June 2, 2026
For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” (Hebrews 6:10)
This Scripture is directed to people who have labored long and hard in the ministry without much visible affirmation, encouragement and reward. These words instruct us to think about the One for Whom we are doing our ministry.
Abraham heard three words from God recorded in Genesis: “Walk before Me.” (Genesis 17:1) These three words remind us that we need to know for Whom we are ministering. We need to know how God feels about what we do in the way of ministry.
When there is not much fruit and few encouraging accolades, it is a great consolation to faithful servants of the Lord to be reminded of the glorious reality that God has seen our efforts. And God will never forget our faithful labors.
The story is told of two elderly missionaries who returned to New York after half a century as missionaries in Africa. They both lost their wives in Africa and were lonely in that large city. When they met at the YMCA where they were staying and shared their discouragement, one of them said to the other, “We are not home yet, George.”
Sometimes the recognition and the reward for faithful service may only come when these words are heard at Heaven’s gates: “Well done good and faithful servant!” If you are a faithful servant without much affirmation or encouragement, may these words be a consolation to you.
Dick Woodward, 04 June 2010
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Posted by Dick Woodward
May 29, 2026
“He gives power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increases strength… But they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)
When the power of Pentecost came upon the apostles, there was a noise like a mighty rushing wind. We read in the book of Acts how the apostles received the power of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and began implementing the Great Commission amidst severe persecution. Reading that, we could think of the eagle leaping off its nest directly into adverse winds to rise and soar above the storm enveloping it.
As you see in your mind’s eye the eagle sitting on the side of its nest, waiting for the velocity of the wind to become strong, you have a metaphor that allegorizes an important expression found many times in the Old Testament: “Wait on the Lord.”
It means we are not to go charging ahead without clear direction from the Lord. We are to wait on the Lord. We are exhorted to follow the example of an eagle by waiting until the wind of the Spirit is here to direct, support and empower us.Then we should follow the eagle’s example and take the leap of faith off our nests directly into the adversity that is challenging us.
As the power of the Holy Spirit drives us into the strong winds of a storm, the energizing unction of the Holy Spirit will give us the spiritual aerodynamics we need to lift us up and soar over it.
Dick Woodward, from As Eagles: How to be an Eagle Disciple
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Posted by Dick Woodward
May 26, 2026
“Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8)
Someone once said: “Five percent of people think. Ten percent think they think, and eighty-five percent would rather die than think. And the ten percent who think they’re thinking are just rearranging their prejudices.” In his letter to the Philippians Paul challenges us to join the five percent and think. He also tells us specifically how to think. It’s as if our thoughts are sheep and we are the shepherd.
Paul challenges us to think about things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and good news. We naturally seem to think about things that are not true, dishonorable, unjust, impure, ugly, and bad news.
Paul’s prescription for peace agrees with the teaching of Jesus. Jesus taught us not to worry about the things we cannot control. He highly valued prayer in His own life and taught His disciples that we should always pray.
Jesus also taught that the difference between a life filled with light and a life filled with darkness is how we see things. His greatest discourse was eight attitudes that can make us one of His solutions in this world. According to Paul, having and maintaining “the peace of God” is largely a matter of what we worry and think about all day.
What do you think about all day?
Dick Woodward, 26 May 2009
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Posted by Dick Woodward
May 22, 2026
“… He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas (which is translated ‘Peter.’) (John 1:42)
When Jesus first met Peter, his name was Simon and his life was characterized by instability. Yet Jesus gave him the nickname “Peter,” which means “rock” and “stability.”
In Matthew 16 we have an intriguing interview between Jesus and Peter. Jesus had done the “who are you?” question in reverse. He asked the apostles, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter came up with the right answer. The Lord then said in so many words, “That answer really didn’t come from you. It came from My Father.”
