NEVER GIVE UP!!

A Collection of over 100 Devotionals written by Ed Wrather.
These devotionals will encourage, strengthen, and inspire the believer.

Never Give Up!!

“And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an
handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse:  and, behold, I am
gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son,
that we may eat it, and die.  And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and
do as thou has said:  but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it
unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.  For thus saith the
Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the
cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth
(1 Kings 17:12-14).”

Today the United States creates more garbage than any other country
in the world.  We are a throw away society.  Disposable seems to
always be better than the reusable.  It wasn’t always that way.  During
the depression years and through much of the war years in the United
States things were different.  During those years not very much of
anything was thrown away because everything was needed to survive. 
Everything was used down to the last drop, down to the last tiny bit.  

During WW II tires were very hard to find because of use of the
material in the war effort.  Neighbors would sometimes share tires with
each other in order to have one vehicle they could use.  If someone in
the family was ill, having a vehicle that had tires became very
important.  Because of that, my Dad hoarded old tires for years after
the war.  He’s finally gotten rid of most of them now.  But he still
remembers a time when an old tire would have meant almost the
difference between life and death.  

In these modern times I believe we give up too easily.  We give up too
early.  We give up before it’s down to the last drop.  We give up before
we are down to our last dollar.  We would do well to remember Elijah
and the widow of Zarephath.  God gave them the food they needed as long
as it was needed.  We should remember the example of our Lord at the
feeding of the five thousand and of the four thousand.  Only a very little
food and it was enough for only a few people.  But our Lord blessed the
food and it was multiplied into a provision for the thousands with
baskets of food left over.

Before we give up.  Before we bail out.  Let us give God an opportunity
to work that miracle in our lives.  Let us thank God for all that we have
and are.  Ask Him to sustain us.  When we think we can’t make it
another day, let us live one more and see what God will do.  When
we’ve gone our last mile, let us walk one more.  As we do, we will see
the hand of God upon our lives sustaining us each day as we trust Him
to provide.  Never, ever, give up!!  


Follow the Voice

1 Kings 19:12, 13b:  “And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was
not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.  ...And, behold, there
came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?”

In 1982 I had a small oilfield business which was doing very well.  Life
was good at least materially.  But God seemed to be speaking to me. 
In July of 1982 I knew that I wasn’t where God wanted me to be but
how could I give up a business that was doing so well and a nice home
and everything?  By November of 1982 oilfield activity had taken a
nose-dive and my business didn’t have any work.  I thought it would
change.  December was the same and by the middle of January I knew
I needed to find a job.  

Some companies still had work.  One of the companies I had worked
for previously in the oilfield still had business.  But I didn’t want to go
back to work for them.  God seemed to have other ideas and one
weekend He was speaking to me about the need to go see the owner
and ask for a job.  So I swallowed some pride and went to see my
former boss.  He said that he had just placed an ad in the newspaper
and that he needed me.  It seems God had been working on him as
well.

I worked there for a few months until their lack of business forced them
to layoff most of their employees.  By then I knew something else was
needed.  I went back to college and worked part-time.  We sold our
house after much prayer and God led us through each problem step by
step.  It looked as though it would be impossible for us to survive
financially but the Voice kept leading.  The still, small voice kept
speaking and we were listening.  

Are you listening?

True Love?

“And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in
knowledge and in all judgment (Philippians 1:9).”

Charles Dicken’s in his “Child’s History of England” tells of the romance
of Thomas a Becket’s parents.  Gilbert Becket was a London merchant
in the 11th century.  While on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, he was
taken prisoner by a Saracen lord who had a beautiful daughter.  The
girl fell in love with Gilbert and expressed a desire to become a
Christian, escape with him and become his wife.  Gilbert seemed to
return her love until he found a chance to escape with Richard, his
servant.

Once he was back in England, Gilbert’s love for the beautiful Saracen
maid began to grow dim until he all but forgot about her.  But while his
love was decreasing, her love was increasing.  She left her father’s
home in disguise to follow Gilbert and made her way to the coast. 
Gilbert had taught her two English words, “London” and “Gilbert.”  She
went from ship to ship saying over and over the name of the city where
she so desperately wanted to go.  She found a ship going to London
and with some of her jewels paid for her passage.  She soon arrived in
London.

As Gilbert was sitting in his office one day his servant, Richard, came
running in saying, “The Saracen lady!  As I live, she is going up and
down calling out, ‘Gilbert!  Gilbert!’”  Gilbert went out and found her in
the crowds.  When she saw him she fainted in his arms.  Soon
afterwards they were married.

Distance can sometimes destroy a love affair.  But true love will
overcome whatever the obstacle.  Do we have a true love for our Lord? 
A love that is increasing day by day?  We should pray as Paul prayed
for the Philippians that our “love may abound yet more and more....”  


If You Ask...

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have
faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig
tree but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and
be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.  And all things, whatsoever
ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive (Matthew 21:21-22).”

I no longer remember their names but I remember their story.  I
remember their testimony of faith.  It has been thirteen years or more
now but I remember when a new client and his wife reported for intake
while I was a parole officer.  They were so happy!  That in itself was
unusual in my business.  They were so excited they couldn’t keep from
sharing what God had done for them.

It seems the husband had been sitting in the county jail for some time
awaiting trial.  Meanwhile things were growing more and more
desperate for his wife and three little kids.  The electricity was turned
off.  They had used all their money and almost all their food.  That was
when they began to pray.  The husband by himself praying to receive
Christ as His Savior.  Praying for God to somehow release him from jail
and help his family.  His wife was praying as well.

It seemed hopeless the trial date was weeks away but suddenly they
came for him and during a brief hearing bail was reduced.  He was
released.  Meanwhile a neighbor had found out about my client’s family. 
The electricity was turned back on and food was provided for them. 
Their lives were forever changed.  They knew that only God could have
done what had happened in their lives.  They knew it was because they
had asked.  Because they asked their mountain had been moved and
cast into the sea.

Have you asked?

Out of the Darkness

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love
God, to them who are the called according to His purpose (Romans
8:28).”

Out of the darkness can come what?  Good.  If, if we love God and are
the called according to His purpose.

Out of the darkness of the flood came the Rainbow.  In the darkness
Joseph was sold into slavery, falsely accused and thrown into prison. 
But out of the darkness came God’s provision to save his family and
the lives of countless others.  Out of the darkness of a whale’s belly
came repentance for Jonah and salvation for hundreds of thousands of
Ninevites.

Out of the darkness of John Newton’s life as a slave trader came a
preacher, a hymn writer, and a relentless crusade to end the slave
trade.  Out of the darkness we hear, “Amazing Grace!  How sweet the
sound, that saved a wretch like me!  I once was lost, but now am
found, was blind, but now I see.”  

Out of the physical darkness of Fanny J. Crosby’s life came such great
hymns as, “Jesus keep me near the cross.”  “Near the cross, a
trembling soul, Love and mercy found me; There the Bright and
Morning Star shed His beams around me.”

Out of the darkness of the crucifixion of our Lord came “He is not here:
for he has risen (Matthew 28:6).”  Out of the darkness of death came
the resurrection.  Out of death came life!  Out of the darkness comes
what?  Out of the darkness comes life.  Out of the darkness comes the
dawn for those who love God and are the called according to His
purpose.


You can have Joy!

“Thou wilt show me the path of life:  in thy presence is fullness of joy; at
thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Psalm 16:11).”

Depression can be very devastating.  My mother has had a lifetime
struggle with depression.  While I was a teenager she was in and out of
hospitals.  She had so many shock treatments that I lost track of the
times.  It seems to be inherited.  My sister has been hospitalized for
depression, as has my uncle and his two daughters.  My grandmother
also had a problem with depression.  I have had my own struggles at
times.  

My greatest relief from depression has come from the Lord.  Through
prayer I have found peace beyond understanding.  Through the reading
of God’s Word and memorizing God’s Word I have found strength to
keep moving forward when it didn’t seem possible.  In His presence I
have found joy.  At His right hand I have found relief from torment that
would have otherwise destroyed my life.  

Is your life empty of happiness?  Try this prescription:  Seek the Lord
with all your heart, mind, and soul.  As you pursue God you will find
that out of that pursuit will come a “fullness of joy.”  


Ever have doubts?

“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them:  because
greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4).”

Ever have doubts about whether God really loves you or if you even
really know Him?  Are you really His child?  I remember a day twenty
something years ago when I spent several hours in prayer.  I was
praying and reading the book of 1st John.  John says at the beginning
of the book, “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be
full.”  After those hours in prayer I have never doubted my salvation.  I
know that, I know that, I know, I am a child of God.

Not only do we have doubts sometimes about our salvation but
sometimes we doubt God’s love for us.  D. L. Moody tells of a
paralyzed man he once met in Scotland.  The man had been paralyzed
since he was 15 years old but Moody thought he was the happiest man
he had ever met even though the man had been paralyzed forty years. 
The paralyzed man admitted to Moody that sometimes he was tempted
by satan when he would see people he went to school with walk by in
perfect health.  

Moody asked the man what he did when he was tempted by satan. 
The paralyzed man told him that he took satan to the cross where his
Lord had been crucified.  He would point out to satan the wounds in his
Lord’s hands, feet, and side.  Then he told satan that his Lord loves
him and satan leaves him every time.  Sometimes we need to remind
our enemy and ourselves of our Lord’s great love for us.   



Had a Bad Day?

“Casting all your care upon Him; for he careth for you (1 Peter 5:7).”

Have you heard the one about the deacon who was run over by a hit
and run driver?  Upon the police officer’s arrival he asked the man if
he had gotten the tag number of the car that hit him.  The man told the
officer that he didn’t need the tag number because he would recognize
his pastor’s laugh anywhere!  We’ve probably never been run over by
our pastor (At least physically!) but we have had days when we have
felt like a truck has run over us.

When I was working in the oilfield it seemed I had those kinds of days
on a frequent basis.  The oilfield is much like the army in that if there is
something to be done nothing is going to stop it.  It doesn’t matter how
cold, hot, or wet it gets the work has to be done.  

It was one of those days I woke up to many years ago to see that an
ice storm had come in the night.  I had a job to do 250 miles away.  I
was driving a small semi truck and my crew was behind me in another
vehicle.  The highway was frozen with ice the entire way but we drove
slow and carefully.  The further we went the thicker the ice became. 
We made it fine until we turned off of the main highway to go to the rig
location.  Then as I was almost to the top of a hill I started sliding
backwards.  Backing a truck picking up speed on ice is somewhat
difficult and half way down the hill the truck jack knifed coming to a
stop.

We were okay and there seemed to be little damage to the truck.  We
went to a farm house and called for a wrecker.  With the wrecker we
were able to slowly pull the truck up the hill but it took several hours. 
Finally we decided that it would be just too dangerous and difficult to go
any further.  I called into to my company expecting to have to argue
with them about not continuing.  But to my surprise they told me they
had been waiting for me to call all day.  Because they were going to tell
me just to park the truck and come back home!!  From the jack knifing
of the truck and falling on the ice many times I pulled a muscle in my
back which took some time to recover from.  It had been a bad day.   

When we have those bad days how do we make it through them?  How
do we recover from them?  Our Lord is the One who sustains me.  I
cast my cares, my worries, my problems upon Him and He carries the
burdens that would have broken me.


“He’s On His Way”

“Let not your heart be troubled:  ye believe in God, believe also in me. 
In my Father’s house are many mansions:  if it were not so, I would
have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself: that
where I am, there ye may be also (John 14:1-3).”

Growing up on a farm it was rare to be able to go to town and visit my
friends except during school.  One of those rare days arrived during the
summer when I was ten years old.  My Dad was taking the tractor and
mower to the big town of Canute, Oklahoma (Population about 500.) to
help clean up the empty lots.  I was allowed to take my bicycle along
and spend the day having fun with my friends.

When the time came to go home I asked my parents if I could ride my
bike home.  It was four and a half miles to our farm.  They agreed and
they would be coming along later.  The first mile went fine but I had to
walk up Turkey Creek Hill and then I noticed both my tires were nearly
flat.  By the time I had pushed the bike another mile I was hot, tired,
and crying.  That was when my parents drove up.  They could see I
was upset and my Dad said, “Didn’t you know we would be coming?” 
While I had given up my parents were on their way to pick me up.

Sometimes, most of the time, when bad things happen we become
impatient.  All we can see is what is going on in our lives right then.  All
we can feel is the pain we feel then.  What God would want you to
know is this:  He’s still there, He’s still God, He still loves you.  He’s on
His way to pick you up.  


Heaven’s Floorboards

“And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God
out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I
heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of
God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his
people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God
(Revelation 21:2-3).”

What will Heaven be like?  John attempts to describe his great vision of
Heaven in Revelation 21.  But human words are insufficient to truly
describe the wonder of a place where God Himself is the light of the
place.  A place with golden streets, a crystal sea, and the tree of life. 
Early Christians were encouraged by John’s vision of Heaven.  We
should be encouraged as well knowing that some bright shining day we
too who know the Lord as our Savior will be living in the Celestial City
of God.

At a recent evangelism conference I was blessed to hear Rick Ousley
speak.  He is a pastor of a large and growing church in the south.  He
said when he was about eight years old he once asked his daddy what
Heaven would be like.  At the time they were on their way to visit Rick’s
grandmother.  His Dad told him he would tell him later.  Rick said his
grandmother’s house was build on a hill with the porch extending out
over the hill with supports.  Rick would climb underneath of the porch to
play.  

Later that night Rick asked his Dad again what Heaven would be like. 
His Dad took him outside and asked Rick what it was like underneath
the porch where he liked to play.  He also asked him what the
floorboards of the porch looked liked from underneath.  Rick said he
described how the floorboards were all dirty with nails sticking through. 
There were dead bugs, spider webs, and it really looked bad.  It was a
beautiful night with sky filled with stars.  Rick said his dad pointed up to
all the sky and said, “Son, I really don’t know what Heaven will be like
but up there is the bottom of Heaven’s floorboards, and it just gets
better from there.”



Got an Attitude?

“Rejoice in the Lord always:  and again I say, Rejoice (Philippians 4:4).”

Paul had an attitude!  His attitude was one of rejoicing no matter what. 
When the letter to Philippi was written Paul was under house arrest in
Rome knowing that he could very well be executed.  In addition, there
were those who were trying to add to Paul’s troubles.  But Paul was
able to rejoice in spite of his circumstances.  How?  With each difficulty
Paul was able to see good coming out of them (Philippians 1:13-18).

Paul could also have joy in spite of people.  There were people in the
church at Philippi that were causing trouble.  There was a false teacher
(Philippians 3:1-3) and a division in the church (Philippians 4:1-3).  Paul
could have joy because he followed the example of Jesus (2:5).  Paul
said to have an humble spirit (2:3), think about the other person’s
situation (Walk a mile in their shoes - 2:4), don’t murmur and complain
(2:14).

Paul had joy too in spite of the lack of the things of this world.  Before
Paul was a Christian he had “arrived” in the Jewish world.  He was the
“Hebrew of Hebrews” (Philippians 3:4-8).  Those things were actually
robbing Paul of true joy.  Jesus says in Luke 12:15, “... for a man’s life
consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”

Worry was another problem that could have kept Paul from having joy. 
In Philippians 4:6-9, Paul tells us how to cope with worry.  We cope
with worry by praying right (4:6-7).  We cope with worry by thinking
right (4:8).  We not only need to pray right and think right but we also
need to live right to be free of worry (4:9).

Got an attitude?  I hope it is an attitude like Paul’s!


When East Looks Like West

Capitola, California is located on the Monterey Bay with the Pacific
ocean stretching out to the west as far as the eye can see.  But
strangely enough when we were taking some photos prior to leaving
we noticed that the early morning sun was rising in the west!?!?!  It had
to be the west didn’t it, because the sun was rising over the Pacific
Ocean which had to be in the west didn’t it??

