Ps 86:1-2 Hear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you. NIV
The cries of a humble heart! This is the delight of the Lord. The book of Isaiah gives us a glimpse into the value that the Lord places on this heart of humility that reaches out to Him with devotion and trust. Isa 57:15 speaks from a place of revelation and says “this is what the high and lofty One says — he who lives forever, whose name is holy: 'I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.'” It is God’s pleasure to dwell with those who walk in humility and to refresh and revive those who carry a contrite heart. The Lord repeats this theme a few chapters later in Isa 66:2 where He declares "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” To walk in humility is to be esteemed by the Lord.
Psalms 86:1-2 is such a simple statement of humility from a heart that carries these highly esteemed qualities. “Hear me Lord, I need you!” To confess with humility before the Lord our complete need of Him is to esteem Him as our true source and hope. To ask for His hand of protection is to look to Him as our shield! These little turnings of the heart in prayer are small in content huge in implication as they reflect the condition and direction of the heart. The context of the psalmist’s cry for help and protection is based on one simple justification: “I am devoted to you. You are my God!” Oh that all men would have this same heart of complete surrender! To be devoted to something or someone is to be saved exclusively for that purpose. This psalmist is stating that his life is not his own. He has entrusted his past, present and future to the hand of the Lord and this is the foundation of his cry. He can come boldly because he has surrendered completely! When we have put our trust in the Lord we can confidently look to Him as the source of our help and our deliverance.
Friday
Psalm 85:8-9 - September4, 2009
Ps 85:8-9 "I will listen to what God the LORD will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints — but let them not return to folly. 9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land" NIV
God is speaking! Are you committed to listening? This is the central question that lies beneath the surface of this passage in Psalm 85. The psalmist has set his heart to listen to what the Lord is saying. One of the unique facets of this statement is that there is no qualification associated with this commitment. The psalmist is willing to let God speak to him about anything; are you?
As the focus of the psalmist’s attention is fixed upon the value of listening to the Lord he draws us to consider the impact of living with a listening ear: “He promises peace to His People.” This reason is reason enough to listen. So many people spend their lives without ever attaining a place of true inner peace and yet the simple and direct promise of the Lord is that for those who will listen to God’s voice the fruit of this habit will be a heart of peace. Imagine living a directed life, a protected life, where the voice of God warns of danger and guides us into blessing. This is indeed the hope of peace. When we know with assurance that the Lord whom we serve is there to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”, it is certain that the impact of this upon the heart is a deep inner peace.
With this hope also comes a warning, “let them, (God’s people) not return to their folly.” It is often the nature of people to return to old ways once the danger or threat of danger has passed. The psalmist’s cry on behalf of the Lord is for his people to diligently stay in this place of focused awareness of God and not to drift into self-centered, self-directed living. This warning to maintain a disciplined life of attentiveness to God is a call to live in the fear of the Lord. To live listening is to live in a submissive fear of the Lord. The decision to hear His voice is the decision to value His heart! This heart is rewarded by the Lord’s salvation, the Lord’s blessing. Through this progression the Lord receives glory in the earth. God wins the heart of man through wisdom and blessing. Man chooses to voluntarily embrace God’s ways and guidance. God rewards this decision with intimacy and blessing and as this man is blessed God’s name is exalted as the source of and reason for a blessed life!
God is speaking! Are you committed to listening? This is the central question that lies beneath the surface of this passage in Psalm 85. The psalmist has set his heart to listen to what the Lord is saying. One of the unique facets of this statement is that there is no qualification associated with this commitment. The psalmist is willing to let God speak to him about anything; are you?
As the focus of the psalmist’s attention is fixed upon the value of listening to the Lord he draws us to consider the impact of living with a listening ear: “He promises peace to His People.” This reason is reason enough to listen. So many people spend their lives without ever attaining a place of true inner peace and yet the simple and direct promise of the Lord is that for those who will listen to God’s voice the fruit of this habit will be a heart of peace. Imagine living a directed life, a protected life, where the voice of God warns of danger and guides us into blessing. This is indeed the hope of peace. When we know with assurance that the Lord whom we serve is there to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”, it is certain that the impact of this upon the heart is a deep inner peace.