In this interview Jesus was telling Peter who and what Peter was, and what he was being called to be. In the Gospels Peter’s life is recorded like a spiritual roller coaster. But after Jesus called Peter a ‘rock’ for three years and after Peter experienced Pentecost, we read in Acts that this unstable man became the rock-like, stable leader of the New Testament Church.
When you read the Gospels and Acts, you realize Jesus was convincing Peter of what he could become because he had come to know Jesus as his Savior.
Do you hear the voice of the Christ Who lives in your heart trying to give you His answer to this question, “Who are you?” Is Jesus making you know what you can become and do for Him since He has made you a new creation? Is Jesus making you know what He can equip you to become as He is calling you and revealing what He wants you to be and do for him?
Dick Woodward, A Spiritual Compass
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Posted by Dick Woodward
May 19, 2026
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)
The Word of God exhorts us to pray when we are in crisis situations. Psalm 46:1 has an alternate reading in the New Standard version, “God is our refuge and strength, abundantly available for help in tight places.” The Apostle Paul also challenges us to pray: “tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer…” (Philippians 4:6)
God delivered Paul from many tight places. We should therefore always pray in a crisis: “When it’s hardest to pray, pray the hardest!” However, from personal experience Paul knew that God doesn’t always take our problems away.
Paul had a physical condition he described as a “thorn in the flesh.” Three times he asked God to take it away. Paul saw many people miraculously healed as he ministered the healing power of the Holy Spirit to them. Yet, when he asked God to solve his own health problem, three times God said, “No. No. No.” But God also responded, “My grace is sufficient for you and that is all you need. My strength looks good on weak people.” (2 Corinthians 12)
Paul’s weakness drove him to discover the strength of God. When he did, he not only accepted his condition but eventually thanked God in it so God’s power might be showcased in him.
As Paul accepted the will of God regarding his thorn, he learned that: “The will of God will never lead us where the grace of God cannot keep us. “
Paul exhorts us from his personal experience that prayer may deliver us from our problems, or prayer may give us the grace to cope with them. But, in any case, pray. Always pray about everything!
Dick Woodward, from A Prescription for Peace
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Posted by Dick Woodward
May 15, 2026
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is fixed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)
The prophet Isaiah wrote of a state of perfect peace in which God can continuously keep us. He also wrote that this state of peace is based on two important conditions: we must keep our minds centered on God, and we must trust God. This peace is supernatural because it’s a peace we can have even when circumstances of our lives are chaotic.
Jesus promised that He gives His followers peace the world will never understand because it comes from Him and is ours even in the middle of the storms of life. The early followers of Jesus were persecuted (as many continue to be today.) Suffering unimaginable cruelty at the hands of their persecutors many died with grace because they had the peace of Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul believed in this peace. In Philippians 4, he listed twelve conditions on which this peace is based. In another letter Paul described this peace as the fruit of the reality that the Holy Spirit lives in authentic disciples of Jesus. (Galatians 5:22-23)
“Christ in you” is the foundation on which all conditions of this peace are built. (Colossians 1:27) Looking at Paul’s conditions for the peace of Christ, there is something to believe and Someone to receive when you become a follower of Jesus Christ.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
Dick Woodward, (15 May 2009)
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Posted by Dick Woodward
May 12, 2026
“Yea, though 1 walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me …” (Psalm 23:4)
The most important relationship we have is our relationship with God. One of the greatest descriptions of a relationship we can have with God is given by David in his Shepherd Psalm. After explaining how this relationship is established, David tells us how it works as God leads us through the dark valleys of our lives.
David tells us that God is with him, God goes before him and prepares a table of provision for him in the presence of all his enemies. He tells us that God is like a cup running over within him, and God is like oil being poured upon him.
He ends his psalm by telling us that God’s goodness and mercy will follow him all the days of his life. This Hebrew word for follow here could be translated as the word “pursue.” So, David is actually telling us that God not only goes before him but pursues him with divine mercy (unconditional love) and goodness all the days of his life.