Jeanie had her directions confused the whole time she was in Capitola
but I always knew which way I was going because the ocean was
always in the west.  Suddenly I realized that what I had considered to
be west, what I felt to be west, could not be west.  It had to be east!  As
I have looked at a map of the Monterey Bay the land wraps around so
that in the area we were the ocean actually was to the east.  

I felt like the ocean was to the west.  It looked like the ocean lay out to
the west.  In my mind I knew that the ocean had to be in the west.  But
the truth was I was wrong.  Even though it felt right.  It looked right and
my knowledge said it was right, but I was wrong.  The truth was
different from what my human emotions, sight and knowledge said was
right.

Much of the Christian experience is similar.  I may not feel like I am
saved.  I may not look like I have been born again and human wisdom
would say that it is not possible but the Bible says in John 1:12, “But as
many as received him (Jesus), to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

The Christian disciplines of prayer, Bible study and church attendance
seem like a waste of time to the human non-Christian mind.  To the
non-Christian those things don’t look like they could possibly be of any
value.  The non-Christian doesn’t feel anything good when they think
about praying, or reading the Bible or going to church.  But for the
children of God we know the truth is that in those resources of God we
find immense value.

Even as Christians many times we feel like we can’t go on when faced
with difficult circumstances.  Those circumstances look overwhelming
and our mind tells us there is no way so we might as well give up.  The
truth as Paul would tell us is, “I can do all things through Christ which
strengtheneth me.”

The next time east looks like west we best get out our compass, the
Word of God, and determine what is the truth of the situation.


The Dayspring

"To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:79)."

As a parole officer (before I was a pastor) I would often go into
spiritually dark places.  Sometimes it would be into bars trying to find
someone or it would be into homes that weren't really homes.  The
darkness was so great and is so great in so many lives.  But God knew
that, He knows that.  That is why Jesus came to be born in a manger. 
That is why God Himself came down from the glories of Heaven to
walk upon this earth in flesh.  So that light could come into the
darkened and near death lives of the people on planet earth.

If you have ever worked all night the sun is such a welcome sight.  The
sun as it arises seems to give new strength and chases the darkness
away.  In Luke 1:78, Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, calls the
unborn Jesus the "Dayspring."  Jesus is the "Dayspring" that will chase
away the darkness just as does the rising sun.  In Malachi, Jesus is the
Sun of Righteousness.  

Have you been in the darkness, sitting in the shadow of death itself? 
Why not let the "Dayspring" forth in your life and allow the Sun of
Righteousness to bring new light, new life into your heart? 


Rise Again!

“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again.... (Proverbs
24:16).”

What do you do when the deal you hoped for falls through, when the
love of your life walks out and slams the door, when the house of your
dreams burns down and you don’t have insurance, when the policeman
comes to your door and tells you your child is in jail for selling cocaine
or even worse?  What do you do when your dreams fall apart and
there’s no way to put them back together again?

The natural response after we lose a job, we lose a loved one or some
bad thing happens in our life is to become angry with God or even to
turn away from Him.  Many, many have chosen that response.  But the
just person rises up again.  When things are falling apart around us we
must remember God’s love never fails and Jesus continued on even to
and through the cross.  Jesus rose from the dead, triumphant!

When our dreams fall apart we need to hold onto God’s love and
believe that no matter what this old world may throw at us things will
work out for the very best for us in the eternal end.  The just man may
fall, may encounter obstacles, may experience tragedies but the just
man through Christ will rise again, and again, and again, and again,
and again, and again, and again (Seven is a number symbolizing
perfection which would mean that no matter how many times a just
man falls he will rise again.). 


The Law of Love

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I
have loved you, that ye also love one another.  by this shall all men
know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John
13:34-35).”

This morning at the beginning of the hearings in the US House of
Representatives Rep. Henry Hyde spoke of the rule of law.  He noted
that through the evolution of the rule of law we now have freedom from
abuse of power by a king or dictator.  God’s laws in the Old Testament,
primarily the ten commandments, were meant for the good of the
people.  Keeping those laws were for your own good.

Law, however, can be cold and unbending.  The law rolls on like a
bulldozer with a life of its own.  The law says you die for murder, you
die.  The law says you die for stealing, you die.  The law says you die
for rebellion against your parents, you die.  The law says you die for
adultery, you die.  In the New Testament we are told in Romans 6:23
that, “... the wages of sin is death.”  Also in Romans 3:23, “For all have
sinned and come short of the the glory of God.”  

According to the Law we should all die for our sins.  I am thankful,
however, that there has been an amendment to the Law.  It is an
amendment of Love.  Through love we can have forgiveness of our
sins.  It was love that brought Jesus down from the glories of Heaven
to the humbleness of a stable and a carpenter’s family.  It was love
that drove Jesus to and through the cross.  That love will reach into the
darkest of hearts and bring light and life if it is invited.  The rule of love
overwhelms the rule of law to bring life.  Is the rule of love reigning in
your life?


Failure?

“And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the
night, and have taken nothing:  nevertheless at thy word I will let down
the net.  And when they had done, they inclosed a great multitude of
fishes and their net brake (Luke 5:5-6).”

Peter’s fishing attempt had failed and they had caught nothing.  But
through the Lord’s miraculous intervention they tried again and had the
catch of their lives.  It is possible to come back from failure even when
it seems impossible.  Peter and his fellow fisherman knew that after
trying all night to catch fish in the best fishing spots it would be
impossible to catch anything on that day.  But what man calls
impossible God calls possible.  It is possible for us to come back from
failure through the power of God.

No one today thinks of Thomas Edison as a failure even though he
failed 10,000 times before finally inventing the light bulb.  Failure is not
when we have been knocked down.  Failure is when we stay down. 
Through failure we can gain an education.  There is a country song that
talks about a working man’s Ph.D..  And as I was growing up I heard it
mentioned from time to time about the school of life’s hard knocks. 
Proverbs 26:11 tells us, “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool
returneth to his folly.”  In other words we ought to learn from our
mistakes.  

Whatever the problems we face, problems force us to examine our
lives.  Peter and the other fishermen had caught nothing after fishing all
night.  Jesus doesn’t tell them it is time to put up the nets.  No!  instead
Jesus tells them in Luke 5:4, “...Launch out into the deep...”  When we
experience failure that’s what we need to do.  Instead of giving up and
refusing to try again we need to boldly “launch out into the deep.”  Let
us “launch out into the deep” and go boldly where no man or woman
has ever gone before.  




What Is The Spirit Saying?

“Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of
Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Spirit to preach the word in
Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: 
but the Spirit suffered them not.  And they passing by Mysia came
down to Troas.  And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There
stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into
Macedonia, and help us (Acts 16:6-9).”

Paul received very specific instructions from the Spirit about where he
was to go and where he shouldn’t go.  The Spirit is still busy today
leading and guiding us.  Sometimes He blocks us.  Sometimes He
warns us.  Sometimes He sends us in another direction.  Sometimes
He says, “come over and help.”

As a pastor before I have moved to another pastorate I have always
driven to the area and looked around.  We have had some interesting
experiences from these trips.  On one trip when we had arrived in the
area we stopped at a convenience store and when Jeanie came back
out she said that she had become dizzy and almost passed out.  We
decided to drive on to the church facility and maybe she would feel
better by then.

Jeanie was feeling better by the time we drove by the church building. 
But the car seemed to be having a problem.  By the time we had
located the parsonage and driven by it the needle on the engine heat
gauge had red lined.  The electric fan motor had burned out.  After our
excursion we decided that wasn’t really where God wanted us to go.

Before we came to our current pastorate another church was interested
in us.  We drove to their church facility and as we drove into their
parking lot the car died and wouldn’t start.  The alternator had stopped
working.  We were finally able to have the car repaired but we had the
definite impression that God had given us a warning about that church.

The Spirit still leads and guides today.  What is the Spirit saying to
you?


The Strong Tower

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower:  the righteous runneth into it,
and is safe (Proverbs 18:10).”

One of the things that caused me to be hesitant about being a pastor
was my wife having to drive many miles to work.  We were living in the
same city as her job and it took only three or four minutes for her to
arrive at work.  In my first pastorate she had to drive about 35 miles to
her work place.  I was concerned about the stress on her and also the
danger if the car had mechanical problems.  At that time cell phones
had not arrived in the area.  Later we had a cell phone for about a year
but don’t have one now.

My fears about the possibility of my wife’s car breaking down in an
isolated area have been unfounded because God has protected her.  I
remember well the times that her car has broken down because I have
always been with her or driving her car.  My wife had made it home
safely one evening during a lightening storm.  She told me how there
had been one lightening strike that was really close to the car.  The
next morning we left in her car and made it about 50 feet before it died
and wouldn’t start.  The lightening strike had somehow ruined a circuit
board and it had to be replaced.

My wife has been driving for over seven years now the longer
distances to work.  Now she drives about 45 miles to work one way. 
The Lord is our “strong tower” and He continues to amaze me.  I have
failed Him but He has never failed me.  

Is the Lord your “strong tower?”  


A Clear Conscience

“And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of
offense toward God, and toward men (Acts 24:16)

Paul says that he strives always to keep his conscience clear before
God and man.  A friend of mine has been having trouble knowing for
sure if he has salvation.  It has been a troubling thing over a period of
years.  He lives a very upright life and is one of the more faithful
members of our church.  He finally arrived at the conclusion that he did
have salvation.  However, we prayed and asked God to reveal to my
friend if he had any unconfessed sin in his life.  As far as he knew he
didn’t.  

This last week he woke up knowing that he had stolen from a former
employer.  This was many years ago.  He had stolen by using the
employer’s equipment for personal use.  As he came to a realization of
that, he knew he had to confess this to his former employer and pay for
the cost of using the equipment.  It was a very hard and costly thing for
him to do but he immediately made the confession and reimbursement.  

This morning I heard on the news about a man that had confessed to
murdering and raping a young woman 19 years earlier.  A horrendous
crime.  The man responsible was living far away, is now married and
has two children.  He had started attending church and through his
pastor  contacted authorities and confessed to this crime.  His
conscience would not let him live with this unconfessed sin.  Authorities
say that most likely the crime would never have been solved without
the confession.

A clear conscience is a precious thing.  We as Paul should always
strive to keep our conscience clear before God and man.


The Patience Of God

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith:  who for the joy
that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is
set down at the right hand of the throne of God.  For consider him that
endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be
wearied and faint in your minds.  Ye have not yet resisted unto blood,
striving against sin (Hebrews 12:2-4).”

Have you ever considered the patience of God?  He has such great
patience with us.  As the hymn says he could have called 10,000
angels to destroy the world and set him free from the cross but he
didn’t.  Instead Jesus “endured the cross,” “endured the contradiction of
sinners against himself.”

Not only does God have great patience with us as sinners (And His
mercies through Jesus are sufficient for every repentant sinner.) but he
has great patience in guiding us.

Think for a moment about Gideon in the Old Testament (Judges 6:1 -
7:22).  God finds Gideon hiding in an abandoned winepress, threshing
wheat, but fearing for his life.  God calls him to be the one to lead Israel
in delivering them from the Midianites.  From Gideon’s actions we know
that he continues to have doubts about God’s call and how the
deliverance is to be brought about.  But God is patient!  He gives
Gideon six reassurances as He leads Gideon to victory over the
Midianites.  

God created us and He knows our frailties, our weaknesses.  He
knows that we need His guidance, His reassurances.  When He calls
us, He is not finished with the process.  That’s the beginning.  He is still
there to guide us.  When we have our doubts.  He is still there to
reassure us, to point us again in the right direction.  He loves us as His
children.  He “endured the contradiction of sinners,” how much more so
does he endure and have patience with us His children.

Not sure about where or what God wants in your life?  Ask Him?  He
won’t be angry.  Would we be angry at our own children if they asked
us what we wanted?  No, of course not!  God is all powerful and all
knowing.  I think that He can handle a question or two (or three, or four,
or five.......) from His children.     


When God Calls

“And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped
will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand:  and let all
the other people go every man unto his place (Judges 7:7).”

God calls upon His people many times to do the unexpected.  Gideon
had 32,000 men but even this army was not enough to march the men
arrayed against them.  Judges 7:12 describes the opposing force as
“grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels without number, as the
sand by the seaside for multitude.”  But God reduced instead of
increasing Gideon’s army.  He reduced the thousands to only 300 men. 
Yet we know that God gave Gideon and his 300 men complete victory
over the Midianite army.

Joshua we know was called upon by God to attack Jericho in a strange
way.  They were to march around the city once a day for six days but
on the seventh day they were to march around Jericho seven times. 
The seven priests were to blow the trumpets and the people were to
shout.  As we know the walls came tumbling down.

Jonah was called upon by God to do the strange and unusual as well. 
He was to go to Nineveh and preach to the hated enemy.  Jonah
thought that he would rather die than do that and headed in the other
direction.  He was swallowed up by a great fish and in the belly of the
fish he had a change of heart.  Jonah went to Nineveh with God’s
message “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be over thrown.”  One of
the greatest revivals in history broke out and these evil people got right
with God.

The point is that when God calls He may sometimes want us to do
what the world will laugh at.  But make no mistake.  If we are faithful to
be obedient to God’s call, the world most likely won’t be laughing at the
results of our obedience.  The Midianites weren’t laughing after the
battle was over.  The people of Jericho were no longer laughing at
those crazy Israelites when the walls came down.  And the Ninevites
called a fast and sat in sackcloth and ashes when they heard the one
sentence sermon of Jonah.


Between A Rock And A Hard Place?

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart:  and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).”

When life gets tough and we’re between a rock and a hard place what
do we do?  What do we do when the car is repossessed and the IRS
wants the rest?  What do we do when the doctor tells us there is no
hope?  What do we do when we are arrested for a crime we didn’t
commit and no one will believe us?  What do we do when unexpectedly
we are given the “pink slip” and told to find another job?  What do we
do when we have an addiction that won’t let go and it is destroying our
life?

What are we to do?  Do we just “grin and bear it?”  Do we “count our
many blessings?”  Do we “look on the bright side?”  Do we put on our
smiley face and tell everyone we’re fine when we’re really dying inside? 
Do we pop a few more pills, shoot some more dope, or go on a week
long drinking binge?

Jesus says, “Come unto me...and I will give you rest.”  How can Jesus
give us rest?  He can give us rest by taking away our burden of sin.  He
can give us rest by giving us “peace which passeth understanding
(Philippians 4:7).”  He can give us rest by giving us supernatural
strength to endure our situation “through Christ (Philippians 4:13).”  He
can give us rest through His supernatural provision “according to his
riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).”  He gives us rest
through His Spirit, through His Word, through His people.

Are you between a rock and a hard place?  Are you at the end of your
rope and your fingers are slipping?  Jesus is the answer.  His yoke is
easy.  His burden is light.  Only Jesus can give rest to your soul.


Thoughts About Disciples

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue
in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:31-32).”

The word disciple, comes from the word discipline.  Most successful
people in this world learn at some point in time that the disciplined life is
the easiest life you can live.  It is the easiest load you can carry.  Who
enjoys life the most?  those whose life is out of control?  Those whose
freedom has been lost because of their freedom?  Millions of dollars
are made every day by casinos, liquor stores, bars, drug dealers, and
porn sellers.  These people are made rich by people who are out of
control.  Because they are out of control they are carrying a heavy
burden.

Who is going to have the abundant life that Jesus talks about in John
10:10?  It is those who take His yoke upon them.  It is those who come
under His discipline.  It will be those for whom Jesus is Lord and not
just a fire insurance policy.  

To be a true disciple of Jesus we must come under His discipline. 
What are those disciplines?  

1.  Prayer is one of those Christian disciplines.  Who has the lightest
load?  People who pray, or those who don’t?

2.  Bible study is a discipline.  Who lives with more peace?  Those who
know the promises of God or those who are ignorant of God’s promises
and of the power of God’s Word?

