Revelation 1:9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Think about it, where was John when he received the words to write in the book of Revelations. John was not on the mount of transfiguration with Jesus Christ. John was not sitting with a bunch of believers talking about the wonderful things that God had just done at Pentecost. John was not sitting at home with his family having a wonderful time together. No, John was suffering tribulation when God came and spoke to him.

How many times in scripture did God speak to someone who was in the midst of a great trial? Gideon was hiding trying to thresh wheat so that his family could eat. The enemy was stealing all the food so Gideon had to do his job in secret. It was in the midst of this trial that God appeared to Gideon and told Gideon to go and defeat the enemy. Gideon was not out looking for God to give him some great calling for his life, but that is in fact what God chose to do.

Elijah was a great prophet who had just seen God bring fire down from heaven and break a drought with a cloud the size of a man’s hand. However, Elijah was in trouble because Jezebel was out to take his life. It was during this difficult time that Elijah heard the voice of God telling him to take a long journey and subsequently the jobs that God desired Elijah to do next.

Jacob was on the run for his life. He had just stolen that which belonged to his brother and he was fleeing to see his uncle. It was on this trip that God came to Jacob in a dream. Jacob had not been looking for God and his behavior was not exactly something that most of us would condone. Nonetheless, God was with Jacob during his time of trial.

If you have been a Christian for very long, you have probably gone through some highs and you have experienced some lows. Because of how good things are when you are on a high, it is easy to believe that God can only speak to you while you are on a spiritual high. However, that is not the truth, God can speak with you just as easy when you are in the midst of the shadow of death as HE can speak to you with a booming voice on top of the mount of transfiguration. Just because you are facing a trial and the Lord seems the last thing you want to talk about, it does not mean that God does not desire to speak with you today.

Every day you should wake up and be ready to hear from God. If you are having a great day, praise HIM and ask HIM to speak to you. If you are having a bad day, tell the Lord you need HIS help and you desire to hear HIS still small voice.

Just because you have not heard the Lord speak to you in the last six months, it does not mean that God is not speaking to you. Just because you are facing great financial difficulties, it does not mean that God cannot speak to you. Just because your world seems to be falling apart, it does not mean that God is not ready to reach over and comfort you and give you a new vision for your life.

When Jesus sent HIS disciples out in a boat right after HE feed the five thousand, the disciples found themselves in a storm that was too big for them. Jesus was not with them and there was nothing they could do to get out of the problem. However, in the midst of their biggest distress, there came walking on the water the ONE who could rescue them from their trial.

Acts 4:3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.

Peter and John had just healed a lame man who had been lame from birth. The people were so astonished that it gave Peter and John the opportunity to share the gospel. Scripture tells us that about 5,000 men believed. However, the religious leaders did not like Peter and John preaching the Gospel of Jesus and they had them arrested and thrown into prison.

Stop and think about it, these men simply were doing the will of God and the after leading 5,000 men to the Lord; they are persecuted and thrown into prison. During the time of the prophets, when one of the kings reached out his hand to cast the prophet into prison, God withered the king’s hand. If Peter and John were serving the same God, why wouldn’t God protect them by withering the hands of those who desired to do harm unto them?

Peter and John understood that just because they are doing the will of God, this does not mean that their lives would be perfect and nothing bad would happen unto them. In fact, they understood that they were blessed because they were persecuted for righteousness sake.

Peter and John had just brought 5,000 men to the Lord. These men needed to be taught how they were supposed to live their lives as believers. However, this was not the perfect will of God for their lives. Peter and John had to be patient and understand that God knew what was best for them. Rather than allowing themselves to become impatient about the suffering that they were experiencing, Peter and John allowed God to be God and they chose to diligently serve HIM.

We need to understand that just because something bad seems to be happening to us, it does not mean that God is punishing us for doing something wrong. In fact, it may be that the reason why we are suffering has to do with the fact that we are living our lives right for God. Just because we are doing everything right, it does not entitle us to a perfect life. The blessings of God can come in many different ways.

We need to learn to be patient with God. God knows what is best for us. God knows how to work everything together for good. We cannot afford to try to play god in our own lives. By allowing God to have the opportunity to create a perfect work in us, we are setting up our lives so that God can use us in such a way so that HE receives the glory. When we turn the results of our life over to HIM, there is no limitation upon God to use us as HE desires.

There can be times of great blessings and there can be times of great persecution. However, regardless of what season of life you are in, you need to be patient and learn to trust God. When God is blessing you, continue to pray for HIS blessing upon your life. When you are in a time of persecution, pray that God reveals to you the lessons that HE has for your life.

We need to understand the importance of letting God be God. If we insist that we know what is best for our life, we simply show our own ignorance and we fail in being all that we can be for HIS glory. We must learn to submit to HIM.

Peter and John understood that they were tokens in the hands of a living God. They allowed God to use them to heal a man and then bring 5,000 men to the Lord. They did not become bitter at God when they also had to suffer for righteousness sake.

Acts 3:6 then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

Peter and John were going to the temple to pray. On their way to the temple, they meet a lame man who was born lame. This man was carried every day to the temple and was placed there so that he could ask alms of those who passed by. This man was never taken to Jesus when Jesus was healing the sick nor was he touched by Jesus when Jesus went to the temple.

This man was so used to asking for money that he had lost sight of what his real need was. This man needed to be healed so that he could earn a living. However, instead of healing this man, Peter and John gave the man what he really needed.

It is easy for us to become like the lame man and become focused upon something that we think that we need that we fail to see the bigger picture that God has for us. We spend our time asking God for what we want that we lose track of what is really important.

When Jesus was at the well with the Samaritan woman, HE told her that if she knew who HE was, she would ask HIM for the living water. The woman was so caught up in the fact that Jesus had asked her for water that she did not realize that she was talking to the son of God.

We are told about the story of Elisha shortly before he died how Joash, the king of Judah came and visited him. Elisha told Joash that the arrows he held represented the deliverance of the Lord from Syria. Elisha then told Joash to take the arrows and strike them on the ground. Joash obeyed and stuck the ground three times. Elisha was disappointed because Joash only struck the ground three times which meant that he would only defeat Syria three times. Joash had heard the words of Elisha but he was not paying attention to what Elisha was saying and as such, he did not receive the full benefit of the blessing that God had for him.

God has great blessings in store for us. However, in order to receive all that God has in store for us, we need to be patient and learn to focus our attention upon what God has in store for us. We cannot become so entrenched in our ways that we fail to see what really is important to God. Had this bagger ever asked Jesus to heal him, do you think that Jesus would have refused the baggers request? All the bagger was concerned about was the money that he could obtain so that he could live one more day.

Too often, we face trails that we are consumed with. We are bold to ask God to deliver us from those trials that we fail to ask HIM the lessons that HE has for us today. We are like the Samaritan woman who is talking with God but not even realizing who HE is. We are like Joash who has such a great promise that we fail to take full advantage of the promise. Instead, we allow our focus to be on ourselves and what we perceive to be our need and as such we can easily miss all that God has for us.

The trials of our patience are not an opportunity for us to suffer so that God can get even with us for sins that we have committed. Instead, we need to understand that even during the trials of Job, God eventually revealed HIMSELF to Job in a whole new light. The trial of Job helped open up the eyes of Job to whom God really was. When God has given us a trial, we need to stop focusing upon ourselves and instead start focusing upon HIM so that we can learn that which is really important.

John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

In this chapter, Jesus says that he is the vine and we are the branches. Jesus tell us that if a branch does not bear fruit, then it will be pruned. Jesus then goes on to show that we cannot bear fruit of our own accord but that we must abide in him.

In this passage, Jesus gives us a promise that most Christians have not fully comprehended. Jesus tells us that if we abide in HIM and allow HIS words to be the center of our life, then when we ask God for something, it shall be given unto us. The problem with most people is that they only look at the back half of this verse and do not take the time to fully understand the condition that we must first fulfill in order to obtain the promise.

What does it mean to abide in God? Does it mean that if we read our Bible for five minutes a day that we are abiding in God and his words are abiding in us? Let’s compare a branch to a vine, if the branch were only attached to the vine for five minutes a day, would it be bearing much fruit? Clearly, for a branch to abide in the vine, we are talking about something more substantial than just five minutes a day or one day a month.

When Jesus tells us that we must abide in HIM, HE is talking about something more than just token time spent with HIM. What if some individual prayed three hours a day, but for the next 21 hours, they lived how they wanted, would that be abiding in HIM? When we chose to abide in HIM, it is a complete commitment to God. This means that God has complete control over our life. In order to abide in HIM, we must put aside the things of the world.

Jesus is not telling you not to work and that you are supposed to spend 24 hours a day in the church praying to HIM. However, the fear of the Lord should be an active part of our life and we need to live each moment for HIM. As we go about our day and we are faced with a decision, we need to ask God to reveal to us HIS perfect will. We need to understand that our lives are reflecting HIS love to the world. If we fail to properly reflect HIS love, then we are not being a good testimony of abiding in Jesus.

We all desire to have a powerful prayer life. We all desire to pray and see God answer our prayers. However, are you willing to abide in HIM so that when you pray, you are seeking HIS will for your life so that you know how to live your life so that you can continue to abide in HIM? Are you willing to make the sacrifice to abide in HIM and allow HIS words to abide in you so that when you are asking God in prayer for something, you are asking HIM for something that HE has already shown you is a part of HIS will for your life?

Many people see a concert pianist and would love to be able to play that good but they would never want to put in the hours of practice that the concert pianist has put in. Many people see well behaved children and desire their children to be as well behaved but they are not willing to make the sacrifices that are necessary in order train up their children in the way they are to go. Many would love to see a powerful prayer life but they are not willing to put the time in first.

You need to diligently add temperance to your life so that you can say no to the influences of this world so that you can put the things of God first in your life. Learn to abide in HIM and allow HIS words to flow through your life so that you can ask of God and you will receive.

Acts 4:20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

Out of the abundance of the heart does the mouth speak. Peter and John had filled their heart with the things of God and as a result, they could not stop talking about the good news. Christ was such an important part of who they were that when the religious leaders told them to stop talking about Christ, their simple reply was that they could not stop talking about the One who loved them so much that HE died for them.

What is the subject that you like to talk about the most? Is it how your sports team performed over the weekend? Is it the latest gossip regarding the love life of a friend? Is it the latest fashions and who is fashionable and who is out of fashion? The things that you spend time on are the things that will naturally come out of your mouth.

If you spend time each day drawing closer to God, then you will naturally talk about God with those around you. You will be amazed at the opportunities that you will have as a result of your putting God first in your life. All of a sudden, opportunities to help others draw closer to God will start crossing your path. Why should God send people to you to minister to their needs if you are more concerned about the score of your favorite team then you are about the fact the people have problems.

Peter and John were living in the power of God and all of a sudden, they were faced with a man who had a problem. Peter and John were able to use the power of God to heal a man that most of us would have simply passed by and been offended that he even asked us to help him. There are people all around you who have needs that you can help. However, you must first focus your attention upon God and drawing closer to HIM.

If you are spending your time on the things of this world, how will you expect to live in the power of God? Temperance requires that you demonstrate self-control by not yielding to the things of this world but instead yield to the things of God. Rather than allow the things of this world to control you and to be first on your mind, you must replace what the world has to offer you with the things of God.

Esther had the right as queen to eat well. However, she was about to face a very difficult challenge and as such, she demonstrated temperance by avoiding food and instead prayed to God to give her grace when she confronted her husband the king. Esther did not have to fast, she could have eaten all the food she wanted. Instead by putting the things of God first in her life, we see that God performed a miracle through her to save the Jews.

What are the things that you see and hear? These are the things that are going to come out of your mouth. You have a choice to make, either fill your time with the things that are glorifying to God so that the words of your mouth glorify God, or you fill your time with the things of this world and worldly things will come out of your mouth.

Until you stop putting the things of this world as a priority in your life, the power of God will be very weak and the world will know it. The more you abstain from the things of this world, the brighter the light of God can shine through you. Every day the choice is yours. Are you going to spend the time reading the Bible and drawing closer to HIM or are you going to go do that other thing that always seem to distract you from your daily Bible reading.

Acts 4:19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.

Peter and John had just healed a man who was born lame. The religious leaders were in a quandary in that they did not want the name of Jesus spreading any more throughout the city, but they had no way of denying the power of God in the lives of these two men. The religious leaders thus told the men that they were to no longer preach in the name of Jesus.

Peter and John were being commanded by their authorities to do something that contradicted the direction that God had given to them. Peter and John understood that if they disobeyed their earthly authorities that there could be physical consequences. However, if they disobey God, there will be eternal consequences.

Peter and John clearly understood the direction that God had given them and as such they were more than willing to suffer for the cause of Christ. The religious leaders supposedly received their direction from God and that is why Peter and John appealed to these rulers by asking them if it was proper to disobey God in order to obey man.

Peter and John understood that it was better to obey God and suffer here on this earth than to enjoy the pleasures of this world and suffer for eternity. Too often, as Christians we are quick to compromise our standards here on this earth in order to obtain the acceptance of man that we fail to live our lives the way God desires and we thus lose out on the experiences that God has for us. God desires to demonstrate HIS power and might in our lives, but HE can only do so if we refuse to yield to the temptations of this world.

As long as you refuse to demonstrate self-control and you insist on pursuing after the things of this world, you will never fully experience the power of God in your life. It is when you start yielding your rights in order to pursue after the things of God that you learn to fully experience God. God has so much to offer you, but HE needs you to first do what you said when you accepted HIM as your personal Lord and Savior.

You need to learn how to love the Lord with all your heart. You need to learn to treasure the things of God above the things of this world. Your focus needs to be upon serving God rather than receiving the accolades of man. As long as you are pursuing the things of this world, the things of God will seem strange and distant.

On the day that Elijah prayed fire out of heaven, before he proposed his test to the prophets of Baal, he asked the nation of Israel a very important question. Elijah asked them How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. The same question is one which you must answer every day. Do your actions demonstrate to the world that you are serving God or are you serving the things of this world? If God is truly all powerful as you say, then why do your actions not correspond with your words?

God desires for you to follow the example of Peter and John and be quick to follow the things of God rather than yield to the pleasures of this world. As you put the things of God first in your life, your temperance to the things of this world will strengthen your spiritual eyes and thus enable you to do even greater things for the King of kings and Lord of lords. Peter and John were bold because the things of this world did not control them.

Acts 3:22-23 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

Peter and John have just healed a man born lame. Because of the power of God demonstrated through their lives, Peter now has the opportunity to preach to the Jews to point their attention to Jesus. In these two verses, Peter is preaching from Deuteronomy 18.

Jesus was the prophet that Moses was warning the Jews about. The problem came that when Jesus actually showed up, the Jews had a misconstrued idea about what Jesus was going to do and as such, they crucified the one whom they were warned that they were waiting for.

A study of the prophets reveals that the Jews had an unreasonable expectation as to what Jesus would be doing for them. The religious leaders had added to the word of God in order to fit their own personal believes and as such, they guided the Jews away from the truth. Thus, when Jesus came, they were blinded by their own ignorance.

You too can make the same mistake that the Jews made 2,000 years ago. You can become so caught up in the things of this world that you fail to understand the voice of God. The world is full of things that can distract you from fully understanding the direction of God. As such, you must put aside the lusts of the flesh in order to pursue the things of God.

It does not matter what your sin is, sin will cloud your spiritual vision and cause you to miss hearing the direction that God desires you to go. Until you learn to demonstrate temperance in your life so that you are not quick to yield to temptation, your spiritual vision will be cloudy.

How was it that Daniel was able to not only interpret the dream of Nebuchadnezzar but also tell the king what his dream was? Daniel was only able to do this mighty miracle because he was able to hear the voice of God. Daniel had made a series of choices to ensure that he did not compromise his relationship with God and as such, when his life was on the line, Daniel heard God and not only saved his own life but was able to rise in a position of authority so that God could use him to touch the lives of others.

Daniel could have made a little compromise and eaten the food that the king had set before him. However, Daniel demonstrated temperance by restraining the lusts of his flesh in order to please God. This inward character of Daniel resulted in him understanding the voice of God and thus opened doors that he never would have imagined.

