Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

STARTING A NEW SERIES TODAY

Joel 2:1: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is night at hand."

The homosexual marriage agenda continues to gain ground, now in 36 states of USA, the latest in Alabama which waits on a decision from the Supreme Court. We cannot help but wonder: where is the outrage from the Bible believing church? Many Christians must surely be concerned about how God feels about the moral implications and affect this evil has upon the so-called "Christian culture" of this nation.

Job's testing was more about the integrity of his words than anything else. Job confessed in Job 27:5: "Till I die I will not remove my integrity from me."

Job basically lost everything and everyone that God has been blessed him with. This was of no small account for Job was the greatest of all men in the East (Job 1:3). There is no question that Job would have been highly respected among all of his contemporaries in that part of the world .

James 5;11: "Ye have heard of the patience of Job."

Job was indeed a most patient man who could have collapsed in the heat of his trial which was perhaps one of the worst trials any man could have endured. Yet he did not fail. In a sense, the trial tested Job's patience with God.

Some will say that it was Job's trust in God that was being tested. Others say that Job brought it all on himself because of his own fears (Job 3:25). I do not subscribe to this last position for it discounts Satan's accusation in Job 1:11: "But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face." God did not challenge Satan regarding Job's fears, but his integrity which would have included his patience and many other virtues. Job 1:8 says: "And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth (departs from) evil?"

"The trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:3, 4).

We can see from this Scripture that patience is a principle virtue from which many other virtues are formed and developed in our lives. Without strong patience as a foundation in our lives we cannot be mature and perfected in Christ. This is the reason why Christians have to suffer trials, tribulations, and persecutions so that patience can be developed in us in order for us to be truly Christlike. Jesus Christ suffered many trials, tribulations, and testings throughout His earthly life, even before He went to the cross. He reveals His trial of endurance with the unbelief of that generation in Matthew 17:17: "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?"

Jesus' prayers and supplications, coupled with strong crying and tears, enabled Him to be the patient Savior He was. Hebrews 5:8-8 says: "Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him."

Men, we cannot have perfection if we are weak in patience. Many may ask, "Is it possible to be perfect and entire, wanting nothing? The answer is a resounding yes. Through the exercise of patience.

Like the generation that tested Jesus Christ's patience, we likewise test His patience with our unbelief in the truths of God's Word. We can also be so impatient with one another and are far too quick to write people off.

Men, although it is important to discipline our children when it is appropriate, we also need to temper our discipline knowing that they are still children and prone to make mistakes. We should deal with our children as God deals with us and He is called the God of Patience.

Romans 15:5 says: "Now the GOD OF PATIENCE and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus."

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Luke 21:19 (NKJB): "By your patience possess your souls."

In Luke 21:7-19 Jesus outlines to his disciples what would happen when the temple would be destroyed. He goes on to speak about the end of the age calamities that will happen. Verses 10, 11 say: "Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and great earthquakes shall be in diverse places, and famines, and pestilences: and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven."

When speaking to the church in Philadelphia Jesus called the Word of God "the word of my patience" (Revelation 3:10). Patience and waiting go hand in hand. Patience and waiting are almost synonymous, but not quite, for it is possible to wait impatiently by throwing fits, fretting, or hyperventilating while waiting! Some become impatient to the point of disobedience while fooling themselves that they are still waiting, e.g. King Saul (1 Samuel 13:11). His impatience brought him into disobedience which in turn caused God to reject him from being king. What a terrible price to pay for impatience.

"His heritage to his children wasn't words or possessions, but an unspoken treasure, the treasure of his example as a man and father."

-Will Rogers Jr.

In the following posts I want to give you a few of the many Scriptures on the subject of patiently waiting on God.

Isaiah 40:29-31: "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." This is a favorite Scripture to many.

David had to go through many testings of patiently waiting before he could reign over God's people, Israel. In the same way, we who are being prepared to reign with Christ when He comes with His saints to reign over all the earth, must walk through the patience tests.

In a sense, we are learning to reign with Christ even now before His second coming. I am not in any way saying that Christ's millennial reign is in the here and now. What I am saying is that through the power of the indwelling Sprit of Christ we are meant to reign in victory RIGHT NOW over the world's temptations that wants to draw us into its mindset. We are meant to reign RIGHT NOW over our fleshly appetites. We are to reign RIGHT NOW over the devil's occupations, oppressions, and depressions, doubts, fears, devil suggestions, and pride. When Jesus said, "Get thee behind me, Satan" He was declaring His reign over Satan's subtle attack on Him through Peter (Matthew 8:33).

By refusing to patiently wait on God we are now find ourselves in a mess. We have organized our own programs in our churches. We have figured out how to run a successful church based program on the successful ideas of how to run a secular business.

The early church got it right from the beginning and became the prototype for every generation following. They were told to WAIT in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father which was the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4). The Holy Spirit came after a ten day prayer meeting where they continued with one accord in prayer and supplication (Acts 1:13, 14).

Acts 2:1-4 tells us what happened on the day of Pentecost. From that day forward the Holy Spirit filled, empowered, and directed His waiting and dependent people who understood the principle of what it meant to patiently wait upon God in prayers and intercessions. If the end time church is going to be successful, from God's perspective, we must teach and practice what it means to wait on the Lord.

As fathers we must teach our families, but by example and instruction, this very important truth.

We must refuse to put our own organization above God's organization, lest we organize God out of our families, as well as our churches.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

When you consider the many great promises and blessings that come to those who patiently wait on God, it's amazing that there are so few who actually do it. This is the weakest point of our humanity. The spirit is quick to acknowledge the need to be patient and wait upon God at all times, but the flesh is weak. We try to cover this weakness up by offering to God at least one hour per week of church entertainment, and even that is somewhat boring to the flesh of many.

To be honest, I think we would be astounded and ashamed of ourselves if we took time to consider the great victories we could win if we would spend more time waiting upon God.

Hosea 12:3-6: "He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God: yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us; even the Lord of hosts, the Lord is his memorial. Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and WAIT ON THY GOD CONTINUALLY."

This passage reminds Israel of what happened in their beginnings when Jacob fought with the angel all night long and refused to let him go until he received the blessing. At this point his name was changed to Israel, which means "as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." Jacob knew what it meant to wait upon God even when it meant wrestling with God all night (Genesis 32:24-30).

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Patiently waiting upon God is a most rewarding virtue. Each one of us face many challenges, trials, and temptations that assail us almost daily. As men who earnestly desire for God to break through for us it is imperative that we learn this truth and never ever forget it.

It is very obvious that in every battle Israel had to face all throughout their history, they had to first wait upon God to give them the right wisdom and strategy for each battle, or at least obtain His approval, protection, and favor on what they planned to do. If what they planned to do did not have agreement with God, they were meant to patiently wait for God to reveal His will.

For this purpose of divine direction and special revelation concerning God's will He raised up prophets. Their sole ministry was to patiently wait upon God in order to give God's people, both singularly and collectively, His revealed direction and will for them

Without doubt, the ministry of the true prophet is very much needed in the New Testament church today. I believe that our modern day churches have put far too much emphasis on the ministry of the pastor to the detriment of the other ministries, including the prophetic ministry (1 Corinthians 12:28). In this way, the church in a general sense, has deprived itself from necessary warnings, specific exhortation, and direction.

1 Corinthians 14:3: "He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort." Read also Acts 2:17, 18 and 21:9-11.

If the early church needed prophets, then surely in this hour of great deception we also need prophets of God. Men, it's high time for us to wait patiently upon God in order for these ministries to arise and take their rightful place in our 21st century church. We are in great danger if we silence the voice of the prophet. Like Philip the evangelist, who had four daughters who prophesied, you are also raising sons and daughters to speak God's Word in this hour. We must learn to think outside the box if the box in which we worship does not line up with the Scriptures.

Acts 2:17, 18: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy."

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Psalm 40:1: "I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry."

God made a promise to Abraham concerning a promised son who would become Abraham's heir (Genesis 15:1-6). This was 14 years before Isaac was born. Even though Abraham "believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness" (Genesis 15:6), he still did not know that the promised son who would come forth from his own bowels would be through his wife, Sarah until Genesis 17:15-19. This waiting time gave rise to the temptation of impatience. Even though Abraham walked with God, there is no record of him seeking God about Sarah's proposal concerning Hagar, Sarah's handmaid who was an Egyptian. Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham out of impatience and frustration.

