Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. —Joshua 1:8

The psalmist prays, “O Lord, grant us success” (Ps. 118:25), but have you ever explicitly prayed for this? Do you think you are ready for it? If your answer is a quick yes, then I would caution you to be careful.

Every Thursday I would spend two hours with Dr. Lloyd-Jones, sitting at his feet, discussing the sermon for the following Sunday. He once made this throwaway comment, and I immediately got my pen and wrote it down. It was the most powerful word I ever heard him say, yet it’s in none of his books: “The worst thing that can happen to a man is to succeed before he is ready.” It was a word of wisdom to me at the time.

If you do want success, do you think you are really ready for it?

What kind of success are we talking about? It may well be prosperity. God does indeed give financial prosperity to some, though Christians who have wealth tend to come in for a certain amount of criticism that may spoil their enjoyment of it. However, once in a while, God will raise up a Joseph of Arimathea or a Lydia. (See Matthew 27:57-60; Acts 16:14-15.)

God may want you to have influence with people, but how marvelous it would be if you could be trusted with a ministry of prayer. Some are more successful in prayer than others. Why? Because they want to be successful in prayer. I challenge you to make that your goal.

The worst thing that can happen to a person is to succeed before he’s ready. But if you succeed because God says you’re ready, there won’t be that “after” of regret. If you succeed in prayer, you will have known success greater than any other. Maybe books won’t be written about you, but when you stand before God and Jesus Himself looks at you and says, “Well done!” it will be the greatest feeling, and it will last forever.

Excerpted from When God Shows Up (Renew Books, 1998).

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. —Luke 1:38

The message delivered to Mary by the angel was not a command, but merely an announcement of what God intended to do. She did not ask for a sign to prove the word was true. She could have respectfully declined, but she did not. Even though she did not understand how she, a virgin, could bear a child, she believed the word from God and submitted her will to the Father’s will.

God will often give us a word that requires us to receive it by faith. But remember, when God speaks, things happen. He spoke the earth into being, an impossible task according to scientists. Finite minds cannot grasp how this could be and yet standing on the earth, we are literally standing on the Word of God.

Blind submission requires blind faith. God made a demand on Mary’s faith, and she accepted the challenge. Allow Him to bring you into His plan for your miracle by bowing your knee in humble submission and saying, “Be it unto me according to Thy Word.”

If you had been Mary, would you have been so totally submitted to the will of God?

I submit totally to You, Lord Jesus. You are my
sole reason for living. How I love You! Amen.

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. —1 Corinthians 1:26-27

Our God is a God who calls people. This fact is essential to His dealings with us. After they had sinned, Adam and Eve “heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day. … the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?'” (Gen. 3:8-9). Could it be that God is seeking you? The sound of His voice is disquieting, and you may think, Oh, no, it couldn’t be that He’s calling me.

Let me define what I mean by God’s call: I mean God getting our attention to make His own wish known. For example, He calls at conversion. Everyone who is a Christian is a Christian because he or she has been converted, and the reason of the conversion is that the person heard the call of God.

Allow me to ask you this question: When you get to the very center of God’s will, is it perhaps at great cost? Could it be that there is a call to a spirituality at a deeper level than you have known? What if, in your midlife, when things are going well, God puts His finger on your lifestyle, the way you have been spending your time, your money—all the comfort you have taken for granted—and says, “I have something else in mind.” The pain can be great, but the reward will be greater.

The “calling of God” is getting our attention to make His wish known. Are you ready for this? If not, get ready, for it is only a matter of time—God will call you.

Excerpted from When God Shows Up (Renew Books, 1998).

Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. —2 Timothy 1:14, NAS

Everything a pregnant woman takes into her body goes directly into her baby. If she smokes, drinks or takes drugs, she may harm or even abort her unborn child. Everything that comes in through your eyes, your ears, and your mind goes into your spiritual womb. If you take in doubt and unbelief, you will contaminate the miracle growing in your spirit.

Some people abort the miracle God has for them because they are full of doubt. They let go of God’s promise and lose sight of their miracle.

Before raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead, Jesus ordered all unbelievers to leave (Luke 8:54). If you are incubating a miracle, shun doubt and unbelief; feed your spirit with the things of God, allowing the Holy Spirit to conduct regular check-ups of your spiritual condition. Guard your is His gift to you.

Lord Jesus, reveal to me the unhealthy things
I have been putting into my spiritual womb.
Instead of partaking of something harmful
to my miracle, I will feast today
on Your Word. Amen.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. —1 John 4:16

Are you ready for God to love you? It’s easy to say, “I certainly am,” but are you really ready to accept and affirm His love?

You cannot rely very long on your love for God, but you can rely on His love for you. He wants you to. Just think how much it would thrill Him if you really believed He loves you. If you could only grasp this life-changing truth—that God really does love you—what a wonderful feeling it would be.