The lusts of the flesh will blind you to the truths of God. If you are focused upon the things of this world, you will never fully understand the higher way of God. If you do not understand what God has for you, how do you expect that you can obey God and live a life that is pleasing to the Lord?

The world has so much to offer you that will cloud your ability to properly see the direction that God has for you. It is your responsibility to apply moderation in your life so that the world does not control you. God has so much more to do through you if you will only listen to HIM and stop allowing the lusts of the flesh to control your life.

Acts 3:12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

Peter and John had just healed a man who was born lame. Every time a Jew entered the temple, they saw this lame man. Why Peter and John chose this day to heal this man or why this man was not ever healed by Jesus, we do not know, but all of a sudden, the man who everyone knew was lame was walking and praising God.

People were staring at the man. Some might have been wondering if this man had been able to walk all the time and that he was nothing but a fraud all these years. Some may have been wondering what kind of magical powers Peter and John had and why they were in the holy temple.

Peter stood up in the temple and rebuked those who were staring at the man. Peter immediately drew the attention of everyone to the Lord. Peter basically told everyone to start demonstrating some self-control. It was because of their lack of understanding that they had lost control over their eyes and they were staring at the healed man.

Have you ever been in a place where you were seeing something that you did not quite understand and you found yourself staring at it? You knew it was not proper to stare but it seemed to be the only response that you could think of. This is the same response that the Jews in the temple were showing that day.

By demonstrating a lack of self-control and staring, the Jews were not fully comprehending the power of God. God desire that you take control over your emotions and learn to recognize the power of God in your life. God is alive and active and when God makes HIS presence known, you need to immediately recognize the power of God and acknowledge it.

If you fail to exercise temperance in your life, you will allow your body to take control and you will be no different than the Jews who Peter rebuked. You have to learn how to recognize the works of God.

When Elisha was being pursued by the enemies of the Lord, the enemy one night surrounded the city that Elisha was staying at. The servant of Elisha could only see the enemy and it took a special prayer by Elisha to open the eyes of his servant so that the servant could see the army of the Lord. The servant of Elisha was no different than the Jews, he allowed the physical things that he saw to control his emotions and dictate the direction that he took.

We need to be like Peter and Elisha who understood the power of God. They were not afraid of what they saw with their eyes because they understood the spiritual battle that they were a part of. Because they understood the power of God, they did not find themselves staring at the things of this world because the things of this world did not control.

Do you understand the spiritual battle that you live in? God desires to show HIMSELF strong in your life and thus HE does things so that you might understand who HE is. However, if you do not control your reactions, you will be more amazed by HIS workings that you will fail to recognize the lessons God is trying to teach you.

Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.

Peter and John were not out seeking their own; they were concerned about doing the perfect will of God. They had made a decision that they were going to pray to God and as such, they were not going to allow any of the lusts of the flesh to restrain them from their purpose. Prayer was an important part of their relationship with God.

However, just because Peter and John were focused upon going to the temple to pray, it does not mean that they were not observant to possible opportunities for ministry that God had for them. In fact, the only thing that would slow them down was demonstrating the power of God. If it had been something that was only self-serving, you would not have seen Peter and John yield to the temptation to stop.

Temperance requires a yielding of your own will in order to pursue the things of God. Prayer is the task of talking with God. Prayer is not having a one way conversation with God with HIM listening to everything you say. In order to pray properly, you must lay aside the temptations of this world and focus your attention fully upon HIM. This means you must put yourself in an environment where you will not quickly fall asleep. This means that you must put yourself in an environment where you will not be easily distracted from the things of this world.

You need to be like Daniel who set aside every day to pray. Peter and John went to the temple to pray at a certain time. Until you start scheduling time with God, how do you expect to develop a closer relationship with HIM? You do not grow friendships by not spending time together. Before most couples chose to marry each other, there is usually a period of time where they set time apart so that they might get to know each other better.

If you do not schedule time to meet with God, you are the one who loses. The lusts of this world are very strong. Satan will try to tempt you to pursue other activities and to wait until next time to talk with God. Until you start setting time away like Peter, John and Daniel, your true success will never be seen.

The battle for your spiritual life is strong. The lusts of this flesh are strong. The way you will overcome this world starts with the choice that you make to put the things of God as a priority in your life. Until you start making the choice to set aside time to develop a closer relationship with God, you will never experience the full power of God working through you. God has amazing experiences that HE desires to show you, but until you are willing to put HIM first, the working of God in your life will be but a dream.

The great individuals in the Bible who did wonderful things all had a personal relationship with God. This relationship does not occur just because you were the 2,000^th individual saved in the world some particular day.

The world is ready to see the amazing power of God in your life. However, as long as you are pursuing the things of this world, you will fail to experience the true power of God in your life. How is your relationship with God at this time? Are you ready to put aside some of the pleasures of this world in order to draw closer to God? The choice is yours; no one will make it for you. Until you chose to live for God, your life will have no power.

Proverbs 31:13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

A virtuous individual is one who is diligent. When others look at you, do they understand you to be a diligent individual or do they think you are lazy. In Proverbs 6, we are instructed to look towards the ant to see diligence. The ant does not have a leader, but it works diligently to ensure that it has food to eat throughout the year.

Are you diligent to get up early each morning to ensure that you have time to do your devotions before you go to work? Are you diligent at work so that when others look at you, they know that there is something different about you? Are you diligent at home, working with a joyful attitude seeking to serve all whom you come in contact with?

If you are in business for yourself, you understand the importance of being diligent. If you are not diligent, then you will not eat. However, while you can make the correlation between working hard and financial remuneration, many people have a hard time seeing the correlation between being diligent in their Bible studies and the positive effect it has upon their life.

Your spiritual health should be more important to you then the dollars in your bank account. Everything in this world will soon be over and your relationship with God will be all that you have on judgment day. If you have a terrible relationship with God, then you will have done many things that are displeasing to HIM and you will be accountable to HIM. However, if you fear the Lord and diligently studied the word of God in order to understand how you are supposed to live your life, then come judgment day, you will have less to fear.

An individual who is diligent in serving God will naturally be diligent in their daily work. However, the reverse is not always true; a person who is diligent in their work is not necessarily diligent in their daily Bible studies.

Why do you think David had faith that God was going to deliver Goliath into his hands? It was not because he was diligent in watching the sheep of his father. David had spent many hours alone with God and had developed a heart after the heart of God. It was because of his relationship with God that David was able to speak boldly to the man who desired to kill him.

Do you have the faith of Daniel who knew that he could be thrown into a den of lions and God would protect him? Remember, Daniel was faithful to pray three times a day. It was because of the diligence of Daniel that he understood that God was not finished with him yet and as such, he could peacefully go into the den of lions knowing that the lions could not touch him.

The reason why you do not have the faith of Peter to walk on water, or the faith of Moses to part the Red Sea, or the faith of John to heal a lame man is because you do not have a personal relationship with God. Yes, you claim to serve HIM. Yes, you do spend some time reading the Bible and praying. However, your relationship with God is not what it is supposed to be. You spend more time worrying about the things of this world then you spend on the things of God.

You need to be diligent to put the things of God first in your life. As you add knowledge of the ways of God, your relationship with God will grow. The greater your relationship with God, the more expansive your ministry will be because not only do you know how to hear the still small voice of God, but you also have the power of God in your life.

Proverbs 22:29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

God expects you to be diligent. If you are diligent, HE will reward you. In 2 Peter 1:4-7, we are told about eight precious promises that you can obtain. The eight precious promises are faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity. However, you do not get these precious promises by being the fastest athlete, the smartest student, or by being the most beautiful baby. These precious promises are obtained by being diligent.

God told Noah to build a boat so that he and his family might be spared the destruction. Noah diligently labored with his family to build the boat. It was the diligence of Noah that spared his family. Noah could have believed God all he wanted, but until he put some diligence to his faith, he had nothing.

Scripture tells us that Ruth was a virtuous woman. However, we must remember that Ruth first was seen in the field diligently gathering that which was dropped before she found favor in the eyes of Boaz.

Solomon is known as the wisest individual who ever lived. However, before he received such great knowledge, we see that he was diligent in making sure that his heart was right before God.

