David Wilkerson

Walking on the Road Revealed by God

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I admired the tree at breakfast. A mature tree, it provided shade for three backyards. This afternoon a tree service removed some of the lower limbs.

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Nothing stays the same – sooner or later everything gets cut back. Transitions are the time to pray and seek God. He is never finished with us.

“…Daniel is not a young man. He is a seasoned man of God who no longer has the ambitions of the young. For years, he has been praying three times a day, and has lived separate from the corrupt culture of the Babylonians…

For Daniel, it all came down to one desire in life: to speak for God.

…You have to understand what a sacrifice this was for Daniel because of how busy he was. He was the third-most powerful ruler in the Babylonian kingdom…Yet even with all those responsibilities, Daniel was a man given wholly to the Word of God.

…Daniel was studying…Jeremiah when the Holy Spirit showed him…The seventy-year period…was now expired. Yet, even though the appointed time had come for Israel to be delivered, it wouldn’t happen until God found a man through whom he could speak.”

“The Heavenly Calling – Your Best Days Ahead Pursuing God’s Great Purposes” By David Wilkerson, “World Challenge Pulpit Series,” August 20, 2018

In Ezra, the people of Israel are returning from Babylon. Unfortunately, it was not 70 years after the exile.

“History had not treated the people of Israel well and they were in decline. A superpower military machine, Babylon, had battered them and then, leaving their city and temple a mound of rubble, hauled them off into exile. Now, 128 years later, a few Jews back in Jerusalem had been trying to put the pieces back together decade after weary decade…”

The Message Introduction to Ezra

Later in David Wilkerson’s article, he shared of God calling him as “barely a teenager.” At 28 he was the pastor of a little Pentecostal church, and after a season of prayer, God sent him to New York City. He witnessed to several boys involved in a murder. Multitudes of those youth were changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the “Teen Challenge Ministry” was born.

When he was 58, he was an evangelist based out of Texas. After months of prayer, God called him back to New York City to start a church. In his seventies, after another season of diligent prayer, God called him to travel the world.

“Whether you are a minister or a lay Christian, it doesn’t matter how long you have served the Lord: your best days may be ahead.” David Wilkerson

Our job is to pray for guidance and stay on the road God sets.

Psalms 119:1-3, “You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. (2) You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. (3) That’s right – you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set.” The Message

God told me to write this Bible Reading Guide when I was 13. I was 21 when I started working in the church office. That changed in my forties and I wrote the “Relevant Guide” and started blogging. Who knows, God may have a new assignment for me.

©2009-2018 thisyearsbiblereadingguide.com. All Rights Reserved.

#bible

Set Everything Right

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The ping of the notification was annoying because of a headache. I glanced at it and froze. “Franklin Graham is following you.”

I took off my glasses and read it again. “Frank Graham is following you.” Frank, not Franklin.

It was David Wilkerson all over again. I was looking at who was following me, instead of Who I am following.

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A couple of months ago, my ego got a huge boost. David Wilkerson and his son, Gary, started following me on Twitter. It brought back a memory from my childhood at Elim Bible Institute.

David Wilkerson brought Nicky Cruz and some former gang members to Elim. They acted out a skit of their lives before they accepted Jesus as their Savior. We sat in the back of College Hall because every seat was full!

As a first grader, whose entire life had been at Elim, it was shocking! They portrayed drinking and fighting. It horrified me when one man broke a bottle over another man’s head! I swore I would never go to New York City! It’s a scary place.

Then an amazing thing happened. The men finished the skit and lined up in two rows. They clasped their hands behind their backs and started singing…

“We’ve come this far by faith

Leaning on the Lord,

Trusting in His Holy Word,

He’s never failed us yet!

Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh,

We can’t turn back.

We’ve come this far by faith!”

Those words burned on my heart! The men were no longer scary – just messy. I admired David Wilkerson for going to the gangs. And I prayed God would never ask me to go!

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A few weeks ago, I finally told Mom. She wasn’t impressed. She told me David Wilkerson died several years ago. That deflated my ego!

Why do I do this? Why do I write a blog? Money is not an incentive – I’ve never made a dime. Each year I wonder where I will get funds to pay for the next year. Each year God provides.

Jeremiah 51:10, “God has set everything right for us. …” The Message

I’m studying Proverbs 14 and one of the cross-reference verses was 2 Chronicles 15:7.

2 Chronicles 15:7, “But it’s different with you: Be Strong. Take heart. Payday is coming!” The Message

Why do I write? Because I have to share what I’ve read and how it affected my day. I have written this personal journal of my walk through the Bible for 9 1/2 years. The prophet Jeremiah put it best.

Jeremiah 20:9, “But if I say, ‘Forget it! The words are a fire in my belly, and a burning in my bones. I’m worn out trying to hold it in. I can’t do it any longer.’ ” The Message

I’ve come this far by faith. I can’t turn back.

©2009-2018 thisyearsbiblereadingguide.com. All Rights Reserved.

#bible

God’s Word Stands Firm and Forever

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On Wednesdays, I pray for America. I remind God this country was built on the Bible and it stands forever.

Isaiah 40:8, “True, the grass withers and the wildflowers fade, but our God’s Word stands firm and forever.” The Message

What is your foundation? What are you building your life on?

“A strong mind is not something slapped together on a shallow foundation. It needs solid rock. Like a skyscraper, the higher you want to go, the deeper you must go.”
“4 Secrets of a Strong Mind” by FBI Agent Larae Quy

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“What the exiles needed – hope, comfort, tender words, a future – could be found only in the faithfulness of Yahweh, their God. The prophet offers exactly that message in Isaiah 40, pointing away from the sins of the past, away from the conditions of the present, to a future when the exiles would experience divine faithfulness and be restored to their land.” Chronological Study Bible Notes

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Isaiah 40:31, “But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.” The Message

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Isaiah 41:14-15, “Do you feel like a lowly worm, Jacob? Feel like a fragile insect, Israel? I’ll help you. I, God, want to reassure you. The God who buys you back, the Holy One of Israel. (15) I’m transforming you from worm to harrow, from insect to iron.” The Message

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“‘…those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life, through the One, Jesus Christ,’ Romans 5:17. The Greek word for reign here means to ‘rule from a foundation of power.’ When Paul talks about ‘reigning in life,’ he’s talking about having ruling power over sin – and not just in heaven but in this life. We are to reign over every demonic power, every lust, every principality that comes against us. That is true sanctification. …

…I asked him what had kept him true to Jesus all these years. He said, ‘Brother David, you told me once that Jesus loved me. I became convinced of that. So, I just started loving Him back. That’s what has kept me.’

Nicky didn’t have any theology of sanctification. But he was being sanctified – because he was loving his Father, and receiving his Father’s love…” David Wilkerson, “The Gift of Righteousness,” World Challenge Pulpit Series, February 19, 2018

The best foundation is loving Jesus – The Rock!

©2009-2018 thisyearsbiblereadingguide.com. All Rights Reserved.