THE LIFE AND TESTIMONY OF
STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS
Part 1

“By faith he (Abraham) sojourned in the land of promise,
as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob,
the heirs with him of the same promise”
(Hebrews 11:8).

The Bible often reminds us that we are strangers and pilgrims on this earth. We read it, but do we really comprehend what it means? Do we live it in our daily lives? Do our children see us living like strangers and pilgrims, or would they think this was our final home? To get the true picture of what it means to be a pilgrim, we need to check the Scriptures again. As we look at them, we’ll begin to see God’s plan for us, His pilgrims.

1. PILGRIMS HAVE GOD WITH THEM ON THEIR JOURNEY

Did you know that you are not a sojourner on your own? God Himself sojourns with you. God says in Leviticus 25:23: “For you are strangers and sojourners WITH ME.” Isn’t that amazing? Don’t you want to burst out in thanks to God?

David confessed to God in Psalm 39:12: “I am a stranger WITH THEE, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.”

When Jacob spoke to the Pharaoh of Egypt he said: “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an 130 years.” He looked upon his life as a pilgrimage on the way to a better country.

Just as God lived in the midst of the children of Israel, dwelling in His Shekinah glory in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, so He also lives with us today. Now it is even more amazing. He dwells in us by the power of His Holy Spirit (John 14:23; 1 Corinthians 6:19; and Colossians 1:27). We do not walk alone; God walks with us.

When we feel like an outcast because we don’t fit in with the culture of this world, God is an outcast with us. When we suffer pain and persecution, God suffers with us. What wonderful comfort to know that God pilgrims with us through this time of exile.

And because He is with us, He gives us strength for each day of our pilgrimage. Deuteronomy 33: 25 says: “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.”

The proof that God walks with us in this world is the manifestation of His presence with us and upon our lives. Moses was concerned about the great feat of leading the people of Israel to the Promised Land and cried out to God, “You have not let me know who you will send with me.” God replied: “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

But Moses wasn’t satisfied and cried out: “If your presence does not go with us, do not take us up from here. For how will it be known then that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not by YOUR GOING WITH US, so that we will be distinguished (separated KJV),I and your people, from all the people who are on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:13-16 NET).

As God’s pilgrims, we are to be distinguished from everyone else on the face of the earth! But how will the people of the world know that we are God’s pilgrims? Not by separating ourselves from them, but when they see the noticeable presence of God upon our lives. Our separation from the world is the manifestation of God’s presence with us.

2 Corinthians 2:14 (Phillips) says that wherever we are we should have about us the “unmistakable scent of Christ.”

2. PILGRIMS HAVE GOD’S WORD TO GUIDE THEM ON THEIR JOURNEY

As exiles of eternity God provides His Word to keep in our hearts and mouths. The psalmist cried out in Psalm 119:19: “I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.” He understood that he could not live his life as a foreigner on earth without God’s words and commandments to guide him. Nor can we. If we don’t continually hold on to God’s words we are easily dragged into the mindset of this world system. The people who belong to earth live by a different mindset than the God-fearing sojourner. They belong to a different kingdom with different values and worldview. Therefore, we need God’s Word daily to continue living by God’s principles.

The psalmist also confessed: “Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage” (Psalm 119:54). God’s words and songs should fill our homes. We must richly fill our children with God’s principles and promises as they learn to walk this pilgrim way. They will either grow up walking as a “pilgrim of God” or a “conformist to this world.” What a tragedy for this to happen from a Christian home.

More to come.

Blessings from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“I thank you, dear Father, that You walk with me on my earthly pilgrimage. More than anything else I want Your presence with me. I want all those who see me walking through this earth to know that You are with me and that Your anointing is upon me. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

Because I belong to a heavenly country, I am a stranger, a sojourner, a foreigner, a pilgrim, an exile, and an alien on this earth.

FINDING THE SECRET

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
(Philippians 4:13).

We love to quote the above Scripture, don’t we? We know it back to front and inside out. And we use it for every circumstance, and I think we can. However, it is important to claim a Scripture in its true context, don’t you think?

Paul says these words in the context of God’s provision. Let’s read from verse 11: “I have learned how to be content wherever I am. I know how to live humbly; I also know how to live in prosperity I have been initiated in the secret for all sorts and conditions of life, for plenty and for hunger, for prosperity and for privations; in Him who strengthens me, I am able for anything” (Moffat).

Paul found the secret of contentment, not in His own strength, but in the strength of Christ. His life did not depend on his outward circumstances but his relationship of abiding in Christ. It is only in Christ that we experience true contentment.

Therefore, we have to ask ourselves some questions:
? Are we truly content when we find ourselves in humble and lowly circumstances? The word “humble” or “abased,” according to which translation you use, is the same Greek word in Philippians 2:8 where it tells us that Jesus “humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Do we complain when we are in humble circumstances, or do we rejoice and confess: “I can do all things who Christ who strengthens me.”?

? What is our attitude if we have to go without a meal because there is no food left in the house? Do we complain of God’s lack of provision? Or confess again: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me,” knowing that we can trust our unfailing God.”

