By Dave Butts

I love the written word. Books, new and old, have made a major difference in my life. I have been taught, encouraged, rebuked, and given fresh vision by great authors. Some of my favorite books are still being written. The Lord is using my contemporaries to minister to me through their writings. However, I most often find myself irresistibly drawn to older authors. There seems to be a depth and a passion that is rarely matched today. It could be likened to drinking from the clear, cold water of an old well that goes deep.

I’d like to share with you some of my favorite quotes from a few of these authors. Some might be from centuries ago, while others are as recent as the last generation. My prayer is that your heart will be stirred, as mine was, while reading these gems from the past:

“Oh! men and brethren, what would this heart feel if I could but believe that there were some among you who would go home and pray for a revival – men whose faith is large enough, and their love fiery enough to lead them from this moment to exercise unceasing intercessions that God would appear among us and do wondrous things here, as in the times of former generations.” – C. H. Spurgeon

“Revivals begin with God’s own people; the Holy Spirit touches their heart anew, and gives them new fervor and compassion, and zeal, new light and life, and when He has thus come to you, He next goes forth to the valley of dry bones…Oh, what responsibility this lays on the Church of God! If you grieve Him away from yourselves, or hinder His visit, then the poor perishing world suffers sorely!” –Andrew A. Bonar

“To arouse one man or woman to the tremendous power of prayer for others, is worth more than the combined activity of a score of average Christians.” – A. J. Gordon

“I would rather train twenty men to pray, than a thousand to preach. …A minister’s highest mission ought to be to teach his people to pray.” – H. MacGregor

“The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of the Church… grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil.” – Leonard Ravenhill

“Does it grieve you, my friends, that the name of God is being taken in vain and desecrated? Does it grieve you that we are living in a godless age? …But, we are living in such an age and the main reason we should be praying about revival is that we are anxious to see God’s name vindicated and His glory manifested. We should be anxious to see something happening that will arrest the nations, all the peoples, and cause them to stop and to think again.” – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

“The history of missions is the history of answered prayer. From Pentecost to the Haystack meeting in New England and from the days when Robert Morrison landed in China to the martyrdom of John and Betty Stam, prayer has been the source of power and the secret of spiritual triumph.” – Samuel Zwemer

“We give ourselves to prayer. We preach a Gospel that saves to the uttermost, and witness to its power. We do not argue about worldliness; we witness. We do not discuss philosophy; we preach the Gospel. We do not speculate about the destiny of sinners; we pluck them as brands from the burning. We ask no man’s patronage. We beg no man’s money. We fear no man’s frown…Let no man join us who is afraid, and we want none but those who are saved, sanctified and aflame with the fire of the Holy Ghost.” – Samuel Chadwick

“The evangelization of the world in this generation depends first of all upon a revival of prayer. Deeper than the need for men; deeper, far, than the need for money; aye, deep down at the bottom of our spiritless life is the need for the forgotten secret of prevailing, world-wide prayer.” – Robert E. Speer

“Oh, for closest communion with God, till soul and body, head, face, and heart – shine with Divine brilliancy! But oh! for a holy ignorance of our shining!” – Robert Murray M’Cheyne

“Some people do not like to hear much of repentance; but I think it is so necessary that if I should die in the pulpit, I would desire to die preaching repentance, and if out of the pulpit I would desire to die practicing it.” – Matthew Henry

“There is need of a great revival of spiritual life, of truly fervent devotion to our Lord Jesus, of entire consecration to His service. It is only in a church in which this spirit of revival has at least begun, that there is any hope of radical change in the relation of the majority of our Christian people to mission work.” – Andrew Murray

“The love-slave has no pleasure like that of serving his master. This is his joy, and his very ‘crown of rejoicing.’ The love-slave is altogether at his master’s service. He is all eyes for his master. He watches. He is all ears for his master. He listens. His mind is willing. His hands are ready. His feet are swift to sit at the master’s feet and look into his loved face, to listen to his voice and catch his words; to run on his errands, to do his bidding, to share his privations and sorrows, to watch at his door, to guard his honor, to praise his name, to defend his person, to seek and promote his interests, and, if needs be, to die for his dear sake; this is the joy of the slave of love, and this he counts his perfect freedom.” – Samuel L. Brengle

PRAYER, PEACE, and the PRESENCE of GOD by David Butts

As believers, we are supposed to walk in the peace of Christ, yet we all have stressful issues and circumstances that rob us of this peace. Subtitled “A 30-Day Journey to Experience the Shalom of Jesus,” Prayer, Peace and the Presence of God powerfully encourages the reader on how to hold onto that peace in any circumstance.

The author, David Butts (1953-2022), started writing this book and 10 days into it he got word that he was in stage 4 with a rare form of lymphoma. God allowed him to live in a greater way for five additional years of full-strength ministry.  Dave has challenged readers in Prayer, Peace and the Presence of God to seek after His  best life, no matter what it holds.