With this hope also comes a warning, “let them, (God’s people) not return to their folly.” It is often the nature of people to return to old ways once the danger or threat of danger has passed. The psalmist’s cry on behalf of the Lord is for his people to diligently stay in this place of focused awareness of God and not to drift into self-centered, self-directed living. This warning to maintain a disciplined life of attentiveness to God is a call to live in the fear of the Lord. To live listening is to live in a submissive fear of the Lord. The decision to hear His voice is the decision to value His heart! This heart is rewarded by the Lord’s salvation, the Lord’s blessing. Through this progression the Lord receives glory in the earth. God wins the heart of man through wisdom and blessing. Man chooses to voluntarily embrace God’s ways and guidance. God rewards this decision with intimacy and blessing and as this man is blessed God’s name is exalted as the source of and reason for a blessed life!
Thursday
Psalm 84:10-11 - September 3, 2009
Ps 84:10-11 "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." NIV
Think back upon the best day of your life! Remember the good times apart from God. The pleasures that this world has to offer are real but they are dim in comparison to the pleasures of God. In Psalm 84 the psalmist contrasts the drastic difference between the joys of this earth and the joy of being in God’s presence. If you were inclined to gambling and someone offered you 1000-1 odds you would be able to be certain that the outcome was assured. Imagine the implications of this passage. Not only is it stating a willingness to lay aside the joy of 1000 days spent elsewhere to be with the Lord it also implies the loss that we suffer if we neglect one day that could have been spent elsewhere. Consider the values presented in this contrast: 1000 – 1. To miss one day with the Lord is equivalent to wasting 1000 days elsewhere if we consider it in these terms. This concept causes me to deeply consider the value of a God empowered day! What can God do with a day that we spend walking with Him that He cannot do if we spend it distracted from His leading?
It is obvious from these two verses that the psalmist knows something that we don’t! He has seen the glory. He has been in the divine presence of the living God and he has tasted of the pleasures of this life. It is impossible to truly compare two things if you have not experienced them both. So many Christians are seduced to waste their lives in pursuit of those things that this world upholds as of high value, distracted from the intimate presence of God that has extended its invitation for us to come. This is evidence of our short-sightedness. Verse eleven brings into context the values of this world through the eyes of someone who truly understands the source of all good things. The psalmist is not void of interest in the things of the world but his teaching reflects the same principle found in the words of Christ when he told us to seek first the kingdom of God and that all other things would be added unto us. The psalmist points us to God as the source of favor and honor, and the giver of all good things to those who walk uprightly. This passage points each one of us to the simple principle that everything we are searching for both in this life and the life to come is found in an intimate relationship with God. When His favor is upon us favor with man follows in due time. When our ways are pleasing to Him we find that His blessing follows us into the different areas of our lives. Some people choose to pursue the things of the world apart from God and their days end in emptiness. Others look to the Lord for their source of life and have both peace and prosperity. Choose to spend your day wisely!
Think back upon the best day of your life! Remember the good times apart from God. The pleasures that this world has to offer are real but they are dim in comparison to the pleasures of God. In Psalm 84 the psalmist contrasts the drastic difference between the joys of this earth and the joy of being in God’s presence. If you were inclined to gambling and someone offered you 1000-1 odds you would be able to be certain that the outcome was assured. Imagine the implications of this passage. Not only is it stating a willingness to lay aside the joy of 1000 days spent elsewhere to be with the Lord it also implies the loss that we suffer if we neglect one day that could have been spent elsewhere. Consider the values presented in this contrast: 1000 – 1. To miss one day with the Lord is equivalent to wasting 1000 days elsewhere if we consider it in these terms. This concept causes me to deeply consider the value of a God empowered day! What can God do with a day that we spend walking with Him that He cannot do if we spend it distracted from His leading?
It is obvious from these two verses that the psalmist knows something that we don’t! He has seen the glory. He has been in the divine presence of the living God and he has tasted of the pleasures of this life. It is impossible to truly compare two things if you have not experienced them both. So many Christians are seduced to waste their lives in pursuit of those things that this world upholds as of high value, distracted from the intimate presence of God that has extended its invitation for us to come. This is evidence of our short-sightedness. Verse eleven brings into context the values of this world through the eyes of someone who truly understands the source of all good things. The psalmist is not void of interest in the things of the world but his teaching reflects the same principle found in the words of Christ when he told us to seek first the kingdom of God and that all other things would be added unto us. The psalmist points us to God as the source of favor and honor, and the giver of all good things to those who walk uprightly. This passage points each one of us to the simple principle that everything we are searching for both in this life and the life to come is found in an intimate relationship with God. When His favor is upon us favor with man follows in due time. When our ways are pleasing to Him we find that His blessing follows us into the different areas of our lives. Some people choose to pursue the things of the world apart from God and their days end in emptiness. Others look to the Lord for their source of life and have both peace and prosperity. Choose to spend your day wisely!
Wednesday
September 2, 2009 - Psalm 84:5-7
I want to appologize for the long pause from the devotionals from the Psalms. I just returned from a mission trip to Europe and did not expect having that many difficulties getting online. I am sure you enjoyed the guest writers devotionals as well! Be blessed
Pastor Dan Lee
Ps 84:5-7 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. NIV
Have you ever considered what really makes a person happy? Psalm 84 gives us an insight into part of the human condition. The term blessed can also be translated happy. “Happy are those whose strength is in you.” There is a deep rooted joy and contentment that fills the inner most being that flows from leaning upon the Lord as our strength. I call this living with a satisfied life. Another passage in the word of God states this reality from a different angle by saying “the joy of the Lord IS my strength.” To really know the Lord and to live in relationship with Him IS the source of true joy and when we live with that deep fulfillment in our days then this joy empowers us to live strong. Personal satisfaction and emotional health are deeply interconnected and the highest level of personal satisfaction is found in intimacy with the Lord as the center
of our lives.
The second aspect of this fulfillment is found in the concept of pilgrimage. When our relationship with the Lord is the center of our joy and meaning in life it results in a detachment from the temptation to find fulfillment in the material things of this life. The psalmist enlarges on this detachment by pointing to the calling that the scriptures place on us to live as strangers and aliens in this world or like Abraham as a pilgrim searching for a city that he cannot see. The place of pilgrimage is the place of knowing that there is something better out there than we have experienced. Though in some settings pilgrimage revolves around a sacred place to the Christian true pilgrimage is centered around our journey to know God as we seek for a destination of intimacy with Him that becomes ever dearer but is constantly afar off until that day that we meet with Him in the fullness that will be available to us in the eternal realms of glory. The essence of this principle is simply stated that true joy is found in the pursuit of God! When we live seeking and reaching we are both constantly hungry for more and joyfully satisfied with the revelation of God that He imparts to us.
Pastor Dan Lee
Ps 84:5-7 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. NIV
Have you ever considered what really makes a person happy? Psalm 84 gives us an insight into part of the human condition. The term blessed can also be translated happy. “Happy are those whose strength is in you.” There is a deep rooted joy and contentment that fills the inner most being that flows from leaning upon the Lord as our strength. I call this living with a satisfied life. Another passage in the word of God states this reality from a different angle by saying “the joy of the Lord IS my strength.” To really know the Lord and to live in relationship with Him IS the source of true joy and when we live with that deep fulfillment in our days then this joy empowers us to live strong. Personal satisfaction and emotional health are deeply interconnected and the highest level of personal satisfaction is found in intimacy with the Lord as the center
of our lives.
The second aspect of this fulfillment is found in the concept of pilgrimage. When our relationship with the Lord is the center of our joy and meaning in life it results in a detachment from the temptation to find fulfillment in the material things of this life. The psalmist enlarges on this detachment by pointing to the calling that the scriptures place on us to live as strangers and aliens in this world or like Abraham as a pilgrim searching for a city that he cannot see. The place of pilgrimage is the place of knowing that there is something better out there than we have experienced. Though in some settings pilgrimage revolves around a sacred place to the Christian true pilgrimage is centered around our journey to know God as we seek for a destination of intimacy with Him that becomes ever dearer but is constantly afar off until that day that we meet with Him in the fullness that will be available to us in the eternal realms of glory. The essence of this principle is simply stated that true joy is found in the pursuit of God! When we live seeking and reaching we are both constantly hungry for more and joyfully satisfied with the revelation of God that He imparts to us.