3.  Going to church is a Christian discipline.  The Bible says in Hebrews
10, “...not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the
manner of some is.”  When we assemble together, we know we have
worshipped God and have established relationships with people of God
who will be there when life’s burdens must be carried.

Isn’t our burden made lighter when we accept these disciplines and
become true disciples of our Lord?


Avoid The Leaven

Jesus says in Mark 8:15 (Read also v. 14.), “Take heed, beware of the
leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.”

Jesus talks about yeast in describing the teachings of the Pharisees,
the Herodians, and the Sadducees.  The thing to remember about
yeast is it has power.  This power can be a source of good or of evil.  In
the parable of the leaven in Matthew 13 Jesus used yeast to symbolize
the invasiveness of the kingdom which eventually transforms the world. 
This is the good use of yeast.  In Mark 8 Jesus warns of a bad use. 
There are four obstacles to our faith which Jesus classifies as yeast.  If
the Christian accepts these they can work to destroy our faith.

The first one is the yeast of the Pharisees.  Their yeast was
traditionalism because they held their traditions to be above the law of
God.  Because of their traditions, teachings, they were unable to
recognize Christ when He walked among them.

Secularism was the yeast of the Herodians.  They believed the world
could be changed by the Herods and their politics.  Their faith was in
government and not in God.  They had the government so they did not
need a Savior.

In Matthew 16, the Herodians are not mentioned but the Sadducees
are.  The Sadducees were known for their unbelief in anything
supernatural (re:  Mark 12 and Acts 23:8).  The Sadducees were
religious skeptics.  They had a form of religion but it did not have any
power.  Jesus warns us against those who claim to believe in God and
yet at the same time deny God is able to work in the supernatural.  For
example, many who claim to be Christians do not believe God created
the world, the virgin birth of Christ, or His resurrection from the dead. 
Can we really have saving faith in a Savior who we believe was only a
man?  I don’t think so.

The last obstacle was pessimism.  The disciples were pessimistic. 
They were upset because they had forgotten to bring any bread with
them.  And yet they had seen Jesus take a small amount of bread and
feed an army of people.  Pessimism is dangerous.  Why?  Because it
tells Jesus there are things that He can’t do.  When we do that He
usually can’t because we are without faith.

Traditionalism, secularism, skepticism, and pessimism will rob us of the
faith and power necessary for living the abundant life.

A Life Worth Living

“Ye are the salt of the earth:  but if the salt have lost his savor,
wherewith shall it be salted?  It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to
be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.  Ye are the light of
the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.  Neither do men
light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it
giveth light unto all that are in the house.  Let your light so shine before
men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which
is in heaven (Matthew 5:13-16).”

On a television special on June 6, 1994, observing the D-Day invasion,
General Norman Schwarskopf and Dan Rather were walking through
the US cemetery on the Normandy coast.  General Schwarskopf
reflected on the sacrifices of the soldiers buried there.  He said, “We
should live to make this world worth dying for.”  There seems to be
doubt in those words as to whether or not this world is worth dying for
at the present time.

There does seem to be a moral decay in this world that is ever
increasing.  The level of immorality reminds me of the statement made
in the last verse of the book of Judges (Judges 21:25), “In those days
there was no king in Israel:  every man did that which was right in his
own eyes.”  The book of Judges records the result of that kind of
attitude.  

The only thing restraining God’s hand of Judgment upon this world are
those Christians who are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. 
Just as salt acts as a preservative in meat and prevents decay and
spoilage so do Christians.  Christians sprinkled across this world act as
a moral preservative preventing or slowing further decay and in some
situations even bringing restoration.  But sadly there seems to not be
enough salt and the decay continues.

Why was Sodom and Gomorah destroyed?  It was a wicked place, yes. 
But also because there were not even ten righteous people in the
place.  Not enough salt and what salt it had, Lot, seemed to have lost
its savor, its effectiveness.  

Does it make any difference how you live your life?  Yes, it does!  You
are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

Does it make any difference whether you come to church all the time or
just when you happen to feel like it?  Of course it make a difference. 
Your neighbors know when they hear your car start up and drive by
their houses on Sunday morning and when they see you come home
with Bibles in hand, they know.

Does it make any difference whether or not you pray and read your
Bible?  Of course it does!  You don’t want to lose your savor, your
effectiveness, your influence for the Lord do you?

Does it make any difference whether or not you ever tell anyone about
Jesus, give someone a tract, invite them to church?  Of course it does! 
How will there ever be any more salt!  How will there ever be any more
light!  If we don’t win more people to the Lord?

It makes a difference how each one of us live our lives.  We should live
our lives to make this world worth dying for.  You and I are the salt of
the earth and the light of the world.


Where Art Thou?

“And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art
thou (Genesis 3:9)?”

Adam and Eve had sinned and God called unto them.  God is still
calling to those of us today with sin in our lives to return to Him.  Our
God seems to be constantly calling out.  He calls us to salvation.  He
calls to us when we sin.   He calls us to service.

I remember hearing Jeanie’s (my wife) testimony for the first time and
God through her testimony issued His call for my salvation.  I then
began to hear a call to service.  God’s call upon my life to preach His
Word eventually became almost a shout.  His call was so loud that it
was impossible to ignore.  I had to say, yes.  Or, I had to say, no.

Once I had answered God’s call to preach His Word there were other
calls that He began to issue.  Where would I preach?  Once I answered
the call to a place of service is that the only time God will call me in that
way?  For me the answer has been, no.  God has called me from one
place to another.  I have at times tried to analyze and examine the
reasons God would do that.  Usually at the time of the call I don’t have
the understanding  to know why, but I can understand enough to know
that I must go.  With the advantage of several years I can now look
back and understand more of why God took me from one place and
brought me to another.

Has God been calling you?  Most likely He has about one thing or
another.  No, you may not fully understand His call.  But to the extent
that you know what He wants you to do you should take the steps that
are possible.  As you do so He will reveal more and more of His plan.

The call of God.  The Bible begins with a call to Adam the first man and
the Bible ends with a call to all, “And the Spirit and the bride say,
Come.  And let him that heareth say, Come.  And let him that is athirst
come.  And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely
(Revelation 22:17).”     


Would You Like To Run Away?

“Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their
wickedness is come up before me.  But Jonah rose up to flee unto
Tarshish from the presence of the Lord (Jonah 1:1-3a).”

Have you ever ran away from home?  When I was five years old while
my mother was taking a nap I went to visit my cousin.  My cousin lived
two and a half miles south of us on a country road.  Now I knew that I
shouldn’t leave our farm property but I left anyway.  By the time I was
two miles from home I was tired but still determined to make it to my
cousin’s home.  I was careful on my journey having been warned about
strangers and whenever a car would approach I would go off the
roadway and hide until they were gone.

Unknown to me by this time my parents had all of their neighbors out
looking for me.  One of the farmers who was plowing saw me and
called my parents.  Just as I was crawling through a fence to go to my
cousin’s my parents found me.  I never knew until later the anxiety I
had caused them and their friends.  That was the last little trip I went on
by myself for several years!

Thinking about Jonah, he knew where God wanted him to go and went
in the opposite direction.  Sometimes we are at least a little like Jonah. 
We know what God wants us to do but we don’t do it.  We know what
God doesn’t want us to do and we do it.  From Jonah’s experience we
know that God is capable of getting our attention.  It may not be with a
big fish but it will be something very personal to us that we understand.

Even now I would sometimes like to run away but I understand the
consequences better now.  I understand much better the pain I cause
my Heavenly Father when I take my little excursions outside of His will. 
I also understand His discipline just as I understood the discipline of my
parents.


Images On Our Walls

“Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients
of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his
imagery?  For they say, The Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken
the earth (Ezekiel 8:12).”

When we are alone with our thoughts, what are the images that we see
flashed on the walls of our minds?  What is it or who is it that we
worship there in the privacy of our thoughts?  Some worship there the
material.  Some worship there themselves.  Others worship there the
true and living God.

I can look at different periods of my life and think of my worship. 
Before I was a Christian I not only worshipped the material but I also
worshipped myself.  Strange how when Christ came into my life the self
worship, the material worship has become harder and harder.   Yes, I
do sometimes think it would be nice to live in a nicer home and have
the money to do what I cannot do now.  But those material things are
not what sustains me.  Those things have become less and less
important as Christ has become more and more important to me.

Henry Drummond once told a story about a mother who visited her son
at college.  She was shocked to discover pornographic images on the
walls of his room.  But she didn’t demand that her son remove them. 
What she did was to buy a painting of Christ.  She gave it to her son
and asked him to hang it on his wall.   When she next visited her son
she found the obscene images gone and the painting of Christ hanging
on the wall instead.

Let us hang the image of our crucified Lord and Savior upon on the
innermost chambers of our hearts!! 


The Right Directions

“Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths (Psalm 25:4).”

What way is our life headed?  What path are we really traveling?  Are
we going the way that we want to go?  This is the way that our flesh,
our natural man wants to travel.  The Bible tells us in Proverbs 14:12,
“There is a way which seems right to a man.”  

There is also the way that others would want us to travel.  The Psalmist
says in Psalm 1:1, “...the way of sinners....”  There is another way, a
best way, that the Lord wants us to take:  “This is the way, walk in it
(Isaiah 30:21).”

I remember while working in the oilfield going to a job out in ranching
country west of Canadian, Texas.  My directions were to take the
second fork in the road after leaving Canadian.  We took the second
fork in the road and drove and drove.  We came back to the beginning
and took another possible second fork in the road and drove and
drove.  I enlisted a deputy sheriff to help find the rig location we were to
go to.  I went back to Canadian and called in for more directions.  We
searched for most of the day and burned up a tank of gas before
receiving the directions for the right way to the location.


Yes, it was the second fork in the road but the second fork turned onto
a pasture trail with only tracks for the tires of vehicles.  Where we were
searching for an actual road traveled by many vehicles the road we
needed was a narrow one!.  After traveling this narrow road for about a
half mile we went down into a valley where the oil rig was located.  The
drilling rig couldn’t be seen from the main road which we had traveled
many times by then.  By the time we arrived we were tired, frustrated,
and still had a job to do.

How much simpler and easier life is when we have the right directions! 
But we have to be careful as to where those directions come. 


Swimming Iron

“But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water:  and
he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.  And the man of
God said, Where fell it?  And he shewed him the place.  And he cut
down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.  Therefore
said he, Take it up to thee.  And he put out his hand, and took it (2
Kings 6:5-7).”

There is a message here for us in the miracle of the swimming axe
head.  Elisha the prophet cut down a stick and threw it in the water and
the iron axe head came up from the bottom and floated.  The man was
upset for two reasons.  First, he was troubled because the axe head
was not even his and he would have to somehow repay the owner for
this valuable property.  Second, he was upset because he would no
longer be able to cut down any wood.  How could he cut down a tree
with only an axe handle?  Impossible!

Yes, it is impossible to cut wood with an axe handle but that is what
many in the churches of today are trying to do.  We see a picture of the
axe handle representing the work that we can do in our own strength. 
We also see a picture of the axe head representing the work that can
be done through the supernatural empowerment of our Lord.

We lament the spiritual condition of our world.  We lament the spiritual
condition of our churches.  We lament the spiritual condition of our own
lives.  So, we try harder and harder in our own strength.  We swing the
axe handle faster and faster but we only succeed in burning ourselves
out.  What we must do is return to our Lord.  We need the daily intake
of the Word of God.  We need the daily communication in prayer. 
Without it, the axe head will remain at the stagnant bottom of the lake
of our lives. 


Have You Been Run Over?

As Christians we should periodically examine our commitments.  Our
determination to be faithful to commitments make up the true Christian
life.  Before we can become a Christian we must commit ourselves to
turn from sin (repentance) and commit ourselves to have Jesus as our
Lord and Savior.  Out of the continuation of those commitments flow
the Christian life.  

Too often after a few years of being a Christian (If not long before) we
see people begin to back away from those original commitments.  They
begin to try to find a middle ground between the world and the Lord. 
We see many living exactly that way with their lives.  They come to
church just on Sunday morning.  They put on their happy faces and
know all the Christian things to say.  But through the week their
Christianity has very little real value to them.

There’s an old saying that is still very true:  “If you sit in the middle of
the road you will be run over!”  If we sit in the middle of the road with
our Christianity we will be run over by life.  We may try to blame the
Lord for it but we really have no one to blame but ourselves.  The Bible
often warns and challenges us to living completely, totally for God.  

Joshua said, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve (Joshua 24:15).” 
Elijah said, “How long halt ye between two opinions?  If the Lord be
God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him (1 Kings 18:21).”

And our Lord says to many who make up His church, “I know thy
works, that thou art neither cold nor hot:  I would thou wert cold or hot. 
So then because thou art luke warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will
spue thee out of my mouth (Revelation 3:15-16).”

Has life run you over?  Maybe it is time to get out of the middle of the
road!!


Jesus Has The Power!

Remember the story of Lazarus?  He had died and was buried but
Jesus came and intervened in the situation.  “...he cried with a loud
voice, Lazarus, come forth.  And he that was dead came forth, bound
hand and foot with grave clothes:  and his face was bound about with a
napkin.  Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go (John
11:43-44).”

When Jesus first arrived in Bethany, Lazarus was dead.  But when
Jesus, the resurrection and the life spoke, Lazarus came forth. 
Lazarus was alive but bound in the grave clothes and sticky burial
spices.  But Jesus didn’t leave Lazarus bound.  Jesus said, “Loose him,
and let him go.”

The tragic thing for many Christians is that we have passed from death
unto life but we keep trying to put the grave clothes back on and bind
ourselves up again.  Whenever we sin it is like trying to put on those
stinking  grave clothes again.  Some Christians have bound
themselves up with addictions.  Others with various forms of sin.  

What is important to know is that Jesus still has the power today to
release you from those grave clothes.  Jesus is the “same yesterday,
and today, and for ever (Hebrews 13:8)  Which means that you don’t
have to remain in bondage because Jesus has the power.  Because
Jesus is still “...the resurrection, and the life:  he that believeth in me
though he were dead, yet shall he live (John 11:25).”  


Billboards

Have you seen the billboards in south Florida?  An anonymous person
through an advertising agency has been placing statements as though
spoken by God on billboards and sides of buses.  Here are a few of
them:

“We need to talk.”  - God
“What part of ‘Thou shalt not’ don’t you understand?” 			
					- God
“If you keep taking my name in vain I’ll make the rush hour longer.”  -
God

It would be easier wouldn’t it, to live by sight?  To visit with God face to
face.  Watch God on the television.  Listen to His Voice on the radio. 
See His photo on the billboard.  

But God has chosen for us to live by faith.  And faith comes how?  “So
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans
10:17).”


Are You Waiting?

“For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, not
perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee,
what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him (Isaiah 64:4).”

There are over one hundred references to the word wait in the Bible.  It
seems that people in the Bible were to wait or that they were waiting
frequently.  Things haven’t changed very much because we are still
waiting today.  Waiting seems to be one of the more difficult things that
I have to do.  We catch a vision of what may be and we work and wait
and finally that vision comes to pass.  

Before I began to preach God’s Word, He had been calling me for
several years.  But the timing was not right.  I began over the years to
wonder if what I was waiting for would come to pass.  The right time
finally came.  God was faithful to reveal His will to me and to Jeanie
(my wife) so that we had no doubt that it was the right time.  Now I
understand that the waiting was important.  It was during the waiting
that God was teaching and training me for ministry.  It was during the
waiting that He was developing my character for what was ahead.  It
was during the waiting that my faith grew and I became more and more
sensitive to His Voice.

Today I am still waiting but for different things to come to pass.  But
while I am waiting I know that He wants me to live life each day to its
fullest.  I think one of the biggest lessons that I have learned from
waiting is that we must not let the waiting get in the way of the living.  