Why are you so reluctant to believe that God loves you? Here are five possibilities:

1. You may have an overly scrupulous conscience, to use the Puritan phrase, and worry about every little thing that may be wrong in your life.

2. You may still be living under the Old Covenant, under the Law.

3. You may have a faulty theology.

4. There could be a psychological problem. I know people who can’t call God “Father” because of the relationship they had with their own fathers.

5. When you are aware of how much you have failed God (and we have all sinned and let Him down), you can’t believe that He still loves you. He wants to love you as you are, and you should not respond to His love by “performing” for Him. (See Isaiah 29:13.)

If you can identify with one or all of these criteria, at the end of the day you can still claim the promise that God loves you. But I sympathize. I find it difficult to believe God loves me. Yet I have come to see that it really is true: God loves me. God loves you. God really does love us.

Excerpted from When God Shows Up (Renew Books, 1998).

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. —Luke 1:28, 31

The story of Mary and the conception of Jesus reveals powerful keys to receiving God’s miracle-working power.

Before you can receive a miracle, you must receive a Word from God. Whether it comes from the Bible, through anointed preaching, or from the Lord speaking in your spirit, you must receive the Word that speaks to your situation.

When God told the prophet Elijah to seek out the widow of Zarephath, He had a plan for her. He intended to provide for her needs and prosper her in a time of drought and famine. When Elijah came to her, she had not yet received that Word from God. The prophet had to put a demand on her faith to bring her into God’s provision. She received God’s Word through the prophet, and in so doing received her miracle (1 Kings 17).

Receive God’s Word for your situation, and allow Him to conceive a miracle in your spiritual womb. Give God permission to birth new creation in your life. You are born of the Spirit, not of flesh. Be born anew in Christ Jesus.

Birth in me, Lord Jesus, Your new creation.
I desire to be born of the Spirit through
faith and truth in You. Amen.

Remember the story earlier this week about Macy’s firing a Christian employee for telling a transvestite man he couldn’t try on clothes in the ladies fitting room?

Well, Natalie Johnson, the woman who was fired from a Macy’s in San Antonio, Texas, is appearing on Fox News Channel to tell the whole story.

Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel founder and chairman, will join Johnson on Fox on Sunday, between noon and 1 p.m., to discuss Macy’s policy that allows men to use the women’s fitting rooms.

“This policy is absurd, and everyone who hears of it is shocked,” Staver says. “Macy’s policy has placed every woman at risk of sexual assault and even rape. To regain the confidence of its customers, Macy’s need to immediately change its policy.”

Many people are outraged to learn that Macy’s allows men to use women’s fitting rooms. Some are cutting up their Macy’s credit cards. Others are refusing to step foot back in the stores until the policy changes.

This bizarre policy came to light during the Christmas shopping season, when Johnson saw a man entering a women’s fitting room in her department area at Macy’s. After he came out, Johnson politely approached the young man and told him he could not use the women’s fitting rooms because they were for women only.

Although this young man was wearing lipstick, Johnson reports he clearly looked like a man. He became upset and used expletives. The attorney who accompanied him said that Macy’s was LGBT friendly. Johnson politely responded that men cannot use the women’s fitting rooms. The two men demanded to speak with Johnson’s manager.

Johnson was later summoned by her manager, Mary Ellen, and told that “transgender” people can use any fitting room they desire. When Johnson questioned how men could use women’s fitting rooms and asked for a religious accommodation because she could not lie by allowing men to use women’s fitting rooms, she was terminated.

Despite widespread support for Johnson, Macy’s has not reversed its policy. Bloomingdale’s, an affiliate of Macy’s, has the same policy. Liberty Counsel is gathering signatures on a petition to ask Macy’s to change the policy.

You can find it at . Or call the corporate office at 800-264-0069 or 513-398-5221, fax them at 513-573-2049, or write to Terry Lundren, President and CEO, Macy’s Inc, P.O. Box 8220, Mason, OH 45040.

With digital readers and tablets expected to be popular Christmas gifts, accelerating the growth of non-print book sales, Christian suppliers and brick-and-mortar retailers have been launching e-book programs in time for the holidays.

Berean Christian Stores and some leading independents have already introduced services, with Mardel Christian & Education and The Parable Group due to follow soon.

Chuck Wallington’s Christian Supply in Spartanburg, S.C.—one of the industry’s top stores—unveiled its e-book initiative at Thanksgiving, with plans to roll it out to stores that are part of Wallington’s Covenant Group marketing network in the New Year.

E-books are available for purchase at the Christian Supply website, through Ingram Digital Content Services, with an in-store center to be introduced to answer customers’ questions. Wallington said that the e-books initiative was a significant shift in book selling. “I am convinced more than ever that if we are not where they are shopping, we are losing them for life.”

Digital marketing supplier Innovative Inc. has launched Christian e-books for more than 300 users of its Signature Websites, with in-store signage promoting the service. Among those using the service are members of the Association of Logos Bookstores, whose executive director Becky Gorczyca said it was “exactly what we had in mind when we began searching for an e-book solution a year and a half ago.”

