more do we?!

Do you have a quiet place to read, pray and worship? If not, then its time you find one. I have come to realize that the height of our ministry can only rise according to the depth of our prayer lives. If we are prayerless then we will be powerless. Vance Havner wrote, “There is no work more likely to crowd out the quiet hour than the very work that draws its strength from the quiet hour.”[2] -DM

---

[1] David Jeremiah, “The Cleft of the Rock,” Turning Points, 13 June 2019, p.39.  

[2] Dennis J. Hester, The Vance Havner Quote Book (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1986), 181.

Babylon is Fallen!

During the Civil War one of the most effective spies for the Confederacy was a woman with flowing locks named Rose Greenhow. Historians point out that the information she provided the Southern generals was pivotal. For example, just before the Battle of Bull Run on July 9, 1861 she hid a message in her lovely curls. When she combed out her hair for Rebel officers, they learned that Union troops were about to march on Richmond.

As the war intensified, her house became the heart of a Southern spy network, and at the height of her activities Greenhow directed more than 50 agents. However, as the Confederacy crumbled, Greenhow resorted to a fugitive lifestyle. With Union troops hot on her heels, Ms. Greenhow devised a way to evade capture and the loss of her fortune by sewing the gold she accrued into the seams of her dress.

(Rose Greenhow)

On Oct. 1, 1864 Greenhow was aboard the British blockade-runner Condor when it was intercepted by the U.S.S. Niphon off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The Yankee ship ran Condor aground near Forth Fischer. Greenhow was carrying Confederate dispatches and $2,000 in gold. Greenhow made it into a small lifeboat, but it overturned in the rough surf. The weight of the gold sewed into her dress pulled her under, and her body washed ashore the next morning.[i]

That story reminds us that when we are possessed by our possessions, we go down with them! The tragedy of Ms. Greenhow also provides a fitting analogy to the future events described in Revelation 18. Here we read about God’s final destruction of Babylon—which will be the capital city of the Antichrist’s world empire. The Bible says that in just a few moments the decadence and debauchery of this city will be reduced to rubble.

“8 For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine,

and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her…” 10 They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.” (Rev. 18:8, 10).

In the Bible, Babylon is not just a city, but it’s also system. Babylon represents man’s rebellion against God—governmentally, economically, religiously. Man looks to material wealth as his source of security for the future. However, the Bible says that in the end-times these earthly riches will be their undoing (James 5:1-3). Ancient Babylon was judged for its humanism, paganism and materialism and so will future Babylon.

That is why we are instructed as Christians not to assimilate into this worldly system (1 John 2:15-17). The angel who showed John this future judgment said, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues” (Rev. 18:4). As Christians our hope is not in this world. We don’t look to the government to solve our problems or the Stock Market to provide our security. We don’t take our moral code from Hollywood or Social Media. Don’t sew the goods of the world into your life, or else you’ll be dragged down when it is judged.  

Like the old Spiritual says, “This world is passing away and we are just passing through.” Let’s remember this world is not our home. -DM   

---

[i] https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rose-greenhow-dies