By application, this means that when you are going through deep dark valleys you can believe that God is with you, God goes before you, God pursues behind you, God will provide for you in the presence of your enemies, or problems. God is within you, and God’s anointing is upon you as long as you say with authentic faith, “The Lord Is My Shepherd.”
Dick Woodward, 14 May 2010
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Posted by Dick Woodward
May 8, 2026
“Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!” (Isaiah 40:3)
In ancient times, if a king wanted to travel to a faraway province in his kingdom a highway would be built for him. As people worked on that project they called it “The Kings Highway.” Isaiah is using this metaphor to say that God will travel into this world on a highway, and that Highway is the life of the Messiah.
Building a highway you need to do four things: level mountains, fill valleys, straighten crooked places, and smooth out rough places. Through the life of God’s Son, the Messiah, mountains of pride will be leveled, empty valleys will be filled with the Holy Spirit, crooked ways of sin will be straightened, and He will respond to rough places in a way that brings glory to His Father and salvation to the world.
After spending three years 24/7 with a dozen disciples, Jesus challenged them that as His Father sent Him into the world, He was sending them out in the same way. (John 20:21) One of many practical applications of that challenge for them, and for us, is that our lives must be highways for God.
I challenge you, in fact I dare you to pray this prayer: “God, make my life a highway for You!”
If you do this, don’t be surprised when God’s spiritual bulldozers show up in your life leveling mountains of pride, filling your emptiness with the Holy Spirit, making straight your crooked places, and smoothing out your rough places.
Dick Woodward, 15 May 2011
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Posted by Dick Woodward
May 5, 2026
“Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.” (Matthew 14:19)
Just before Jesus fed five thousand hungry families, He challenged the apostles with an impossible mission. When the apostles urged Him to send that hungry multitude away, Jesus said to the apostles, “You feed them! How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” The apostles must have been overwhelmed by that challenge. How were they going to find enough food in that deserted place to feed that big crowd of people?
The only food the apostles could find was a basket of five biscuits and two little sardines. They placed that food in the hands of Jesus saying, “All we have is this food a small boy brought with him, but what is this among so many hungry people?” The Lord blessed what the apostles gave Him and then passed that little boy’s lunch through the hands of the apostles to the mouths of more than five thousand people.
That day the apostles learned that whatever we have is adequate when we place our inadequacy in the Lord’s hands.
Through the miracles we are experiencing in ministry, we are learning that our Lord likes to assign us a mission impossible. Then, when the impossibility of our mission makes us turn to Him and say, “This is all we have,” He takes it in His hands, blesses it, and then feeds millions with the Living Bread from heaven.
Dick Woodward (ICM Networking, 2000)
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Posted by Dick Woodward
May 1, 2026
“When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” (Luke 19:5)
When Jesus came face to face with the greatest sinner in Jericho, He knew him and called him by name. He then invited Himself to spend the entire day in the house of His sinner friend. The chapter tells us elsewhere that Jesus was only passing through Jericho.
Extremely popular at this time, His walk through Jericho was like a parade amidst crowds of people who wanted to get a glimpse of the famous Rabbi from Galilee. We might imagine that religious leaders would like to have entertained Him for lunch. To everyone’s shocked amazement Jesus declares He will spend His one day in Jericho with the greatness sinner there. Publicans were hated in that day because they collected taxes for the Romans from their fellow Jews. And Zacchaeus was the chief of the publicans who had become very wealthy in that position.
We are told nothing of what Jesus and the publican discussed that day, but at the end of the day as they came out of the house Zacchaeus announces he will give half of his money to the poor. And with the other half he will restore 400% of everything he has taken from people unjustly.
One scholar put an interesting spin on this story when he suggested that Zacchaeus was the publican in the previous chapter of Luke who prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
Do you know many sinners by name? Are you their friend?
Dick Woodward, 01 May 2011
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Posted by Dick Woodward
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