As we are entering some of the most turbulent times in history, we’ve been receiving an unbelievable amount of email expressing concern about the future. But I want to tell you a little something – the future is VICTORY!

It’s not defeat, or loss. If you think about it, all the great leaders of the Bible shone in the hardest of times. When the giant Goliath stood against the army of Israel, David didn’t sit around with his brothers complaining about how big Goliath was. Though David was a dwarf next to this evil giant, he was still convinced he was going to be victorious because God was on his side!

When the apostles saw Yeshua die, they must have felt utterly defeated — then, suddenly, there he was, out from the grave, gloriously alive before them — and from then on they walked in His victory! They didn’t sit around complaining about Roman persecution, the Sanhedrin, or the Pharisees. They didn’t get wrapped up in how evil the world was becoming; instead they pressed forward in the worst of times and in those dark days they shone like the stars in the midnight sky.

Despite everything that’s happening around us, let’s be sure we’re not developing a defeatist attitude. We are called children of the King, a royal priesthood and a holy nation. Despite how bad things may be getting — don’t forget we’re on the winning team! We can stand against this evil and overcome it… with good!

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions

The first king of Israel, King Saul,was told by God to utterly slay Amalek and his descendants. In blatant disobedience Saul allowed Agag, the king of the Amalekites and the best of the cattle to remain alive. The following day, Saul tried to remedy his disobedience by attempting to sacrifice the best of the cattle to the Lord.

But the prophet Samuel informed Saul that because of his disobedience, his family would no longer reign over Israel, and he told Saul, “to obey is better than sacrifice.” If offering the “best of the cattle” for sacrifice was a poor excuse for disobedience, its negative consequences must have paled in comparison with sparing the Amalekite King – whose infamous descendant Haman, an agagite (Esther 3:1) later rose to power seeking to destroy the entire Jewish population of Persia.

If Saul had dealt with Agag as God instructed him, he would have spared his people, centuries later, from the agonizing contest with a vicious enemy who would destroy them. So it is with sin. Allow it to live and be sure it will return to slay you with more power. Don’t compromise. “Small” sins lead to bigger ones, and soon enough the early footholds that are ignored will turn into strongholds which cannot be!

“Take no prisoners” when dealing with sin — seek to be rid of the little sins, so that later you will avoid the strongholds that may threaten to compromise or destroy your walk, your calling, your life, and the precious relationship that the Lord has purchased for you!

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions

When the twelve spies were sent into Canaan to spy out the land, ten returned with a bad report. Their assessment was that it was impossible to conquer the land that God had promised them. Forgetting how God had led them with a pillar of fire by night, and fed them manna from heaven during the day, brought forth water out of a rock, and parted the Red Sea, they saw the situation with only their natural eyes, failed to walk by faith, and succumbed to fear.

Joshua and Caleb however, returned with a good report. Refusing to be discouraged by what they saw, they fully trusted that their supernatural God was not going to break His promise to His people, Israel.

We are living in days where the world looks bleak, and the evils seem to grow more threatening and dangerous. How will we react? Will we be devastated and terrorized like the 10 spies with a bad report? Or will we do something extraordinary — will we walk by faith like Joshua and Caleb, trust in the love and power of our God, and seize the opportunities that are at hand?

Let’s walk by faith and stand firm in it, facing every challenge, and laying hold of every opportunity that awaits us. May Joshua and Caleb be our examples of faith and courage in these days. With our God going before us, we also, can take the land, glorifying Him in every battle.

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions

If He was a man of the world, Yeshua (Jesus) would have chosen the elite of His day to accomplish His mission — however He used simple fishermen. These men were considered uneducated, lacking “social status”, wealth or worldly distinction of any kind — yet these “simple” men were the ones the Lord selected to build the Kingdom of God.

When the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, God didn’t send an army to deliver them, He sent a single man. But a single man of God was shown to be greater than the most powerful kingdom on Earth.

Throughout the Bible, we read of the Lord choosing and using the weak things of the world to confound and shame the wise and powerful. God seems to love revealing His awesome power through humble vessels, so that no flesh can glory in His presence.