Surprising Love

Jesus says in Matthew 5:44, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for
them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

There is a bumper sticker that I see occasionally which says, “I don’t
get mad, I get even.”  Our natural response to someone who hurts us is
to “get even.”  Usually we get mad too!  

Driving in traffic in a large city we see the natural man constantly at
work.  People seem to take on another personality when they are
driving.  Or maybe it is the personality they really have with the mask
stripped off.  “Road rage.”  This a term that we hear more and more of
in the United States.  Even in Oklahoma there have been instances of
people being shot while traveling down the interstate for no apparent
reason.  

How can we “love our enemies?”  Only through the power of God. 
Loving our enemies is in complete opposition to what the natural man
wants to do.  

Today, why don’t we surprise someone with an act of love.    God may
very well be able to use that love to change someone’s heart and take
away their rage!


Are You Slipping?

“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which
we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip (Hebrews 2:1).” 
The last part of this verse can also be translated as, “...so that we do
not drift away.”

Here is a reason why some of us give up on life and some even appear
to give up on God.  What is it that we have “heard?”  What is it that we
have been taught?  We know the importance of discipleship.  We know
the importance of church attendance.  We know the importance of
spending time in prayer and reading God’s Word.  We know the
importance of being obedient, of holy living.

“...so that we do not drift away.”  Drifting away.  Drifting is a slow
compromise of our commitments.  Compromises are rarely satisfying. 
It is like the hunter and the bear who encountered each other.  The
hunter was ready to pull the trigger when the bear spoke.  The bear
asked for negotiations.  They agreed.  The hunter wanted a fur coat. 
The bear wanted a full stomach.  They decided to compromise.  The
bear after a little while walked away alone.  The hunter had his fur coat
and the bear had his full stomach!

The world would have you to compromise on your commitments to
what you know to be right.  The world promises you a fur coat but
neglects to tell you the full price.


At The End Of Your Rope?

“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of
unbelief, in departing from the living God.  But exhort one another daily,
while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin.  For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold
the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end (Hebrews
3:12-14).”

Do you ever feel like you’ve had all you can take, you’re at the end of
the rope and your fingers are slipping?  It happens frequently to
Christians and to non-Christians.  In Hebrews chapter three we are
given a hint as to how to hang on and help others to hang on as well. 
The Bible says, “exhort one another daily....”  Sometimes we forget that
we are not Lone Rangers and that we need the help of other Christians
and they need our help as well.

Dr. Karl Menninger a psychiatrist and founder of the Menninger clinic
was once asked a question while giving a lecture.  He was asked what
he would do if he felt he was about to suffer a nervous breakdown. 
Menninger replied that he would find someone that needed help and he
would do something to help them.  

Encouragement has a way of coming back to us.  As we exhort others,
they in turn encourage us.  As we help others we find others helping
us.  The Bible says we should do this “...while it is called Today.” 
Before we turn loose of the rope why don’t we reach out and help
someone else to hang on a little while longer?  


Time To Wake Up!

“...knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep:  for
now is our salvation nearer than when we believed (Romans 13:11).”

Whoever created the “snooze button” should win a Nobel Prize!  I love
the “snooze button.”  Jeanie, usually sets her alarm for an half hour
earlier than she needs to get up and she can then hit the snooze button
a few times.  I love that luxurious feeling of semi-consciousness when
you snuggle back under the covers knowing you have at least another
ten minutes of blissful comfort.  The challenges and hardships of the
day can wait for another ten minutes.

The snooze button symbolizes the mentality of many of us.  We would
rather stay in bed than get up and face the day.  We would rather eat
anything we want than watch our weight.  We would rather spend our
money foolishly than invest it wisely.  We would rather sit on the sofa
and watch TV than do all those much needed chores around the
house.  We would rather sit in the pew than get involved in a ministry. 
We would rather use our finances selfishly than joyfully give to God’s
work.  We would rather be comfortable than accept a challenge.  

The problem is, God always challenges us.  He is like that alarm clock
that buzzes in our ear.  In the same way you make sure your children
get up and meet the challenges that lay before them, God is ever
poking, prodding and leading us from our comfortable slumber.  God
says, “...it is high time to awake out of sleep!”


Tanggung Djawab

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him (Colossians 3:17).”

The Indonesian language has a word for responsibility “tanggung
djawab.”  It means literally, “to hold the answer.”  This is to say that for
anyone to hold the answer in any situation and not to share it would be
out right irresponsibility.  

What is the responsibility of the Christian?  The apostle Paul sums up
the Christian’s responsibility with one verse in Colossians 3:17.  What
does the Christian life include?  The Christian life is everything you say,
everything you do, and everything you are.  The Christian life should be
everything, every detail of what you are - nothing held back.

What does it mean to “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus?”  In the
time of the early church the name of a person indicated the person’s
authority and power.  To do something in the name of that person, or in
relationship with that person.  What is our relationship to Jesus?  How
do we see Jesus in our life?  We must see Jesus as Lord of our lives,
not as a Lord, or one of many Lords, but as the Lord.

Many Colossians, because of a false teaching called Gnosticism, saw
Jesus only as a god (among many) and that there were more powerful
spirit beings than Jesus.  Today, few Christians would admit to having
the same problem that the Christians at Colossae had.  But the truth is
that many of us do.  We just have different names for the false gods we
worship.  Because if there is anything that we put before God then it is
a false God, an idol.

The false gods we worship and serve today have names like:  money,
material possessions, careers, recreation, selfishness, alcohol, drugs,
pornography, school activities, even our children or our spouses. 
Before we can ever fulfill our responsibility as a Christian we must deal
with our false gods.  

“Tanggung djawab.”  We hold the answer for those around us but
before we can ever reach them we must deal with our own lives.  We
are responsible to place  Jesus on the throne of our lives so that we
can fulfill our responsibilities as a child of God.   


Delight In The Lord

“Delight yourself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of
thine heart (Psalm 37:4).”

Knowing God’s will about practical ongoing issues of life is faced by
every child of God.  God’s will has not been hidden from us.  God
wants us to know His will for our lives.  So, why do many Christians
have such a problem determining God’s will for their lives?

The problem has to do with what the Psalmist says in Psalm 37:4.  Do
we really find delight in the Lord?  What does He mean when He says
delight yourself in the Lord?  God has given us many wonderful
resources (Philippians 4:19).  At the top of the list is the Holy Spirit. 
God has given us Himself.  He has also given us His Word.  He has
given us the church made up of other Spirit filled believers.  He has
also given us the fantastic privilege of prayer.  We can talk directly with
the Creator of the Universe.

To delight ourselves in the Lord means that we are taking advantage of
those resources.  We are communing with God through the Holy Spirit
and the fellowship of other believers.  We are studying and searching
the Scriptures and we are on a talking basis with our God.  If we are
delighting ourselves in the Lord, God the Psalmist says will give us the
desires of our heart.  If we are in a right relationship with God the
desire that we have will be God’s will.    


Continue On

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship,
and in breaking of bread, and in prayers (Acts 2:42).”

This verse says much about what we need as Christians today.  When
our world comes crashing in and everything is going wrong what do we
do?  Where do we turn?  We should follow the example of the early
church and continue on.  They “continued steadfastly.”  This seems to
indicate that there was at least some opposition to their doing what the
remainder of the verse states.

When all seems lost, continue on.  Continue on in the “apostles’
doctrine” which was the Word of God.  Continue on reading, studying
and meditating upon the Word of God.  Continue on memorizing and
imbedding the Word of God in your hearts.  

When all seems lost, continue on.  Continue on in fellowship with other
Christians.  Continue on provoking and encouraging others to love and
good works.  Continue on and stand firm with your labor for the Lord
because we know that it is never in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). 
Continue on in that fellowship of obedience to the Great Commission. 

Continue on and you too will have “gladness and singleness of heart!”


Finding Peace Of Mind

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art
also called, and hast professed a good profession before many
witnesses (1 Timothy 6:12 -  see also verses 13-19).”

There was a survey conducted by USA Today back in 1992 which is
probably still accurate.  In the survey they asked people what they
wanted most.  The majority of those that responded said, “peace of
mind.”

I think that by saying “peace of mind” we want more than an abstract
sense of serenity.  To have real “peace of mind” we need a sense of
satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment, and a sense of
meaning/purpose.  When we say we want “peace of mind,” we’re
saying we want to get hold of life, real life.
That’s what Paul was telling Timothy in this passage of Scripture.  In
verse 19, Paul says, “...lay hold on eternal life.”  Paul had some ideas
about how Timothy was to take hold of life.  First, we need to put our
hope in God (v. 17).  Second, do good to all people (v. 18).

There can be no true hope in God without having a Savior.  We need
Jesus as our personal Savior to have that true hope.  Not only do we
need a Savior but those around us do as well.  What is the greatest
possible good that we can do for someone else?  Tell them about
Jesus so that they too might have life, eternal life.

Let us “...lay hold on eternal life” today and we will find that we have
found peace of mind.


Human Relations

Today I was run over by a truck.  Not really, it just felt like it!!  I thought
I was looking after the interests of our church as a pastor should.  I
thought that what I had wanted was what would be in the best interest
of those affected the most.  It feels almost like a truck has run over you
when a Christian brother or sister does something that is most
uncharacteristically Christian and hurts you and others.  It hurts even
more when there is little that you can do about it at the time but still that
human flesh wants to get even.

My first response was that I wasn’t going to let them get by with this, I
can cause them trouble.  But then that didn’t sound very Christian
either.  What was it Jesus said?  Where was that?  Matthew
5..verse...39, “...resist not evil:  but whosoever shall smite thee on thy
right cheek, turn to him the other also.”  There’s more!  “And if any man
will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak
also.  And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him
twain.”  Here’s the one that gets to me:  “But I say unto you, Love your
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and
pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

There is really an amazing thing about giving a situation like mine to
the Lord along with all the anger, with all the pain.  The amazing thing
is you can almost feel the hurt, the pain drain away.  I know that God
will now use this situation to bring about good which maybe He is
already doing through this devotional.

Is there a situation in your life that is causing you pain, distress, anger? 
Place all of that in the hands of Jesus.  Allow the Lord to take care of it
for you.  When you do that you will find as I did that it makes life much,
much easier!  

Under His Wing

Today a friend wrote a note of encouragement to me along with the
notation Psalm 91:1-2 which says, “He that dwelleth in the secret place
of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will
say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress:  my God; in him will I
trust.”  My friend had no idea of the depth of the meaning that those
verses have for me on a personal basis.

In 1993, it was late on a Saturday night, I was putting the finishing
touches on a sermon and stopping occasionally for prayer.  I’m not
entirely sure now what I was praying about but I was somewhat
distressed about my life at the time.  I was standing at the pulpit when I
noticed the shadow which was moving quickly across the sanctuary,
something was  blocking the light from above.  It moved over my head
and I thought I could sense something passing above.  At that point I
jumped off the stage and looked up to see what was causing the
shadow but there was nothing there.  I was frightened and fled the
church building as fast as I could.

Even though I was frightened I believed that whatever I had
experienced was of God and had been in answer to my prayers.  I
found these verses in Psalm 91 and also the verses in Psalm 57:1 and
63:7.  It may be that it was a hallucination but God used it to reassure
me that I was under His protection, under the shadow of His wings.  He
had not forgotten me and today my friend reminded me of that again.

Dear saint of God, our God has not forgotten about you either!!


An Attitude Check

In Proverbs 22:6 the Bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should
go....”  And in Ephesians 4:29 we are told not to let any unwholesome
language come out of our mouths but only what is useful to edify or
build up those who are listening.  In Hebrews 10:24 we are told to,
“...provoke one another unto love and to good works.”  When we think
about training, when we think about building up, when we think about
provoking we normally think about actions or words.  Those things are
necessary but there is another ingredient that we don’t want to leave
out.

I had a pet crow when I was a boy that I raised and taught to fly. 
Interesting thing about my crow, he had a great dislike for my sister. 
Whenever she would come outside the crow would immediately dive
bomb on her head trying to land and peck her.  Of course, my sister
had a strong dislike for the crow as well.  I enjoyed it because at that
young age I had a strong dislike for my sister and she didn’t care much
for me.  How did the crow know to dislike my sister?  I believe he
simply picked up on my attitude toward her.

If a crow can pick up on a human’s attitude toward another person how
much more so should another person be able to know our attitude
toward others.  I believe part of training up a child must be our attitude
about all of life.  Part of the building up of others may be our attitude
toward things when we are around them.  Part of provoking one
another unto love and good works may be our loving attitude that they
can sense when they are near us.  How is our attitude?  Have we been
dive bombing anything lately?


Misunderstandings

I grew up on a cotton farm and by the age of four or five I was ready to
help out with some of the farming duties.  The day arrived when I was
to go to the field and “chop” cotton along with my mother and sister. 
Now I had heard about chopping cotton but had never really paid any
attention and didn’t know how it was actually done.  Because I was
always too busy playing and having fun.  

When we arrived at the field my mother assigned a row of cotton to me. 
The cotton plants were still small, planted in rows stretching a half mile. 
I began literally chopping cotton and had cleared out about twenty feet
of the plants when my mother grabbed me.  It was a definite surprise to
me but chopping cotton didn’t mean chopping cotton, it really meant
hoeing out the weeds around the cotton plants.

We can become caught up in our own lives and our own agendas to
the extent that it causes misunderstandings.  Someone meaning well
tells us one thing and we interpret it as meaning something else.  We
think we’re “chopping cotton” but actually we may be destroying the
crop.  In Philippians 2:4 the Bible says, “Look not every man on his own
things, but every man also on the things of others.”  The NIV translates
it as, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also
to the interests of others.”  

To keep from destroying the crop of spiritual growth in the lives of other
Christians we must look beyond ourselves and consider what is best
for them.


“Fear thou not...”

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee:  be not dismayed; for I am thy God:  I
will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the
right hand of my righteousness (Isaiah 41:10).”

Going to a dentist’s office is usually not something that most people
look forward to, myself included.  So when I needed to have my
wisdom teeth taken out by an oral surgeon I was not looking forward to
the event.  But the day came and I was a little nervous.  My way of
coping with the waiting prior to being given general anesthesia was to
repeat one of my memory verses over and over again in my mind. 
Isaiah 41:10 was the verse of that day.

As I was given the anesthetic I was repeating in my mind, “Fear thou
not....”  When I came out from under the anesthetic I was surprised to
find myself still repeating Isaiah 41:10 over and over again.  Since that
day I have at times found myself facing much more difficult situations
than oral surgery.  Isaiah 41:10 has been there for them all.  “Fear thou
not, for I am with thee,” and I know that He is with me and He is holding
me in His right hand.  Through Isaiah 41:10 I have felt God’s presence
and experienced Him.

Whatever it is that life may be throwing at you, God would say, “Fear
thou not, for I am with thee....”


The Shock Of Kindness

In Galatians 5:22-23 we are told, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance....”  The NIV translates gentleness as kindness.

Kindness can be a shocking thing when you are expecting the
opposite.  Before I was a pastor I was a parole officer.  My job was to
supervise people who had been convicted of a crime.  I used different
approaches with different people.  Sometimes I was forced to be stern
and tough.  Other times it would be obvious that I was supervising
someone that was broken and defeated.  I’ve enjoyed seeing the
broken and defeated come back to life as they have encountered
gentleness, kindness, and goodness.

Our Heavenly Father enjoys touching lives with goodness as well
(Romans 2:4).  It could be that you may encounter some broken and
defeated lives today.  Why not follow the Father’s example and shock
someone back to life today with kindness, gentleness, and goodness?


Begging Crumbs

Think of the lame man in Acts chapter 3 who was laid at the gate
Beautiful so he could beg.  He was just begging for alms.  He just
wanted to survive.  Just give me some crumbs he was most likely
crying out to the people that passed.  He had been doing this for years. 
I think that we all have a tendency to beg of God give me the crumbs
Lord, give me the crumbs Lord and we're about ready to give up and
we don't know how we can go on.