Monday
Acts 2:47 - August 31, 2009
Acts 2:47: “…Praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Pentecost – Part VIII
Today we conclude our brief tour of Pentecost before we return to the Psalms – but though this is the docking of this ship, may these reflections simply serve as one more encouragement in your journey to a continual Pentecost. As you continue on in the open seas of life, may the mighty Spirit of God blow afresh and carry you on your way to the glory and fame of Jesus!
Of course, much more could be said about Pentecost for the church today – but let us conclude by highlighting some of the historical fruit of Pentecost to encourage us on our way.
A first fruit is boldness to preach with authority and conviction. How the church needs young and old, fully committed, Christians who “cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20)! This is what the Spirit does. And this doesn’t mean that you need to become an ordained minister or a leader in the church in order to preach boldly. Far from it, God wants people to “take it to the streets,” as the Matt Redman song goes. Peter who had just days before denied Jesus in fear for his own life, now empowered by the Spirit spoke the wonders of God in Christ in the very same local where he denied Jesus! That is the power of the Spirit! Later in the face of severe threats by the authorities, the Apostles prayed to God to enable “your servants to speak your word with great boldness” (Acts 4:29).
A second fruit is what accompanies the first – conviction and repentance leading to salvation. On that historic day of Pentecost, Peter preached to the people and they “were cut to the heart;” they repented from their life of sin and about three thousand were brought into salvation (Acts 2:36-41). The great revivalist Charles Finney expresses the pairing of these fruit: “The Spirit of God came upon me with such power that it was like opening up a battery (a row of cannons) upon them. For more than an hour the Word of God came through me to them in a manner that I could see was carrying all before it. It was a fire, and as a hammer breaking upon the rock, and as the sword that was piercing to the dividing of soul and spirit.” Hallelujah! Would that the Spirit of God come upon us in such this way!
A third fruit is the simple testimony of the improbable growth of the early church. The existence of the church is a historical impossibility without the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, his ascension to the throne of God as king and lord over heaven and earth, and the consequent pouring out of his Spirit upon his people. With the Spirit, that feeble group of disciples burst forth onto the stage of history to change it forever! Within that generation the Gospel had spread across the known world. Within the first 300 years it was actually illegal to be a Christian, and many knew persecution, abuse, mistreatment, slander and murder. And never did the church respond in kind – but always with love. As the second century church father Tertullian said, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Only by the power of Pentecost! Closer to our own time, the Spirit’s coming has launched worldwide mission and renewal movements all over the globe in impossible scenarios. The community of Moravians in the eighteenth century, which created an atmosphere of 24-7 prayer for over 100 years, pioneered missionaries to unreached places all over the globe – years ahead of the great Protestant missionary awakening in the nineteenth century. The 1906 Azusa street revival launched the modern day Pentecostal movement – which has become the fastest growing and sustained expression of Christianity in the 20th and 21st century, from a small handful of hungry Pentecostal-seekers, to several hundred million worldwide! Hallelujah!
And the list of fruit could go on – healing power, demons demolished, hearts healed, captives set free, lives that are truly changed, and so forth. What is in no doubt is that we need more of God’s Spirit, and so we simply conclude with a prayer: “Oh God, prepare us, make room in us for the coming of your Spirit in a fresh way in our day. Send your Fire Oh God! Hallelujah. Amen!”
Pentecost – Part VIII
Today we conclude our brief tour of Pentecost before we return to the Psalms – but though this is the docking of this ship, may these reflections simply serve as one more encouragement in your journey to a continual Pentecost. As you continue on in the open seas of life, may the mighty Spirit of God blow afresh and carry you on your way to the glory and fame of Jesus!
