Then the LORD answered me and said:
“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.”
Habakkuk 2:2

Every Bible preacher or teacher wants to be effective. We might have different opinions about what true effectiveness is, but we all want to see God accomplish something in and through what we do for Him. This half-verse from Habakkuk 2:2 gives some great thoughts on doing what we do as effectively as possible. Look at the verse carefully and see.

How to Preach Better

Write the vision: Habakkuk first had to see the vision. The preacher cannot make anyone else see what he does not see for himself.

Write the vision and make it plain: Habakkuk then had to make it known. The preacher must do what he can to make the word of God known, and make it known in as many ways as possible.

Write the vision: Habakkuk had to make it known as permanently as possible – he was told to write the vision. The preacher must do what he can to make a lasting impact on his listeners.

Make it plain: Habakkuk had to make it plain. Sometimes we Bible preachers and teachers have a way of making the Bible seem much more confusing than it is! Ask God to give you the gift of simplicity and clarity in your teaching and preaching.

That he may run who reads it: Habakkuk had to make it practical. It doesn’t say, “that he who runs may read it,” but “that he may run who reads it.” The running – the activity and progress – comes forth from God’s Word.

God helping us, we will deliver a clear message that faithfully relates God’s revelation – His wonderful word, and we will do under the anointing and blessing of the Holy Spirit. Then those we serve with God’s Word can get out and run the race God has for them.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

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Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.
(Philemon 24)

This email of encouragement is intended for pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers – those who serve the Lord and His people through the ministry of the Word. I try to send it out every other week, and I send it on Mondays because I think that many of you have worked hard to serve the Lord over the weekend. I hope you can see some encouragement in this short verse from Philemon.

In this verse, Paul listed four people whom he regarded as his fellow laborers. They were:

– Mark (most likely John-Mark, the author of the Gospel of Mark)
– Aristarchus (one of Paul’s companions and fellow-prisoners)
– Demas (a companion of Paul who later forsook him)
– Luke (Paul’s companion and the author of the Gospel of Luke)

Yet, in Paul’s other letters, we find a few others whom he also regarded as his fellow laborers, notably Timothy (1 Thessalonians 3:2) and Philemon (Philemon 1).

Is it too much of a stretch to say that we also are fellow laborers with Paul and all others who have served God and His people through the generations? The circle of Paul’s fellow laborers didn’t only include the people of his own time, but also the circle extended into the future.

If you are a servant of God, think about the team you belong to: Paul, Peter, Timothy, Priscilla and Aquilla, Lydia, Polycarp, Athanasius, Francis, Martin and Katie Luther, Zwingli, Spurgeon, Amy Carmichael, Moody, Corrie ten Boom, Billy Graham – it’s an unending list!

So, don’t forget that we are laborers. If you’re tired after a weekend of serving, it’s OK – it’s work!

But also, don’t forget that we are fellow laborers. We serve God in connection with all His servants in generations past and present – and future, should the Lord tarry!

What a wonderful team we are on, with Jesus Christ the captain of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10).

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

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Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
1 Corinthians 4:1

Paul wrote to the Corinthians and here told them how he wanted to be considered. When they thought of Paul, what did he want to come into their mind? Paul knew how he and others like him should be thought of. He said, let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

In the Christian world today, consider what many pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers might finish those words, consider us.

• Consider us professionals
• Consider us celebrities
• Consider us eloquent
• Consider us successful
• Consider us intellectual
• Consider us influential
• Consider us popular

Paul would have none of that. For him it was, consider us as servants of Christ. This was his primary identification when it came to ministry, and to be a servant of Christ was a high enough honor for Paul. But Paul wasn’t only a servant, but also a steward: and stewards of the mysteries of God.

Basically, the steward had the responsibility to protect and wisely distribute what the master owned. Paul knew he had to protect and distribute God’s message (the mysteries of God). Paul wasn’t a composer of these mysteries, nor was he an editor of them. Neither are we. Like Paul, we protect and wisely distribute.