Do we confess like the prophet in Habakkuk 3:17-19: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat,; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength.”

Many times Paul suffered “hunger and thirst” (2 Corinthians 11:23-30), but this did not deter his trust in God. Because his life was “hid with Christ in God” he could cope with all situations and conditions of life.

I remember once when the only food we had left in the house were some potatoes. I cooked them for lunch, and lo and behold, some friends arrived at the door. I felt too embarrassed to ask them to join us for our humble meal, but the Lord convicted me. I invited them in and we sat down together to our meal of only potatoes, and enjoyed a great time of fellowship.

Our friends always remember that meal and testify that if I had cooked an elaborate and scrumptious meal for them they may have forgotten it as the years went by. But they never forgot their meal of potatoes!

? What if we are destitute? Oh no. Does that mean God has forgotten us? No way. Even in destitution we can do it in God’s strength. This is the true meaning of the word that Paul uses in Philippians 4:12 when he says that he learned how to “suffer need.” It’s the same word that is used in the faith chapter, informing us of the men of faith who “wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being DESTITUTE, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrews 11:36-40).

Who were these people? They were the men and women of faith! They trusted in God no matter what their circumstances. They did it in Christ’s strength and received an eternal reward.

? What about when we have plenty and even an over abundance? Do we still keep a humble and contented spirit knowing that we have nothing of ourselves. Everything we have is only God’s provision, which sometimes He holds back to test our trust in Him, and sometimes He pours out because He loves to lavish us with His love. And when He pours out, we pour it out on others.

The secret is contentment in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. Whether it is in plenty or want, joyful or trying, we face it in Christ’s strength. This is the true context of this Scripture.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

“I thank you, Father, that You are my God, the One in whom I can trust. I cannot face difficulties and hardship in my own strength, but I thank you that I can do it in Your strength. Because my life is “in You” and Your life is “in me” I can do all things in Your enabling. Thank you, Father. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

No matter what hardship I face, I can face it in Christ’s strength.

LAUGHING AT THE DAYS TO COME

“Strength and honor are her clothing, and she shall rejoice in time to come.”
Proverbs 31:25

The testimony of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31 is that she rejoices in the time to come. However, I notice that more than 20 other translations of the Bible write that she “laughs” at the future. With so many translating it this way, I thought I better check it out.

Yes, they are correct. The Hebrew word is sachag and means “to laugh.” The same word is translated “laugh” in a number of other Scriptures, e.g. Job 5:22: “At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh.”

The next thing we have to face is: “How can we do this?” How can we laugh at a future that seems bleak? We wonder what kind of a world it will be for our children and grandchildren as we observe the moral decline of our nation, the rise of Islam and terrorism, and the increase of Christian persecution around the world.

As we read through Proverbs 31 we observe why this courageous woman can laugh at the future.

1.  SHE IS INDUSTRIOUS AND PREPARES FOR THE FUTURE

Proverbs 31:27 says: “She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eatheth not the bread of idleness.” She is not lazy. She not only thinks of today but provides for the future. She has extra necessities and food ready for a “rainy day” or difficult times to come.

The words “looks forward” means “to lean forward, to peer into the distance, to observe, to watch.” Because she is wise she peers into the distance and makes sure her home is well-stocked and in readiness for whatever calamity may happen. In fact, this Hebrew word, tsaphah is the word that is elsewhere used for “watchman.” She is a watchwoman. Because she diligently watches and works hard to make this happen she can laugh at the future. Of course she does this with discretion. She is not a hoarder, but a provider.

2. SHE SOWS FOR THE FUTURE

We notice that that this woman poured her life into her marriage, her children, and her home. It was her life. Yes, she had industry in her home, but employed servants for this task, plus incorporated the children into the businesses as they grew older. They did everything together. Everything she organized was for the benefit and building up of the home.

Some women say she was in business as a real estate agent. They want to think of her as a career woman outside the home. This is not the case. Yes, she looked for a field to buy a vineyard, but that was very much part of the running of the home. Every family, especially wealthy families, owned their own vineyard in Israel. This is typical of the Middle East and Europe today. I have stayed in a number of European homes who own their own vineyards.

As more children came along and the family grew larger, they needed a larger vineyard, so off she went to find a suitable field to plant it. Most probably her servants planted and tended the vineyard.

Because she poured her life into her home and family, she could rest in the fact that she had prepared them for their future lives. She did her part; now she trusts  them to the hands of her Omnipotent God.

God’s principles are eternal. “Be not deceived: God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that she he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption: but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6: 7-9).

3. SHE TRUSTS GOD FOR THE FUTURE

This is the ultimate treason she can laugh at the days to come. She does not look at the circumstances around her or fears what may come because she knows God is bigger than anything she, or her children,  may face in the future. She trusts a big God, a great God, a faithful God, and a God whose kingdom is unshakeable.

1 Peter 3:5, 6 tells us about the holy women of old “who trusted in God” even in the face of fearful situations. The context of the Scripture reveals that they faced circumstances that could even be terrifying. After giving us the specific testimony of Sarah, the Scripture goes on to say: “You are her daughters, if you do do what is right and do not succumb to fear” (Complete Jewish Bible).