God told Jeremiah to give wine to the house of the Rechabites. These men refused the wine because they were obeying the instruction of their father. The Rechabites were diligent in their labors and they were faithful in their obedience and God spared then when the enemy came and plundered the land.

Simeon had been told of God that he would see the Son of God before he died. Simeon had to be patient and wait upon the timing of God. However, while Simeon waited, he was diligent to serve the Lord.

Paul was a godly man who went out and preached the gospel and helped many churches to form. However, we know that before God called Paul, Saul was a diligent man who persecuted the Christians that he despised. The diligence of Saul was one reason he was called.

Joseph was a man who loved his family and he was quick to forgive them for the evil that they had done to him. The important thing that we see from the life of Joseph is not only how he showed brotherly kindness to those who did him wrong, but that he was always diligent no matter where God put him. There were probably days that Joseph would have loved to do evil to his brothers, but he always desired to do what was right in the eyes of God.

John is known as the disciple that Jesus loved. The subject of love is very prominent in the books that John wrote. However, before Jesus called John to be his disciple, we see that John was diligent working as a fisherman.

The great men and women of the bible were used mightily of the Lord. If you study their lives, you see that they were not lazy individuals but that they were diligent. You need to follow their example and be diligent in adding knowledge of the ways of God to your life so that you might add the character that God desires to see in you and so that HE might use you in a mighty way.

John 8:5-6 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

The scribes and the Pharisees came to Jesus with a woman who was caught committing adultery in the very act. The religious leaders were so concerned about trapping Jesus that they did not care about what happened to the woman. They had no compassion for the woman nor did they have any desire to help her, they simply were rejoicing in her iniquity because it gave them the opportunity to try to catch Jesus.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:6 that love rejoices not in iniquity. The religious leaders were so concerned about their rules that they failed to love their neighbor as themselves. Jesus on the other hand demonstrated great compassion for the woman and when her accusers had left, Jesus forgave her and admonished her to go and sin no more.

It is said that the hand of God writes three different things in the scriptures. The first time we see the hand of God comes when God gave us the law by writing the 10 Commandments. The second time we see the hand of God comes in the book of Daniel when God writes the judgment. The third time we see the hand of God comes in this passage where Jesus writes something in the dirt. While we do not know what Jesus had written, we do know that afterwards, Jesus forgave the woman and showed her mercy. Jesus had every right to condemn this woman for violating the law, but instead Jesus did not rejoice in her iniquity.

As Christians, we need to change our thinking so that we do not rejoice when someone fails and falls short of the glory of God. Instead, while it should grieve us, we should use this as an opportunity to help them see the error of their ways and encourage them to go and sin no more. The sinners need to understand God’s judgment, but they also need to see God’s love and mercy.

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice when HE voluntarily allowed mankind to nail HIM to the cross so that you might have the option of confessing your sins and drawing closer to God. No one made Christ die for your sins; HE even asked HIS Father if the cup could pass from HIM. Nonetheless, Jesus loved us so much that HE gave HIS life for us.

Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 13:5 that love seeketh not its own. One who gives up their life so that another might prosper is demonstrating love to that individual. In this dog eat dog world that we live in today, people are constantly trying to climb to the top of the ladder by stepping all over their fellow man. However, by their actions, they are failing to love their neighbor as themselves.

Love requires sacrifice; it requires that you sacrifice your own goals and ambitions so that someone else might prosper. Jonathan loved David so much that he was willing to give up his right to be king so that David could be king. What sacrifices have you made recently for your spouse, your friends, or your neighbors? You are to love your neighbor as yourself and this means that you must put their needs above your own. Love requires sacrifice; are you ready to make the sacrifice necessary so that your neighbor see the love of God through you. How can you expect the world to see the light of God if you do not first demonstrate the love of God to them?

Acts 8:20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

Simon had been saved and baptized through the preaching of Philip. The apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Lord was working in Samaria so they sent Peter and John. Peter and John began to lay hands upon the brethren and they were receiving the Holy Ghost. Simon, a man who prior to his salvation had practiced sorcery, came to Peter and John and offered to purchase from them the power to give to others the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Simon was a new born Christian and he did not understand that the ways of God are not the same as the ways of the world. Simon had probably received his sorcery power by purchasing it from someone who had similar powers.

The sin of Simon was that he was greedy for power. Simon was used to being powerful and he desired to be in a position where people looked at him and recognized him as an important person. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Simon was a proud man who desired the praises of men and he was condemned because of his pride.

We are commanded to love the Lord with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves. When Simon asked to purchase power, he was not doing so for the benefit of God and others; his sole purpose in asking was because he was looking out for himself. Simon was not put God or others before himself.

How often are we like Simon? We come to God and ask for things that we might consume on our own passions and lusts. We are not seeking to expand the kingdom of God, nor are we asking God to give us something so that we can draw others to HIM. When Solomon asked for wisdom, he did not ask for wisdom so that he might be the wisest person who ever lived. Solomon asked for wisdom because he desired to properly serve the people whom God had put under his jurisdiction. Because the heart of Solomon was right, God gave HIM the desires of HIS heart.

If you diligently add knowledge to your life; your prayer life will naturally change. When you understand the ways of God, you understand that God is not likely going to give you those things that are for your own personal power and prestige. If you understand the ways of God, you understand that God desires that you seek first the kingdom of heaven. Peter and John did not have the gift of laying on of hands so that they would be glorified, the gift was given to them so that they might expand the gospel of Christ.

Think of a prayer request that you have been God for some period of time. Why do you want God to answer that prayer? Are your motives right? Is your petition self-serving or is it for the glory of God? Is the reason why you have not received your petition because your heart is not right before God? If so, you have committed the sin of Simon and you need to repent.

It is important to petition God, but it is even more important to have a right attitude. If you have knowledge of the ways of God, then you will naturally ask for those things that will increase your ministry here on this earth. You will ask for the things that you need to do the work of God but you will not ask so that the world will recognize you but you will ask so that you can properly serve God. It is time to get your priorities straight. It could be that the reason your prayers have not been answered is because your motives are not right.

Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Peter and John had healed a lame man who had been lame from birth. They then used the attention that they received to draw the attention of the people to God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. The religious leaders were not pleased with the apostles preaching in the temple so they arrested them and then threatened them that they must remain silent.

When Peter and John returned to the believers and reported to them the things that happened, they joined together in one accord and prayed to God. They understood that they were going to be persecuted for righteousness sake and they desired strength from God to do the right thing. The disciples understood the message that Christ had given them. They understood what they were supposed to do. They understood that the enemy was going to be strong. As such, they simply came to God before the battle and asked HIM to give them the boldness that they needed in order to do the right thing.

The disciples recognized the battle that they were in. They understood that they may not have the strength to see the battle to the end. They turned to God and they asked HIM for strength to do the right thing. God heard their prayer and gave them the desires of their heart. God gave boldness to those who came before HIM and asked for boldness.

The disciples needed God to help them in order for them to do that which they were commanded to do. They were willing to obey God, but they understood that the enemy would be strong in attempting to distract them from the perfect plan of God. They did not desire to quit what Christ commanded them to do; they simply sought the Lord and asked HIM to enable them to finish what they had been commanded to start.

Jesus understood that HE had come to this earth to die on the cross. The night before HIS death, HE went to the garden and prayed. Jesus spent the time communicating with God so that HE might have the strength to do the perfect will of God. Communication with the Father was very important to Jesus. HE understood that the path that HE was about to trod was very difficult and that HE needed the strength that came with having a close relationship with God.

You too will face many trials and temptations. You will find the strength to overcome these trials by prayer. When you see that you are about to face a difficult situation, you need to cry out to God for help. God is able to the impossible; HE is able to deliver you from any trial that you face. God desires to show HIMSELF strong in your life and HE desires that you continue to obey HIM. God may not create a way of escape for you when you face your next trial, but HE will at least give you the strength to overcome the trial. With God with you, who can be against you? With God with you; you can overcome the trials that you face.

Prayer is an important weapon in the hands of a solder of God. You need to learn to understand the spiritual battle that you are now facing. When you take the time to understand the spiritual adversary that you are facing, you will understand that you cannot overcome this enemy on your own strength. Your understanding that you cannot win this battle on your own accord should drive you to your knees where you will seek the face of God for the strength to do the right thing. God can give you the boldness to overcome your trail and win. Will you ask HIM?

Acts 4:21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.

Peter and John had healed a lame man and because of the boldness of their sharing the gospel with the people in the temple, they were punished. The religious leaders desired to punish the apostles more but because the people saw what the apostles did as something from God, the religious leaders understood that if they tried to punish Peter and John that the people would lose all respect because they were in their minds fighting against God.

What the multitudes understood when they saw that the lame man healed was a miracle from God. They gave glory to God for the healing of the lame man. However, the religious leaders had allowed their judgment to be clouded by their own positions, power, and prestige. The religious leaders where so blinded by their own ambitions that they did not acknowledge that God was working through these apostles. The religious rulers were not stupid, while they personally did not recognize the work of God; they were able to recognize that the people saw the work of Peter and John as a work from God.

The religious leaders were very political; they were more concerned about their own position, power, and prestige then they were about finding out the truth. Had the religious leaders desired to discover the truth; they would have quickly found the error of their way and been able to repent and learn to live their lives the way God desired them to live. All the religious leaders had to do was to seek the truth of scripture rather than hid behind the traditions of man. God would have revealed HIMSELF to the religious leaders had they only been willing to seek HIM; had they only been willing to find HIM.

The multitudes quickly were able to recognize the power of God because they were not concerned with living by the old traditions of man. The multitudes were not concerned with their own position, power, and prestige. Because the heart of the multitude was more ready to learn, when God showed HIMSELF strong, they were able to recognize that God was alive and active and they were ready to turn their lives over to God.

If you desire to see the hand of God in your life, you must be willing to lay aside your own ambitions. In order to add knowledge of the ways of God, you must first humble yourself. No longer is your position, your power, or your prestige the most important thing. Instead, your focus must be upon God. When you do not allow pride to have control over your life, God will be able to reveal to you HIS power. Moses had high visions for his life. However, it was not until he spent many years tending sheep in the wilderness that he saw the burning bush. God honored Moses not because Moses had visions of being a great leader; God honored Moses because he was meek and ready to be used of God. Moses was now ready to follow the direction of God.

Examine your heart today. Are you ready to recognize God for who HE really is? It is easy to pay lip serves to God like the religious leaders did. God desires that you humble yourself before HIM; that you are ready to make HIM number one in your life. As you seek HIM and HIS perfect will for your life, HE will be able to show HIMSELF strong in your life. Do not allow pride to get in your way of adding knowledge of the ways of God. Pride can so quickly blind you from seeing the truth that God has for you. Instead, humble yourself before God and HE will lift you up. Humble yourself so that God can reveal to you knowledge of HIS ways.

Acts 4:19-20 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

The religious leaders recognized that God had performed a mighty miracle through Peter and John when they healed the lame man. They understood that all of Jerusalem understood that it was God who was working through these men. The religious leaders knew that if these men continued to preach, they were going to be persuading many to follow Christ. They determined to threaten Peter and John and commanded them not to teach in the name of Jesus.

The same tactic is still being used today by those who hate the name of Christ. There is not much religious liberty to share with others the testimony of Jesus Christ. The world desires to do what is right in their own eyes and as such, they do not want to be convicted of their sins. Furthermore, they do not want you leading others to the saving power of Christ because then they will be in the minority and will not have the power to push their deviant life-style upon others.

Peter and John understood what Christ had done through them. They understood that they were commanded by Christ to preach the gospel. They understood that they had the power of God in their life and that greater was HE that was in them then he that is of this world. The apostles chose to do what was right in the eyes of God. They knew that the religious leaders could drag them into prison any day of the week, but it was more important to them to do what Christ commanded rather than worry about the consequences of obeying Christ.

The world will try to shame you into keeping your Christianity a secret. The world is constantly trying to pass laws that will prevent you from obeying the will of God for your life. However, you need to learn to fear God more than man. You need to be willing to suffer for the cause of Christ. Peter and John were powerful examples for the cause of Christ and God used them to bring thousands to the kingdom of God because they feared God.

You have seen how God has worked in your life. You have studied the scriptures and you understand that God desires that you be the salt and the light. Salt is worthless if it stays in the shaker. Light is worthless if you hide it. Who created this world, God or man? Remember, Jesus taught us to render to God the things that are Gods. If God is the creator, then you have an obligation to obey HIS commands here on this earth. Do not be afraid of what man can do unto you. When you are willing to obey God for doing what is right, God is able to protect you.

Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were faced with a difficult decision. Do they obey man and bow down to the gods made of the hands of men or do they obey God and worship only the One true God. They chose to obey God rather than man and God protected them. Daniel was commanded to only worship the king for 30 days. Daniel deliberately disobeyed the commands of man and God saved him from the den of lions.

God has shown HIS power and strength. If you are going to add knowledge to your life, you need to understand that it is God whom you serve and that you need to boldly proclaim the truth of HIS ways to this world. It does not matter what man can do to you, God has already demonstrated HIS ability to protect those who are willing to follow in the way.

Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

You do not need to be well educated in order to be used of God. Peter and John were not educated like the religious leaders were, but because of their wiliness to put God first, God was able to use them to turn the world upside-down. Paul on the other hand was very well educated, and God used him to affect the lives of millions.

When we are commanded to add knowledge to our lives, God is not asking us to obtain degrees from schools. Instead, God is asking us to obtain a better understanding of the ways of God. God desires that we learn to understand who HE is and how HE works in our lives. God understands that if we better understand who HE is, then we are more likely to fully dedicate our lives to serving HIM and fulfilling HIS perfect will.

Paul had all this education yet he did not know who God was. He thought he was doing the will of God by persecuting all the Christians when in fact he was doing the exact opposite. Until Paul met the Lord, all the worldly knowledge that he possessed did him no good. However, once he understood who God was and what HIS perfect will was, God used the zeal of Paul.

Prior to Peter and John following Jesus for three years, you do not see Peter or John doing great things for the cause of Christ. They were uneducated and they did not understand who Christ was, let alone what HIS plan was for their life. Over the course of three years, Christ gave HIS apostles a better understanding of the ways of God. Jesus educated HIS followers in the way that they should go so that when HE left, they did not depart from them. The time that these men spent with Jesus changed their lives. With the power of the Holy Ghost upon them, they now had the boldness to preach the gospel of Christ to all those who God crossed their paths with.

If you really want to know someone, you will spend time with them. The same is true with God; if you really want to understand who God is and what HE desires you to do, then you will take the time to be with HIM. Every minute that you spend getting to know the Lord better will not be a waste. Peter was not able to preach and bring thousands to the Lord just because he met Jesus once. Instead, Peter spent three years getting to understand the love of God. Since Peter was uneducated, yet you see him able to quote so many scriptures, the only way he could have had that understanding was by sitting at the feet of Jesus and learning what was important to God.

Why is it in our current society that Christians think it so important that they spend so many years dedicating their lives to obtaining a worldly education yet they are not willing to spend even a few hours a day learning what God desires for their lives? As Christians, we need to understand that our relationship with God should be the most important thing. The more time we spend understanding God, the more HE will use us to reach this lost world.

Where are your priorities? Are you spending time each day developing your relationship with God so that HE might receive the glory? Make time for God. Make God an important part of your life by scheduling time with HIM. Jealously defend the time you have for God because the better you understand who God is and what HE desires you to do, the more fulfillment you will have in your life as you pursue HIS perfect plan.

Acts 4:7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, by what power, or by what name, have ye done this?

Peter and John had just spent a night in prison. The religious leaders then brought the apostles out and asked them by what power they healed the man who was lame from birth. These religious leaders had heard the apostles preaching in the temple the day before so they already knew the answer to the question that they asked. They were not asking the question because they desired to obtain knowledge of the ways of God; they were asking this question in an attempt to show up the apostles. The religious leaders were not concerned about the truth; they were only concerned about maintaining their power and position.

God was working mightily through the life of Peter and John. However, just because God was working through them, it did not mean that everyone was going to fall in line and recognize God working in their lives. One would naturally think that it would have been the religious leaders who would have been behind the work of the apostles. This was not the case; Satan caused the religious leaders to become more concerned about their own power and position then the souls of man. Because of this, the apostles were persecuted by those who should have been encouraging them to fight the good fight.

As a believer, if you strive to follow the perfect plan of God for your life, Satan will make sure that you face persecution. You will face persecution for doing that which is right in the eyes of God. Some of the persecution that you will face will come from those whom you least likely expect it from. However, just because you are being persecuted, it does not mean that you stop pursuing the will of God for your life.

Joseph had a vision from God. It was because of that vision that he found himself a slave in Egypt. Joseph did not end up a slave because of some king who heard of the vision of Joseph who decided to remove the competition. Joseph became a slave because his own brothers, his own flesh and blood became jealous of the fact that God had a high calling for the life of Joseph.

Just because Joseph suffered persecution as a slave and a prisoner does not mean that God was no longer going to use him. Joseph had to suffer many persecutions so that when the time came, he would be in the right place at the right time. Job did nothing wrong, but he lost all that he had in order to prove to Satan that he would not deny God when he lost his possessions, his family, and his health.

As a Christian, you will face trials. Sometime these trials will come from those whom you least expect them from. However, just because you face a trial, does not mean that you can stop serving the Lord. Peter and John faced a night in prison and the next morning they were quick to continue to preach the name of God. Remember that greater is HE that is in you then he that is of this world. By the grace of God you will overcome the trials that you face.

As a Christian you need to add to your life knowledge of the ways of God. This means that you must learn to understand how God works through HIS children. In addition, you need to understand how Satan likes to distract you from doing the perfect will of God. When you understand how Satan tries to distract you, you will be in a better position to overcome the trials that you face so that God will be glorified through your life.

Acts 3:12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

Peter and John went to the temple at the hour of prayer. However, as they were walking, a lame man asked of them alms. Peter looked at the lame man and said, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” (Acts 3:6). Peter then reached down and picked up the lame man and he was not only able to walk but able to leap for joy at the work that God did in his life.

The lame man immediately started following Peter and John; he held onto them; the lame man was giving glory to God. Everyone in the temple knew that this was the lame man who had been lame from his birth, and everyone in the temple was curious as to what had happened. Peter had done a great work for the Lord, but he did not want people to be looking at him and giving him the praise for what the Lord had done.

The people were naturally curious and Peter took the time to draw every ones attention back to God. The people needed to understand that it was God who could do the impossible. The Jews had heard of all the mighty works that God had done for their fathers. They understood that it was God who did the impossible, but they needed to see God do the impossible. The Jews had most likely heard that Jesus was raised from the dead, but why should they believe it. They did not see Jesus after he was dead. Many of them had probably seen Jesus before he died, but only a limited number of people saw him after his death. Why should they believe the message of Peter and John that Jesus was raised from the dead?

The message that Jesus was raised from the dead needed to be spread. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God gave the apostles the ability to do many great wonders so that the Jews would understand that Jesus was the way the truth and the light.

Today there are many lost souls who have heard many stories from the Bible. They have heard the story of David and Goliath, they have heard of Noah and the ark, and they have heard that Jesus was raised from the dead. However, while they have heard of these things, they do not have a personal relationship with God because they do not believe that God is real. They have allowed themselves to believe that the stories from the Bible are nothing but fairy tales. If you are going to be able to share with them the knowledge of the ways of God, you must first be able to show them that God is alive and powerful today.

The world today knows that their lives are incomplete. They are searching for something more. You have the answer to their needs; you have received Jesus as your personal Savior. The world is looking at you to see if there is any truth that God is alive today. They are looking to see if your life is a testimony of the power of God.

Peter and John were properly reflecting the light of God. They did not desire to receive glory for the good work that God had done through them. Instead, they allowed their lives to draw the attention of the world to God. As the world noticed the mighty works of God, they educated the observers that God is alive and that HE desires them to come to HIM. You must live your life so that the world knows that it is God who lives in you.

Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. When HE reached the garden, HE had HIS disciples wait for HIM but requested that Peter, James and John continue with HIM. Jesus then told HIS three disciples that they were to watch as HE prayed. HE then went a little further and fell down on HIS face and prayed. After praying for one hour, Jesus came back to the place where HE requested HIS three disciples to wait and found them asleep. Jesus asked Peter why he could not watch for one hour.

Peter desired to stay vigilant and be with HIS Lord; however, he allowed his desire for sleep to take precedence over his desire for spiritual things. Peter’s spirit was ready but his flesh was weak. The disciples could not stay alert and learn a valuable lesson in prayer because they yielded to their physical desire for sleep.

Jesus desired that HIS disciples grow closer to HIM by observing HIM pray for an hour. This was a very important time to Jesus, a time when HE spoke with HIS Father. Usually when Jesus talked with HIS Father, HE went alone up into the mountains. Jesus had taught HIS disciples how to pray, but now HE desired that they see just how HE prayed.

One could wonder how much stronger the ministry of these three disciples would have been had they simply overcome the temptation to sleep and watched Christ pray these three hours. Peter, James and John had a desire to put the Lord first, but they yielded to the temptation of the flesh to fall asleep.

Satan knows your weakness. There is a battle within over doing that which is right in the eyes of God and doing that which is right in your own eyes. While God calls you to draw closer to HIM, Satan will tempt you with the things of this world so as to cause you to draw your attention away from God. In order to draw closer to God, there will be times where you must put aside the desires of the flesh in order to put on the things of God.

God desires that you draw closer to HIM. Satan desires that you stay entangled with the things of this world. God desires that you spend time in prayer, in reading the Bible and in fasting so as to draw closer to HIM. Satan desires that you fill your time with entertainment, worldly education and obsession with the things of this word in order to stay as far from God as he can get you. As you see from this passage, Peter had already won the spiritual battle in that his spirit desired to do the right thing, but he had yet to take control over his body and thus he yielded to temptation.

You must prepare yourself for the spiritual battles that God will call you into. Peter’s heart was in the right place but he allowed his physical desires to take priority over his mind and heart. When you fill your mind with the things of God, you are adding virtue into your life. Satan desires that your mind be controlled by your physical desires whereas God desires that your mind control your physical desires. In order to win the battle over temptation, your virtuous mind must control your physical desires. There is more to avoiding temptation then simply wishing to do the right thing. You must take the time to prepare for temptation by filling your mind with the things of God.

Matthew 17:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

Jesus had 12 disciples and many followers. However, HE only allowed Peter, James and John to see HIM transfigured. This was a special thing and Jesus selected three of HIS closest disciples to experience this mountain top experience. However, just because they saw this great thing of the Lord, they were charged that they were not allowed to tell anyone until after Jesus was raised from the dead.

In the same way that Jesus worked with each of HIS disciples differently, so too does HE work with each member of HIS church in a different manner. Just because you are in the midst of a trial, it does not mean that those around you are in a trial. Just because you are on a mountaintop and you see and hear God’s voice so clearly, it does not mean that God has led those around you into a mountaintop experience.

All of Jesus’ disciples had to face the valley of the shadow of death when Jesus died, but only a handful of disciples experienced the mountaintop. Peter, James and John went on to do great things for God. Jesus understood that while all of his disciples were called, their level of commitment was different. Because much was expected of Peter, James and John, Jesus allowed them to see the transfiguration.

God desires that you do great things for HIM. However, you must be faithful to do much with the time, talents and treasures that HE has already given you. If you are not faithful with the limited time, talents and treasures God has given you, why should you expect God to reveal HIMSELF more fully to you? When God does give you a mountaintop experience, it should be a strong indication to you that God has something special for your life. You must be willing to be used of God in a powerful way.

God uses mountaintop experiences to give you the strength to overcome great hurdles in your life. You must never forget those times that God was really close to you and you clearly heard HIS voice. There will be times when you are in the valley and when you feel like you are in a desert and the voice of God is not as clear in your life. During these times you must remember that God is with you and that HE has promised to never forsake you. Remember the promises of God during the difficult time so that you do not yield to sin and fall short of the glory of God.

God is with you when HE leads you through the valley of the shadow of death and HE is with you when HE takes up into the mountains and reveals HIMSELF to you in ways you never would have imagined. You must remember to remain faithful regardless of where God has placed you. You must remember that your relationship with God is the most important thing in your life.

Just as Jesus led Peter, James and John up into the mountain, so too it will be by God’s leading that you will be taken up into the mountain. Use the mountaintop as an opportunity to draw closer to God. It is easier to draw closer to God when you hear HIS voice so clearly. As you draw closer to God, fill your mind and heart with the things of God and thus add virtue to your life.

Matthew 14:16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.

The disciples understood that the people had a need. They saw that the people were hungry and that it was getting late. The disciples ask Jesus to stop ministering to the multitudes and send them away so that the people could minister to their need for food. However, Jesus had another lesson for the disciples to learn. Rather than see a need and be courteous in allowing the people to meet the need, the disciples learned an important lesson in allowing God to meet a need through them. The disciples did not have much, but what they had God was able to use to meet the needs of others.

God desires to use you to touch the lives of others. God does not show you a need just so that you can tell the person his or her own need. They already know they have a need. The fact that you see that someone has a need is an opportunity for you to ask God to meet that need. Your faith will grow as you look to God to do the impossible through you. What good does it do to your spiritual life if all you do when you see a need is tell the person who has the need to go take care of their need?

Later on in the disciples life you see that they had learned this lesson. A lame man once asked Peter and John for alms. Peter and John looked at the man and rather than give him money, they meet his real need and they healed him. Had they simply given him money, the next day the man would have been in the exact same situation, begging for money.

What opportunities to meet the needs of others have you passed up because you were more concerned with your own needs then you were for your neighbors problems? Christ told you that what you do to the least of those around you, you have done it unto HIM. How would you like to face the judgment seat of God and hear HIM say to you that you never meet HIS needs because you never meet the needs of those around you?

You need to change your focus for life. You are not here on this earth to simply enjoy life and move on. You are here on this earth to reflect the light of God. When you take the time to meet the need of others, people are grateful for what you have done for them. What an excellent opportunity for you to share the love of God by explaining that God was the One who showed you that they had a need and that HE gave you provision in order to meet that need.

Stop finding excuses as to why you cannot meet the needs of others. Instead, look to God and ask HIM to enable you to reach out and help others in ways that are beyond your abilities. Allow God to stretch you and increase your faith. As God increases your faith, you will be able to do even greater things for HIM.

Many people can see the need but it takes one with a changed mindset to ask God to allow them to meet that need. When you add virtue to your life, you will now be looking for ways that you can express the love of God to others. If your mind is full of yourself, how can you expect to be looking for others with needs let alone looking for ways that you can meet their needs? You must fill your mind with the things of God so that you are focus on others. Anyone can focus on their own needs, it takes one filled with virtue to be looking for how God can use them to reach out and meet other’s needs.

Acts 8:18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,

Philip went to the city of Samaria. At Samaria there was a sorcerer named Simon. The people had been deceived by Simon and thought that he had power from God. When Philip preached the gospel of Jesus, the people including Simon believed. The apostles in Jerusalem heard that of the believers in Samaria and they sent Peter and John to give the people the Holy Ghost.

Simon may have been a newborn Christian but that does not mean that he had developed the mind of Christ and added virtue to his life. Simon was use to being a powerful figure in the town. Simon saw that there was power that Peter and John possessed that he desired. Rather than seek the Lord to change his heart and mind so that he too could be used of God, Simon reverted back to his old ways where he attempted to receive what he wanted by whatever means possible.

Simon sinned against God by thinking that he could purchase the gift of laying on of hands. While one might naturally forgive Simon because he was a newborn Christian, his actions were still a sin and Peter confronted telling him his heart was not right. Peter told Simon that it was “the thought of thine heart” that he needed to seek forgiveness for.

Virtue is changing your thought patter to think upon that which is good, to think upon the things of God. While Simon may have accepted Christ as his personal Savior, he had not yet learned to fill his mind with the character of Christ. Instead, Satan still had a foothold in Simon’s life as Simon still was seeking power and the praises of men.

Philip, Peter and John were able to do great things for God because they were not doing them to receive glory for themselves. Their actions were not designed to draw attention to themselves but to draw attention to their Master. Because they had a different mindset, God was able to use them. God used them in a mighty way to build HIS church. God was not going to use Simon until Simon learned that it was not about him. God could not use a man who was more concerned with his own image then the image of Christ in his life.

How often have you made the mistake of thinking about receiving the praises of men? This occurs where you are planning your actions not so that God can be magnified through you but instead so that you can receive the attention of others so that they know just how great you are. If you desire to be used of God, you must learn to put on the mind of Christ. Christ was not out seeking attention for himself, HE was looking for ways that HIS Father might be glorified through HIM. By changing the way you think, you will allow virtue to have a part of your life.

Virtue is necessary in the heart of a believer should they desire to be used of God. God does not desire spiritual couch potatoes who are lukewarm and good for nothing. God desires Christians who have a desire to step out into the world and to be used of God so that God can receive the glory. You are not ready to be used of God until you have learned to change your mindset to put God first in your life. You must have virtue in your life if you desire not to sin by thinking more highly of yourself then you ought.

Acts 4:9-10 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

Peter and John went to the temple and as they were entering, a lame man asked for some money. Instead of giving the lame man what he asked for, by the power of Christ, they gave him more then what he asked and enabled him to walk. Because this man had been lame all his life, everyone was astonished and Peter and John had an audience that was causing the priests to become jealous.

The priest had Peter and John locked up for the night and in the morning, Annas the high priest along with several other priests asked Peter and John by what power they performed this miracle. Scripture tells us that Peter was filled with the Holy Ghost. Peter responded to the priest by telling them that their power came from Jesus Christ who the priests crucified but whom God raised from the dead.

Peter and John could have attempted to take credit for God working through them. Instead, they properly acknowledged the source of their power. They understood that if they took credit for God working through them, it could very well be the last time God used them in such a mighty way. Peter’s first response was that it was Christ who should receive the credit for this man being healed.

Peter was not thinking of his personal popularity. Peter was thinking about bringing glory to God. Peter understood that his purpose in life was to bring the world’s attention to the good report that Jesus Christ was killed and that God raised HIM from the dead. Because Peter mind and heart were dedicated to proclaiming the truth of the gospel to all, he was looking for opportunities for God to work through him so that he might share with others the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Because Peter and John were not striving to receive personal praise from men, the lame man who was healed was able to go into the temple and give praise to God for healing him. The lame man was not singing the praises of Peter and John but was singing the praises of God. Because Peter and John were not striving to receive the personal praises from men, God was able to touch the hearts of those who saw the lame man praising God and HE was able to add many to HIS kingdom because of the lame man’s testimony.

Virtue requires that you think upon that which is true and that which is of a good report. This means that you must understand that you are not here on this earth to be seeking your own glory but instead to bring glory to the One who saved you from sin. It should be your goal to fill your mind with how you can glorify the Son so that when opportunities arise, you can properly deflect the praises of man to your Savior.

If you desire to be virtuous, then you must be filled with God’s presence so that you naturally give God the glory for HIS working in your life. If God does not fill you, then your sin nature will take credit for the great things you do for God. God is the One who has worked through you and by virtue you will give HIM the credit that HE deserves.

Mark 9:23-24 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Jesus, Peter, James and John just came off the mountain in which Jesus’ disciples saw Jesus speaking with Elijah and Moses. A father then came to Jesus asking Jesus to heal his son who had a dumb spirit. This father told Jesus that his son often would cast himself into the fire or into water. Jesus told that father that it was possible for his son to be healed if only he believed. The father replied that he believed but at the same time he acknowledged his lack of faith.

This father seems to be having the problem of having faith in his head but lacking faith in his heart. He understood the power of Jesus because he had heard of others that Jesus had healed. However, since he had taken his son to Jesus’ disciples and they had attempted to heal his son and had failed, this father probably had some doubt in his heart where he wondered if it really was God’s will that his son be healed.

Satan loves to test Christians in a similar matter. You have heard of the power of God. You have read all the scriptures about how with faith the impossible can be done. You understand in your head that God can do anything and that HE is the same yesterday, today and forever. You have heard the testimony of other Christians and heard how God has miraculously provided for them. You believe the power of God, the only problem is that you have seeds of doubt in your head and as such, you sometimes doubt God’s wiliness to work in your life.

This father acknowledged to Jesus that he had the faith that Jesus could heal his son. However, he also acknowledged that he had some doubt as to whether Jesus was willing to heal his son. Jesus healed this man’s son so that HIS Father would be magnified here on earth. Jesus understood this man’s faith and his lack of faith and HE did not hold this man’s doubt against him but instead, gave this man his petition.

How often have you been the reason why your prayers have not been answered? You understand the power of God in your head, but you refuse to believe God from the bottom of your heart. It takes more then head knowledge to have faith, in order to have great faith; you must learn to have your heart and your head working in the same direction. In order to have faith, you must learn to believe with your heart the things that your mind has learned to comprehend. It is not easy to overcome doubt because it is a battle that Satan does not desire that you win. Satan understands the power of faith and he understands that you will be very ineffective for God if you lack faith.

You could not become a Christian on just head knowledge. You had to learn to believe with your heart. In the same manner, you have heard of the power of God, now it is time that you learn to live your life with the power of God by applying your head knowledge to heart application. Satan desires to create doubt but God desires that you clearly understand HIS will and that you live in HIS power on a daily basis. The only way you are going to overcome the doubt Satan is going to throw at you will be by drawing closer to God and learning to hear HIS still small voice. By faith you will overcome doubt.

John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

It is so easy to look at the life of Jesus and say that the reason HE had the ability to perform so many miracles was because HE was the Son of God. While Jesus is the Son of God, HE HIMSELF recognized that HIS power did not come because of who HE was, but that HIS power came as a result of HIS seeking to do the will of God while on this earth. The difference between Jesus’ ability to perform many mighty miracles and your ability comes from Jesus superior understanding of the power HE possessed because HE was doing the will of God. Once the disciples understood the will of God and the power they possessed by doing the will of God, they were able to perform many of the same miracles Jesus performed while on this earth.

Jesus is the perfect example for your life. HE came to this earth and lived a life without sin. Jesus did not come to this earth to draw attention to HIMSELF, but HE was here for the purpose of doing HIS Father’s will. By laying aside HIS own will and seeking to do the will of HIS Father, Jesus lived a life without sin and lived a life full of the power of God. If Jesus had strived to do HIS own will, HE would have failed to fulfill HIS purpose for coming to this earth.

Jesus authority to perform miracles came because HE sought to do the will of God. Jesus is your ultimate example. Jesus faced many difficult trials and was able to overcome them because HE lived HIS life not for HIMSELF but lived HIS life for the Lord. Because Jesus followed the will of HIS Father, God was able to work through HIS Son to reach the world with the truth.

Just as God sent HIS Son to this world for a purpose, so too did HE place you here on this earth for a reason. God gave HIS Son direction as to what HE desired Jesus to do and Jesus obeyed HIS Father. God too is giving you direction as to what HE desires you to do, the question you must answer is whether you will obey your Creator and do HIS will.

Jesus is your example of faith. Faith at times seams like a complex subject. However, in reality, all you really need to understand about faith is that you must take the time to hear God’s will for your life and then you must do it. You cannot allow yourself to be caught up in all the distractions of life. You cannot afford to start doing God’s will your own way. Instead, if you desire to live a life that truly affects those around you, then you must be like Jesus and understand that the power of your life comes from God as you learn to do what HE desires you to do.

It is easy for you to say that God can do the impossible through you. However, do you really have the faith to believe your own words? God has a purpose for your life and HE desires to use you to do many wonderful things for HIM. However, in order for you to have the power of God in your life, you must follow the example of Jesus and first yield your own right to do your own will and instead seek to do the will of your Father. As you allow God’s power to work through your life, you will see yourself doing things that you never thought possible. Remember you do not deserve the credit for God working through you but you must give God the glory for rewarding your faith.

Acts 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

After Peter and John healed the lame man and were threatened by the rulers, they returned to the believers and told them what had happened. The believers upon hearing how God rewarded Peter and John’s faith gave praise to God with one accord. After they prayed, God was so well pleased that HE filled the assembly with the Holy Spirit. Because of the faith of Peter and John, the assembly was united in one heart.

Faith is a tool that is designed to unite. You can share your testimony of faith with fellow believers and since you both serve the same God, your testimony will encourage them to draw closer to HIM. Your testimony of how God gave you boldness to face an obstinate individual could result in someone else having the boldness to share the gospel with a loved one. Your testimony of faith is a tool to encourage others to draw closer to HIM.

How many different branches of Christianity are there? While there are many branches, they still all originate from the same vine. Just because someone may emphasize a different element of scripture then you prioritize, it does not mean that you cannot share with them how God is working in your life. You serve the same God, you are both called Christians, and Christ has just demonstrated HIS power because of your faith. It is now time to share your faith so that God can use your experience of faith to unite the church.

Once there were eight-year-old twin girls. For being twins, these two girls were about as opposite as two could get. Yes, they had the same mother and they had the same father. They were born on the same day. Nonetheless, the similarities ended there. They were so different that their parents had to give them separate rooms in order to avoid commotion. Nonetheless, there was one thing they both loved to visit their grandmother. One day, one of the girls did an extra chore. Because this extra chore saved her mother so much time, her mother decided that there was enough time to go visit grandma that evening. The other twin who had not done the chore benefited by her sisters act of going above and beyond. Because they both were going to their favorite place, this reward united the girls.

Just as the twin’s parents did not like seeing the girls divided, so too does Christ not like seeing those who are called by HIS name divided. Christ desires that we unite together in one accord for the purpose of doing many mighty things for HIM. Our faith and the rewards of our faith is just one of the tools that Christ uses to cause believers to draw closer to HIM and closer to one another.

As God rewards your faith, it is not the time to hold in the mighty works of God. It is time to share with others the good things God is doing through you. Share with your fellow believers how God has rewarded your faith. Share with your fellow believers regardless of their denomination. Allow God to use your faith to unite rather then divide. Your faith will unite because it will cause other believers to recognize that God is working through you. God’s power in your life is a powerful attraction to others to cause them to desire to draw closer to HIM. Share your faith experience with others so that God will be magnified among the unbelievers and see the uniting of HIS church.

Acts 4:19-20 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye, for we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

Peter and John had just performed the miracle of healing the lame man. They were then punished for their good work and spent the night in prison. They were admonished not to speak about Jesus. Peter and John with boldness replied to the rulers that what they spoke was the truth and that they had to obey God not man.

Peter and John had experience Jesus. They knew the power in their life was not of their own accord but was from God. As they obeyed God and did what HE desired they do, they saw God work many miracles. They may have just been punished for doing good, but Peter and John had faith in God that if God desired they continue to preach HIS name, that HE would take care of them.

Peter and John demonstrated their faith by pointing out to the authorities that their words were not their own but were simply the testimony of what God had done in their life. They had seen God work. They had experienced the power of God in their own life. Remember, this is the same Peter who denied Jesus three times. This was the same John who ran with the other disciples when Jesus was taken in the garden. They had learned the power of God and by faith they were now willing to stand up to God’s adversaries.

A six-year-old boy lived on the same street as two twelve-year-old bullies. One day when the little boy was riding his bike, the bullies demanded that he let them use his bike. The little boy was so afraid of them that he left his bike and ran into his house and hid. When his father found out, he spoke with his son and he taught his son how to defend himself. Several days later, when the bullies tried to take his bike away from him again, the little boy refused them with such confidence that the bullies were afraid to do anything to the little boy because his confidence indicated that the little boy knew something that they were unaware of.

Our confidence comes from our knowledge and understanding that God is in control. By faith you can be like Peter who feared God more then man. You do not have to worry about what man can do to you when you are doing the will of God. What is the worst thing that man can do to you? They can kill you which means you will be with God. They can torture you. But if they torture you, you already have been promised that God will only let you endure that which HE already knows you are able to bear. They can ridicule you and not be your friend. Jesus told HIS disciples that if a house rejected their teaching that they were to shake off the dust and go find someone else who was more receptive.

You must learn not to fear man. You must learn to demonstrate your faith by putting on the boldness of Christ. You must be willing to give an answer of the reason for the hope that lies within you to those who ridicule Christ. God has created a testimony in you. God has given this testimony so that you will have the boldness to share with the world HIS power. God has shown you HIS power so that you can share with others the good things that HE has done. Now it is time for you to demonstrate your faith and to speak with boldness the good things that HE has done.