Don’t allow the enemy to convince you that God cannot use you because you are “flawed”, weak, or seemingly inconsequential. No, instead, remember that He uses the base, despised, nonentities of this world, ordinary, often broken, people…to do extraordinary things. Our God is not looking at your wealth, your social status or your education — He’s looking at your heart! If your heart is willing and your life is available, then He is more than able to perform miraculous work through you for His Kingdom’s sake. With so much work to be done, don’t allow the enemy to stifle or steal the Lord’s vision for your life –- He has a plan to use you to confound the wise of this world, and to bring to naught the things that are!

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions

When I was younger I used to take an ax and cut up firewood from the woods behind our house. The one thing I always did was sharpen my axe! A dull axe meant harder work chopping through fallen trees. The sharper the ax the less effort and energy required for the task. So I learned early on to sharpen my ax before venturing into the woods, and I saved myself a lot of time and energy. (Besides I was a small kid, growing up, so I needed all the help I could get! ;) )

I see a lesson here. How many of us are exerting so much energy for the Kingdom, but are working with dull axes? We need to sharpen our spiritual lives, get focused in prayer and spend deep time in the Word. Then, when we are “out in the woods”, working for the Kingdom our effectiveness will be greatly multiplied because our axes are sharp!

Don’t get so busy that your ax becomes dull. Remember that your devotion to the Lord and His word will sharpen your spiritual life, especially before you start the day. Prioritize your devotional life and watch how your “edge” will cut through the problems, obstacles and difficult situations, like a hot knife through butter!

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions

When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt I’m sure several million people were wondering, “How am I going to be fed? How am I going to survive in this wilderness?” Imagine the logistical nightmare. An incalculable quantity of food and water were needed to survive in the desert. Where would it come from? Yet, in this seemingly impossible situation, God provided!

He provided Manna from heaven. When the people first saw the Manna on the ground, they wondered in amazement saying to each other, “What is this?”, which is exactly what “Manna” means in Hebrew — “What is it?” They were receiving the food of angels, [Psalm 78:24-25] which sustained them the entire time in the desert.

But we know what happened as time passed…the people got used to this miraculous provision, began to take it for granted, and even be bored with it, and, of course…the wonder of God’s supernatural provision evaporated. Israel lost sight of the miracle that God was doing in their lives each and every day.

Each and every day is a miracle from God. Each day of our lives we walk through a world filled with the wonders and glory of the Lord. But we, too, can become dull and lose the wonder of all that He has done and provided for us, even our very salvation. We need to awaken to the daily miracles of life, and to the never ending opportunities the Lord is opening, to pour His love into us, and through us. As we do, may we always be saying to ourselves, “Wow — what amazing love is this that’s been given to me!”

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions

Revelation 5:12-13 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

In the beginning of Psalm 2, David points out that the kings of the earth are against the Lord and his “anointed” [Mashiach "Messiah" in Hebrew]. David recognized the true authority of God and advises the kings and rulers of the world, as well as their subjects, to “kiss the Son, lest he be angry.” The act of “kissing the Son” would be one of homage to a king, and would indicate submission to the kingship of the Son. Those who are wise will do so before the Son, the Messiah, comes to judge the world!

Men have often tried to appear holy and righteous before other men – but God is seeking those who will worship Him in “spirit and in truth”. This reminds me of a story of Francois Fenelon.

In the 17th century, Fenelon was the court preacher for King Louis XIV of France. On one particular Sunday when the King and his attendants arrived at the chapel for the regular service, there was no one else present except the preacher, himself.

“What does this mean?”, King Louis demanded.

“I had published that you would not come to church today, in order that your Majesty might see who serves God in truth and who flatters the King,” Fenelon replied.

Let’s be sure that our worship of God is true and faithful and that we aren’t trying to please men in doing so. Serve the Lord with a Godly reverence for who He is, and what His Son has done for you, since He is worthy of your worship, and… He is looking at your heart.