The Amplified says: “And you are now her true daughters if you do right and let nothing terrify you--not giving way to hysterical fears or letting anxieties unnerve you.”

The Berean Study Bible says: “You are her children if you do what is right and refuse to quiver in fear.”

Moffat’s translation says that we will be Sarah’s daughters if we “yield to no panic.” Many years ago I coined the phrase, “Sarah’s daughters don’t panic.” Can I encourage you also that whenever you face a situation that causes you to fear, or even be terrified, to shift into a different gear. Begin confessing out loud immediately, “Sarah’s daughters don’t panic” and instead of succumbing to fear, confess your trust in your God who is bigger than any circumstance you face. He is bigger than your future worries for your children. He has your children in the palm of His hand. He has their future and destiny planned before the foundation of the world.

Those who trust Him will never be ashamed. And when you trust Him, you can laugh at the future.

Blessings from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Great God and Father, I thank You that You that nothing that can ever happen to me, or my family, without Your knowing and without You coming into the situation to show Your mighty right arm. I thank You that You hold the future in Your hands. I put my trust in You. I trust the future of my children to you. And I thank You that I belong to Your unshakeable and everlasting kingdom. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

A FORMIDABLE PEOPLE

"Who is this, shining forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
but formidable as an army marching under banners?”
(Song of Solomon 6:10 CJB).

God’s Word is so rich--every line, and from beginning to end. Much of the Old Testament is written directly to and about Israel. Although these Scriptures are literally for Israel, they apply to us spiritually. 1 Corinthians 10:11 says: “Now all these things happened unto them for examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

2 Samuel 7:23, 24 speaks of Israel. “What one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself.” I also love the description in Deuteronomy 4:6-8: “For what nation is there so great who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statues and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?”

God not only did miraculous things for Israel in Bible times, but miracles continue today. Israel is only a nation again by the miracle of God. Jews continue to come back to the land from the four corners of the earth. The deserts, the wasted land, and the malarial swamps now grow fruitful trees and vineyards. Surrounded by enemies who want to “throw Israel into the sea” she continues to survive and grow. It is all miraculous.

But God hasn’t finished yet. There is more to come. Romans 11:12, 15 states: “Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; HOW MUCH MORE THEIR FULNESS? . . . For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but LIFE FROM THE DEAD?” There will come a day when Deuteronomy 28:10 will be fulfilled: “And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD: and they shall be afraid of thee.”

God also wants His redeemed New Covenant saints to have the same testimony: “There is no one else on earth like God’s people, those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!” Do we have this testimony? Unfortunately, many times people do not even notice the difference between the “saved” and the “unsaved.”

Like me, are you praying for a move of the Holy Spirit in our land that will bring God’s people back to Bible ways, back to His ultimate intention for us, and back to holiness “without which no man will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

There should be no other people like us upon the face of the earth. We have been redeemed for eternal salvation. We have God living in us by His Holy Spirit. We have received abundant life. We have the promises of God to appropriate and show us the way. Why, then, is the church at large so ordinary? So pathetic? Why does the world not stand in awe of us?

I think it must be because we are afraid of being different. We want to stay as close to the world as we can. We want to fit in the groove. We don’t want to be ridiculed. We want to live on the edge rather than have a “three day gap” (Exodus 3:18; 5:3; 8:27; 10:24-26). But in trying to be “cool” we lose our power.

God’s awesome people, His body on earth should be noticeably different from every one else. We are meant to be a transformed people. A worshipping people. A praying and interceding people. Filled with the Holy Ghost. Penetrating the darkness with God’s light. Exposing deception with God’s truth. Walking in holiness. Living in the fear of God. Holding up the banner of God’s truth. Hating evil. Loving righteousness. Overcoming the devil. Victorious. Uncompromising with the world system. Shining like stars in the world. Pouring out God’s love to the hurting and needy.

This should be our individual testimony. It should also be our family testimony. God-centered, God-honoring, God-loving, praying, worshipping, and filled with the Holy Spirit families are an enigma to their neighborhoods. They become powerful churches who are a threat to the devil and an evil society. Our churches will only be as powerful as our families. And our nation will only be as strong as our families.

May we be faithful to pray, humble ourselves, turn from our wicked ways, and seek God’s face that He will have mercy upon us . . .

☼ That all people will SEE that we are called by the name of the Lord and be in awe of us (Deuteronomy 28:10).
☼ That we will be a holy people, without blemish, having no spot, or wrinkle or any such thing (Ephesians 6:27).
☼ That we will be like the sun going forth in its glory (Judges 5:31).
☼ That we will be as terrifying as an army with banners (Song of Solomon 6:4, 10).

Be blessed.
Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

“Oh God, please save me from being a blurred image of your true church. Please possess me and fill me with your Holy Spirit that I will shine like a bright light in his crooked and perverse world. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

There’s no more sitting on the fence,
Now I’ve got a lot more sense,
I hate “lukewarm,” I’m going “hot”!
To be halfhearted, I simply cannot!
I’m stepping out strong for my Lord,
On this “sold-out” life I won’t be bored!