It must have been difficult being a disciple of Jesus. I mean, it was certainly awesome. But it was a high visibility and high accountability environment. When you combine those two elements, it was without doubt a pressure cooker of stress. Jesus was obviously very gracious, but still, could you imagine Him calling you out?

On several occasions we see Jesus holding the disciples to a higher standard, and it just feels painful. More than once He rebukes them for their ‘little faith.’ Now I’d say it took a fair amount of faith just to devote your life to following and learning from Jesus. But when they would fall short, Jesus loved them enough to tell them, “Come on, guys. I expect more from you.” 
Remember when the disciples traveling in a boat through a storm? They saw Jesus walking on the water. Peter got out of the boat to walk to Jesus on the water. He became distracted by the wind and waves and began to sink, calling upon Jesus to save him. Jesus pulled him up from the water and brought him to the boat. He then said, “Oh you of little faith.” Really?!? The only one of the disciples to actually venture onto the water… and he had little faith? That’s because our faith is not measured against others when it is our time of failure.

We have all had moments of little faith, and even no faith. Those are difficult times. We sink without faith. I think most of us would like to have more faith. We want stronger faith. But are we doing what we are supposed to do to have more faith? Faith is first and foremost a gift from God. We think of faith as a rock. But faith is more like a seed or a muscle, than a rock. God gives us a bit of faith that can grow and become stronger. 

We don’t necessarily have Jesus or someone in our lives who audibly calls out, “Hey David… you are so weak in your faith today,” but we know when our faith is weak. Sometime trials come when our faith is very low, and our faith level is exposed for what it is. Perhaps it is so dramatic that others see it. In those times we may start going to church more, or praying more, or reading our Bibles more. Then our faith begins to grow. Why?

The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome…

“So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

Faith comes from the Word of God. You will not have strong faith without the Word of God. It is impossible. Show me someone who is not in the Bible, and I will show you someone who is weak in the area of faith. Show me someone who has a strong and growing faith, and I will show you someone who is in the Word and has the Word in them.

You may think… “It can’t be that simple.” Why wouldn’t it be? God isn’t trying to keep us in a small faith realm. He has provided everything we need for life and Godliness. God gives us food to grow physically. Why wouldn’t He give us food to grow spiritually? He has. So why would we constantly wait until we are sinking in life’s storms before we call out to the Word of God to save us.

Today you probably want more faith. Get into the Word. In fact, I challenge you to be in the Word for the next 7 days and see what God does in your faith life. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]

Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.

I don’t know who needs to see this, but I’m sure it is for someone. I will just let it stand on its own…

“Don’t wear yourself out to get rich; stop giving your attention to it.
As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.” (Proverbs 23:4-5)

I don’t think the Bible could be any clearer about the nature of riches and the pursuit of it. Stop wearing yourself out trying to get something you can’t keep.

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]

Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.

Here is a little something the morning after much of the world was riveted to the skies watching a ‘supermoon’ and lunar eclipse. Let’s take a scroll through Scripture and look at the history and future of the moon… and humanity.

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for festivals and for days and years. They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.” And it was so. (Genesis 1:14-15)

The Pharisees and Sadducees approached, and as a test, asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them: “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be good weather because the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘Today will be stormy because the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can’t read the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away. (Matthew 16:1-4)

He was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took Him out of their sight.  While He was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven.” (Acts 1:9-11)

But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness as you wait for and earnestly desire the coming of the day of God. The heavens will be on fire and be dissolved because of it, and the elements will melt with the heat. But based on His promise, we wait for the new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will dwell. (2 Peter 3:10-13)

Then I saw Him open the sixth seal. A violent earthquake occurred; the sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair; the entire moon became like blood; the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind; the sky separated like a scroll being rolled up; and every mountain and island was moved from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the military commanders, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of Their wrath has come! And who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:12-17)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. (Revelation 21:1)
Night will no longer exist, and people will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:5)

Now, here is the hope for the believer today…
​
God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found
in times of trouble.
Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with its turmoil. Selah
There is a river— its streams delight the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High.
God is within her; she will not be toppled.
God will help her when the morning dawns.
Nations rage, kingdoms topple; the earth melts when He lifts His voice.
The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah
Come, see the works of the Lord, who brings devastation on the earth.
He makes wars cease throughout the earth.
He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces; He burns up the chariots.
“Stop your fighting—and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”
Yahweh of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah 
(Psalm 46)

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]

Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.

On Sundays I like to remember the primary reason we gather together. It is to worship God in a corporate setting, drawing from the praise and passion of the redeemed. But obviously this is not an entirely vertical experience. God has encouraged us to incorporate earthly elements into our worship gathering. We are told to sing, and clap, and even dance. We are told to give and encourage one another. These are all good acts of worship and edification, and are done in various ways according to culture and preference.

But probably the most important thing done in a worship service on Sunday morning is the opening of God’s Word among the people. The reading and preaching of Scripture is one of the oldest and most profitable expressions of worship and community. There is a reason for this. God’s Word will not return void. As it goes forth it brings power and wisdom.

The preacher is primarily the one who shares truth from the Word on any given Sunday, though there are others who engage this ministry as well. From the earliest days of the Church we find the leaders devoting themselves to studying the writings of God’s prophets so they can pour that truth into those who come to worship. It is much easier to worship a God you know. Each sermon will strike each person a little differently. There is likely nothing a pastor does that is more important than preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

When you go to church, do not simply see it as an opportunity to refuel or retreat, but to revive by the truth of God. The preacher, if he has done his job and drawn close to God, is prepared to speak life into you.

The apostle Paul gave these words to a young pastor named Timothy…

“I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of His appearing and His kingdom: Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. But as for you, be serious about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

The preaching of the Word is the best chance of revival in every worship service. Sometimes we get caught up in the music, or the testimonies, or prayer, etc., and the preaching never happens. This is not necessarily bad. Often times it is the result of good preaching in the church. After these services you will sometimes hear people say, “The Holy Spirit came down during the worship music. It just continued, and we never even got to the preaching. That was an awesome service.” I think people mean well by that. But perhaps the statement reveals more about the value of preaching than one may see at first glance. We are impressed by a service that does not have preaching. Maybe that tells us how integral preaching is to our worship.

Most people get a feeling from the music that they don’t get from the preaching. That’s okay. It may be easier to engage in the music than it is the preaching. But I don’t know too many Christian who go to a church where there is no preaching. And I don’t know any strong Christians who do not place a hugh value on the preaching element of the worship service.

Today you will likely be refueled or restored by the preaching of the Word. But I hope you are revived, because that is the primary work of the Word of God. It is life and gives life. Moses said this to the children of Israel as they started to cross over into their inheritance. He was speaking of the Word of the Lord…

“Take to heart all these words I am giving as a warning to you today, so that you may command your children to carefully follow all the words of this law. For they are not meaningless words to you but they are your life, and by them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 32:46-47)

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]

Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.

Everybody brings something, right? You’ve heard people say, “She brings a lot to the table,” or “He really brought his ‘A-game’ tonight.” Everybody brings something. Some people bring a lot of baggage. Everybody brings something.

Earlier this morning I noticed a Facebook post that mentioned some missionary friends of mine. They were speaking at a gathering and the person posted a picture of Cheri (the one you see above) and included the caption, “Amazing devotional brought by Cheri Floyd this morning. Those missionary people can really bring it.” Now, I only get to see Cheri and her husband Don once every few years. But when I do, I cherish the time. When in America they travel and talk to churches about their life ministry in Papua New Guinea. They wear several hats there as they teach women about life and health, provide oversight to building projects in their region, and assist the ministry of a Bible college. Oh… and Cheri also homeschools their children.

They tell these stories as they go from American churches, to camps, to retreats. Now, they aren’t the most charismatic speakers. Well, Don has his moments. But it isn’t their speaking style that draws you in. Their pictures help them tell the story. But honestly, the beautiful photos tend to look like other missionary pictures after a while. What actually hooks me is their dedication to God’s call and the people to which they have been called to give of their lives.

We’ve been blessed and honored to be able to host them in our home on several occasions. It is a very encouraging and challenging time for me. I can learn more about life and ministry in 2 days of fellowship with them than I learned in 2 months of ministry schooling at Bible College. It isn’t just the stories of lives they’ve touched. It is their philosophy of ministry that comes through both pursuit of God and experience in the field of people. They both contain and convey great truths about life and ministry, I believe in part because God gives such a great grace to those who give up what we would consider ‘normal life’ to go and spend themselves on a foreign mission field where the people eat ‘strange food, wear funny clothing, and use weird words when they talk’.

And I have found this to be true of most missionaries… at least those who have the life and heart, and not just the title. They usually aren’t the most flamboyant speakers or ‘hippest’ people in the room. But they have something nobody else has. And what they have, they bring. That brings me back to the Facebook quote from earlier. When I saw the person say that Cheri (and other missionaries) “can really bring it,” I immediately commented… “That's because they've really got it. You can only bring what you have.” And that is the key. Everybody brings something. And you can only bring what you’ve got. They’ve got genuine understanding and love for God and His mission to save the world. They have that inside. So that’s naturally what they bring. Many people want to bring what a missionary brings… but we don’t have inside what a missionary has inside. We can’t bring what we don’t have.

The apostle and missionary Paul when speaking to a young pastor wrote this…

“Don’t be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me His prisoner. Instead, share in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God.

He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. This has now been made evident through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

For this gospel I was appointed a herald, apostle, and teacher, and that is why I suffer these things. But I am not ashamed, because I know the One I have believed in and am persuaded that He is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day.” (2 Timothy 1:8-12)

This is the last letter we have from Paul in Scripture, written right at the end of his life.  He was passing on wisdom to Timothy. He could only pass along what he had. That’s what makes it so valuable even to this day. Here’s the thing… missionaries would tell you that they have nothing to bring that you and I can’t have. And they are right. But we don’t have it just because we are saved. We too must dedicate ourselves to being sold out completely to Jesus no matter where that leads.

Today you will bring something. You will bring something to your family, your friends, your job, your ballgame, your ministry opportunity. But will it be something good or something negative? Upon leaving will people try to pick up what you brought, or will they try to clean up what you left? You can only really bring what you really have. What do you have? That’s what you will bring. What do you want to bring? That’s what you need to get.

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]

Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.