That's where this lame man was at.  He was where you were, life
couldn't get much tougher.  He had no hope.  No one like him had ever
been healed if someone would just give him a few scraps he could live
to beg again tomorrow.  But there came a day, an ordinary day, a day
like all the others when the servants of the Most High, Peter and John
passed by.  And the lame man heard these words from the mouth of
Peter, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee:  In
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk."

You and I are out there much of the time begging for the crumbs and
we have the tendency to think that God has forgotten about us that we
might as well give up.  It may only be tomorrow, it may only be an
ordinary day begun as any other day when the day comes when God
takes you by the hand and lifts you up.  

The Bible says that if we humble ourselves under His hand in due time
God will raise us up.  Joseph humbled himself and he was raised up on
what seemed like an ordinary day to become the prime minister of the
most powerful nation in the world at that time.  Moses spent 40 years
wandering in the desert getting a graduate degree in desert survival
and he became humble. According to the Bible, Moses was the
meekest man on earth.  But there came a day, an ordinary day, when
he encountered a burning bush that did not burn and Moses walked on
holy ground.

Your day is coming too!


Have You Been Having Hallucinations?

In 1991 at a pastor’s conference I had the opportunity to hear an elderly
evangelist by the name of Oakley.  I believe it was W. B. Oakley.  He
told of his salvation and call at the late age of 36.  He was a farmer and
had not even finished High School.  But God called and so he left his
family and farm and by bus went to where he could finish high school. 
When he arrived he was heartsick and planned just to get back on the
bus and return home but the bus wasn't leaving immediately.

He looked up the street and saw the spire of a little church and so he
went up there and tried the door and it was unlocked.  So he went
inside and at the altar began to cry out to God.  He didn't know how
long he had been praying but heard the sound of trailing garments and
he heard a voice saying, "I will go with you."  "I will go with you."  W. B.
didn't know how many times the voice repeated "I will go with you." But
it was enough.  He went to high school and then he went to college and
then he went to seminary and then he traveled over the world the rest
of his life as an evangelist.

Now when he tried to tell some of his fellow classmates at seminary
about his experience and about other experiences he had while still on
the farm (like walking around his corn field with his hand up in the air
holding the hand of God.).  The professor and his classmates said,
“Brother Oakley you've been having hallucinations.”  Now Brother
Oakley didn't know what hallucinations meant so he just said, "Amen
Brother!"

Now when Brother Oakley learned what hallucinations meant some
time later he said he went back.  He said he told that professor if he
had been having hallucinations he was praying that God would give
him some more.

I believe God would say to you as He said to Brother Oakley and as He
said to Joshua, “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid,
neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee
whithersoever thou goest (Joshua 1:9).”

The Aroma Of Your Life

In 2 Corinthians 2:14 we are told, “Now thanks be unto God, which
always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor
of his knowledge by us in every place.”  The NIV puts this as, “But
thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in
Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the
knowledge of him.”  

It’s true just being around or communicating with a committed Christian
brings a touch of God or the fragrance of God into your life.  As
children of God we become used to the fragrance of goodness and it is
unpleasant for us to be around those with a different aroma.

The world is constantly spreading a different fragrance, a foul smelling
fragrance of death.  I believe one of the worst smells of foulness on the
internet are the newsgroups (At least for me, for you it may be
something else.).  I used to have a program to access them but have
now deleted the program entirely because I believe that it was an entry
point of evil.

We must be alert to the fragrances around us.  Not only do we want to
spread the aroma of life but we want to avoid being influenced by the
fragrances of death.  Sometimes we must do as Joseph did and flee
the foul evil smell.  We must guard our heart for it is the wellspring of
life.  We must maintain our own saltiness if we are to be the salt of the
earth.  We must keep the cover of evil off of our own light if we are to
be the light of the world.  But thanks be to God who, if we will follow,
will always lead us in triumphal procession in Christ.


The Scenic Route

Have you ever taken the scenic route?  Actually it was going to be a
short cut.  We could cut through on this road to south of Cripple Creek
(Colorado) and then over to Colorado Springs.  It looked like only about
20 miles from the turn off to Cripple Creek.  Probably only take us 30
minutes.  

When we turned off on the scenic route we immediately noticed that it
wasn’t paved but then it wasn’t that bad of a road.   There was quite a
bit of traffic too.  But within a couple of miles the highway had narrowed
and it was much rougher.  I was beginning to wish that I had a four
wheel drive (Knocked a muffler and tailpipe loose and finally lost it
before arriving home.).  It began to rain, and I began to pray that we
wouldn’t slide off into one of the canyons.  Four hours later we arrived
in Cripple Creek, a little older and wiser.

Jesus says in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter ye in at the strait gate:  for wide
is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many
there be which go in thereat:  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is
the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

Before you take that beautiful scenic short cut, you just might want to
check it out a little.  Because you may not be able to turn around and
go back the other way once you have entered in. 


Have You Ever Been Arrested For Trespassing?

In the Old Testament book of Leviticus, detail is given to the Trespass
Offering and other offerings.  The Sin Offering is for sins committed
knowingly and the Trespass Offering is for sins committed unknowingly
against God.  It seems to be a fine line between the two.

I have some family background with trespassing.  You see my five great
grandparents Samuel and Ann Rather had to go to court for trespassing in
Virginia in 1742 (These are also the ancestors of the newscaster Dan
Rather.  I thought you might find that interesting.).  Samuel and Ann
were trespassing on a neighbor’s land.  Why?  We don’t know but it would be very interesting to know! 

Many today are trespassing against God.  These people take great
care to never read God’s Laws and they have nothing to do with
anyone or anything Christian in nature.  Someday they will stand, or
should I say, bow, before God in judgment.  What will be their excuse
for trespassing?  

Have you trespassed against God?  Have you sinned against God?  1
John 1:9 gives us the solution, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”


Build The Walls

Sin.  It was sin that destroyed Jerusalem and sent the people into exile. 
Micah 6:13, “Therefore, I have begun to destroy you, to ruin you
because of your sins.”

In much the same way sin causes us problems too.  Sin opens the door
for the enemy to attack us and those around us.  Once the walls of our
lives have been torn down and our spiritual lives are in shambles how
can we recover?

At that point we need a rebuilding project much as Nehemiah led the
people in rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem.  It was a struggle for
the people then, it will be a struggle for us.  Nehemiah 4:14, “And I
looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers and to
the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them:  remember the Lord
which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and
your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

The people built with one hand and with the other held a sword ready
for battle.  We must take up our sword as well.  Ephesians 6:17, “And
take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
Word of God.”

The spiritual battle is raging and the enemy roars but “remember the
Lord which is great and terrible, and fight....”


Molding Lives

Be A Ruth


“And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following 
 after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will
 lodge:  thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:  Where
 thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried:  the Lord do so to me and
 more also, if aught but death part thee and me (Ruth 1:16 - 17).”
  Ruth, if you remember, had lost her husband and was facing a very uncertain
 future.  


One of the people that has had a great influence upon my life is my step-
grandmother (Ruth).  After her first marriage ended she married my
 grandfather,  and they had about seven or eight good years together until my 
grandfather's health deteriorated.  

My grandfather was unable to work, essentially bound to the house, had a leg
 amputated with heatlh sliding downwards.  Ruth continued to work and
 faithfully care for my grandfather during these years.  She eventually
 remarried after my grandfather died but this only lasted for
 about a short time.  Now she is in her nineties and living in a mobile
 home with her daughter (her daughter is a widow).  She has had a
 tough life but, oh, what an example she has been to me, and to many,
 many others.  An example of faith in spite of the bad, in spite of the storms
 of life, a faith that just keeps on shining through even now.  

I don't know Ruth's real first name.  When she went to school in the first
 grade she didn't like her name and told every one that she was "Ruth."  How
 fitting!


Most likely if life is tough for you there are those who are watching,
 marveling at your faith.  Your life is molding the lives of those around you
 just as the life of my step grandmother has molded mine.





God’s Provision

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory
by Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:19).”

Some time ago we faced the prospect of the reduction of our income by
$1000.00 a month.  I planned to be bivocational and work at a secular
job to make up for the reduced income (For the full story read “Journey
to Fruitfulness” at: http://www.geocities.com/~theburningbush/10.html).
However, my plan wasn’t God’s plan and I found that it is much more
difficult to obtain secular employment once you are a preacher.  

How do you survive financially a thousand dollar loss in income when
you are barely making ends meet?  Only through God’s provision.  I
can look back now and see how God has provided again and again. 
God has increased our income and reduced our expenses.   Just when
we think that the end has come a new miracle arrives.  The result of
this is that my faith has been increased and I have renewed confidence
in the provison of God even for our material needs.    

Maybe you are facing a mountain in your life.  Your mountain may not
be financial as mine was but whatever it is God has the resources that
you need through His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.


Moving Forward

In Philippians 3:13-14 the apostle Paul says, “Brethren, I count not
myself to have apprehended:  but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are
before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God
in Christ Jesus.”

In verse 13 Paul says, “forgetting those things which are behind....” 
Paul refused to weigh himself down with the memory of the past.  He
resolved not to let the past slow him down.

Remembering past victories can be encouraging but they can also
become an excuse for remaining where we are.  Remembering what
the Lord has done for you and those close to you can be strengthening. 
But much of the time the past can be a heavy weight dragging us
down.  For Paul, the time he spent in his life persecuting, damaging the
church must have been an unpleasant thing to remember.

Paul says, those things are in the past - I’ve got to go on, I’ve got to
move forward.  For many of us there may be things that as Christians
we don’t like to remember, that we did or were a part of, or defeats that
we have experienced.  We can think and dwell on those things until we
begin to think, “How can God use me, because I did those things?”

We must not concentrate on that, instead whenever it comes up in our
minds; thank God, praise God for His mercy and grace through Jesus. 
Then we must forget those things which are behind, and reach forth to
those things which are before. 


Choose Life!

My mother for a short period of time had a pet snake.  She had caught
it and put it in a cage outside.  Whenever she fed the snake she would
always have to wear leather gloves because the snake would try to bite
her.  It didn’t matter how long my mother kept the snake or how much
time she spent with the snake it would still try to bite her.

We are told in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death.”  Sin is
much like my mother’s pet snake.  It doesn’t matter how much time we
spend with our pet sin it is still going to give us death.  Actually the
more time we expend upon our sin the more death that we will receive.  

Payday for our sins does not begin upon our physical death.  Payday
for our sins begins immediately.  With every sin we receive a wage. 
The deeper into sin that we go the more death that we receive.  The
more sin that we have the deader we are in every area of our life. 
Romans 8:5-6 is one of my favorites.  I like the way the NIV puts it,
“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on
what that nature desires, but those who live in accordance with the
Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.  The mind of
sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and
peace.”

“The mind of sinful man is death.”  We have a choice each day.  Let us
choose life and peace!


The Barrier Of Pride

In Mark chapter 5 the Bible tells us the story of Jairus and his daughter. 
Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue, an important man, a respected
man, a wealthy and powerful man.  Yet the Bible tells us (Mark 5:22)
that Jairus fell at the feet of Jesus and pleaded with Jesus to come and
heal his young daughter who was deathly ill.  The daughter died before
Jesus reached her but he spoke words of life “Talitha cumi” (little lamb,
wake up) and the girl came back to life.

Jairus had to lose something before the hand of God moved in healing
power.  Jairus got rid of his dignity, his pride.  Our dignity, our pride,
keeps us many times from receiving the blessing of God.  Consider
Naaman in 2 Kings chapter 5.  Naaman was the captain of the host of
the king of Syria.  In order for Naaman to be healed of leprosy Elisha
the prophet said he needed to dip himself seven times in the River
Jordan.  Naaman was angry at first saying there were better rivers in
Syria.  But his servant said to him, “...if the prophet had bid thee do
some great thing. wouldest thou not have done it?  How much rather
then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?”  Naaman dipped
himself seven times in the river Jordan and was healed of his leprosy.

Is there something that God wants you to do but your pride, your dignity
has gotten in the way?

God’s Timing

Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
than your thoughts.”

Many years ago now the truth of these words were brought to me.  We
were in Oklahoma City having several things we had to do and things
to pick up.  One of our last stops was at a shopping mall.  I was
anxious to arrive there and to be out of the traffic.  But it seemed I was
continually delayed and nearly every traffic signal turned red just in time
for me to stop and wait.

After arriving at the shopping mall we needed to go to the upper level
and we headed for an escalator.  Just before  arriving at the escalator I
watched as an elderly lady stepped onto it.  She was only part way up
when she fell.  Her foot seemed to be caught and she was stretched
out backward with her head being banged as each step went up.  I was
able to reach her, raise her back up, and hold her up until another man
had arrived and was able to free her foot.

Now I knew why I had been delayed.  Our God whose thoughts are
higher than ours can see the future and could see this accident
happening.  He ordered my steps that day so that I would be there at
the very precise time necessary.  I understand more and more that
delays may simply be God working to make the timing right in our lives. 
I understand too that God is able to order our every step.  

Have you been delayed?  Are you waiting?  It may simply be the hand
of God upon your life to protect you or to bring good into your life.  It
may also be so that you can be a blessing to someone else.  “Rejoice
evermore.  Pray without ceasing.  In every thing give thanks:  for this is
the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thessalonians
5:16-18).”


Playing With Fire

“But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you
be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13).”

Does cotton burn?  That was the question my cousin and I were
wondering about.  We were both five years old, and while our mothers
picked cotton for a neighbor we played in the cotton trailer.  I knew
where some matches were, and that day when we went to the field with
our mothers we planned to find the answer to our question.

Our mothers were half way up the cotton row when I got the matches
out and began to see if cotton would burn.  Yes, cotton does burn, but
you have to work at it.  The trailer was almost full of cotton, and we
were both working hard at our new game of burning cotton.  Thankfully,
someone drove by, saw the danger we were in and rescued us.  The
cotton and the trailer burned up.  You know, I don’t remember my
mother taking me with her to pick cotton again after our cotton burning
experiment.

It has occurred to me that sin is much like the predicament I was in that
day long ago in the cotton trailer.  Sin looks like a lot of fun, and most
of the time, nothing so bad happens in the beginning.  Sin is a
deceiver, just as the fire was that day in the cotton trailer.  I worked so
hard at starting something that could have painfully destroyed me.  We
work so hard at what we think is a good time and what we are really
doing is working to destroy ourselves.  I never realized the danger I
was in while playing with fire.  Most people involved in sin never realize
the danger they are in until it is too late and their lives have been
ruined.

Maybe you have been playing with fire in your life.  Jesus is the only
One who can put the fire out.  Jesus is the One who can save you and
put meaning and purpose into your life.  I’m thankful today for someone
who many years ago saved my life by pulling me out of a burning
cotton trailer.  But, I’m even more thankful to Jesus, who saved my soul
from an eternal burning hell.  I’m also thankful, that He keeps the fires
of sin put out in my life as I walk with Him each day.  Jesus wants to do
the same in your life.


Transforming Power

How does someone become a pastor?  First I would say that God must
call that person to ministry.  But beyond that I often ponder how God
was able to transform my life into what it is now.  Looking back thirty
years it is beyond my wildest dreams or imaginations that I am a pastor
now.  Thirty years ago I would have been shocked at the suggestion.

Others have also found it strange that I would be preaching God’s
Word.  A high school classmate’s mother once told Jeanie (my wife)
that of the people in her son’s class, she thought that I would have
been the least likely one to become a preacher.  I grew up on a farm,
but in high school I became a lead guitarist in a rock group and
continued until I was married.  My goals in life at one point were very
simple, I wanted to be a great guitar player and make a lot of money. 
Even after I was no longer in a rock group my primary goals in life were
still materialistic.

Several weeks after I was married something happened that changed
my life.  I had an encounter with the living God, He saved my soul and
began the process of transforming my life.  This transformation process
didn’t happen overnight, and is still far from complete.  But I know that
the hand of God has been upon my life and He has changed me.   My
goals are now very, very different than they were 30 years ago.  Now I
want to serve God and see the lives of others touched in the way He
has touched me.  Where God will lead from here I don’t know, but I do
know that being in the center of His will is the very best place to be. 
Even if the center of God’s will for my life is to be a preacher.

What about you?  Have you ever had an encounter with the living
God?  If not you can have!  I know that God has a great and wonderful
plan for your life.  Why not let Him give you a life and an eternity
beyond your wildest dreams?  Jesus said, “I am come that they (you)
might have life, and that they (you) might have it more abundantly
(John 10:10).”


The Only Hope

In 1874, one of the first Baptist missionaries to minister to the Plains
Indians arrived at what is now Anadarko, Oklahoma.  On that day when
the missionaries first message was preached (John 3:16 was the text.),
some of those present still had human scalps hanging from their belts. 
Over the course of years many of those Indians received Christ as their
Savior.

Bruce Catton, a great Civil War historian and scholar, once gave a
speech entitled “What 1861 Has to Say to 1961.”  The point was that
the problem, the nature of people, was the same in 1861 as it was in
1961.  It is the same today.  We still have crime, violence, substance
abuse, wars, starvation, and on and on which arise from the same
source as in the past.  Human nature has not changed.  “All have
sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  Sin is not without
consequence and we continue to see the reaping of its evil harvest.

The solution is the same today as it was in 1874.  The answer has
been the same for almost 2000 years.  The answer is Jesus!  The
transforming, resurrecting, earthquaking power of Jesus is alive and
well today in the hearts of all believers.  The same power that
transformed mighty American Indian warriors into gentle servants of
God in 1874 is still available today.  We must have the same
courageous boldness of those early missionaries who risked their lives
to tell the unlovable about the love of Jesus.

Have you shared Jesus with your neighbor, with your friend, with your
relative, with someone God brings across your path?  How about your
enemies, have you shared Jesus with them, have you prayed for them,
cried for them?  

Jesus is the only hope, the only answer to the problems of this world.


Rule Number One

Our Lord says, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”

This verse must be a primary rule of life for those who would
overcome, for those who would be super conquerors.  

If we seek after holiness then we will see that the other things such as
joy, happiness, satisfaction, and yes, sometimes even the material will
be taken care of for us.  However, if we seek after happiness, and the
things of this world we will never really obtain enough and never be
satisfied.  Only in seeking after the things of God will we find the
flowing waters of life that quench the spiritual 


The Right Focus

Hebrews 12:3, “Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful
men so that you do not grow weary and lose heart.”

So many times when things begin to go wrong in our lives the
temptation is to focus on what is wrong.  It may be the lack of money, a
relationship problem, a physical illness,   an addiction, or you may be
facing something even worse.  As we focus in on those bad things our
attention is taken away from our Lord and the things of God.  As a
result we begin to feel worse and worse about our situation, about our
life.

The Bible tells us the solution in Hebrews 12:3.  If we don’t want to
grow weary and lose heart.  If we don’t want to give up and grovel in
defeat.  If we get tired of having a pity party all the time then the
solution is before us.  The solution is to put our focus upon Jesus and
the things of God.  Intentionally shift our focus from the bad to the
good.  As we do so we will find the strength to continue on even in the
worst storms that life sends our way.

A Crown Of Life

James 1:12, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation:  for when
he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath
promised to them that love him.”

Most of the time when we think of the crowns that we will receive from
God for faithfulness we look to that time when we are in Heaven. 
However, I believe that every time we are obedient to our Lord we
receive a crown of life.  With each step of obedience, each step of
holiness we become more alive, crowned with more and more life. 
With each step of obedience the next step becomes easier.  The more
life we have the more power we have to take that next step toward
becoming transformed into the image of our Lord.

How long during each day are you truly alive, awake to life?  We can
live more, we can be more alive, as we live our lives with each step of
obedience, each step of faithfulness that we take.  Why not allow God
to crown your life with LIFE today?


Selah!

Are you in the midst of problems? Troubles? Uncertainty? Without
hope?  Whatever it is God says, “Selah!”  Psalm 46 is where many
through the ages have turned to find hope.  It is where Martin Luther
found the inspiration to write the hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” 
Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God....”

“Selah,” is a musical term to the extent that it is understood.  It means
to take a break, or pause.  In Psalm 46 after verse 3 there is the word,
“Selah” and also after verse 7.  Then, comes verse 10 with, “Be Still!”  

In the midst of our problems and troubles and modern world of constant
activity, God says, “Be still, and know that I am God....”  He is still God. 
He can still give you peace which is beyond human understanding.  He
can still make all things work to the good.  Verse 11 says, “The LORD
of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge, SELAH.  

Allow God to be your fortress today, SELAH!


Definition Of A Happy Person

God’s definition of a happy person:  “Blessed is the man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  But his delight is in the law of the
LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”  (Psalm 1:1-2)

God says the result of that kind of happiness is, “And he shall be like a
tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his
season; his leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall
prosper.”  (Psalm 1:3)

Let us delight ourselves in the Law of the LORD and plant our lives by
the river of life.  Then we will see our lives bring forth fruit and our lives
will prosper as our roots sink deeper and deeper into the Law of the
LORD.


Making It Count

The Psalmist says in Psalm 90:2, “Before the mountains were brought
forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth, and the world, even from
everlasting to everlasting thou art God.”

There is a God and according to the Psalmist our days are numbered
before we meet Him face to face.  In verse 10 of Psalm 90 the Psalmist
says, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by
reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is there strength labour
and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”

In verse 12 the Psalmist says, “So teach us to number our days, that
we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”  The point is that there is a
God, there will be an end to our physical life, and so we should make
each day count.  We should make each day count for God.  How will
you make this day count for God?


How Thirsty?

Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness:  for they shall be filled.”

In South Africa I have heard that you can sometimes see an amazing
sight; deer defying lions in order to drink at the river.  Their thirst will
not be denied.  They must have water or die.

Spiritually as Christians we are either moving forward or moving
backwards.  There is no status quo for the child of God.  In our own
lives there will be spiritual starvation unless we have a continual intake
of the spiritual, such as:  the Word of God; prayer; and, fellowship with
other Christians.

The question we should ask ourselves is how thirsty are we?  Are we
thirsty enough to defy that old lion, the devil, who is going to and fro
across this world seeking whom he may devour?  Are we thirsty
enough to go to church this Sunday?  Are we thirsty enough to wake up
each day and spend some time reading God’s Word and praying?

Are we thirsty enough to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow
Him?


Commit Your Way

Psalm 37:5, “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he
shall bring it to pass.”

Are you covered up with problems, adversities, and tribulations?  The
Psalmist says, “Commit....”  A commitment is a decision that we must
make to trust our lives, complete with heartaches and problems and
everything else, to the Lord.  Which means that we give all of that to
the Lord and if we give it to Him we don’t take it back.  Trust means to
trust whether the answer comes immediately, or it takes years, or even
if we never see the answer we want.  But when we commit ourselves to
God and trust like that, then, we will have peace in the midst of the
storm.

An old hymn called “Leave It There” by Charles A. Tindley puts it like
this:

“If your body suffers pain and your health you can’t regain,
And your soul is almost sinking in despair, 
Jesus knows the pain you feel,
He can save and He can heal -
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.”

Why not take your burdens to the Lord even now and leave them
there?


The Secret Of Success

What is the secret of success?  People have through the ages sought
after success.  Great numbers of books have been written about how
to obtain success.  Seminars are given almost every day in the larger
cities on how to have success.  Large amounts of money have been
paid to know how to succeed in life.  The world has sought after the
answer to the secret of success in all the wrong places.

The Bible has the answer to the secret of success in in Joshua 1:8. 
God’s instructions to Joshua are still His instructions to us today:  “This
book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt
meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do
according to all that is written therein:  for then thou shalt make thy way
prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

The secret of real success is free!  Are you reading the Bible daily? 
Are you studying the Bible, meditating upon the Bible, and memorizing
the Bible?  

If not, why not begin today?


Go Forward!

Once when I was learning to drive my Dad gave me some driving
advice, “never go backwards, when you can go forward.”  I was
having trouble backing the car.  He only said it once but it is a profound
piece of advice for life, at least for the Christian life.

In Ephesians 6 we are given a list of the armor of God:  “Stand
therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the
breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation
of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith
ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  And take
the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God.”

Notice this armor is for offense, for a forward attack.  There is no back
plate or a back shield.  When we withdraw from the spiritual battle,
when we draw back from God, we are less protected than we are in the
thick of the battle.   Let us never go backwards when we can go
forward with our Lord.


Taking The Right Action

The Bible in 1 Samuel 2:3 tells us, “...for the Lord is a God of
knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.”

Our lives are filled with actions.  Believing upon Jesus as our Savior is
an action.  Following Jesus in baptism is an action.  Praying is an
action, and so is reading the Bible, attending church, ministering to
others, and witnessing.  To choose not to believe, to pray, to read the
Bible, etc. is also in each case an action.  

Each day we have a choice of actions we can take.  The world says
take it easy on the God stuff today.  The world says you do enough for
God on Sunday.  But God still weighs our actions each day.  What
action will you take today for your Lord?   


Calling On God

Before Dawson Trotman became the founder of the Navigators he was
a truck driver.  During that time he and a friend prayed early in the
morning over a map of the world for each nation prior to work.  They
did this for a several week period.  Little did Dawson know that God
would use his life to touch the lives of people in all the countries for
which they were praying.  

God says through the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 33:3), “Call unto me,
and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which
thou knowest not.”  You may be a college student but what great and
mighty things would God show you if you were to spend an extended
time in prayer?  What impact would it have upon your life?  Upon the
lives of countless others?  It changed Dawson Trotman’s life forever.  

Why not begin to call upon God today in a deeper way than you ever
have before?  Allow God to reveal to you great and mighty things that
you do not know.


What To Do In A Storm

In Mark chapter 4 (vs. 35-41) the Bible tells us of the disciples and
Jesus being caught in a storm at sea.  The disciples are terrified but
Jesus is sound asleep.  In their terror the disciples cry out to Jesus,
“Master, carest thou not that we perish?”  Jesus “...arose, and rebuked
the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still.  And the wind ceased,
and there was a great calm.”

Over the years of living in tornado alley in Oklahoma I remember many
times of crying out to God to save me in the midst of storms.  One time
in particular as a tornado lifted over our roof and resumed its path on
the other side.  I have watched many newscasts of survivors of
tornados testifying of their faith and of their prayers to God in the midst
of the terror.

On Saturday evening, June 13, it was with a grim fascination that I
watched as tornados again made their way across our state.  Through
the advance in technology the tornados were watched live.  The
tornados were filmed through cameras on helicopters, spotter vehicles
and live cams now stationed around the state.  As the tornados
invaded Oklahoma City they skipped seemingly on a random basis
from place to place.  I watched with fascination as a thin tornado
twisted and turned and made a direct hit on a thin sliver of a radio
tower.  There were only a few minor injuries during this outbreak of
twisters.

In the state of Oklahoma there are two 24 hour comtemporary Christian
radio stations.  One in Tulsa and one in Elk City.  There had been
three, one in Oklahoma City also, until a week before the storm when a
decision was made to drop the station’s Christian format.  Was it just a
coincidence that one week later a tornado happened to make a direct
hit on their radio tower?  Could it be that they not only dropped their
format but their prayers as well?


Crossing The Frontier Of Life

In the mid 1800s wagon trains began to make their way across what is
now the United States to that far away land of California.  The Stevens
wagon train made a safe crossing of the frontier in 1844.  They had a
great leader in Elisha Stevens.  They faced uncharted lands, filled with
great dangers.  They made a safe crossing because of their excellent
leader.

Other wagon trains were not so fortunate such as the Donner group. 
Because of their poor leadership the crossing ended in disaster with 70
people dying.  They were even warned once by, Joseph Walker, one of
the most able mountain men in America, that they were on the wrong
path.  

Life is much like a frontier.  It is filled with unknowns.  None of us know
what tomorrow holds.  How much easier it would be if we had a guide,
if we had a map.  But we do!  The Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:1-2, “My
son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 
For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.” 
And in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean
not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him
and he shall direct thy paths.”

The Bible is our map and the Lord is our guide.  But even the best map
will not help if it is never opened.  Even the best guide in America did
not help the Donner group because they would not listen to him.  Jesus
is the ultimate guide and leader.  Are we listening?


Be God’s Friend

Have you ever wondered if you were capable of doing some terrible
thing?  The truth is that every person is capable of doing evil.  I know
that it is only the restraining power of God that has kept me from doing
some terrible thing.

None of us want to bring embarassment to our friends, family, or
community.  None of us want to intentionally hurt someone else.  But
the truth is that life changing and life devastating decisions are often
made in the whim of an instant.  The decisions of an instant have
ruined many a life.

There is, however, one thing that will keep you from doing some terrible
thing and at the same time propel you forward to your highest potential
in life.  That one thing is to be a friend of Jesus.  Jesus says in John
15:15 “...I call you not servants...but I have called you friends.”

I know why I’m not in prison today for doing some terrible thing.  It’s
because I have a friend and that friend’s name is Jesus.  If we know
Jesus as our personal Savior He is our friend.  But on the basis that we
maintain human friendships could Jesus call you His friend?

Learning To Fly

When I was a boy a neighbor gave me a baby crow.  After the crow
was about half grown I decided that he needed to learn to fly.  I climbed
a ladder to the top of our house with my crow (His name was
“Rocket.”).  Then I dropped him over the side.  He fell, then flapped his
wings, and landed safely.  I repeated the process six or seven times
until, finally instead of landing, Rocket flew over to a tree.  He now
knew how to fly!

An eagle that lives in the mountains does much the same with its
young.  When the time is right the mother eagle literally tears the nest
apart and forces the eaglets to go plummeting toward the earth.  Before
the eaglet hits the ground the mother eagle will catch the eaglet and
bear it up on its wings.  The process is repeated until the eaglets can
fly.  Because the nest has been destroyed the eaglets are forced to
begin their own lives.  

Have you ever been safe and secure then suddenly your nest has been
destroyed?  Sometimes God, just like the mother eagle, must nudge us
out of our comfort zone.  It isn’t always pleasant but then we do want to
learn how to fly don’t we?   Actually eagles don’t fly they soar on the
currents of wind.  We want to be able to soar as well on the wind of the
Holy Spirit.  “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be
weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”  (Isaiah 41:31)


God Is Our Victory

Have you ever felt as though you have lost your joy for life?  Do you
feel as though when Jesus was talking about the abundant life He must
have meant someone other than you?  It happens to most Christians at
one time or another it has happened to me in the past.  There can be a
variety of reasons for it.  However, the most common reason is a lack
of repentance.

A friend of mine, Bob Schlauger, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in
Aztec, New Mexico wrote this:  “1 Samuel 4 gives the account of the
nation of Israel in battle with the Philistines.  In the first battle Israel lost
4000 men and was defeated.  They asked God why?  They should
have known the answer because both Moses and Joshua had told
them that when they departed from God, He would depart from them
and His power and presence would not be there for them.  So instead
of going home and repenting they did a religious activity.  They brought
the Ark of the Covenant into the camp.  Now, talk about a positive
attitude!  They shouted thinking they now had the victory.  The
Philistines cringed and said we have lost already, but stand and die like
men.  The next day Israel lost the battle and the Ark was captured. 
Religious activity and positive thinking had just been mightily defeated.

Twenty years later in 1 Samuel 7 Israel finally repented.  The
Philistines heard that they were at Mt. Carmel and gathered for the kill. 
The Philistines thought the battle was theirs.  The Israelites were sure
all was lost.  But the difference then was they had returned to God.  He
was their victory.  The next day Israel mightily defeated the Philistines.”

