Peace with Pardon

Here’s Today’s Devotional from The Vine..

for he loves our nation, and he built our synagogue for us.” – Luke 7:5

Saved! This poor, shame-soiled, sin-ruined thing, that the Pharisee would have thrust out of his house into the street – saved! Never to go back any more to her old life! An heir of heaven now, destined to walk the heavenly streets in white! There is an old legend that Mohammed once in passing along the way touched a plant of mallows and it became a geranium, and has ever since been a geranium, pouring fragrance everywhere. No matter about the legend, but Christ did something far more wonderful on the day of our story. He touched this sinful soul, and it was transformed into beauty. That woman has been in glory for eighteen centuries. That is what Christ does for every one who creeps to his feet in penitence and faith.

Peace came with the forgiveness. There could be no peace until she was forgiven. No one has any right to be at peace while the guilt of sin remains uncancelled. But when Christ has forgiven us we should be at peace. Why or of what should we then be afraid? What is there for us to fear in this world or the next?

There is a story of one, in the olden days, who had committed a capital crime. He was the king’s friend and favourite; and when his trial came on, although the case went sorely against him, he manifested no fear. The evidence accumulated. There was no loophole of escape from conviction. His friends had no hope, yet they marvelled at his calmness – he was at perfect peace. He was convicted, and was about to be sentenced; still there was in his features no trace of alarm. At the last moment the secret was revealed. He drew from his bosom a paper, and handed it to the judge. It was the king’s pardon. With that in his possession he had no cause for fear. And with our King’s pardon, no matter how guilty we are, we have no need to be afraid, and may be at peace.

What To Do When You’re Overwhelmed?

By Gary Wilkerson

What do you do when you’re overwhelmed? What do you do when it seems the odds
are against you or you don’t have enough resources?

Do you go home at night and just continue being stressed, full of anxiety and
fear? If you want to get to the place where you see victory in your life, you
will have to fight for it — and in the fight God will supply the strength. He
will supply the resources that you need and you will come out of the fight as a
worshiper of Jesus Christ.

Three years ago my father, David Wilkerson, turned the leadership of World
Challenge over to me. Dad was still here to support and encourage me and if I
ever got in the midst of a battle that I wasn’t quite sure how to handle,
I’d call Dad. In April of 2011 he passed away in an auto accident and I find
myself without that particular resource in my life to help lead World
Challenge. Sometimes when challenging things happen, I feel a little bit of
fear come in. What if I don’t have what it takes? What if I don’t handle
this situation well?

One day as I was thinking these things, the Holy Spirit came over me and
confidence dropped into my heart. I realized that if God was leading me, if He
was saying, “This is the way you should go,” then all I had to do was trust
Him. I don’t have to look at the black line or the red line and see where the
finances are; I have to look to heaven and see what He says for me to do. And
that is what we are doing. We are going to go harder than ever before; we are
going to reach more people than ever before; we are going to touch more
children’s lives than ever before — all because we are not going to let the
enemy cause fear to come into our lives.

Some of you are in a battle right now. It might not be financial. It could be
relational — even problems with your own children. Whatever the battle is, I
have a good word for you — don’t give up in the battle! Don’t give up
interceding! Don’t let limited resources cause you to think that somehow God
is limited in power.

Don’t give up!