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions

The central fact of the gospel message is the resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus), declared in Psalm 2, the begotten Son of God. In 1952, Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in Cave 4 called the “Messianic Apocalypse”. The Messiah’s ministry of resurrection is reiterated in these ancient documents with an obvious reference to Isaiah 61:1-3. The scroll identifies someone who “… will heal the wounded, and revive the dead and bring good news to the poor.” It is clear that at least some of the authors of these documents clearly understood the central nature and ministry of the coming Messiah, most certainly based on their intimate knowledge of the prophetic writings in the Tenach (OT)…that ministry, resurrection of the dead.

This reality of the resurrection of Yeshua and His power to raise the dead cannot be overestimated. Death is the inevitable result of sin. Yeshua became sin, bearing all of it in His body, and then was raised from death to eternal immortal glory. This wonderful fact has proliferated throughout the world, the most important and powerful message ever delivered to mankind.

An illustration from our own time reveals the pervasive hope of Messiah’s resurrection and victory over death. D.L. Moody the great 19th century revivalist was called on early in his ministry to deliver a funeral message. Searching the Gospels to find a funeral sermon given by Yeshua, he quickly discovered his search was in vain. Instead of ministering at funerals, Yeshua broke up every funeral he ever attended! Death could not exist where He was. And when the dead heard His voice they sprang to life, for He truly is “the resurrection and the life.”

Are you feeling dead and worn out today? Then be reminded that your Savior is Life and that He brings it abundantly wherever He is, and that death is overcome in His Presence. So GET IN HIS PRESENCE! Repent, pray, worship, read, dance, delight, intercede, seek Him with all your heart and soul. His Life is waiting to refresh, restore, and revive you.

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions

Acts 4:25-28 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

When Peter and John had gone up to the Temple for prayer [Acts 3], they saw a man who was lame from birth, and were moved to heal him in the name of Yeshua (Jesus). Immediately the religious leaders laid hands on them [Acts 4:3] and kept them imprisoned for a day. The following day, with boldness, they declared this miracle was done in the name of Yeshua. I love what the “religious” leaders said next — “they perceived that they were unlearned men and they marveled at their boldness!” Why were they bold? They had been with Yeshua, and the leaders took note of that!

It is no surprise that the world rages against the Messiah. Psalm 2 declares it clearly. Every year there are tens of thousands of believers suffering and dying for their faith, in large part because the kings and the rulers of the earth RAGE against the Lord and His Anointed. As followers of the King we should expect this and be prepared for it when it comes.

But, the examples of Peter and John, and every other true Christian martyr, are there to inspire and encourage us that if and when the time of persecution comes for us, we too can be bold as a lion. And this boldness is no merely human bravery, but an unction from the Holy Spirit Himself. So, though the kings of the earth will rage, our simple faith and Holy Spirit boldness will testify that we too have been with Yeshua!

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions

One of my favorite passages in the Scriptures is Psalm 1, and clearly this psalm holds an important key for our lives as believers to be fruitful and prosperous. That key is meditation. The psalmist describes the one who prospers as one who meditates “day and night”; a continual meditation developing the Godly habit of disciplining one’s mind in divine truth.

I love what Charles Spurgeon said about meditation, “He is not the best student who reads the most books, but he who meditates the most upon them; he shall not learn most of divinity who hears the greatest number of sermons, but he who meditates the most devoutly upon what he does hear; nor shall he be so profound a scholar who takes down ponderous volumes one after the other, as he who, reading little by little, precept upon precept, and line upon line, digests what he learns, and assimilates each sentiment to his heart by meditation.”

Meditation on the word of God brings its truth and light to bear powerfully upon your mind and soul. Since you are made in the image of God you are not a shallow creature, but a very profound one. You have the opportunity to be deeply affected and beautifully transformed by the living words of God. Don’t miss out on it. As you contemplate and reflect on His Word, allowing it to expose, redefine, and transform every area of your life, you will flourish like a tree planted by a river, and whatever you do will prosper! Only remember, it begins with meditation.

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions