The Word For Today

God can deliver you from anything in a single day, but you have to back it up with daily discipline. If you don't practise spiritual discipline day in and day out, your deliverance will be short-lived. You'll fall back into whatever it was that God delivered you from. Anybody can set a life goal; the hard part is going after it every day. You get into shape one workout at a time. You get out of debt one pay cheque at a time. Whatever goal you're going after, take it one step at a time, one day at a time! Notice that Paul didn't just say, 'Walk not after the flesh'; he also said to walk 'according to the Spirit' (Romans 8:4 NKJV).

Deciding you're against something is half the battle. The other half is deciding you are for something. Dallas Willard once said, 'When I go to New York City, I do not have to think about not going to London or Atlanta.' That's obvious, but that's how many of us approach spiritual formation. We try to not sin by not sinning. If you're focused on what you shouldn't do - you probably won't do what you should.

Jesus said, 'I will build my church; and all the powers of hell shall not prevail against it' (Matthew 16:18 TLB). Jesus didn't say you will build the church. It's not yours; it's his. And that goes for your business, school, family, etc. It's not yours; it's his. So, the pressure is off you. And if you're focused on what God says you should do, you'll build your life well!

Much could be said about Rahab without mentioning her profession. She was a Canaanite. She provided cover for the spies of Joshua. She came to believe in the God of Abraham before she ever met the children of Abraham. She was spared in the destruction of her city. She married a contemporary of Joshua's, bore a son named Boaz, had a great-grandson named Jesse, a great-great-grandson named David and a descendant named Jesus.

Rahab's name appears on the family tree of the Son of God. Her CV needn't mention her profession. Yet in five of the eight appearances in Scripture, she's called a 'harlot'. Five! It's even attached to her name in the book of Hebrews' Hall of Faith (chapter 11). The list includes Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses - and then, all of a sudden, 'the harlot Rahab'. No asterisk, no footnote, no apology.

Rahab's history is part of her testimony. 'By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish' (Hebrews 11:31 NKJV). Think about this: Rahab's profession of faith mattered more than her profession as a harlot. Maybe your past is chequered. Maybe your peers don't share your faith. Maybe your pedigree is one of violence and your ancestry one of rebellion. If so, then Rahab is your model. We don't drop scarlet cords from our windows, but we trust in the crimson thread of Jesus' blood. We don't prepare for the coming of a Hebrew army, but we live with an eye towards the second coming of our Joshua - Jesus. And the God who redeemed and redirected Rahab will do the same for you if you surrender your life to him.

In his classic book called Prayer, Dr O. Hallesby wrote: 'Prayer and helplessness are inseparable. Only those who are helpless can truly pray...Prayer therefore consists simply in telling God day by day in what ways we feel helpless. We are moved to pray every time the Spirit of God...emphasises anew to us our helplessness, and we realise how impotent we are by nature to believe, to love, to hope, to serve, to sacrifice, to suffer, to read the Bible, to pray and to struggle against our sinful desires.'

Feeling helpless is different from feeling hopeless or worthless; acknowledging helplessness is acknowledging our total dependence on God. Jesus said, 'Without me you can do nothing' (John 15:5 NKJV). God will never give you an assignment that does not require his input, favour and enabling grace. Every action of God in your life is designed to increase, not decrease, your dependence on him. If you can do it without God, you should stop and ask yourself, 'Is this truly of God?'

The great apostle Paul wrote: 'We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us' (2 Corinthians 3:4-6 NLT). David enjoyed all the privileges of being a king, yet wrote: 'I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer' (Psalm 40:17 NKJV). So, never lose your dependence on God.

After David killed Goliath, four other men, including his nephew Jonathan, killed giants who rose up against the Israelites. 'In still another battle...there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot... When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah, David's brother, killed him' (2 Samuel 21:20-21 NIV). David had raised the bar. Witnessing the defeat of what others had deemed impossible gave them the strength to overcome their own giants.

Until 1954, no one had run a mile in under four minutes - most assumed it was virtually impossible. But on 6th May 1954, at an Oxford University track meet, Roger Bannister completed the distance in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. He had slain the giant. Two months later, Australian John Landy broke Bannister's record, proving that the four-minute mile was as much a psychological as a physical barrier. In the first half of the twentieth century, many attempted to climb Mount Everest and failed. It was the unconquerable giant for mountain climbers. On 29th May 1953, Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the summit. Since then, over a thousand climbers, ranging from age sixteen to sixty, have completed the expedition. David, Bannister and Hillary all conquered giants of their day and inspired others to match and excel in their feats.

You do yourself and others a disservice when you run from your giant. You need to stop being afraid to tackle hard tasks and remind yourself, 'If God did it before, he can do it again, and if he did it for others, he can do it for me.'

In 1985 Tim Burke saw his boyhood dream come true when the Montreal Expos baseball team took him on as a pitcher. After four years in the minor leagues, he was given a chance to play in the big leagues. And he quickly proved his worth by setting a record for the most relief appearances by any rookie pitcher.

Along the way, Tim and his wife Christine adopted four children who needed additional support - two daughters from South Korea, a son from Guatemala and another son from Vietnam. All the children were born with very serious illnesses or physical defects, and neither Tim nor Christine was prepared for the tremendous demands such a family would bring. And with the gruelling schedule of major-league baseball demands, Tim was seldom around to help. After searching his soul and deciding on his life's true priorities, Tim did something that amazed everyone - he gave up his dream career in major league baseball. When reporters asked him to explain this unbelievable decision, he simply said, 'Baseball is going to do just fine without me. But I'm the only father my children have.'

Heroes are in short supply these days. And Tim Burke is one of them. Dad, you can be another one. You will never regret a moment of the love, time and effort you invest in your children. So, be a father. (And if you don't have children, pray for fathers you know.)

The Bible likens the Christian life to a marathon. The writer of the book of Hebrews said: 'Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured' (Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV). Paul wrote to the Philippian believers: 'There is one thing I always do. Forgetting the past and straining towards what is ahead, I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me' (Philippians 3:13-14 NCV).

Chances are you aren't at the starting line, nor are you at the finishing tape. You're somewhere in the middle. When running a race, the start is always filled with such enthusiasm and energy. And the finish holds such promise as we run the final stretch and reach our goal. But the middle of the race - when we are long past the start and not sure how far away the finish might be - is what often tests us. That's why the prophet Habakkuk wrote: 'O Lord, revive your work in the midst of the years' (Habakkuk 3:2 NKJV)! It's in 'the midst' or the middle of the race that we need encouragement, that we need our second wind and that we need to refocus on the prize that awaits us.

Those who have run before us have passed the baton through the centuries, from generation to generation - without dropping it. What are you to do? Take the baton, run and keep running!