Repentance, just the word sounds difficult.  However, in the turning
from the things of this world to God we will find joy, peace, and power
to live the abundant life.  Through repentance we will find that God is
our victory.  Why not turn to God today and give Him everything?


Why Do Bad Things Happen?

Why do bad things happen to good people?  It would be nice if there
were an easy answer to that question.  It is a question that I have
considered many times in my life, and still I don’t know the complete
answer.

On September 2, 1978, our second son, Nick was born.  As with most
parents, even before he was born, we had plans and hopes for his life. 
Those plans came to an end when the doctor called the night of his
birth.  The doctor wasn’t sure what was wrong but the baby was having
difficulty and he had to be taken to Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma
City.  I followed the ambulance that night, praying all the way.

Within a few hours of arrival at Children’s Hospital the immediate
physical problems were solved and Nick was released from the
intensive care unit.  He remained in the hospital for most of the week
while many tests were performed.  A doctor eventually explained that
Nick had Downs Syndrome (Trisomy 21 which results in mental
retardation.).  The diagnosis was confirmed after chromosome testing.

Why did this bad thing happen?  I struggled with it and prayed that God
would change Nick.  I still remember determining that I was going to
pray all night if necessary until God healed Nick.  On my knees by the
crib I began to pray.  In less than an hour the answer came.  No, God
wasn’t going to change Nick, but it was going to be okay.  God was
going to be with us.  I haven’t questioned God since that night.  

Almost twenty years later I can look back and see that Nick has been
one of God’s greatest blessings in our lives.  He has changed our lives
for the better and taught us much about the real way of love.  Not only
has God through Nick touched our lives but the lives of many others as
well.

No, things are not perfect in this world, but God is true to His promise
in Romans 8:28 to bring good out of the bad for those who love Him
and serve Him.


God Can Bring Good Out Of The Bad

“But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which
happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the
gospel (Philippians 1:12).”  

Paul was in chains in Rome when he wrote those words to the church
at Philippi.  Think back a moment to the tragic bombing of the Murrah
Building in Oklahoma City during 1995.  It was such a tragic, horrible
thing which was meant to destroy, to consume lives and begin the
destruction of this nation.  After such devastation how could any good
come out of it?

But there came a still small voice that said as He wrapped His
everlasting arms of love and peace around all those touched by this
tragedy.  A voice that said:  “...all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose
(Romans 8:28).”

Except through the power and grace of God it would be impossible. 
But looking back we have seen that it has happened.  The whole world
impacted and exposed to the gospel message.  Through the television
coverage of the prayer service and of interviews with many who
expressed their faith in the Lord.  We watched as newsmen and
women suddenly came out of the closet with their faith.

A terrible, terrible tragedy and yet those children of God whose lives
have been so hurt by this disaster -   They can now say with the
apostle Paul “...the things which happened unto me have fallen out
rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.”

When Jesus was crucified on the cross it was meant for evil but God
meant it for our ultimate good.  Are you hurting, are you troubled, have
you experienced tragedy?  Place it all in the hands of the One who can
bring good out of the bad.


Magnify Christ

The apostle Paul says in Philippians 1:20, “According to my earnest
expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that
with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in
my body, whether it be by life, or by death.”

Before the birth of my son Nick, who is mentally handicapped, I really tried
to block out of my mind and life those who were handicapped.  But with
the birth of my son suddenly I could see all of those people I had tried
so hard not to see before.  I could see not only the handicapped but I
could see clearly the hurting, the lost as I had never seen them before.

Most of you at one time or another have looked through a microscope. 
Looking through a microscope things can be magnified hundreds even
thousands of times.  Through that magnification process things which
we cannot see  with the human eye alone are revealed.

To the world for the most part Christ is not known personally.  Christ
instead is viewed as an historical figure, a good man.  The true Christ
is as invisible to most people as a tiny microbe which is invisible to the
human eye.

Paul’s purpose was to magnify Christ in his own body for all to see.  To
open their eyes to Christ as my son, Nick, has opened my eyes to all
those hurting people out there.  It is through how we live our lives that
Christ moves from being an historical microscopic speck to being
recognized by those around us as being the living God and hopefully
their personal Savior.

That was Paul’s constant purpose, to magnify Christ and it should be
ours too.


The Exercise Of Faith

“But without faith it is impossible to please him:  for he that cometh to
God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6).”

The Bible is hard for our human minds to accept.  Because when we
read the Bible we are suddenly in a world where seas part and people
walk across on dry ground.  A world where bushes burn but are not
burned up.  In this world of the Bible, manna drops out of the sky to
feed the people, not once but every day.  In this world of faith people
walk on water, the blind are able to see again, quadriplegics are made
to walk and even the dead are brought back to life!!

And yet, somehow we believe, we know that the Bible is true and that
God exists.  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).”

But what is even more amazing is when God’s people begin to exercise
their faith.  I once heard a sermon about faith and the pastor said the
exercise of faith is:
Believing when you don’t see it.
Obeying when you don’t understand it.
Giving when you don’t have it.
Persisting when you don’t feel like it.
Praising before you receive it.
And trusting when you don’t get it (what you have prayed for).

The exercise of that kind of faith is a testimony to a faithless world.  Is
your faith being exercised?


A Daily Choice

A few years ago I watched a group of women prison inmates being
interviewed on a television talk show.  Being a former parole officer I
was interested in hearing what these women would say about their
lives.  Nearly every one of them held up her hand when asked if drugs
or alcohol was involved in some way in her incarceration.  When asked
why they were in prison, they all said they had made the wrong
choices.  

I can think of hundreds of people who were at one time on my caseload
while I was a parole officer who made the wrong choice.  For many it
was the choice of using drugs, drinking alcohol, or gambling and these
choices resulted in addictions which destroyed their lives.  Some of
them, however, have begun to make the right choices and their lives
are being rebuilt.  The beginning of the right choices came with their
commitment to God.  They made the right choice of receiving Jesus
Christ as their Lord and their Savior.  As they seek to put God first in
their lives by following Jesus each day their lives are being
transformed.

The Bible says in Joshua 24:15, “...choose you this day whom ye will
serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the
other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye
dwell, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  Choices. 
Life is made up of choices.  To continue making the right choices, each
day we must continue to seek God first.  A lifetime of right choices is
made up of daily choices to follow Jesus through each minute and hour
of every day.  


A Hint From God

The Bible tells us in Hebrews 10:25:  “Not forsaking the assembling of
ourselves together....”  Has God ever given you a hint that you should
be attending church?  He has me!

The year was 1972, I was working full-time and going to college
full-time.  We lived in Yukon, OK in a little mobile home and didn’t have
time for church because we were so busy (or so I thought).  After
dropping Jeanie off at work in Oklahoma City, I was on my way to class
in Edmond.  On the way, for some strange reason, I began to think
about the possibility of having car trouble (The car had been running
fine.).  The thought crossed my mind that if I went home to Yukon on
Edmond Road, instead of the interstate, it would be better.  It would be
better, because there was a little church out west of Edmond that I
could stop at if I had trouble.

My classes were over, ready to head home.  Should I go on the
interstate or cut through the country on Edmond Road?  I suddenly
remembered my earlier thoughts about car trouble and decided to take
the Edmond Road.  The car was doing great, no sign of any problem,
when, the engine began to make a noise.  Ahead, about a mile, I could
see the little country church.  I thought to myself, if it doesn’t get any
worse, I’ll try to make it there and call for help.  The car did make it to
the church, but it died right in front of the church and wouldn’t start.  

I have no doubt that God gave me a hint that day that I needed to be in
church.  At the time I was too far away from God to realize what had
happened.  But God was just trying to get my attention.  How about you
has God been giving you hints??


Hope

Paul in Colossians chapter one begins by saying he is thankful for the
people who make up the Colossian church.  He is thankful for their
faith, for their love, and for their hope.  In verse five he says, “For the
hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the
word of the truth of the gospel.”  

Hope.  It is hard to have hope in a world where we have just had two
more senseless bombings resulting in over two hundred killed and
thousands injured.  It is difficult to have hope for a world where
neighbors for hundreds of years in the Balkans are still killing each
other.  It is hard to have hope when a child dies, or your husband, or
your wife leaves you.  It is hard to have hope when you don’t have the
money to pay the bills, or even to buy the food your family needs to
survive.  

Hope.  And yet the people of God in spite of the most difficult
circumstances imaginable have hope.  Because some bright shining
day we will be living in a place called Heaven.  A place where we will
be able to talk to our Lord and Savior face to face.  A place where we
will no longer see through a glass darkly but we will see clearly why all
these things happened here.  A place where we will no longer face
temptations, trials, testings, sorrow and pain.  And we will take our
walks on streets of gold and we will rest our eyes by gazing out at that
unbelievably beautiful crystal sea.  And when we’ve been there 10,000
years times 10,000 years we’ll have no less time to praise His Name!!!


Don’t Be Surprised

After I was saved, for awhile I believed that because I was a Christian I
would escape all the problems.  The problem with the “I’m a child of
God and I’m living in a Rose Garden with only blue sky ahead” is this: 
If you believe that then you have nowhere to go with your pain and
guilt.  If you believe the Rose Garden, blue sky lie then:  The result is
that now, in addition to everything else, you have to be depressed
about your being depressed.

Paul said, be ready when temptations come, and Peter preached in 1
Peter 1:6, “don’t be surprised at the fiery ordeal that befalls you.”  All
Christians have something in common, that is: trials and testings. 
Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulations.”  He was just being
realistic about the nature of the human condition living in a corrupted
world.

With all of the good things that we have been given there is also a
down side.  Because we have a heart we have the capacity to have a
heartache.  Because we can experience love, this means we can also
experience loneliness.  We have been blessed with wonderful bodies
which are still beyond the capacities of the human mind to fully
understand.  Because of this we may experience illnesses and disease. 
If we are alive, we cannot avoid difficulties of one kind or another.  This
is inevitable.

James tells us, “...count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let
patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing (James 1:2).”


Have You Been Tested?

“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried (NIV:  tested)
me, I shall come forth as gold (Job 23:10).”

In 1989 I received the news along with a hundred or so other parole
officers in Oklahoma that we would have to go through the police
officer training course again.  The reason being that the first time we
had not received the week of training for traffic law enforcement.  As
you can imagine not everyone was happy about being away from their
families and homes for two months.  While I was at training I bought a
poster that said, “It’s a test Lord, right?”  As it turned out training was a
test for me in many ways.

Throughout the Bible we see great men and women passing the test. 
People like Abraham, Noah, Job, Joseph, Esther, Daniel, Mary and
Joseph and many more.  When God tests someone they experience
God, it is an encounter with God.  A part of the nature, the character of
God is revealed to the person being tested.

When God tests someone their faith is exercised.  When God tests
someone their faith is developed.  When God tests someone their
positive response will be a testimony to an unbelieving world of the
existence of God.  

“It’s a test Lord, right?”  If it is, as James would say “count it all joy”
because through the test you can experience God in a deeper way
than you ever have before.  And when you’ve been tried you will “come
forth as gold!”


Your Opportunity

“But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.  For a great door and
effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries (1
Corinthians 16:8-9).”

There are great doors of opportunity for Christians to go through to
service all over the world.  But these opportunities do not come without
opposition.  Paul had some opposition at Ephesus.  He was kicked out
of the synagogue so he rented a hall and kept on preaching.  On Paul’s
first mission trip he was stoned and left for dead (Probably was dead.). 
But those with Paul gathered around him in what must have been a
prayer meeting.  Then Paul stood up and walked back into the town
from which he had just been drug out of and left for dead.  When Paul
and Silas were placed in stocks they sang praises at midnight and as a
result of their witness many were saved.  While Paul was in captivity in
Rome he wrote many of the words of the New Testament and was a
constant witness that reached into the palace itself.  He did that while
chained to a Roman soldier.

In the hands of God your opposition will become your opportunity!


The Backfire

My grandfather once told me about how he had came with his parents
to Oklahoma from Texas to homestead in 1900.  When they first came
there was only one tree standing for miles around.  Soon after arriving
a neighbor hurried up to them to warn of an approaching prairie fire.  It
stretched across the horizon and he told them that their only hope was
to start a backfire.  The backfire was started and burned up the grass
between them and the prairie fire.  The backfire saved them from a
horrible death.

The Bible says in Colossians 1:30, “And having made peace through
the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself by
him....”  The cross.  The cross is where the wrath of God was poured
out.  The cross was where the perfect sacrifice was made.  It should
have been us on the cross suffering for our sins but God has provided
at the cross a burned out area of safety.  Christ Jesus is our backfire
that will protect us from the wrath of God that should have been poured
out on us for our sins.  

As we walk through this life day by day here on planet earth. 
Sometimes we lift our eyes to the horizon and it seems as though a
prairie fire is sweeping toward us.  But we must remember there is
safety in the backfire.  We will find safety as we abide in our Lord. 
Jesus says, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask
what ye will, and it shall be done unto you (John 15:7).” 


Avoid The Immovable

Some things in life are virtually immovable or unchangeable.  To even
try to move or change these things will simply create problems and pain
for us.  Fire plugs are an example.  When my oldest son was much
younger we had bought a new house and it had a fire plug in the front
yard on one side.  While my son and I were playing catch I forgot about
the fire plug and my shin had a close encounter with an immovable
object.  My close encounter resulted in an indentation in my shin and
an ugly mark which is still there many years later.

Spiritually there are some things that really are immovable and
unchangeable.  The Ten Commandments are often thought of in a
negative way.  But they are really for our benefit.  To attempt to “break”
one of the Commandments is just as futile as my trying to run over a
fire plug.  The result will be even more damaging to us and we will gain
an ugly mark, a wound upon our spiritual selves.  The more we sin the
more wounds that we will gain.  But “If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).”


A Complete Life

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit,
after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after
Christ.  For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.  And
ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power
(Colossians 2:9-11).”

While in college I studied philosophy, sociology, and psychology.  None
of those things completed me.  None of those things gave me
satisfaction.  In fact, many times in studying those things I would
become more dissatisfied, and found less joy than before.  

But with our Lord I have found the opposite to be true.  The more I
learn of my Lord the more joy and satisfaction I have found.  It is
because in Jesus we are made complete.  Without Jesus it would be
like a piece of our lives is always missing and nothing ever quite
working like it should.  But with Jesus included in every area of our
lives, things just have a way of working out.  Jesus.  Only Jesus can
make our lives complete!


What Are You Excited About?

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which
is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of
God.  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: 
for they are foolishness unto him:  neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:12, 14).”

Before I knew Jesus as my Savior I had only read a few (very few!) bits
and pieces of the Bible.  But with my salvation came a hunger for God’s
Word.  The Bible somehow was just different, it was alive!  The words
were alive and as I read those words they would speak to me in words
which were not even recorded on the paper.    Not only was the Bible
now alive but hearing someone preach was completely different than
before.  God somehow was able to communicate as He had never
done so before.  

The Bible, preaching, and even Christians were different than before. 
After I was saved the pastor (Finley Tinnin) introduced me to some of
the church staff and other Christians that were at the church that day.  I
still remember the first Christian hand that I shook after receiving
Christ.  I remember it because it almost knocked me down.  I couldn’t
turn loose of their hand.  It was my first experience with spiritual
heartburn.  In 1 John 3:14 the Bible says, “We know that we have
passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.  He that
loveth not his brother abideth in death.”  My heart was burning with a
supernatural love that I had never experienced before.

As a natural man, before salvation, I could never have understood what
I have experienced since being “born again.”  Sadly there are many
people in our churches today who are “natural” people.  They will never
be excited on a prolonged basis about attending church, or studying
the Bible, or praying, or witnessing, or listening to a sermon.  Because
they are spiritually dead, they are “natural” people.  But they can,
however, get excited about their job.  They can get excited about a
football game, or some other kind of sports activity.  They can get
excited about a vacation or going out and having a “good time” drinking
or doing drugs, or engaging in some other morally questionable thing.

So I would ask you, “What are you excited about?”


Guard Your Heart

In Proverbs 4:23 we are told, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out
of it are the issues of life.”  The NIV translates it as, “Guard your heart
for it is the wellspring of life.”  Here in the United States if we have
watched television very much at all during the last few months our
hearts have taken a beating.  There is the constant barrage of
unpleasant things being discussed and dissected from every possible
angle.  Several families that I know with children have simply chosen
not to watch TV anymore. At least not while the current issue with the
President is being focused upon.

The exposure of our hearts to the sinful seems to build up a tolerance
for such things.  The more we are exposed to them the more normal
the abnormal becomes.  Spiritually it costs us in that it reduces our
spiritual sensitivities.  Which makes it more and more difficult to hear
that small, still voice of God.  And the further we are from that voice the
more likely it is that we will become susceptible to sin.

What can we do to guard our hearts?  Limit our exposure to the bad
and increase our exposure to the good things of God.  We are the “salt
of the earth” and as such it is not possible to completely isolate
ourselves from the world even though we would like to.  Because salt
does it’s job by being in contact with what it is preserving.  So let us
become more salty for there is a lot of preserving to be done!  


Bring Color To Your World

“Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his
servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light?  let him trust in the
name of the Lord, and stay upon his God (Isaiah 50:10).”

I still remember the first time I watched a color television set as a boy. 
Our neighbors had bought a color television and invited us to come and
enjoy an evening with them.  Amazing how things seem to come alive
when they are in color.

Sometimes as a child of God we move from living in color to living in
black and white.  In this black and white kind of world everything is
drab and dreary, life has lost its excitement, lost its vividness, the
realness, and we just sort of go through the motions.  That was a
problem even in Old Testament times.  There is something missing
Isaiah says of these people “...that walketh in darkness.”  There is
no longer any light and it is a dim black and white world, you adjust the
brightness control and it doesn’t become any brighter.

What’s wrong?  Think for a moment....  As a Christian, where does
your light come from?  The Bible tells us in John 8:12, “Then spake
Jesus again unto them saying, I am the light of the world:  he that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” 
Jesus is the light.

As the Bible says back in Isaiah, you may fear the Lord, meaning you
respect Him, you reverence Him and you may be somewhat obedient. 
You’re not out there killing people left and right.  But are you really
following Him?  Do you have your eyes upon Jesus throughout the day
- practicing/realizing His presence in your life.  What do you think about
all day long? It is the difference between darkness and light and will
bring color to a black and white world.  Because Jesus says, “he that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”


God’s Protection

“The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and
delivereth them (Psalm 34:7).”  

Have you ever seen an angel?  I believe it is possible for us to have
seen angels and not known that we were in the company of them. 
Other times as Balaam found out (Numbers 22) angels may be
invisible.  But certainly I know without a doubt that I have experienced
the benefit of the protection of angels even without seeing them.

Before I was a pastor I took a group of young people to Oklahoma City
to the Youth Evangelism Conference in the church van.  We prayed
together before we began our trip and we prayed together before we
returned home and we prayed for God’s protection.

While on the way home I was following a pickup pulling a trailer.  The
pickup was going just a little slower than the speed limit so I decided to
speed up and pass it.  Just as I speeded up it was as though a heavy
weight had suddenly descended onto the top of the van.  I felt the van
sway to one side and then to the other.  I slowed down but everything
seemed fine so I again speeded up to pass the pickup.  Again it was as
though God has placed His hand on top of the van like a child would
upon a toy and push down hard.  I slowed down again.  

This time shortly after I slowed down, just when I would have been
beside the pickup passing it, the trailer camped unhooked.  The trailer
was still attached to the pickup by the safety chain but still it whipped
back and forth across both lanes with sparks flying.  I pulled the van
over to the shoulder and stopped.  If “something” had not slowed me
two times from passing the pickup I believe we would have had a
serious accident resulting in injuries or death.

I don’t take God’s protection for granted and countless times God has
protected me and my family.  I still pray for God’s protection every day
and praise Him for it!  


A Prayer Changed My Life

“My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when
thou art rebuked of him (Hebrews 12:5a).”

About a year after I was saved (1971) things were definitely going
downhill spiritually.  I was working two part time jobs and going to
school full-time.  Jeanie (my wife) was still working as a secretary. 
Within the space of a year and a half I had had three car accidents and
my insurance costs were spiraling higher and higher.  We  were not
attending church, I wasn’t praying and I wasn’t reading the Bible. 
Instead I was becoming you could say more and more tempted by the
things of this world.

What happened next is for the most part predictable for those who
leave God out of there lives.  Our marriage and everything else began
to fall apart.  I quit one part-time job and I dropped a class.  I dropped a
couple of more classes and quit my other part-time job.  Before I knew
it I had dropped all of my classes and wasn’t working either.  I was just
going to get on with life, start a career.  There was a problem though
with the plan, I couldn’t find a job.  It wasn’t that I wasn’t looking, I was
but nothing was happening.  After about seven weeks of this I hadn’t
even had a job interview.  After seven weeks of this, and all of the
weeks before, Jeanie had had enough.

While we were visiting Jeanie’s parents one weekend, as it was time to
leave to go home Jeanie told me that she was going.  She was leaving
me.  It was a long drive home.  The first thing I did when I got home
was to get down on my knees and pray.  It was the first time I had
prayed in about a year and a half.  I asked God to forgive me, to bring
Jeanie back and to help me to find a job.  Then, I went bed and went to
sleep.

The next morning I woke up to the telephone ringing.  The call was
about a job interview in downtown Oklahoma City with the Kerr McGee
Corporation.  I went to see about that job and then came back home. 
As I was walking in the door the telephone was ringing again, it was
about another job interview.  I went to the interview and I was working
at 12:30 p.m. that day.  Eventually, even though the job was full-time
they allowed me to move my hours around and I was able to return to
college and complete my degree.

I wrote Jeanie a long letter apologizing for any and everything I had
ever done and sent her flowers every day.  At the end of the week
Jeanie came back home and we have been together ever since.  I
knew that God had answered my prayer.  God had become very, very
real and I made a commitment that I was going to pray every day.  I’ve
kept that commitment.  Sometimes the prayers have been short, and
sometimes they have been long but I have been praying every day
since then.


Are You Buying What The Devil’s Selling?

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring
lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; whom resist
stedfast in the faith.... (1 Peter 5:8-9a).”

Have you ever bought a car that was a lemon?  I have and it was not a
pleasant experience.  The car was for my oldest son and on the outside
it was beautiful.  I failed however to inspect it closely.  It was raining on
the day we purchased it and so I didn’t crawl underneath of the car.  If I
had I would have seen that the car had been in a severe accident. 
Later I found out it had been totaled and sold for salvage or junk. 
Someone had bought it and rebuilt it enough for it to pass as a
desirable vehicle.

The car was at the mechanics too many times to remember.  I thought
that eventually we could replace and repair what was wrong with it. 
We had too much money in it to just give up or at least that was what I
was thinking.  After sinking several thousand dollars more into the car a
service manager told me that if it was his car he would get rid.  Why? 
Because it was a lemon and it would never be a good car and it would
always have problems.  Now he tells me, right!

That old devil is constantly trying to sell us some things too.  They all
look good on the outside but if we look at them closely we will see that
they are lemons.  What harm will one snort of cocaine do?  Ask the
person who drops dead from a heart attack.  What harm will a few
minutes with a prostitute do?  Ask the man who contracted HIV.    
What harm will a little gambling do?  Ask the person who develops an
addiction and loses his family.

Before we buy what the devil’s selling we ought to crawl underneath
and take a good long look.  


Have You Gotten Over It?

“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These
things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of
the creation of God; 

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot:  I would thou wert
cold or hot.  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor
hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth (Revelation 3:14-16).”

In our little city we have a state college and several thousand young
people have just returned to begin classes.  For a few days I was
pleasantly surprised to find people waving at me that I didn’t know. 
Because many of the young people come from small communities
where everyone knows everyone and you always wave.  But their
waves are gone now.  We have taken away their waves and replaced
them with ....?

When we first become Christians we are so excited and everything
seems different.  There is such enthusiasm in the new child of God. 
But it doesn’t seem to take long before that smile is gone.  It doesn’t
take long before they sometimes sleep in on Sunday mornings.  It
doesn’t take long before they try to hide their faith and try to be like
everyone else.  Sad isn’t it?  But for many it is the sad, sad, truth.  

The minister of education at a church I once attended was introduced
in this way:  “Our minister of education was a business executive saved
later in life.  He was on fire for God and became the Sunday School
Director.  He was still on fire for God and everyone thought he would
get over it but he is still on fire for God.”

I hope and pray that you haven’t “gotten over it!”


Prayer Changes Things

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord,
thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end
(Jeremiah 29:11).”

The Amplified Bible has it this way, “For I know the thoughts and plans
that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and
peace, and not for evil, to give you hope in your final out come
(Jeremaih 29:11).”

So many times I have found myself hurrying through life without
including God.  God is concerned about everything in our lives even
the seemingly insignificant details.  God also has a plan even for those
little details.  

Several years ago when we were moving to another city we had
difficulty finding a house to rent.  We had a certain amount of money
that we could pay toward rent and we also knew the kind of house that
we wanted.  Jeanie and her mother had already made a trip looking for
a house and had not found anything.  We were down to the last
weekend before we needed to move.  This time I went with Jeanie and
again it looked as if there would be nothing.  But we found an ad for a
house that hadn’t been there the weekend before.  

When we drove up to this house the landlord was there showing the
house to other prospective renters.  But he didn’t rent it to them.  We
definitely wanted to rent the house and it was at the price that we could
afford.  The landlord agreed to rent us the house and said that he
would take twenty-five dollars off the rent because we were Christians. 
We had not told him that we were Christians but the frame that held our
car tag said:  “Prayer Changes Things.”  Prayer had definitely changed
things for the better that day!

Maybe we ought to ask God what the plan is for today?


The Proper Dress

Have you ever been to an event or even to church and found that you
were overdressed or underdressed?  Meaning you wore a coat and tie
(or a dress) and everyone was wearing jeans and shorts.  It is even
more uncomfortable to arrive in jeans or shorts and discover everyone
is wearing formal attire!

As a child of God we want to be properly dressed as well.  We want to
be dressed for success and the apostle Paul tells us some things to
wear and some things not to wear in his letter to the Colossians.

Paul says, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth;
fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and
covetousness, which is idolatry (Colossians 3:5).”  Paul also says, “But
ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy
communication out of your mouth.  Lie not one to another, seeing that
ye have put off the old man with his deeds (Colossians 3:8-9).”

To be a well dressed Christian, Paul says we need to get rid of those
old spiritual clothes.  But he doesn’t stop there Paul says there are
some new clothes we need to put on.  “Put on therefore, as the elect of
God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of
mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving
one another, if any man have a quarrel against any:  even as Christ
forgave you, so also do ye.  And above all these things put on charity
(love), which is the bond of perfectness (Colossians 3:12-14).”

It may be time for us to do a little house cleaning and throw out those
old stinking clothes.  Jesus has bought us some new ones and they are
already paid for!  “But my God shall supply all your need according to
his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).”


Share The Love

The apostle Paul says in Colossians 3:14, “And above all these things
put on charity (love), which is the bond of perfectness.”  Now
charity/love that Paul is talking about is Christian love which is defined
in the 1 Corinthians 13.  We know that we are to love but who is it that
we are to love?  Who do you love?

Jesus tells us in John 13:35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my
disciples, if ye have love one to another.”  So we know that a distinctive
mark of a true disciple of Christ will be that we will love other
Christians.  But who else should we love?  I believe that you can look
at John 3:16 and see who God loved.  “For God so loved the WORLD
that He gave His only begotten Son....”  Every person living upon this
planet Earth is someone for whom Christ died.  

As we demonstrate our concern for the non Christians by  serving
them, ministering to them, caring about them, and loving them we
become Christ’s hands and feet to demonstrate His great love.

Do you love everyone?  If we really get right with God we will.  We will
even love our enemies.  Because we want to follow our Lord’s example
and our Lord died for us while we were still sinners, still the enemies of
God.

Who is it that we can share the love of Christ with today?


What Are You Afraid Of?

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 
As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are
accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him that loved us (Romans 8:35-37).”

An article in the newspaper caught my eye several years ago.  The
article asked the question, “Are American’s becoming scaredy cats?” 
The article also asked if Americans had forgotten how to face a
well-calculated risk and if the West were still to be won, could we round
up enough brave souls to win it?  The article discussed a book by
Harold W. Lewis entitled, “Technological Risk.  What are the real
dangers, if any, of toxic chemicals, the greenhouse effect, microwave
radiation, nuclear power, air travel, automobile travel, carcinogens of all
kinds, and other threats to our peace of mind.”

After I read the article I asked myself if that was the problem with the
church today.  Have Christians become scaredy cats?  Do the
multitude of dangers that surround Christians choke off their willingness
to risk anything for Christ?  Have Christians forgotten Jesus says, “If
any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross
daily, and follow me?”

If missionaries were to be called today to be the first to go to the
innermost regions of Africa, or India, or Burma, or China, who would
go?  Could God find a Livingstone today?  Could He find a William
Carey, or a Judson, or J. Hudson Taylor?  Are there any Christians,
today, willing to risk all that they are and have for the sake of their Lord
and Savior?  Are there any Christians today, standing in the gap risking
all?

Livingstone once wrote to England asking for more missionaries to
come to Africa.  Some months later the reply came that they had found
some men willing to come.  They wanted Livingstone to tell them the
best roads to take to where he was.  Livingstone wrote back that he
needed men who would go where there were no roads.  God is still
looking for men, women, boys, and girls like that today.


Risky Behavior

“For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country,
who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.  And
unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one:  to
every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his
journey.  Then he that had received the five talents went and traded
with the same, and made them other five talents.  And likewise he that
had received two, he also gained other two.  But he that had received
one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money (Matthew
25:14:18).”  (Read also:Matthew 25:19-46)

Every day people risk their lives and their careers for the thrill of the
moment.  People risk their lives doing drugs, buying drugs, selling
drugs, committing burglaries and robberies to have the money to get
drugs.  It is amazing what people have done and will do for a thrill.  I
have seen people bungee jump off a bridge over the Colorado River.  A
few months ago a sixty something year old woman told me she was
going sky diving.  Other people enter the stock market when they don’t
really have the money.  Others play the state lotteries even though they
have a three and a half time greater chance of being struck by lightning
than of winning.

Most of us, however, are not into risky behavior.  We are more into
safe behavior.  There is a new admonition being said now by store
clerks as you leave.  It used to be “...have a good day.”  Now I am
beginning to hear, “...be safe today.”  Most of us are into the avoidance
of risks and are committed to playing it safe.  Because of that the
words of Jesus in this parable are a challenge.  Jesus isn’t just talking
about what we should do with our physical talents.  Jesus is giving us a
challenge, the challenge of our lives.  To follow Jesus, truly follow Him
is to risk everything.  It is to risk everything we are, to risk everything
we have or ever will be for Him.  How often are we to do that, once? 
Twice?  How often do we take that kind of risk?  Our entire life is to be
lived in that way, risking everything for our Lord.

The kind of life our Lord Jesus would have us to live is a life of action. 
A life lived as our Lord would want is a life of taking chances, a life of
adventure, a life of growth, and expansion for the cause of Christ.

How long since you have risked anything for your Lord?  How long
since you have told someone about what Jesus did for you on the
cross?  Read through the rest of Matthew 25 and ask yourself, “How
long?”  How long since you have fed the hungry, given drink to the
thirsty, gave a stranger a place to stay, clothed those in need?  How
long since you visited the sick and those in prison? 

I hope and pray that you have been encouraged, strengthened, and inspired by these devotionals. I pray that you will never, ever, give up!!

Copyright 1998. 1999. Ed Wrather. Material may be used on a non-profit basis with source credited.

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