“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14).

R. J. Vavarrete writes:
Don’t tell me that the Lord gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers…tell me that the Lord is with me in the battle.
It is he that makes the difference, not me.

It doesn’t matter how strong you are, how weak you are. The battle is not yours alone to fight. In fact, the outcome won’t depend on how strong you are, how smart you are. It won’t matter how weak you think you are.

The battle isn’t yours alone to fight.

Christ, and Christ alone is the difference.

Whatever you are facing today, know you are not alone. The battle is not yours alone to fight.

Christ is with you, and he is all that you need.

“I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44).

Don’t worry. Be happy.

That’s the mantra of our generation. Unfortunately, this philosophy has infiltrated the minds of disciples. The way most modern day disciples live, one would think that the ultimate goal of Christian discipleship is to discover and live into one’s happiness.

But there’s not a single passage in all of scripture that says, “Be happy.” There’s nothing in all of scripture to suggest that happiness is the goal of Christian discipleship.

But there are lots of references to calling disciples to be holy. You can find that in both the Old Testament and the New. You can find it in the gospels and in the epistles. It’s all over scripture.

Be holy because God is holy.

This doesn’t mean that God isn’t interested in his followers being happy. God delights in delighting his children. What parent doesn’t? But happiness is the byproduct of being holy. Happiness is what disciples experience when they pursue the life Christ calls to live. It’s in obedience and holiness that disciples experience happiness. Happiness is a byproduct of disciple’s holiness.

Pursue holiness and you get happiness. Pursue happiness and you lose your way and will never experience it.

Leonard Ravenhill, a reformed theologian, writes: “The tragedy today is that the church is pursuing happiness not holiness.”

I think Mr Ravenhill is onto something.

Be holy and you will be happy.

That’s the way it works.

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51).

Mrs. Bertha Adams was seventy-one years old when she died alone in West Palm Beach, Florida on Easter Sunday 1976. The coroner’s report read, “Cause of death…malnutrition.” After wasting away to fifty pounds she could no longer stay alive. 

When the state authorities made their preliminary investigation of her home, they found a veritable “pigpen…the biggest mess you can imagine.” One seasoned inspector declared he had never seen a dwelling in greater disarray. 

Bertha had begged food at her neighbors’ doors and had gotten what clothes she had from the Salvation Army. From all appearances she was a penniless recluse – a pitiful and forgotten widow.

But such was not the case! 

Amid the jumble of her filthy, disheveled belongings were found two keys to safe-deposit boxes at two different local banks. The discovery was unbelievable. The first box contained over 700 AT&T stock certificates, plus hundreds of other valuable notes, bonds, and solid financial securities, not to mention cash amounting to $200,000. The second box had no certificates, just cash – $600,000 to be exact. And, this is in 1976!!!

Bertha Williams was a multi-millionaire! Yet she died of starvation!

How does something like that happen?

Yet it does all the time. Disciples have been given God’s word to feast on, God’s Holy Spirit to guide and direct, and the privilege to pray. God has given to disciples everything we need to thrive in God’s kingdom. But too many are starving, dying. And this is totally unnecessary. It is tragic.

Thank you for taking the time to read these verses of the day. Thank you for taking the time to pray.

Keep at it!