Dear pastor, preacher, or Bible teacher: there is a sense in which God has entrusted His word to you as a steward of His mysteries. You have a great responsibility to both protect and distribute His truth, and to do it as well as you can.

Today, take some satisfaction in those two titles: servant and steward. Consider yourself that way and be happy if others consider you the same way.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

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There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
Psalm 46:4-5

I love to read the Psalms. No matter how I’m feeling or what circumstances I am in, there is a psalm to match my mood. Something here in Psalm 46 spoke to me just now.

As I write this on Monday, I know that many of you have preached and served at your local church yesterday. Many people from many backgrounds receive this email, so if you weren’t preaching in a pulpit, leading a class, or other kind of preaching and teaching service on Sunday, I think you can still benefit from the truth of Psalm 46:4-5.

The psalmist confidently declares, “There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God.” He pictured the abundant, constant provision of a river for Jerusalem. I live in Southern California where we really don’t have rivers. When I travel and see a mighty river, I’m impressed and amazed. Here the psalmist pictured a happy river for Jerusalem (the city of God).

Jerusalem does not in fact have such a river, only a few small streams. Yet the prophets anticipated the day when a mighty river would flow from the temple itself (Ezekiel 47:12, Revelation 22:1). The future reality is already in the mind of the psalmist. This river flows and makes all the city of God happy.

– The city of God is glad because life-giving water is always present in that dry, semi-arid land.

– The city of God is glad because the river has many streams, a picture perhaps connected to the rivers that watered the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:10-14).

– The city of God is glad because a river is sometimes a picture of peace (Isaiah 48:18, 66:12). The idea is that Jerusalem is in perfect peace.

– The city of God is glad because their city is secure, having one of the best defenses against an enemy besieging the city – guaranteed water.

I believe that God wants to bring blessing to your service for Him, blessing like a life-giving river. This blessing isn’t gained by working harder or doing better, but by simply believing and receiving. Under God’s grace the key to blessing is not earning and deserving, but in truly trusting Jesus and receiving.

Like this river, God wants to bring life and refreshment to you in your service to Him and His people. Like many streams, God wants to do this in many ways, perhaps some of them unexpected. Like a tranquil river, God wants to bring peace and a sense of security in Him to your ministry.

His river is happy and wonderful. Let the river of God’s blessing refresh you this Monday.

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

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Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me.
The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
And in the night His song shall be with me—
A prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 42:7

Serving God has its seasons of discouragement. We’re so thankful that it isn’t always like that, but it certainly is discouraging from time to time. In such a season we can find real encouragement from Psalm 42. The whole psalm is amazing but look at just verse 7.

When the psalmist sang, “Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls” he wasn’t thinking about the depths of glory, but the depths of discouragement. Perhaps the psalmist saw or thought of a waterfall in this high country. He saw how the water plunged down into a deep pool at the base of the waterfall and thought, “I feel that deeply buried under my misery.” It was as if all Your waves and billows have gone over me and he was buried under.

It is a powerful and poetic description of despair:

• I hear the constant noise of the waterfalls; it never stops.
• I fell from a previous height.
• I plunged down quickly, and was taken down deep.
• I feel buried under all of this.
• I feel like I’m drowning.

Yet even in this, there are points of light, giving hope:

• I am deep; but God is also – so His depths call unto me in my depths.
• The waterfalls are God’s; if I am plunged under, then He are with me.
• The waves and billows are His; God has measured all this.

From the depths, the psalmist understood “The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me.” The psalmist came to a place of greater confidence, secure in God’s goodness to him in the daytime or at night. In the more frightening night, he would have the gracious comfort of His song to be with him.

That’s why he could dedicate this song as “A prayer to the God of my life.” This was another statement of confidence. The song from God will be a prayer, but not unto the God of his death, but to the God of my life.

Feel like you’re going under? God is with you even in the depths, and He will command His lovingkindness to you!

Blessings to You in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Click Here to Receive Email from David for Pastors, Preachers, and Bible Teachers