Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. —Revelation 3:20

It is wonderful when we hear with both sets of ears. Every minister knows what it is like to preach and find that people only hear with their physical ears. So all they think about during the sermon are the preacher’s mannerisms, his oratory, his eloquence, and his style. Sadly, that is all some ever take in.

It was to the second set of ears—our spiritual ears—Jesus referred in the parable of the sower when He said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:9). His promise of spiritual hearing in Revelation 3:20 is contingent upon the second set of ears being opened.

What happens, then, if your second set of ears are opened?

Well, first you find that instead of merely concluding that the minister was a good speaker, you suddenly think, He is speaking to my soul. Now you begin to view life from a new perspective and to think about issues you have never considered before: the question of whether there is life beyond the grave, for example.

However, there is another course of action you may take. Let us look at Revelation 1:3: “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take it to heart what is written in it” (emphasis added). The Greek word for “take to heart” means “mark attentively” or “take heed.” This means that the message of Revelation is not mere opinion or mythology; what is said is true, so you must consider this whole matter most soberly. In fact, you must heed its message.

The message of Revelation is the unveiling of the divine will concerning Jesus Christ. This book tells you all you need to know about Jesus and all you need to know about yourself.

Excerpted from A Vision of Jesus (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1999).

Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. —Psalm 27:14

Just as in the natural birth process, there is a gestation period for a miracle. The Bible is filled with examples of people waiting for God’s promises. Abraham and Sarah waited for God to give them their promised son. The children of Israel waited in captivity for their deliverer to appear.

David waited on God while he was being pursued by Saul’s men. Israel waited for her Messiah, and the disciples waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit. We are waiting now for our blessed hope, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ for His Church.

God always comes through for those who wait on Him. The promised Son was born; the deliverer appeared; and the enemies were defeated. The Messiah was sent; and the Holy Spirit came. One day we who are waiting expectantly will be caught up in the clouds to be with our Lord forever! God is never late, and He never forgets His promise (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

I am waiting on You, O Lord. I know that
You always act at the right time. So I
praise You for all You do. Amen.

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. —Exodus 20:16

Why did God give this commandment, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor”?

First, God wants His people to tell the truth when they speak. In ancient times two or three witnesses were required in a court of law. “One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of a crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Deut. 19:15). This was to protect an individual from being maligned by a personal enemy, from a vendetta, or from someone who just wanted to bring another down.

The second reason God gave this command is that He wants to protect us from being falsely accused. He does not like it if anybody lies about you, for it hurts you. And if you feel that way, so does God. This is your comfort when you are lied about. Are you prepared to believe that God cares even more for you than you do? God cares about His children.

If you are a parent, how do you feel if somebody says something about your child that is not true? I myself can handle many things said against me, but when I hear of something said against either of my children, I have to work hard to contain myself.

You should know that God the Father feels that way about His children, too. Perhaps you have nobody who will defend you when people lie about you. But God heard it, and He does not like it. He said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” In other words, He will vindicate you. The word vindicate means “to have one’s name cleared.” It’s what God does best. Anything God does, He does well. But if He has an “area of expertise,” it is this.

Excerpted from Grace (Charisma House, 2006).

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. —Luke 1:33

There is no end to the peace of God. True peace is not the absence of conflict, but His blessed assurance in the midst of all conflict. When we pray to the Father for His kingdom to come into our lives, we ask Him to become our Father and to be responsible for our supply.

Self seeks to benefit itself at the expense of others. Love seeks to benefit others at the expense of self.

You deserved to spend eternity in hell, but He forgave you. When Jesus died on the Cross and journeyed into hell, He took your place and mediated an eternal peace with your heavenly Father. He endured torture, death, and a devil’s hell to benefit all mankind. This is true forgiveness, true love, and true peace.

Love as Jesus loves you, forgive as Jesus forgives you—and there will be no limit to His kingdom and His peace in your life. Find Jesus, the King, and you will find the in the kingdom you will find endless peace. Peace with God. Peace with yourself and others.

Almighty God, I give You praise for Jesus Christ, who makes
peace between me and You. I magnify Your name for
bringing together people from all different races
and backgrounds to be one in Christ’s body,
dwelling together in harmony
and peace. Amen.

For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. —John 6:33

Names carried great significance to the ancient Hebrews. To know the name of something was to rule it; they believed the essence of the person or thing was in its name.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, as foretold by Micah over 450 years earlier (Micah 5:2). Bethlehem means literally, “House of Bread”—an appropriate place for God to ordain to cradle the Bread of Life that came down from heaven.

The manna which fell in the wilderness only briefly satisfied; it couldn’t be stored or kept to meet tomorrow’s need. But when we partake of Jesus, we can be continually filled, saved, and satisfied for all eternity.

Our clothes may wear out, our money may run out and our hair may fall out—but Christ, the “True Bethlehem,” the “True Manna,” gives us everlasting life. “O, taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8).

Lord, I have tasted and known that You are good.
You are the true bread that came down
from heaven. I will feed on Your Word
all the days of my life. Amen.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—”that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” —Ephesians 6:1-3

God could have added this word of promise to any of the commands, but He chose this one, thus giving an added incentive for keeping this command.

I find this sobering. In the light of this I ask, how long can I expect to live, based on this promise and my attitude toward my own parents? So if this command is true, and the promise is relevant, how long may you expect to live?

You could call this commandment a proposition. God makes a deal with His people. Honor your father and your mother so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Parental respect must be taught in the home and in the church. It is the teaching of gratitude. We need to be taught gratitude, and that means to be thankful and respectful to our parents. And yet I must admit that this teaching will be easier for some than for others. Not all have good parents. My heart goes out to anybody who struggles here. I was once pastor of a church in which there was a lady who was abused by her father; her father had sexual intercourse with her as far back as she could remember. It messed up her life to no end.

Perhaps you have a father who was cruel and insensitive. Perhaps you had a mother who was not very loving. And now you are told to honor them, and you say, “I can’t.” I sympathize. I can echo the sentiments of David in Psalm 16:6: “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” That also means that I am without excuse. If you too have a father and mother who did not abuse you but who loved you, did their best for you, and loved the Lord, you ought to be very thankful.

Excerpted from Grace (Charisma House, 2006).

The outrage over nativity scenes continues as the war on Christmas rages. Now, evangelist Ray Comfort is throwing his gospel response into the battle.

After reading the Freedom From Religion’s (FFR) demand that the Texas city of Athens remove a nativity scene from the corner of its courthouse lawn, Comfort decided to educate himself on the exploits of this activist atheist group.

“Freedom From Religion Foundation see themselves as moral watchdogs,” Comfort concludes. Comfort pointed to the many lawsuits FFR has filed, including a federal suit against the Town of Whiteville, Tenn., and its mayor, James Bellar, “to force him to remove crosses on the Whiteville water tower.” In another suit, the FFR argues that “an unauthorized Latin cross suddenly appearing at Camp Pendleton must come down.”

Armed with information about FFR, Comfort, producer of 180, a pro-life movie that has generated more than 1.8 million YouTube views, reached out to Pastor Nathan Lorick of First Baptist Church in Malakoff. Malakoff is working with 73 local pastors to stand up to the FFR. Comfort offered to send in teams to evangelize the area, and he plans to repeat the effort everywhere the FFR raises its atheistic head.

“Whenever they try and bully people with their anti-God agenda, we will make that place ground-zero for an evangelistic campaign,” Comfort says. “The majority of Americans believe in God, and many of them have had enough of intolerance towards the things of God. Atheists may use the law to make a mayor remove a cross from a water tower, but we will then make it our business to take the cross to thousands.”

Internet sales in the U.S. this holiday season are up 15 percent to $24.6 billion, according to comScore.

So far, consumers have spent about $25 billion online.

ComScore, a digital research firm, said single-day sales exceeded a billion dollars six times so far. One of those days included Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, when sales hit $ billion.

Sales for the week ending Dec. 9 rose 15 percent to $5.9 billion, the Reston, Va., company reported.

“As we enter what will be the heaviest week of the season for online retailers—beginning with ‘Green Monday’ on Dec. 12—all signs are now pointing to a strong finish to the season,” comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said earlier this week.

Green Monday, traditionally the second Monday of December, was coined by eBay, Inc., to describe the best sales day in December. Although the day has consistently ranked among the top spending days of the season, it is no longer the top online spending day.

“Free Shipping Day,” occurs on Friday.

The Bible has always been controversial, but the latest brouhaha is over a special edition Bible’s ties to a pro-abortion group.

Released in October as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the pink-cover Here’s Hope Breast Cancer Awareness Bible has been on sale in the general market, with $1 from each sale going to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure for breast health education, screening and treatment programs.

But LifeWay Christian Resources (LCR), B&H’s parent organization, has decided to withdraw the edition after learning that some Komen affiliates have given money to Planned Parenthood, whose own affiliates offer breast exams.

“We made a mistake,” says LCR President and CEO Thom Rainer. “When our leadership discovered the overwhelming concern that some of Komen’s affiliates were giving funds to Planned Parenthood, we began the arduous process of withdrawing this Bible from the market.

“Though we have assurances that Komen’s funds are used only for breast cancer screening and awareness, it is not in keeping with LifeWay’s core values to have even an indirect relationship with Planned Parenthood.”

B&H’s mission to advance the gospel through distribution of God’s Word was unchanged, Rainer said, “so we will continue to seek innovative ways that are in keeping with LifeWay’s core values.”

Marty King, spokesman for LCR, told Baptist Press that the Bibles were not sold in LifeWay Christian Stores, but at mass retailers like Walmart. The goal had been to “get the Bible into the hands of people who may not frequent LifeWay Christian Stores or ,” he said.

I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten. —Joel 2:25

Perhaps you feel you cannot tithe at the moment, but the ability to handle money (when you give God all of His) may be a gift you are given that you weren’t expecting to have. It is just like Jesus multiplying the loaves and the fish; it doesn’t have a natural explanation. It doesn’t add up that 90 percent can go as far as 100 percent.

I will never forget one day coming home shortly after Louise and I were married. God had hidden His face from me for days and weeks. I hadn’t made any sales. I thought, Will I ever get to be in ministry? Whatever happened to those visions that God was going to use me? I walked over to a Bible my Grandmother Curley had given me, and, I promise you, my eyes fell right on these words: “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ In tithes and offerings” (Mal. 3:8). I abruptly closed that Bible, walked over, and turned on the television that we still owed for, and I thought, I certainly didn’t want a word like that.

Perhaps you feel this way at the moment.

But you know what happened? As a result of not tithing because I was paying my bills, I owed more a year later than I did when I made the decision not to tithe. And a year after that, I owed more. One day I said, “I will start tithing now!” In eighteen months, we were out of debt.

Tithing is a part of worshiping God. Abraham was the first tither. That’s in the Old Testament. But look at what the New Testament says: “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Cor. 9:6).

You should not give necessarily because a church needs it, although sometimes that is the case, but you should give because it is the right thing to do.

Excerpted from The Thorn in the Flesh (Charisma House, 2004).