Of course, much more could be said about Pentecost for the church today – but let us conclude by highlighting some of the historical fruit of Pentecost to encourage us on our way.
A first fruit is boldness to preach with authority and conviction. How the church needs young and old, fully committed, Christians who “cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20)! This is what the Spirit does. And this doesn’t mean that you need to become an ordained minister or a leader in the church in order to preach boldly. Far from it, God wants people to “take it to the streets,” as the Matt Redman song goes. Peter who had just days before denied Jesus in fear for his own life, now empowered by the Spirit spoke the wonders of God in Christ in the very same local where he denied Jesus! That is the power of the Spirit! Later in the face of severe threats by the authorities, the Apostles prayed to God to enable “your servants to speak your word with great boldness” (Acts 4:29).
A second fruit is what accompanies the first – conviction and repentance leading to salvation. On that historic day of Pentecost, Peter preached to the people and they “were cut to the heart;” they repented from their life of sin and about three thousand were brought into salvation (Acts 2:36-41). The great revivalist Charles Finney expresses the pairing of these fruit: “The Spirit of God came upon me with such power that it was like opening up a battery (a row of cannons) upon them. For more than an hour the Word of God came through me to them in a manner that I could see was carrying all before it. It was a fire, and as a hammer breaking upon the rock, and as the sword that was piercing to the dividing of soul and spirit.” Hallelujah! Would that the Spirit of God come upon us in such this way!
A third fruit is the simple testimony of the improbable growth of the early church. The existence of the church is a historical impossibility without the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, his ascension to the throne of God as king and lord over heaven and earth, and the consequent pouring out of his Spirit upon his people. With the Spirit, that feeble group of disciples burst forth onto the stage of history to change it forever! Within that generation the Gospel had spread across the known world. Within the first 300 years it was actually illegal to be a Christian, and many knew persecution, abuse, mistreatment, slander and murder. And never did the church respond in kind – but always with love. As the second century church father Tertullian said, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Only by the power of Pentecost! Closer to our own time, the Spirit’s coming has launched worldwide mission and renewal movements all over the globe in impossible scenarios. The community of Moravians in the eighteenth century, which created an atmosphere of 24-7 prayer for over 100 years, pioneered missionaries to unreached places all over the globe – years ahead of the great Protestant missionary awakening in the nineteenth century. The 1906 Azusa street revival launched the modern day Pentecostal movement – which has become the fastest growing and sustained expression of Christianity in the 20th and 21st century, from a small handful of hungry Pentecostal-seekers, to several hundred million worldwide! Hallelujah!
And the list of fruit could go on – healing power, demons demolished, hearts healed, captives set free, lives that are truly changed, and so forth. What is in no doubt is that we need more of God’s Spirit, and so we simply conclude with a prayer: “Oh God, prepare us, make room in us for the coming of your Spirit in a fresh way in our day. Send your Fire Oh God! Hallelujah. Amen!”
Sunday
Acts 2:11 - August 30, 2009
Acts 2:11: “We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” NIV
Pentecost – Part VII
Yesterday we looked at God’s primary purpose in sending his Spirit – that through us the world will be reached by God. That sounds fine in theory – but this is real life! My life is busy, and no one is really interested in hearing about Jesus anyway. How do we possibly advance God’s purposes when there is seemingly so little room for the Gospel in our society? Yes! That is part of the point! We cannot possibly do it – left to ourselves! “Not by might, not by power – not by education, not be cleverness, not by charm, not by social status, or wealth – but by my Spirit says the Lord!” God’s Pentecost provides the power to communicate.
This is the ability, given by the Spirit, that enables true communication of the word of God to people in a way that they will understand. This is really the driving force behind what happens in Acts 2:3-4. The Spirit came with “what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” This spectacular sign of “tongues of fire” was not given for itself, but it was given so that the disciples could communicate the word of God to the nations! And that the people of God would understand that in Jesus God was reversing that great scattering of humanity in Genesis 11. Now through the disciples, now through us, all the peoples on earth will be brought back to God and to one another! When the tongues of fire came down there were “God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven” in Jerusalem (2:5). When Jesus told the disciples in Acts 1:8 that they would be witnesses to the ends of the earth – they were probably thinking, “Yeah, that is nice, one day in the distant future!” Well, hallelujah, before they got around to thinking how in God’s world (yes, God’s very big world!) would they be able to communicate with people speaking Persian, Latin, Arabic and a multiplicity of other dialects – The Spirit of God enabled them.
