Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23
“. . . let us hold fast to love of him, hating and rightly turning away from the devil. For as our benefactor is loved and cherished in proportion to his benefactions, so the wicked one should be hated and rejected for his ways in equal proportion. For he is the destroyer of our life. In the words of the Master, he is a murderer from the beginning. He is the one who has divided our race into ten thousand opinions, wounding it with many darts of sin and seeking to swallow down the inhabited world. If we do not hate him, there will be no escaping the punishment that will be meted out to us, because we joined to our foe and murderer. But, my brothers, let us fly from him! Let us fly most certainly. What is flight? The avoidance of wicked actions and thoughts, and also affinity with God, the assumption of good works.”
Theodore the Studite (759-826) in Saints’ Quotes: Holy Quotations for Purification of the Soul, Collection of Prayers.
Theodore offers us a fresh perspective on how we can flee from the devil. We draw near to God and do good works.
Think about it. When we walk close with God and do the works He prepared in advance for us to do, we can rest in His care. It won’t mean we will not have troubles.
Most assuredly we will have troubles. But we can be of good cheer, because our victorious Lord has overcome the world.
So, the lesson for me today as I start my travel home is this. Urge everyone I know to draw near to God and to do the good works that He prepared for them.
In Malawi, we have urged the people to turn dependency into discipleship emphasizing “Give God What You Have!”
It’s working. In case you missed it yesterday, read this update from Malawi (click here to read the trip report). Notice, even the government officials and the news media proclaims acknowledge how God is at work (click here to view a two minute video).
And join the movement by making a gift to GTP. Part of doing good works links to service and it also relates to our giving.
Draw near to God with me. Pray with me for $80,000 right away to deploy staff to spread the vision of Palmful of Maize to 16 more districts. Thank you.