Innovative’s program, which includes audiobooks and apps, has been developed in partnership with audiobook and digital publisher eChristian.

“We are committed to providing Christian retailers the products and promotions critical to their success, so they can give their customers information and access to new release, bestseller and sale titles in all formats,” said Innovative President Larry Haege. “By providing a quality physical store and a best-in-class e-book user experience, Christian retailers can meet customer needs across the spectrum.”

I’ve received several warnings recently concerning terrorist attacks against America, and I want to ask you to join me in praying for protection from these attacks. Within the last few months I have had several credible dreams presented to me about this, five of them within the last week.

While warnings such as these are subjective in nature, and dreams always need careful discernment and interpretation, I feel that the dramatic and sudden increase of these warnings merits this call to prayer.

I don’t feel it is necessary to give details from the dreams—suffice it to say that the attacks seen were worse than those of 9/11. For some time, many of us have felt that more terrorism was possible for America. One need not be particularly prophetic to know this is planned by our enemies—indeed, our government warns us of this and encourages regular vigilance, and plots have on occasion been discovered and thwarted. But many intercessors and prophets have felt that something on a bigger scale is being planned and stands the chance of succeeding. This is what the recent dreams warn of, and the sense is that it could be imminent.

I’m asking you to join me—for the next few days especially, but also over the next few weeks—in interceding for God’s protection over our country. Yes, we as a nation have sinned against the Lord in many ways, and perhaps if we receive what we deserve it would be further judgment. But that is to be determined by the Lord and it is always appropriate to ask Him for His mercy.

• Pray that plots will be exposed and the individuals involved will be discovered and captured.
• Pray for the success of our law enforcement and protection agencies.
• Pray for sound leads to come to them and for the necessary wisdom to “connect the dots.”
• Ask God to forgive and cleanse us of our wicked ways, and continue to pray that America receives a third Great Awakening.

Let’s all do our part to ward off any and every attempt to bring violence and destruction to our land. Please help spread the word by forwarding this message about these warnings and the call to prayer. Thank you for joining me in the watchman alert.

Dutch Sheets is an internationally known speaker and author of several books, including the best-selling Intercessory Prayer. He pastored in Colorado Springs, Colo., for 18 years and today travels extensively in the U.S., empowering believers for passionate prayer and world-changing revival. His greatest passion is to see spiritual awakening and reformation in our lifetime. Click here to visit him online.

Mehmet* was brought up in an Alevi family in a town in southeast Turkey. Alevis belong to a minority branch of Shia Islam and are frequently viewed by the majority Sunnis as unorthodox because of their liberal interpretation of Islam: They do not attend mosques, perform the ritual prayers five times a day or fast during Ramadan.

However, as is common among Turkish Alevis, Mehmet was greatly influenced by the prevailing Sunni religious culture and society that surrounded him. Yet he always harboured doubts about what he was being taught.

In time, he came to reject Islam entirely and became an atheist. He later softened somewhat and described himself as a “deist”: someone who believes in the existence of God but is not committed to any religion. He moved to London and soon found himself caught up in the tidal wave of decadent Western culture.

“Because I was living in London, I gave way to bad instincts—drink, women, gambling—and I was drowning in these evils,” said Mehmet. “I was unable to think of anything good.”

To escape his circumstances, Mehmet settled in Germany but came against problems with work. Because of this, he spent his time constantly on the Internet. One day he came across a chat room called the “New Testament Good News Turkish Christian.”

“I was astonished,” shared Mehmet. “I said to myself, ‘Is it possible for there to be any Turkish Christians?’ Then I entered the chat room in order to curse and mock them.”

As he listened, he was suddenly overcome by a great feeling of sadness. “I couldn’t figure out what was happening to me,” he said. “While I had been joyful, suddenly I became unhappy. I continued entering the chat room for some days, and after a week I heard a voice in the room telling me to believe, and I came to faith. Hallelujah!”

Mehmet returned to the U.K. and made contact with the Yeni Yaşam Fellowship in North London. He indicated a desire to be baptized, so the team leaders went through the baptismal preparation lessons with him.

Still, Mehmet could not find employment in London. He decided to go to North England to work in a kebab restaurant, but recently returned to London because he had missed the fellowship of believers.

He was finally baptized on Nov. 13 and shared how the Lord had turned his intention to curse and mock into deep conviction of sin, which lead to repentance and salvation.

Now Mehmet is regularly online, witnessing to other Turkish-speaking Muslims in Turkey and around the world in the same chat room where he came to faith.

Life is tough in London for Mehmet. He lives with friends but needs to find a place of his own and a source of income. He hopes to take a course that will lead to a vocational qualification.

Please pray for God’s provision and protection. Pray that Mehmet will continue faithfully with the Lord and grow in spiritual maturity.

*Name changed