His 30-day devotional will encourage, inspire and challenge you that you, too, can experience and walk in the peace of Jesus no matter what circumstances you are walking through.

 Learn more about purchasing this book here

By Dave Butts

There is a great deal of confusion concerning the Word of God today. The confusion is not among those who doubt the authority or authenticity of the Bible. Instead, it is happening virtually every week among conservative, Bible believing Christians. It comes from blurring the distinction between hearing and doing the Word of God, and is, unfortunately, an easy trap for so many of us to fall into.

It may begin like this: We go to church on Sunday and hear a powerful sermon based on Scripture. We may leave the church building saying, “What a great sermon!” And how do we feel inside as a result? We feel good. That’s the beginning of deception. We feel good because we heard and agreed with God’s Word; however, we have yet to do anything in response.

When it comes right down to it, our church structure sometimes encourages us to become hearers of the Word rather than doers. In many churches we can hear one passage of Scripture taught in Sunday School, and then another one in the worship service. There may be an additional passage taught on Sunday night or Wednesday evening, and perhaps even another teaching during a small group. In a very real sense, we can be trained to merely hear the Word rather than to do it, by being overwhelmed with too many different teachings in a short amount of time.

James is the one who gives us the clearest Biblical teaching on this matter.

“Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:22-25).

Hebrews gives us another warning about not merely being hearers, using the nation of Israel during its forty years of wandering in the wilderness as a negative example. Most of the third chapter of Hebrews warns us of the danger of not believing God as Israel in the wilderness failed to do. “So, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert’” (Hebrews 3:7-8). In Hebrews 4:2 we read, “For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.”

Let’s go back to the book of James again. He warns us, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17). That’s what happened to Israel. They heard the Word of God from Moses time and time again. Eventually, hearing the Word and not doing it led to hardening of their hearts.

What a warning for the Church today! Could it be that hearing a sermon Sunday after Sunday might be dangerous for us? Yes…if we repeatedly fail to act upon it. Scripture warns us that we can begin to experience a hardening of the heart. Spiritual matters can begin to become unimportant. There fails to be a stirring within us as we hear the Bible expounded upon because we are not committed to doing what we hear.

James gives us a wonderful encouragement to do the Word as he writes, “The man…not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25). What a marvelous gift is offered to us! We will be blessed in what we do, because we are paying attention to the Word of God and doing what it says. In case you are wondering what sort of blessings God has in store for the one who does His Word, the Psalmist gives us the answer in Psalm 112:

“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands.

(Here the blessings are enumerated for us):

His children will be mighty in the land.

Each generation of the upright will be blessed.

Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.

Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.

Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.

Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.

He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

His heart is secure, he will have no fear; and in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.

He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, His righteousness endures forever;

His horn will be lifted high in honor.”

I don’t know about you, but those are the blessings I would like to receive from God. They come from being a people who not only hear, but also do the Word of God.

One of the simplest ways to stay on course as a doer of the Word is to pray as we hear or read the Scriptures. Always ask, “Lord, what is there in this passage for me? Is there a sin to repent of? Should I stop and thank You, Lord, for something You have done for me? Is there a relationship I need to begin to repair? Lord, how does what You have said here change the way I spend my time or money today? Father, teach me today from Your Word what I am to do. Give me ears to hear.”

The third verse of the old hymn, Break Thou the Bread of Life, says it well:

“O send Thy Spirit, Lord, Now unto me,
That He may touch my eyes, and make me see:
Show me the truth concealed Within Thy Word,
And in Thy Book revealed I see the Lord.”

PRAYER, PEACE, and the PRESENCE of GOD by David Butts

As believers, we are supposed to walk in the peace of Christ, yet we all have stressful issues and circumstances that rob us of this peace. Subtitled “A 30-Day Journey to Experience the Shalom of Jesus,” Prayer, Peace and the Presence of God powerfully encourages the reader on how to hold onto that peace in any circumstance.

The author, David Butts (1953-2022), started writing this book and 10 days into it he got word that he was in stage 4 with a rare form of lymphoma. God allowed him to live in a greater way for five additional years of full-strength ministry.  Dave has challenged readers in Prayer, Peace and the Presence of God to seek after His  best life, no matter what it holds.

His 30-day devotional will encourage, inspire and challenge you that you, too, can experience and walk in the peace of Jesus no matter what circumstances you are walking through.

 Learn more about purchasing this book here

By Dave Butts

Sometimes it all seems so easy. Everything in life falls together for you. Your job is fulfilling. The family is happy. Things are going well at church. Your loved ones are healthy. Those times seem kind of rare, don’t they? All too often, we feel as though we are under attack. Life seems so hard. Difficulties surround us. Relationships are fractured, health has fled, and finances are a struggle. These valleys of struggle seem all too common.

How can we deal with these hard times? Where is God when life gets tough? Is there a key to overcome discouragement? The Bible addresses the difficulties of life with great honesty. God’s Word never presents the believer’s life as one without struggle. Hardships come with the package of life.

One of the great stories of overcoming adversity is found in the fourth chapter of Nehemiah. It is an inspiring story of how the Jewish returned exiles are led by Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. The enemies of God attempted to stop them. In spite of great danger and opposition, the exiles triumphed. There is much we can learn from them:

“When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, ‘What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble – burned as they are?’ Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, ‘What they are building – if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!’

“Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from Your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders. So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.

“But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

“Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, ‘The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.’ Also our enemies said, ‘Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.’ Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, ‘Wherever you turn, they will attack us.’

“Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, ‘Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.’ When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.

“From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.

“Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, ‘The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!’

“So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, ‘Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and workmen by day.’ Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water” (Nehemiah 4).

Any work of God must expect opposition. In Nehemiah’s day, the work was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. In your life, it might be rebuilding the walls of God’s protection and blessing around your family or church. It’s entirely possible that the work of God for you today involves tearing down the walls that separate believers. Regardless of the specific work, know this…Satan will oppose you.

In Jerusalem, rebuilding the walls would make the people of God strong. It was a big first step toward the restoration of God’s purposes for His people. It is only natural to expect the enemy to bring opposition against that. Satan wants us weak. God wants us strong. Satan wanted to see the Jews defeated…crawling among the ruins, fearful of attack, never accomplishing anything. Satan resorts to the same tactics with Christians today.

God today is stirring us up to rebuild the walls. Within the walls of our own lives, we are to get serious about God in prayer, the Word, in witness, and in lifestyle. In our churches, God’s walls represent protection against the attacks of Satan that destroy unity, damage witness, and prevent the Church from fulfilling its mission.

Chapter four of Nehemiah gives us some key principles for dealing with times of discouragement and trial:

1. We must proceed in spite of opposition (vv. 4-6). They prayed and went to work“with all their heart.”
2. Discouragement will hit (vv. 10-11). Don’t be surprised by this. The people in Jerusalem said that their strength was giving out. There was too much rubble to be moved. On top of this, the presence of active opposition made the job seem impossible.
3. Be aware of Satan’s plan (vv. 14-15). This is the turning point toward victory. All too often we are unaware of the enemy’s schemes. Nehemiah reminded his people to remember the Lord and to fight for their loved ones. By returning to work, they would frustrate the plans of their enemies.
4. Work with preparedness for battle (vv. 16-18). This is an amazing picture of those who understood the situation they were in. They worked with their weapons and armor close at hand.
5. Answer the call when the trumpet sounds (vv. 18-20). Nehemiah trained the people to respond to the sound of the trumpet during times of intense attack. We must likewise train ourselves to respond during times of spiritual intensity. There will be times of special prayer…times of ministering to those who are hurting.

The Christian life is lived out in the midst of a battlefield. That means tough times and difficult situations. God’s Word provides principles for victory. His Word also gives us assurance of the power of God at work within us to allow us to become “more than conquerors.” Jesus said in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

PRAYER, PEACE, and the PRESENCE of GOD by David Butts

As believers, we are supposed to walk in the peace of Christ, yet we all have stressful issues and circumstances that rob us of this peace. Subtitled “A 30-Day Journey to Experience the Shalom of Jesus,” Prayer, Peace and the Presence of God powerfully encourages the reader on how to hold onto that peace in any circumstance.

The author, David Butts (1953-2022), started writing this book and 10 days into it he got word that he was in stage 4 with a rare form of lymphoma. God allowed him to live in a greater way for five additional years of full-strength ministry.  Dave has challenged readers in Prayer, Peace and the Presence of God to seek after His  best life, no matter what it holds.

His 30-day devotional will encourage, inspire and challenge you that you, too, can experience and walk in the peace of Jesus no matter what circumstances you are walking through.

 Learn more about purchasing this book here

By Dave Butts

Holiness might be considered a strange topic by many to be addressed at the beginning of the third millennium after Christ. In our culture today, it’s almost a forgotten topic. It is given brief consideration but not taken seriously by many. The reason lies in the fact that many aren’t living holy lives and have very little to say to others about holiness.

I want to say at the outset to those who may get uncomfortable about the topic of holiness, that the doctrine of grace and freedom in Christ are absolutely true. But when those essential doctrines are taught without the balancing view of God’s holiness and the intended holiness of the believer, we swing way out of balance. Most Christians today could testify that they would have avoided a great deal of harm in their lives had they been taught more of holiness and practiced more of it in their lives.

Let’s lay it out very clearly. God not only commands us to be holy, but He has provided for us a way to holiness and therefore leaves us without excuse. We cannot blame our society or culture for our unholiness. Believers in New Testament times were in a society as immoral as can be imagined…yet were taught and expected to be holy.

Listen to the commands of God’s unchanging Word:

“Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Cor. 7:1).

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Heb.12:14).

“…for it is written: Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16).

“Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives” (2 Pet. 3:11).

“For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life” (1 Thes.4:7).

Since I have been given a ministry of prayer, I typically write concerning prayer. This article too, is ultimately about prayer. We will not have powerful, effective prayer lives until we get serious about living a life of holiness. God’s Word teaches us that God does not normally answer the prayers of those who are not walking in holiness:

Psalm 66:18 says, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”

“…your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isa. 59:2).

“Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God, his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob” (Psa. 24:3-6).

Regardless of our prayer skills or lack of, we will not become a mighty people of prayer until we begin to develop a passion for the holy life. I believe that the scriptures we have just looked at show us the way to live a life of holiness. The key to our holiness is nothing less than the holiness of God Himself. We are to be holy…because He is holy! Look at what the scriptures say of His holiness:

“Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you–majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (Ex. 15:11)

“And they were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isa. 6:3).

“Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Rev.15:4).

Holy…set apart…different…unique…perfect…that’s the God we worship.

The key to our holiness is to remember that we worship a Holy God. And He has called us to be holy, as He is holy. How can that be? How is it even possible that we sinful creatures can even aspire to holiness? It’s because God says so!

It’s really a matter of family characteristics. It is our Father’s nature to be holy. Christians have been born again into God’s family. His genetic structure for holiness has been given to us because of Jesus. When Jesus became Savior and Lord of our lives, we experienced the new birth. The Holy (and I really mean Holy) Spirit came to dwell within us. We still have much of the sin nature within us, but there is also a new nature…a new genetic code if you will…a code of holiness that comes straight from our heavenly Father. Holiness then, becomes a possibility, where before it was an impossibility.

The problem arises when we leave it here at the level of theological truth. If we’re not careful we can end up believing that our holiness consists only of the imputed righteousness that comes from Jesus. That can lead us to worry less about sin, because after all…we’re forgiven in Jesus and made right through His death and resurrection.

This however, is not where God leaves us…a holiness that is not a real holiness at all. Instead you find in scripture the truth that holiness can never be accomplished by any of us by just trying hard. Jesus’ death is absolutely essential for us to experience the new birth and new life in Christ…and it is His righteousness that is now at work in us…AND…it IS at work in us! God’s Word is clear that He expects us to long for and strive for practical holiness in lifestyle.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Second Corinthians 7:1 that we are, “perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” To perfect holiness means to work on it or to strive for it. The motive Paul gives for doing this is out of reverence for God. Developing holiness is wanting to be like our heavenly Father. There’s no greater compliment to a Dad, than when a son or daughter wants to be like him. We give God pleasure as we long for and strive for holiness…to be like our Heavenly Father.

The author of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 12:14, “Make every effort…to be holy.” This is not just a passive acceptance of something. This striving for holiness is not to be confused with your salvation. You accepted Christ’s gift of salvation by faith…but now there is effort involved if you want to live a holy life. Paul would say it this way… “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). Why with fear and trembling? Because we are doing this under the eye of a Holy God.

Without Jesus, there is no possibility of holiness for us. With Jesus, we have been born again into the family of God and God’s holiness has been placed within us. Now we strive with everything within us to live out that life of holiness as we keep our eyes on our Holy God.

Peter said it this way in First Peter 3:10-12: “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.” And then Peter turns to answered prayer: “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

So how do we live holy lives? We make the Word of God our foundation. We strive to do what it says and to flee from all that it forbids. We keep our mouths from gossip, and our hands from mischief. We seek to do good and not harm. Paul wrote these practical words to the Thessalonians: “Live in peace with each other. And we urge you brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thes. 5:13-18).

God is waiting for His people to pray! But the prayers that he hears come from the lips of a holy people…a people set apart and dedicated to God.

PRAYER, PEACE, and the PRESENCE of GOD by David Butts

As believers, we are supposed to walk in the peace of Christ, yet we all have stressful issues and circumstances that rob us of this peace. Subtitled “A 30-Day Journey to Experience the Shalom of Jesus,” Prayer, Peace and the Presence of God powerfully encourages the reader on how to hold onto that peace in any circumstance.

The author, David Butts (1953-2022), started writing this book and 10 days into it he got word that he was in stage 4 with a rare form of lymphoma. God allowed him to live in a greater way for five additional years of full-strength ministry.  Dave has challenged readers in Prayer, Peace and the Presence of God to seek after His  best life, no matter what it holds.

His 30-day devotional will encourage, inspire and challenge you that you, too, can experience and walk in the peace of Jesus no matter what circumstances you are walking through.

 Learn more about purchasing this book here