We read in Galatians that Hagar, along with her son, Ishmael, represents bondage and is in opposition, or a persecutor to those born after the Spirit (Galatians 4:29).

In 1 Chronicles 5:18-29 we read that the Israelites were called Hagarites and they fought against Israel and were overcome. Men, we see how one act of fleshly impatience can have far reaching, negative, and troubling consequences. On the other hand, patience also has far reaching rewards. (To be continued.)

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

"Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him" (Psalm 37:7).

Psalm 37 is a great chapter to read and pray over when you are going through the trial of patience. Impatience has a number of evil kin and close cousins. Here are three of them:

FRETTING

Psalm 37:1, 7, 8: "Fret not thyself because of evildoers." Impatience causes us to fret which gives us anxiety, stress, and panic attacks.

ENVY

Psalm 37:1 "Neither be envious against the works of iniquity." Impatience causes us to envy the temporary success and prosperity of others.

ANGER

Psalm 37:8: "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath." Wrath is more than anger because you can have anger that is cold, e.g. "the cold war." Wrath is hot anger. It is fierce heat.

The above are all related to impatience. I believe it is a devilish thing when people allow themselves to get angry at God for various reasons. Jonah got angry at God and it cost him a rough ride in the belly of the big fish. He still did not learn the lesson of God's patience with Nineveh even while he sat under the booth (Jonah 4:1-6). God is often far more patient with the wicked than His people are.

Twice in Psalm 37 we are exhorted to "wait patiently" for God to intervene.
Psalm 37:7: "Rest in the Lord, and WAIT PATIENTLY for him."
Psalm 37:34: "WAIT on the Lord, and keep his way."

Psalm 37 describes patience as "resting in the Lord" and "waiting" for God to move.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Men, another great test that David (the most loved king in all the history of Israel) had to experience was patience. King Saul's ascendance to the throne of Israel, from the time of his anointing in 1 Samuel 10:1 until the time of his beginning to reign was almost immediate (1 Samuel 13:1). One of King Saul's greatest weaknesses was the lack of patience (1 Samuel 13:8-14).

From the time of David's anointing in 1 Samuel 16:13 until the beginning of his reign over Judah was approximately seven years (2 Samuel l2l:4). He then had to wait another eight years before he reigned over all of Israel--fifteen years in total. Surely David's patience was certainly tried. There were several times that David had the opportunity to kill King Saul--to have exercised presumption and forced his own reign upon Israel. After all, had he not been anointed to be king over all Israel by the same prophet who anointed Saul? Somehow David knew in his heart that God's timing was very important for him to begin his reign.

Men, just because we may have been divinely anointed to accomplish certain things in our lives, does not mean that we do not have to exercise patience to wait for God's timing.

To be continued.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Jeremiah 33:3: "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

Men, although we must always emphasize the absolute importance of the fruit of the Spirit as the sole evidence and qualification of who is one of Christ's disciples, we must not ever discount the truth that our God is, was, and ever will be a God of signs, wonders, and miracles. Even redemption, as typified in Exodus with the children of Israel being delivered from the bondage of Egypt (the type of the world, the flesh, and the devil) came through mighty signs, wonders and miracles such as the world has never seen before or since.

The power of the sacrificial blood placed on the door posts and lintels of God's covenanted people delivered them from the Angel of Death. The families of Egypt, including Pharaoh, lost their first born of both man and beast.

We cannot even be born again without a miraculous new birth. How much more then do we need the Spirit's miraculous working in our lives from day to day to enable us to live in victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil?

According to "The Christian Post" North Korea is closing down several of its concentration camps, which on the surface appears to be good news. However, the article suggests they are they closing them down because of the brutal extermination program going on in these camps where "there are at least 100,000 Christians in that nation's harsh prison camps, where prisoners face torture, forced labor and possible execution." They also write: "Up to 50,000 prisoners of conscience were brutally starved and enslaved at Yodok concentration camp, having been subjected to arbitrary executions, systematic torture, and sexual violence, the coalition believes." I read an article on New Year's Eve about the massive fireworks celebrations where 2,000 political prisoners in North Korea were put to death.