The result of the tongues of fire is that all those nations “hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” (Acts 2:11). This is something we have to remember as God’s church. We can and should be purpose driven. We can and must be compassion driven. We can and should be justice-driven. But in and through all those we must be Spirit-driven! The tongues symbolize to us that God has provided the means by his Spirit to bring the Good News of hope and reconciliation to people who have never truly heard of “the wonders of God in their own tongue!” Oh saints, we have been entrusted to be God’s very mouthpiece on this earth. Peter, who addressed that large crowd that day, later told his churches: “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God” (1 Pe 4:11). And Peter probably had some experience in this! Paul also summed up our role as “Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Cor 5:20).
Though it may not seem like it, the world is crying out for someone to declare to them the wonders of God in their own tongue! God might in fact endow you with the supernatural ability to speak a foreign language to do just that – do not think that it is beyond what God might want to do with you! But the main point is that God has provided everything for us by his Spirit to communicate the hope that God has given us. Would you remember that you are the light to the world in darkness and they await your loud and beautiful trumpet sound - not just those far in the future, buy the very ones you'll cross paths with today!
Pentecost – Part VII
Yesterday we looked at God’s primary purpose in sending his Spirit – that through us the world will be reached by God. That sounds fine in theory – but this is real life! My life is busy, and no one is really interested in hearing about Jesus anyway. How do we possibly advance God’s purposes when there is seemingly so little room for the Gospel in our society? Yes! That is part of the point! We cannot possibly do it – left to ourselves! “Not by might, not by power – not by education, not be cleverness, not by charm, not by social status, or wealth – but by my Spirit says the Lord!” God’s Pentecost provides the power to communicate.
This is the ability, given by the Spirit, that enables true communication of the word of God to people in a way that they will understand. This is really the driving force behind what happens in Acts 2:3-4. The Spirit came with “what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” This spectacular sign of “tongues of fire” was not given for itself, but it was given so that the disciples could communicate the word of God to the nations! And that the people of God would understand that in Jesus God was reversing that great scattering of humanity in Genesis 11. Now through the disciples, now through us, all the peoples on earth will be brought back to God and to one another! When the tongues of fire came down there were “God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven” in Jerusalem (2:5). When Jesus told the disciples in Acts 1:8 that they would be witnesses to the ends of the earth – they were probably thinking, “Yeah, that is nice, one day in the distant future!” Well, hallelujah, before they got around to thinking how in God’s world (yes, God’s very big world!) would they be able to communicate with people speaking Persian, Latin, Arabic and a multiplicity of other dialects – The Spirit of God enabled them.
The result of the tongues of fire is that all those nations “hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” (Acts 2:11). This is something we have to remember as God’s church. We can and should be purpose driven. We can and must be compassion driven. We can and should be justice-driven. But in and through all those we must be Spirit-driven! The tongues symbolize to us that God has provided the means by his Spirit to bring the Good News of hope and reconciliation to people who have never truly heard of “the wonders of God in their own tongue!” Oh saints, we have been entrusted to be God’s very mouthpiece on this earth. Peter, who addressed that large crowd that day, later told his churches: “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God” (1 Pe 4:11). And Peter probably had some experience in this! Paul also summed up our role as “Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Cor 5:20).
Though it may not seem like it, the world is crying out for someone to declare to them the wonders of God in their own tongue! God might in fact endow you with the supernatural ability to speak a foreign language to do just that – do not think that it is beyond what God might want to do with you! But the main point is that God has provided everything for us by his Spirit to communicate the hope that God has given us. Would you remember that you are the light to the world in darkness and they await your loud and beautiful trumpet sound - not just those far in the future, buy the very ones you'll cross paths with today!
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