As you already know, there are far too many evil regimes and governments in this world that are raging barbaric evil and slaughter on innocent people. It is imperative that Christians, who still live in the free world, pray in the name of Jesus Christ that God, through signs, wonders, and miracles, will speedily bring down every corrupt, evil, and murderous government, religion, and organization. God has ordained that His people should first pray with believing and interceding prayers and then He will respond with signs, wonders, and miracles.

Men, pray with your wife and family today for North Korea, China, the Middle East countries, and all those in the 10/40 window. Do not put it off.

For your information and daily prayer:
http://www.christianpost.com/news/north-korea-appears-to-be-starving-mass-killing-prison-inmates-130806/

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

The question is: How would most of our present day church prayer meetings even remotely compare to this prayer meeting? Many would freak out and brand it as Pentecostal or Charismatic. They may say it is some religious cult that is whipping up emotionalism or sensationalism and out of touch with normalism. Most adults would certainly not want their children to come under the influence of such extremism.

Unfortunately most Christians defend their church's dead, lifeless, and powerless programs where they do not expect or pray for the miraculous. Not so the early church. Listen to how they prayed. "And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth hine hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus" (Acts 4:29, 30).

They requested holy boldness to speak the Word. They prayed that God would stretch forth His hand to heal. They were not limited only to believe God for doctors, hospitals, and drugs etc (although I do not decry these things). They requested God for signs and wonders be done by the name of Jesus. The early church had been taught by Jesus Christ to evangelize with the miraculous, just as Jesus had Himself. They all believed for they all lifted up their voice with "ONE ACCORD" (V. 24). God was well-pleased with this united prayer for boldness to proclaim Christ and power to heal the sick as well as miraculous signs and wonders. So much so that He shook the house, filled them afresh with the Holy Spirit, and poured out a spirit of boldness upon them.

Men, we must lift up our vision this year, along with our wives and families, and pray the same type of prayers. We need to pray that we will see a great harvest of souls coming to Christ from an ever-increasing dark, unbelieving, and dangerous world. We must train our children to believe, pray for, and expect the miraculous.

Jesus Christ has not changed. He is still "the same yesterday, and today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

And they went forth and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen" (Mark 16:20).

If we do not believe in miracles, or to put it plainly, we do not subscribe to those who testify to the miraculous, we might as well stop praying, for answered prayer is miraculous. What a strange prayer it would be if we said to God, "Lord, please help the Christians who are suffering in prison for their faith. Please give them strength to go through their great trials, even if it means death. I pray that if it is your Sovereign will, that you will speedily deliver them from prison and their tortuous guards. But, Lord, I really don't believe that miracles are for today, for that's what the church has taught me. Amen."

Men and Fathers, we must teach our children to pray for miracles. We must teach them to expect miracles. Many Christians in Iraq and Syria are living in tent cities and need miracles of provision of food, blankets, and healing. Most of all, they need their daily supply of heavenly bread for their spirits. Many of the people in these tent cities need to be told of the love of God who is able to miraculously keep them safe, and from further attack.

Many so-called Christians do not know what it is to be miraculously born again. Even true repentance is in essence a miraculous thing that can only happen as God enables (John 6:44; Acts 5:31; and Romans 2:4).

As we start this New Year, let us renew ourselves to believe that God is still more than willing to grant us miracles in so many different ways. There are multitudes amongst us who have cancer, pain, and life-threatening diseases, and to be honest, they need miracles. How can we not teach our children to believe in a miraculous God who still loves to do miracles? We also need to expose ourselves and our children to members of the overall Christian church who really believe in prayer that incorporates the miraculous.

The fact that there are those who have no fruit in their lives (Matthew 7:15-23) and yet espouse the miraculous should not cause us to deny the truth. The church should firstly seek the miraculous fruit of the Spirit and secondly, the miraculous gifts of the Spirit. Both are needed in this increasingly evil and unbelieving world.

In our next post we will discuss the prayer meeting of Acts 4:23-31. Men, we need to take the shackles off the church when it comes to prayer.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell