Humility

Mar

2019

Foundations

I continue to marvel over the amazing portion of the Bible we often refer to as the “Sermon on the Mount.” We find it in Matthew 5-7 and it contains the “nuts and bolts” of life in Christ. If you have not read this recently, take a few moments to carefully read is again; you will be glad you did!

At the conclusion of this “sermon”, Jesus shares one last illustration to drive home a very important point; let’s listen in . . .

Matthew 7:24-29

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

We vividly recall seeing the devastation left behind after powerful hurricanes reach landfall; the images displayed on our TV screens reveal the power and ferocity of these storms.

While looking at the devastation, one wonders why there will be dozens of homes swept away, but invariably several withstood the howling storm, and survived. Could it be that those who had taken the time to build a super solid foundation were the ones to remain? I think it had a great deal to do with it!

Jesus is telling His listeners, you and I, that if we hear His words, and put them into practice, then we would be like a wise builder, who set His house on a solid foundation. When the screaming storms of life come, and they will, our house will stand, and not fall.

He then lets us know, that if we hear these words of His, and do nothing with them, then our foundation will be weak and vulnerable, and when storms come, the destruction of our house will be utterly complete!

I can imagine two home-builders on the Gulf of Mexico. One person is spending extra time and money to sink down concrete pylons an extra 6 feet deep; it is costly and time consuming.

Another person, wanting to move in before the summer gets in full swing, decides to cut corners to save time and money; he forgoes the deep foundations suggested, and installs just the bare minimum.

Sure enough, the person building his home scrimping and cutting corners, is sitting on the deck enjoying the warm breezes, sipping iced tea, and getting a good tan, while the other guy is still building. Finally, the builder who took the extra time completes his home, and starts to enjoy what is left of the summer.

The fall hurricane season is coming, and the waters are churning, evacuations are given, and both homeowners have to leave. The storm rages, and finally the floodwaters recede. As the two owners head back to assess the damage, there is only one home remaining; the other is nowhere to be seen. In the end, it was definitely worth the extra time and effort, to build well!

In the passage from Matthew, Jesus was essentially telling us how to build our “spiritual house.” He shows us how to lay a firm foundation; a foundation that will remain when the storms of life beat against it! There will be storms, and some of those storms will be fierce!

When building a spiritual foundation, we need to start somewhere; Jesus started the whole “Sermon on the Mount” with this statement:

Matthew 5:3

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The beginning point in our foundation building process, is to recognize our spiritual need; our own spiritual poverty. Unless we come to terms with this, we will never be able to build any lasting spiritual structure. The acknowledgment of our spiritual need is vital.

The proud-hearted man or woman, who relies on their own intelligence, and abilities, will never have a lasting spiritual foundation. Many individuals see faith in God as a weakness, coming up with all kinds of reasons to avoid God.

The Bible is very clear regarding these kinds of folks:

Romans 1:18-22

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools. . .”

At one point in my own life, I was one of those people mentioned in this Scripture. I thought science held the key, that faith in an unseen god was weakness, and people of faith were simply ignorant. I was a subscriber to secular magazines like “Cosmos” and was a firm believer in Carl Sagan’s “billions and billions of years.”

After years of immersion in secular scientific thought, I could not reconcile how the intricacies of space and biology could have “just happened.” It was stunning to think that all of this incredible creation could have just fallen into place by random chance.

I became disillusioned with the scientific community because they seemed like they were grasping at straws. They had no real answers, just theories, and tall tales that were even more incredible to grasp and believe than the story that God put forward in His Word!

Like many others, I needed to come to the end of myself, the end of my intellect, and to the realization that I am at a loss, a big loss, to understand the principles of this incredible world in which I live. There MUST BE A GOD, and I MUST KNOW HIM!

Therefore, the starting point for every spiritual journey is the recognition that you are spiritually poor; and Jesus said, this was a good thing!

The recognition of this spiritual poverty causes you to hit “rock bottom” which is a very good place to begin to build!

How deep is your foundation?

I hear there is a storm brewing; be sure your anchor points are going to hold!

Feb

2019

Guilt Free

There is a HUGE issue today keeping people from having a close relationship with God. This particular problem is often the very reason many folks stay away from churches and from God in particular.

The problem is, “Guilt” and “Condemnation.”

Most of us understand what a “guilt trip” is. Have you ever had a guilt trip laid you? You know; “I do everything thing for you, the least you can do for me is. . .” and you fill in the blank.

Some people are experts at this, and I will say that most of you reading this, may have even tried it a time or two; I know I have!

Guilt is a powerful motivator, albeit a negative one. A trip to the local supermarket and you find “fat free” cookies or cottage cheese; the label says: “Guilt Free.”

Products with the “Guilt Free” label sell like hot cakes, because people hate feelings of guilt, and want to be free from it!

What is guilt anyway?

Guilt: guilt is a state in which one experiences conflict at having done something one believes one should not have done (or, conversely, not having done something one believes one should have done). It gives rise to a feeling that does not go away easily, driven by conscience.

Whenever we have done something that is wrong, or if we neglect doing something we know we should do, our conscience feels guilt. It seems to hang in there for days, weeks, and even years, never letting go, always a reminder of something done that was wrong.

For some, this feeling is so ingrained, that it begins to produce behavior problems. For others, the only way to deaden the feelings of guilt is to turn to alcohol, drugs, or other things, finding temporary relief, only to feel even worse, as the affects of those stimulates wear off.

Many times the feelings of guilt are misplaced. A young person who has been verbally, physically, or sexually abused, mistreated by parents, relatives, or others; people who should have been there to protect them.

The young person often feels guilty for the violations committed against them. They feel as though they were the responsible party, and guilt is, heaped on! They go through life feeling as though they are responsible for everything that goes wrong.

My guess is that many of you understand this, all too well.

To experience guilt, real or imagined, is a powerful thing, and often it is a tool used by the devil to keep people away from God.

One of the greatest reasons I stayed away from church, as a young man, was that I had done so much that was wrong, I had committed so many “sins” that the idea of actually coming into a church made me feel afraid.

I was one of those guys who said; “If I walk into church, the walls will fall down.” Have you ever felt like that?

Those feelings of fear and trepidation are not necessarily a bad thing. As we approach the God of the universe, we know He is Holy, Righteous, that He is a God of Wrath and Judgment, no doubt about it!

Speaking of those without Christ Jesus said:

John 3:36

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.

Jesus said, those without Him, without the Son, are guilty! Being guilty also brings another problem that goes right along with feelings of guilt, and those are feelings of condemnation!

Many, struggling with deep feelings of guilt, feel as though they are condemned. A person struggling under a load of guilt feels as though they are serving a life sentence, they feel hopeless, valueless, and feel as though there really is no good reason to live!

Again, people in this guilty, condemned state, often avoid church and God especially. Because God is Holy, Righteous, and would never have anything to do with them.

Those feelings of condemnation, are not entirely misplaced either; Jesus said this:

John 3:16-18

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

Yet, in spite of this, we are inexplicably, drawn to Him, because we know that our only hope lies with Him. We begin to approach Him! We make a move toward God, even risking going to the church, and at the first meeting, we realize that the walls did not cave in!

Then, in an instant, you reach out to God, risking everything, and He touches you!

BOOM!

Instead of getting a backhand across your face, you get an embrace, waves of love cascading over your heart. God welcomes you wholeheartedly; like a long lost son or daughter; He gently wipes away your tears, your fears, and you know, you belong to Him!

Romans 8:1-2

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Hallelujah!

You are free! The death sentence lifted!

You are GUILT FREE!!!

Somebody please say AMEN!

Now, for some of you that have already met this Jesus, you are reading this today and you find yourself with those same old feelings of guilt and shame.

You have walked with Jesus for a while, and somewhere, somehow, things just do not feel the same. You made a small mistake, then another, and another, and soon you begin to feel worse than ever before.

How can this be?

What is going on here?

How can you be free again?

Psalm 32:1-5

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD “— and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Too many times when we sin as a Christian, we feel so bad about it that we refuse to acknowledge it. The last thing we want to do, is go to God and tell Him what we already know He knows!

Therefore, we avoid it. We put it off, and we begin to feel guilty, and shameful. It piles up, we begin to get sad faces, our bones begin to waste away, and inwardly we groan. We avoid the very One who can help us!

The Bible says to acknowledge our sin, don’t hide it, don’t cover it up, but just tell God what you did, say it out loud to Him, and tell Him you are sorry. He then forgives you! It is that simple!

If you keep it hidden, then guilt does its work of bringing feelings of condemnation, hopelessness sets in, depression follows, and we have a defeated Christian, and the devil rejoices!

You become like a Lion without teeth, powerless prayer, poor Christian witness to the world around you, withdrawn, you stay to yourself.

The devil has you right where he wants you. The devil will continue to, systematically destroy you, until you are, totally crushed!

Do not let him get away with it. Go to God right now and settle it. Tell God, in plain words what you have done. If you cannot remember everything you have done, tell Him so, He knows!

Get your teeth back!

Take back, what the devil tried to steal, and be guilt free again!

Feb

2019

Forgiving From Your Heart

Do you remember the parable of the unmerciful servant? Peter wanted to know how many times he should forgive; the answer may not have been what he expected. Let’s check it out.

Matthew 18:21-25

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

“The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

This is a familiar parable, one that you have no doubt read many times. To put this in context, just prior to this parable, Jesus talked about what to do if a brother sins against you, and after hearing this brief teaching on dealing with a brother who sins against you, Peter comes to ask Jesus a rather interesting question.

“Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”

I’m not sure, but I think Peter may have had a rather short fuse, and when it came to forgiving, he probably struggled a bit. When he asked the question, I think Peter was looking for a limit here. You know, “at what point can I refuse to forgive?” Jesus’ answer was not what Peter had expected!

To explain forgiveness to Peter, and to you and me, Jesus told a story. In this story, I think we can find a few truths that may help us, when it comes to forgiving from the heart.

This parable primarily has to do with forgiving a financial debt, but the application of this story applies to many different situations in which someone has trespassed, or sinned against you.

In the parable that Jesus told, the king wanted to settle accounts, and was calling in the debts owed.

When this particular man came before the king, he was unable to pay his debt. The fault was clearly with the man, and not the king. For whatever reason, the man could not clear his debt, and king, was now “stuck” with it.

Now there appears to be two problems:

The first is now the king is upset, and rightfully so. He has a debt that he should not bear. It was not his fault, and he has every right to demand it! He is frustrated, hurt, and betrayed, the trust he had toward his servant is broken.

The second is that the man, who failed in his obligation to the king, is now in danger of being, sold into slavery, even placing his whole family in jeopardy.

As the story goes, the man fell on his knees before the king, begging for patience, promising to pay it all back, just give me more time! The king looking at this display of emotion, felt compassion for the man, and forgave the whole debt! In one fell swoop, the king took care of both problems.

In forgiving the man his debt, the king released himself from the right to demand what was due, absorbing the cost of the debt, and the debtor was free from the need to repay something he was unable to.

We can learn two lessons here, which will help us not only to forgive, but also to be forgiven.

Granting Forgiveness

The first lesson has to do with granting forgiveness. The king saw the despair of the man who owed the debt. He seemed totally unable to repay what was owed.

Jesus said that the king had “compassion” on the man. Unless the king would have experienced compassion, I doubt very much that he would have been able to forgive this man his debt.

As you and I experience debts or, “SINS against us, it is very unlikely that we will ever truly forgive another for those sins, unless we have compassion. Without compassion for those who have sinned against you, the debt remains.

Sin has affected all of humanity. Not one person is exempt from it! Sin rears its ugly head in many, many forms; lying, stealing, cheating, murder, adultery, greed, lust; the list is long!

If you have lived longer than a day, someone has probably sinned against you, and if you are blessed to live another day, it will likely happen again. We live in a sinful world, and sin happens! When it happens to you, what will you do with it?

Recall the Lord’s Prayer:

Matthew 6:9-14

“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

The greatest temptation that any of us ever will face is the temptation to, not forgive.

We have been forgiven much by the Greatest King that ever lived! Our Great King, saw the terrible plight we were in, and while we were unable to correct the wrong we had done, He forgave us all our sin!

Remember, unlike the parable Jesus used, we were not going to be, sold for the debt we owed, we were going to die for it! The wages of sin is death! God has forgiven us much!

We must forgive those who sin against us, to hold their sin against them, is to negate our own forgiveness!

Receiving Forgiveness

The second part of this lesson has to do with receiving forgiveness. This part of the lesson is tied to the first part.

To receive forgiveness is to be willing to forgive.

The man in this story was no doubt thrilled with the cancelled debt. He was truly distressed before the King, and was on his knees begging for patience and mercy; the King had compassion, and forgave the whole debt! I imagine the man was so grateful!

However, not long afterwards, that man encountered someone who owed him far less than what he had owed the king, and he demanded the whole amount, even having the man arrested and put into prison!

Of course, when the King found out about it, He was furious! The King ordered the man who refused to cancel another debt, thrown in prison.

The problem was that this man did not recognize or remember how much debt the king forgave him. He was forgiven much, much more, than the man who owed him very little.

Any sin inflicted upon you by another, will pale in comparison with the sin you have inflicted against God.

Yet God has forgiven you of all your sins! Why would you hold something against another? Why would you throw away your own good fortune at the expense of another? How foolish!

If this man would have taken the time to remember the depth of his own forgiveness, he would not have demanded the small amount someone owed him, and the outcome of this story would have been quite different.

Have you ever sat down and considered what Jesus has done for you? I mean, have you considered what this Great King has done on your behalf?

How badly do you want God to forgive you of your sins, bad enough for you to forgive others from the heart?

Perhaps you struggle with compassion. Ask God to show you what He thinks of those you cannot forgive; ask Him how much value He places on them. Look at others from His perspective, and you will begin to get a sense of what is at stake.

Remember, if you cannot forgive from your heart, you have not forgiven, and you are still in your sins.

You will know that you have forgiven from the heart when you pray this way:

“Father, I forgive this person for the sin inflicted upon me; and please Lord, I am asking that you forgive them too.”

Feb

2019

Come Now, Let Us Reason Together

There seems to be, two different types of people emerging after an encounter with Jesus; one kind recognizes that the journey may get tough, sacrifices will need made, but the joy of following the Savior is greater, the rewards of a life spent following the master are worth any amount of sacrifice!

These folks find joy and peace in the midst of great pain and suffering. They always seem to be moving forward, gaining strength day by day, being built up in God’s holy Word! They begin to produce fruit for their labors, and people around them begin to come into the Kingdom of God too!

For the other group, they exhibit a “dragging” of the feet, so to speak, an unwillingness to obey the clear teachings of God. Jesus begins to take them on a journey, and they quickly realize that the way is steep, and they are carrying too much baggage, and He tells them to drop some of the “things” they carry, but they refuse!

Jesus decides to take a turn, and they realize that the way is unfamiliar, and out of fear, refuse to go!

For this group, service to God becomes a burden, rather than a joy. Obedience to God’s Word becomes frightfully difficult. It becomes a duty, and no longer done from a position of love.

It is unfortunate, but many people fall into the second category. For those who will resist the call of God on their lives, for those who refuse to obey the clear teachings of the Bible, the words from Isaiah seem quite appropriate!

Isaiah 1:5-6

“Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness– only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil.”

According to this verse, there are consequences for rebelling against God. You will wear yourself out! Your whole being will suffer!

It is not uncommon for those resisting God, who walk in rebellion to Him, to face increasing depression, fits of rage, anger, and could even become physically ill.

Yet God is patient, He waits for those who are in this “sea of rebellion” to come to their senses. When they do, God gives this incredible offer:

Isaiah 1:18-20

“Come now, let us reason together,”

says the LORD.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they are red as crimson,

they shall be like wool.

If you are willing and obedient,

you will eat the best from the land;

but if you resist and rebel,

you will be devoured by the sword.”

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

I just love this Scripture; God says; “Come now, let us reason together.” It’s like God has just poured a cup of coffee for you, and invites you to the table, One on one, to see if there can be a solution. God is awesome!

So . . . which type of Christian are you?

Whatever the case may be, a sold faithful walk with Him, or a dragging of the feet; take time today to respond to His words; “Come now, let us reason together.”

Feb

2019

Do You Love Me?

Without a doubt, God has shown His love to us repeatedly! We can never wear out the Scripture in John 3:16; “For God so Loved. . .”

And what about these. . .

Ephesians 5:1-2

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Colossians 3:12

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

1 Thessalonians 1:4

“For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you. . .”

1John 4:10

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

Through these Scriptures, and hundreds more like them, it becomes obvious; God loves us! Indeed, the whole of the Bible is a Book of love, an expression of God’s love towards us!

The question is not; “Does God love us,” but rather; “Do we love Him?”

I want to take you on a journey with a man called Peter, along with a couple of other men, James and John, commonly referred to as disciples, or the “inner three.”

These men walked with Jesus; actually walked with Him in the flesh, they shared meals together, and spent dozens of nights around the campfire talking with Jesus. If anyone knew the heart of Jesus, these men did, if anyone could love and obey His teaching, these men would.

The Disciples were very much like us. By that I mean, they were not stunning models of obedience and passion, but were quite human, and showed signs of their ‘humanness” all along the journey.

They were fishermen, physically strong, hard working, simple, yet very determined men. These men responded to the invitation from Jesus; “Follow Me.” It was at that point, that these men had an encounter with Jesus, and made a decision to follow Him; just like you did.

These men had many of the same struggles that you have.

Peter, James and John, were closest to Jesus, these men saw Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, they were there when Jesus raised dead girl, and they were there when Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane.

If anyone could get their walk right with Jesus, it would be these guys. Yet these men struggled understanding God’s will, and had trouble obeying Jesus, here are a few examples;

James and John wanted to call down lightening to destroy some people who did not welcome Jesus. Luke 9:53-55

“. . . but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them.”

James and John apparently got their mother to ask Jesus if they could sit at either side of Him in heaven . . . rather arrogant don’t you think? Matthew 20:20-22

“Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

“What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.”

While standing on the mount of transfiguration, at one of the holiest, and most reverent times in the Bible, as Jesus stands there with Elijah and Moses, Peter blurts out; “It is good that we are here, I will build a shelter for each of you.” What was he thinking! Matthew 17:1-4

“After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

At one of the most critical times in Jesus’ life, while He is about to be arrested, Peter pulls out a knife, and slices a man’s ear off! John 18:10

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

In the Garden of Gethsemane James, John, and Peter fell asleep! Matthew 26:40-42

“Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

Peter swore that he would die with Christ if need be, but in the end denied knowing Jesus three times! Matthew 26:69-75

Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.

But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”

After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”

Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”

Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

As we can see by these examples, the disciples were anything, but stellar, and most of us are not either.

An interesting meeting took place after the resurrection of Jesus; found in John 21:1-19

Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.[b] When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”

Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

In this remarkable story, Jesus reaffirmed His love for Peter by His actions. He could have criticized Peter, ridiculed him, and said; “I told you so!”

Sitting by that fire, Peter experienced what I call blazing, majestic, overwhelming, relentless love, coming from the risen Christ!

The issue that Jesus was trying to bring to Peter’s attention was not that He (Jesus) loved Peter; that was now very evident. The question was; Peter, do you love Me?

Today, Jesus gently lifts your gaze, to meet Him, and asks you; “Do you love Me, more than these.”

What is your response?

Feb

2019

Grace, Mercy and Peace to You

“To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord”. 1 Timothy 1:2

While reading the letters that the apostle Paul wrote, I noticed that almost every letter he wrote began with those words; “Grace and peace to you from God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.” In the letters written to Timothy, and to Titus, he includes grace, mercy and peace.

Like many of you, I have read these books written by Paul, dozens of times, and always seemed to overlook the opening greeting, as if it were not that important.

What jumps out at me, is the way Paul says these words. It is bold, and up front, like he was an emissary of God, coming to the people, as if he had just come from God himself. Kind of like an ambassador, proclaiming the heart of the kingdom represented.

I get this picture in my mind of a rider on a horse, riding feverishly through the night, with a message of hope for those in distress; perhaps soldiers, weary from battle, which may need some encouragement.

The rider dismounts, and comes to the people, and the first words out of his mouth are; Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from your King! How very refreshing and encouraging to hear.

Paul gives us that kind of feeling when he begins his letters, regardless of the content of the letter, he set us as ease, with the reassurance that he has just come from God himself, and God has given a message to His people, “Grace, Mercy, and Peace from God our Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Paul chose these words, because he himself was the recipient of them. Paul was a persecutor of the church. He actually chased down Christians, and standing by as they were put to death.

He was actively destroying the very church that Jesus was trying to build. Paul was on a mission to destroy, what he thought was an abomination to God.

Paul knew that he deserved death for what he had done; no question about it; standing by, as saints like Stephen were being, stoned to death, cheering the crowd.

Paul knew that he was an enemy of God, but now, through God’s grace and mercy, he found peace; joy inexpressible! How could he contain it?

Paul was able to express this in almost every letter he wrote, because it was what he received, and it was so valuable to him. He wanted to express it every time he wrote.

Like Paul, you and I received Grace, Mercy, and Peace from God too, and like Paul, we have the authority to declare it to others as well.

So the next time you enter a room with your brothers and sisters in Christ be bold, and with confidence declare, Grace, Peace and Mercy to you from God our Father through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Feb

2019

“One Thing You Lack”

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.”

“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” Mark 10:17-21

There are several other locations where this encounter is recorded as well. In Matthew 19:20 the man is identified as being young, and Luke 18:18 describes him as being a ruler.

So, from these three passages we can easily deduce that this was a young, wealthy, man of influence, perhaps he was training to become a Pharisee, or was the member of the Roman government; we really don’t know for sure.

Typically when we read this passage of Scripture we talk about money and the power that it can have over individuals; this passage reveals much, much more than we may have anticipated!

This passage reveals to us the characteristics of a person that did not qualify that person to be a Christian.

So let’s look at the characteristics of this young man that were not enough to constitute salvation.

Sincerity

It is easy to see that this man was sincere. Here was a wealthy young man of an elite background, and in full view of everyone, he ran to Jesus and knelt before Him. He did not care if anyone was looking. He must have thought that Jesus Himself held the answer to the question he was seeking.

It is quite possible that this young man believed that Jesus was the Messiah; why else would he risk his reputation by kneeling to Him.

Over the course of ministry I have seen hundreds of people kneel and pray to God for salvation; most are as sincere as this young man. They come risking everything, kneeling and asking God for the way of eternal life; but like this young man, sincerity is not enough; Jesus Himself asked for more!

Righteousness

This young man was a righteous man. Jesus reminded him of the commandments; You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.” yet this young man had kept them all!

He never committed murder by killing anyone; he honored his father and mother; was not a thief, nor did he give false testimony or defraud anyone! He was a young man who kept the commandments of God faithfully; what more could he do?

People today are no different; far too often we think if we just live a good life, then we somehow will gain access to heaven and eternal life; that is simply not true! It was not enough for this young man and it will not be enough for you either!

While living a righteous and good life is to be commended; and doing a lifetime of good works may get you a plaque on a wall; it will by no means cause you to have eternal life.

God’s Love

The Bible declares in this passage that “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” As Jesus was looking over this young man, kneeling in the dirt, hopeful eyes locked with His, He had compassion.

God also has compassion for us too. The Bible declares that God Himself is love; and the most quoted verse in the Bible; John 3:16 says it best:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

However, God’s love for us; His amazing love for us, does not, in and of itself, bring about the salvation of our souls. God looks in love at this young man, and still there is something more required.

So, if being sincere; recognizing Jesus to be the One with the answer; and being a righteous, good and moral person, and sensing God’s own love for me is not enough for salvation to be complete; what am I missing?

Becoming a Christian, as evidenced in this story, is to believe Jesus to be trustworthy enough to surrender control of our life to. Not partial, or selective control, but ALL control.

To put it bluntly, a Christian is a person who believes in Jesus strong enough to follow Him!

This particular young man had considerable wealth, and it turned out to be his “one thing.”

Jesus said to him; “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Jesus knew that in order for this young man to find salvation, he would have to relinquish control of his wealth. Apparently it had quite a grip on his heart; and for this fellow, it was the “one thing” that prevented this young man from eternal life.

The conclusion of this story with the wealthy young ruler ended sadly, as the Bible says:

“One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

This story is not really about money, but about that which keeps us from following Jesus.

Jesus could easily say . . .

“How hard it is for the bitter to enter the kingdom of God!”

“How hard it is for the jealous to enter the kingdom of God!”

“How hard it is for the self-reliant to enter the kingdom of God!”

“How hard it is for the unforgiving to enter the kingdom of God!”

What “one thing” stands in the way of your salvation?

Perhaps it is time to get rid of it and start following Jesus!

Feb

2019

Ask, Seek and Knock – Do It!

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:7-11

This is a very familiar Scripture that many of us have read dozens, if not hundreds of times. We often refer to this Scripture when talking about prayer, as we should!

This section begins with the admonition to ask, seek and knock. As we read this, we get the feeling that these are not simply suggestions; perhaps the words carry just a little more weight than that!

Jesus does not frame these words with any kind of condition associated with the request; He simply says to; ask, seek and knock! Therefore, these three words come with an expectation that you will do it.

Jesus further indicates that those who ask, seek and knock, will receive, find, and gain entrance. Again, there is no hesitation in Jesus very straightforward statement here.

He says that if you ask, you will receive, if you seek, you will find, and if you knock, the door opens for you. I find this to be very exciting indeed!

In the following verses, we get a partial idea of where the answers to the asking, seeking, and knocking are coming from. Jesus begins verse 9 by asking the crowd a rhetorical question:

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

I can see the crowd laughing as he makes this statement; some parents are no doubt planning a practical joke on their kids later in the day!

Jesus then contrasts the crowd; sinful humanity, against a holy and righteous Father; by saying:

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

We see that “good gifts” come from our Father in heaven. James echoes this truth in the Book he wrote:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

So, we see clearly that Jesus is saying if you ask, seek and knock, then God Himself will respond with good gifts.

I have heard it said by well meaning Christians that we need to be careful what we ask God for, we might just get it! I think that is an ugly statement, one in which we think that God our Father, who is incredibly good and holy, who has our best interest at heart, would somehow give us a bad gift!

I think that if I am knocking on a door that is going to lead me astray, God will not open it.

When God opens a door, gives a gift, or reveals Himself to His children, according to Jesus, it is going to be good!

Now to be sure, we can go beyond knocking, and go get a crowbar and force open a door that God is unwilling to open for us.

Remember, He knows what is best, and if the door will not open by knocking on it, it is best to leave it shut.

So go ahead; ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK . . . this is going to be good!

Feb

2019

Count the Cost

Jesus calls everyone who would follow Him, to count the cost; it is quite high. While the gift of salvation is free to receive, the cost of following is steep! One must consider the ramifications of following the Lord before jumping in.

Jesus said that those who choose to follow Him must deny themselves; this means putting others ahead of you, it means a life of service given to those who may or may not like you, much less, love you!

Jesus even went so far as to say that you must pick up your cross and follow Him.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” Matthew 16:24-26

A cross was the very instrument used to kill Jesus. The cross was the first century equivalent of the electric chair, only much, much crueler.

When they led Jesus away for crucifixion, the Bible says, He carried His own cross; and since He did, so must you!

Following Jesus will cause you to lay down your life; it is a willing decision on your part to place your life, your will, your preferences, and all your hopes and dreams, into His hands, trusting Him with the outcome, whatever it may be!

It is a requirement of following Him; for some it might mean laying down your wealth. For others it might mean that your reputation is, put on the line; yet for others it might mean serving somewhere obscure with little or no recognition; and yet for others, it may require your very life; the decision is His to make, and it is your cross to carry!

What is your Cross . . . everyone who follows Jesus, gets one!

If you don’t have one, then there is a pretty good chance, you don’t belong to Him!

Feb

2019

Watch Out For – Hypocrisy

Jesus never condemned sinners; He did however denounce and deplore hypocrites!

A hypocrite is a person who excuses his own sin, while condemning the sins of others.

The hypocrite does not see his own hypocrisy, because he cannot see, or refuses to see, the flaws in himself.

The one who cannot see their own flaws, rarely if ever, seek mercy. Since he does not seek mercy, he has no mercy to give; and since he is always under God’s judgment, he passes judgment on others.

If we are to be seekers of holiness, we cannot remain as hypocrites; or better stated; hypocrites cannot find holiness.

The first step in pursuing holiness is to admit that we are not as holy as we appear to be; this first step is called humility.

As we draw near to God, each one of us will become aware of the sins in our own heart. The Holy Spirit is not revealing these sins in order to condemn us, but rather to establish humility, and to deepen our knowledge of our own need for more grace.

Anyone choosing to follow God, will humble themselves before God, asking God for grace to deliver them from the sin that has entangled them.

For those who will try to excuse their sin, the title hypocrite is, justly deserved. Jesus used a parable to highlight this very issue.

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14

Holiness is not about obeying a set of rules and regulations; that only breeds more hypocrisy. Holiness is about getting rid of pride; which enables us to come to terms with the true condition of our heart.

Have you humbled yourself before God, lately?

Feb

2019

Abide in Me

The word “abide” simply means to remain, or stay put; Jesus used the word in the context of vineyard work. The vine that remains grows, and that vine begins to produce fruit.

Abiding gives us the idea that we are continuing to grow and mature, and just like the vine needs to produce fruit, so do we!

If we don’t produce fruit, then we are not growing and are taking up precious resources from those who are, and we risk being cut off by the Master Gardener!

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:1-8

The first step in learning to abide has to do with faith. When we read the command “abide in Me,” and it is a command, not a suggestion; we know that this is something we can do! God never commands that we do something that we cannot do.

We see this command, and by faith, we begin to abide . . . we stay put in Christ, and as we do, we feel the love and security that comes from staying in Christ. Answers to prayer begin to abound.

As you continue to abide in Christ, you become even more aware of God’s Word, the authority, and power, associated with it, and you begin to realize that with this great gift, comes tremendous responsibility as well.

You will begin to find that something more is required than simple faith; obedience is required. Hear the words of Isaiah . . .

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 1:18-20

We need to be willingly obedient in order to “abide in Him.”

To remain in Christ is to live a life of obedience to His Word; doing anything less will cause you to be a vine that produces no fruit; and according to Jesus, you will be, cut off!

Feb

2019

Learn Compassion

In our endeavor to reach people for Jesus, we must become people of compassion. For some of us this does not come easy. God will grant compassion to those who earnestly seek it!

When we watch people constantly struggle and fall, sometimes we get into the “just get over it” mindset. That is NOT compassion! It is actually judgment. What we are really saying is; “I am frustrated, and not able to know how to help you, I got over it, so should you.”

These kinds of statements place shame on the individual you are speaking to. They will begin to avoid you at all costs!

Gently and compassionately lead them to Jesus; He is the ONLY one who can truly set them free!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Feb

2019

Beware of the Selfishness Trap

We need to be careful that we do not fall into the “Selfishness Trap” mentioned in the following passage of Scripture. As you go about your life in Christ, be generous. What people need the most, is your time and attention.

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God– having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5

As followers of Christ, the Scripture above ought to be, turned on its head!

We should be; selfless, generous with our money (tithe more, tip well) be humble, kind, obedient to our parents, grateful, holy, loving, forgiving, encouraging, self controlled, merciful, loving the good, honest, prudent, modest, loving God, and exemplifying Him in all things, walking in great power!

Make a fresh commitment to live this way today . . . and every day; you can be sure, the world around you will take note, and God will too!

Feb

2019

Watching You

Your words concerning God mean very little to the people around you, if your life does not reflect, what you say you believe. You are a living example of God’s grace and mercy, on display for all to see!

Anyone following Jesus, will exhibit a life of transformation; “the old is gone, the new has come.”

Your life is a constant witness to your master; who then has more control of your life, you, or Jesus; the world can tell in a heartbeat.

Listen to the words of Scripture. . .

“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” 2 Corinthians 3:2-3

If you live and act just the same as those who are engaged in the sin of this world, then you will hardly qualify as a legitimate representation of the Living God, who was supposed to have set you free!

Make sure that you not only talk the talk, but that you walk the walk! The world is watching you!

Feb

2019

Learn the Word

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16

The Scriptures call us to become students of the Word of God. We MUST apply all of our abilities to this task. We live in a day and age of information; we have access to computers, bibles, books, commentaries, etc.

If there ever was a generation that is WITHOUT EXCUSE for learning the Word of God, it is this generation.

You MUST engage yourself in the study of God’s Word. To avoid this most elementary part of Christianity shows your lack of desire to, really know, the God you say you love!

Feb

2019

Son of Man

I am so thankful that God sent Jesus to come; flesh and blood just like us. He needed to come here and experience our sorrow, our suffering, and to ultimately be rejected by humanity.

He knew that His life here on earth would lead Him to the cross. The cruelest device known for torturing and suffering that man’s perverted mind could conceive. Jesus knew that he would suffer and die on one of those.

He didn’t have to. He could have walked away from it. He could have destroyed all of humanity. However, He loved us enough that he endured that agony; for those who would repent and believe, they might have life eternal with Him, in His glory.

I can relate to a Jesus like that. I can cry out to a God like that. I can say yes to Jesus, because I know He understands my frustrations, He knows how I feel inside; He knows my pain like no one else.

I accept His gift of salvation.

I can trust a Man like that.

^“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10

Jan

2019

Martha, Martha

Martha’s idea to invite Jesus to her home was turning out to be a problem for her. This was supposed to be a good thing. The Son of God is in my home! We had better get the best dishes out, the choicest drink and food; prepared just right! Everyone had better be on their best behavior too!

Mary, Martha’s sister, knew what was most important, and was not about to be moved. She decided to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to the Words of Life He would speak. She hung on every word! Martha was missing out, distracted by the busyness of preparations.

Martha was so distracted that she even complained to Jesus; “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” She now wanted her distraction to be everyone else’s distraction too, even Jesus!

Jesus was quick to set Martha straight, showing her that what Mary was doing was the best thing. Not that dinner preparations are not important, but sitting with Jesus is even better!

When faced with a distraction that threatens to pull your focus off Jesus, do what Mary did, and just sit still, and listen to Jesus. Rest assured that you are doing the right thing; the distraction will wait.

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42

Jan

2019

Anxiety in the Heart

“Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.” Proverbs 12:25

Anxiety defined: A state of apprehension, uncertainty, and fear resulting from the anticipation of a realistic or fantasized threatening event or situation, often impairing physical and psychological functioning.

Symptoms associated with anxiety . . .

1. Excessive worry

2. Sleep problems

3. Irrational fears

4. Muscle tension

5. Chronic indigestion

6. Stage fright

7. Self-consciousness

8. Panic

9. Flashbacks

10. Perfectionism

Anxiety often turns to depression; a sense of dread for the next day which sets up a sort of defeated mentality that says tomorrow will be at least as difficult as today was, maybe even worse, so why even get up!

Anxiety is a gift from the devil; a gift you must refuse to take, much less open.

To fight off fear and anxiety; designed, to steal, kill and destroy; you MUST use and understand God’s word! It is the only lasting and permanent antidote for this ungodly disease!

Jesus said . . .

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:23

Take some time today and look up these verses; you will be very glad you did!

John 14:1

John 14:27

Isaiah 40: 30-31

Romans 16:20

Philippians 4:6-7

1 Peter 5: 6-7

Psalm 103:1-5

Psalm 100

Proverbs 16:3

Proverbs 16:9

Jeremiah 17:7-8

James 1:2-4

Matthew 11:28-30

Deuteronomy 33:27

Psalm 9:9-10

Psalm 16:8

Psalm 46:1-3

Proverbs 3:5-6

Matthew 6:25-27

John 15:4-5

Psalm 34:17-19

Romans 8:28

Joshua 1:9

Jan

2019

Godly Sorrow

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10

“Godly sorrow” produces repentance. I have to ask; have you ever felt godly sorrow? Have you ever felt the need to repent, and then actually do it?

Because if you have not ever repented, you are NOT redeemed, and you are still in your sins, and are as lost as ever; even more lost, because you have deceived yourself into thinking you are redeemed, when in fact you are not.

Jesus said these stunning words . . .

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” Matthew 7:21-23

The most revealing and frightening aspect of this passage is that the people were convinced that they knew Jesus; when in fact, He NEVER knew them!

Jan

2019

Be Filled

It is clear in the Scriptures, that the Holy Spirit is most certainly a Person. He is able to teach, comfort, console, lead, and convict. Without the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we will be ineffective in all of our spiritual endeavors.

The Holy Spirit, being One with the Father, and the Son, empowers us to live victorious Christian lives. Apart from the Holy Spirit, we operate in our own strength, and are prone to frequent defeat. It is imperative that we are “filled with the Spirit.” How can we be filled; Jesus blazes the way, listen to His words . . .

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:9-13

Jan

2019

Sent with Authority

For those who have chosen to follow Jesus, you have a mandate to go out and declare that the Kingdom of God is near. The same directives He gave the early church, He gives you.

You are sent out with His authority, His power, and His might! Don’t fear the enemy, as you engage this mission, you have EVERYTHING you need!

“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” Luke 10:19

Jan

2019

Delivered

Humanity has been suffering the consequences of sin since the Garden of Eden. The world is littered with vain attempts by mankind, to correct this broken condition; it is evident that we are unable to cure this disease called sin.

Jesus however, is more than able; He is the Rescue, and our Great Deliverer, and when Jesus rescues, we are, rescued indeed!

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” Colossians 1:13-14

Dec

2018

Bitter or Better – You Get to Choose

Anger is an emotion we all have, and how we express it is very important. Uncontrolled anger quickly turns to rage, a form of abuse.

Anger, when properly controlled helps shape new ideas, it is a healthy mechanism used to set boundaries and keep us from over reacting to situations. You may recall Moses becoming angry many times, as he encountered difficult people, and God used those moments to help shape the man Moses, and indeed an entire nation of people.

Uncontrolled anger turns to rage, and rage is very destructive, often becoming addictive. Anger in and of itself, is not bad. When we are faced with a situation that causes us to become angry, we need to talk it out, find solutions, set boundaries.

Unresolved anger turns to bitterness

The Bible tells us;

Ephesians 4:29-32

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Did you catch that? “Get rid of all bitterness . . .”

Let’s look at this word for a moment.

The root word used for bitterness is:

Pikros pik-ros’ (piercing); sharp (pungent), that is, acrid – bitter.

Bitterness is a powerful explosive

I grew up in Cameron County, a rather remote area in North Central Pennsylvania, the heart of the Pa. Wilds. Residents are familiar with the term Picric.

Early in the settlement of Cameron County, there was an abundance of Hemlock; it was everywhere. The hemlock trees were debarked, and the hemlock bark processed to produce tannin, in turn used in the process of tanning hides.

Picric (bitter) acid helped pull the tannin out of the hemlock bark. Since there was an abundance of Picric acid, also used to produce the powerful explosive TNT, factories sprung up across Cameron County in the 1800’s.

So . . . “Pikros” or bitterness is a powerful explosive, and the Bible says to get rid of it . . . all of it!

Bitterness usually manifests in three ways, bitterness toward God, toward others, and toward oneself.

Bitterness towards God

Bitterness towards God can happen many different ways, and I have seen it happen many times. A precious loved one is taken away, and there are no clear answers.

Someone prays for a healing, and the object of his or her prayers is suddenly gone!

Someone is faithful to God, serving the church, generous in giving, yet end up losing their job, the house is now in foreclosure, and they are about to lose everything!

The natural question in situations like these are; “why would a loving God allow this to happen?

It is easy to fall into the trap and begin to question God’s love, His mercy, and His wisdom. Perhaps you have been there!

You begin to feel angry at God, and you begin to shrink back from Him. You see God blessing others but you feel cursed and wonder why God is passing you by. I have heard people say; “when is it my time to be blessed!”

Your anger towards God grows, and you become resentful, and question everything God does, you even begin to question the very existence of God. A prime example of this, is found in the Book of Acts.

Acts 8:9-23

Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

Simon had a bitter heart because he saw the real power of God being used in common everyday folks and he wanted it!

Bitterness towards others

The second way we become bitter is towards others. This usually begins with an offense and a hurt that is not forgiven. Often this takes a lifetime to develop and can start at an early age. A child, abused emotionally or physically, finding no way to express the pain; become angry, and resentful to their parents or toward others.

I have seen families devastated when a cherished family member passes away. Heirlooms divided unevenly, the estate, managed improperly, and someone gets hurt, resentment sets in. As time progresses, the hurt festers, and bitterness of heart, overtake the person and they become toxic.

When a family lives with a bitter person, life can be almost unbearable! The bitter one cannot truly love, rarely if ever says the words “I love you,” unless spoken with an unhealthy dose of sarcasm.

The bitter person cannot find it within himself or herself, to express hope and encouragement to anyone, life revolves around them and their pain. The bitter heart always sees itself as the victim, the one who is always hurt, and if not hurt now, will most certainly hurt again soon.

The bitter person is almost always angry about something, works hard at producing guilt feelings in others, and when those they must live with distance themselves, more anger and guilt comes rolling out. A bitter person is full of poison and is toxic like picric, an explosion waiting to happen!

Bitterness to oneself

The last form of bitterness expresses inwardly, toward self. Some people see themselves as ugly, sinful, and disgusting. They have committed crimes against God and man, and simply cannot forgive themselves.

They feel as though God could never forgive them for the things they have done. I have encountered many a person with this affliction; when asked; they often say something like; “I hope God will forgive me.” They have not yet believed that God could, or would forgive them.

For this person, God’s forgiveness is just a bridge too far. Many times this person will do works for God, hoping somehow to earn His forgiveness and love!

Bitterness of heart settles in, and in the end, without forgiveness received, the person’s eternal life is lost; a sad end indeed.

The Bible warns us about bitterness;

Hebrews 12:15

See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

Bitterness will defile many if left unchecked and if you are reading this today, and you know you have the symptoms of bitterness; then let’s get healed of this disease today!

Get free of bitterness, once and for all

To get started, we deal with bitterness toward God. The first step is to realize that we live in a fallen world; a world full of sin and destruction. Remember, bad things happen to good people, and just because we are Christians, does not exempt us from the brokenness of this broken world.

The Bible does give us hope though:

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

While there will be pain and suffering in this world, God is working in ways we may not see clearly. In the midst of great pain and suffering, ask God to lead you, hold tight to His hand.

As we encounter painful experiences in this broken world, rather than despise God, let’s ask Him if there is anything that can be discovered from this? Not that God instigated the pain, but rather, can God help me through this and help me learn something too, perhaps something to help another.

Remember the Scriptures . . .

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

Many reading this have been through tremendous pain and suffering, yet you still love God! Could one of the blessings be that there is a way for you to comfort others who may be heading into a season of suffering?

Do not become bitter toward God, He is not your enemy, He is your salvation, trust Him, fall into His arms and love Him, let your bitterness toward Him dissolve!

Secondly, let’s deal with the bitterness toward others. Remember to make your anger temporary; recall Ephesians 4:26 “. . . do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.”

Do not allow your anger to cause you to sin; make up your mind you will not do it!

Forgive and forget! Now I know this sounds simplistic, but it works. For someone reading this today, you have kept a running list of every hurt, every offense, and you have learned to nurse them; holding them dear, not realizing that the very thing you clutch to your heart is killing you and is a contagion to those around you!

First, forgive them. That means letting go of the right to retaliate! Give the outcome to God; let Him be the Judge, and the One who has the final say. In your forgiveness, be sure to get rid of all malice, give it up!

Stop wishing harm to those who harm you, stop it!

Once you have made up your mind to forgive; then forget. By forget I mean that you will never bring up the offense again.

A man was meeting with a marriage counselor and he said; “please help me, my wife is historical, she’s absolutely historical!” The doctor said; “Don’t you mean she is hysterical?” “No,” the man replied; “she is historical and is always bringing up the past.”

We will not forget the incident, and the scar may last for a lifetime, but when we forgive, we leave it alone and determine not to bring it back up.

One more thought on this; if you are in an abusive relationship and you have within your power the freedom to leave, then do so; God calls us to live in peace. I have known people who feel it is their duty to live in an abusive relationship, to suffer great pain and humiliation, only to end up bitter, resentful and lost; this is not God’s plan.

It is one thing to suffer for Christ and quite another to suffer for man; you must discern between the two, and make a decision.

Finally, let’s deal with bitterness toward oneself. To tackle this one, you need to believe God’s Word. If you do, then there is real hope, if you do not, then you will suffer a long life of bitterness and die without Christ.

Those who suffer bitterness toward themselves often wallow in self-pity. Many, who struggle in this way, have what we often refer to as a besetting sin, the one thing that always trips them up! They tend to live in a cycle of sin and self abasement.

The Bibles says something wonderful;

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Remember that God has provided everything you need for salvation, including the gift of forgiveness. If you have sinned, then confess it to God, tell Him about it! Once you do, then forgiveness comes, it’s over, and He will remember it no more.

Avoid not forgiving yourself, this makes you become as God in your life. Are you stronger, wiser and more powerful than God? I don’t think so! Let it go!

So, let’s get rid of all bitterness today! Make this the first day of a life without bitterness.

For those of you who have experienced bitterness of soul, this is not easy; it will cause tears and great pain. Bitterness has been part of your life, and living without it will be a frightful thing at first. However, to live with it, will cost you your soul, because there will not be one bitter soul in heaven and if you do not deal with it here, you don’t get to go there!

Time to cast bitterness into the sea

For some of you, you have accumulated a mountain of hurt, so much pain and suffering! You have carried it for years and years; it is time to bring it to God.

Mark 11:22-25

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

It is time to cast off the mountain of bitterness; when you, by faith, release this burden to the Lord, He will cast it away into the sea, and sweet water will begin flowing into your soul!

Nov

2018

Give it Away

Our world has a growing disparity between those who have much and those who have little. The society sees this, and cries inequality and demands justice!

The answer that quickly comes to the mind of some is the “Robin Hood” answer; take from the rich and give to the poor! We romanticize the story of Robin Hood, the outcast hero outsmarting and outwitting the snobbish, wealthy overlords, gathering their hoarded riches and giving to the poor.

Yet, this tactic of pressuring the wealthy, to give to the poor, seems unfair. Many wealthy people have earned their money legally, working smart and hard to get it. Pressuring them, even extorting them, into giving it to an oft times dishonest government to spend, seems as repulsive as Robin Hood stealing it!

As Christians who champion the teachings of Jesus, why we do we relegate the care of our neighbors to the government? Here is an idea, how about just giving your own money and wealth away, and doing it on your own accord.

To highlight the joy of giving to my congregation, I hatched an idea; we would pray and take the Sunday morning offering as usual; however, whatever amount came in, we would give it ALL AWAY the next Sunday! I talked it over with the leadership team of our church and they wholeheartedly agreed!

We received the offering that morning, and for our church, it was awesome; we took in just over $1600. So the next Sunday, we took 80 envelops with $20 in each one, making sure that everyone who came received an envelope; if you were old enough to walk, you got one!

I preached a message on giving, and the Scripture lesson was from Matthew 6:1-4

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

I challenged the folks to; secretly get the $20 bill into the hands of someone you felt could really use it. We would find out later that some folks used the money to put together a meal for a family; another bought the fixings for a steak dinner and gave it to a family. One young boy, about 8 years old, saw an elderly woman in the grocery store and he secretly slipped the $20 bill into her purse.

The stories of that day filtered in over the next few months and it was awesome!

Additionally, it really made no sense from a practical point of view, to give away the offering; our church could have really, really used it then; however God more than compensated what we gave away!

As followers of Jesus, we have the title of ambassador, and we are to represent the Kingdom of God to the residents of this broken world; why then would we willingly give that task to a broken government; let us do what God has called us to do!

Go ahead, get generous and bless a family. If you have enough money to take your family out to eat; then wait an extra couple of weeks setting aside a tip near the amount of your dinner and bless the waiter or waitress; the expression of joy far exceeds the $75 tip!

Pray and ask God to reveal the name of a family that could use a blessing; and then follow through.

An amazing blessing is to take one or two hundred dollar bills and put them in a “Thinking of You” card and write a quick line: “I wanted you to know that you have been on my heart, and I see your need, I hope this helps” ~Jesus

Oh, and remember, your time is more valuable than money, your willingness to befriend someone and walk with them through life, is a blessing that is priceless!

Remember, you are an ambassador and have the authority to use His Name!

Go for it!

Be a blessing and be blessed!

Sep

2018

Let it Shine

I have been watching with great interest, the ongoing vilification of proposed Supreme Court appointee, Brett Kavanaugh. It is breathtaking to watch, as these allegations of sexual misconduct seem to appear out of nowhere, just days before his confirmation; should his nomination derail; woe to the next one to be chosen!

I have also watched how many people; consumed with utter hatred toward the current president, Donald Trump and the party he represents, seem to have lost their minds. I have never seen such hatred and vile comments ever made toward anyone . . . ever, let alone a sitting president.

As I have pondered these things, I realize too, there is a growing hatred toward those of the Christian faith. We are mocked, ridiculed, vilified, silenced if possible, and are becoming nearly as despised as Mr. Trump!

I have concluded that all these things must come to pass, and what we witness playing out before our eyes, is simply confirmation of what Jesus said to expect.

None of this is new; it has happened before in every generation since Jesus was crucified, buried and rose again.

What we are seeing displayed is the very reason that Jesus went to the Cross in the first place, which was to make it possible for the very people who wanted to kill Him, to have life!

So I watch with curiosity, the brutal and vile hatred demonstrated daily, and I pray!

I pray for those unjustly considered guilty of crimes they never committed.

I pray for those with utter hatred and contempt for those who believe differently than they do.

I pray for opportunities to share the love of Jesus with those who will listen, and I pray for those who despise me because of that!

Finally, I believe this is the greatest time to be a Christian; as darkness settles across the land, those with the Light of the Gospel, which by the way, is the Glory of Christ, will find the light brilliantly showing the way to thousands who simply want to stop stumbling in the darkness!

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them. Isaiah 9:2

So I think I will sing the little kid’s song which is familiar to many from Sunday School . . . sing it with me!

This Little Light of Mine

This little light of mine,

I’m gonna let it shine

This little light of mine,

I’m gonna let it shine

This little light of mine,

I’m gonna let it shine

Let it shine,

Let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel? No!

I’m gonna let it shine

Hide it under a bushel? No!

I’m gonna let it shine

Hide it under a bushel? No!

I’m gonna let it shine

Let it shine,

Let it shine.

This little light of mine,

I’m gonna let it shine

This little light of mine,

I’m gonna let it shine

This little light of mine,

I’m gonna let it shine

Let it shine,

Let it shine.

Don’t let Satan blow it out,

I’m gonna let it shine

Don’t let Satan blow it out,

I’m gonna let it shine

Don’t let Satan blow it out,

I’m gonna let it shine

Let it shine,

Let it shine.

This little light of mine,

I’m gonna let it shine

This little light of mine,

I’m gonna let it shine

This little light of mine,

I’m gonna let it shine

Let it shine,

Let it shine.

Sep

2018

Old Man at the Grave

I started a new job driving a tractor-trailer in the spring of 2017. It was a daily route, taking me from my depot in Dubois, down through Philipsburg, then down over Bald Eagle Mountain to Tyrone, where I hang a left and on to Huntington and then to my pick up destination at Mapleton Depot.

When I stop at Mapleton Depot, I am loaded with about 53,000 pounds of silica sand, used in the production of glass. The truck is loaded, and I head back to Tyrone, back up Bald Eagle Mountain, through Philipsburg again, and then hit I-80 at Woodland. I take the Penfield exit, and travel to Port Allegany to make my delivery to the Ardagh Group glass factory there; after unloading, I head back to the Dubois depot and park my truck for the day; round trip, about 320 miles each day. It is a pleasant, scenic drive.

I drive past a cemetery just outside of Philipsburg every day; once on my way down to get my truck loaded, and then again on my way back through. I noticed a freshly dug grave spot as I drove by, causing me to whisper a prayer for the family that was recently grieving.

A little later in the week, as I drove by, I noticed an elderly man sitting near the grave. He had a walker, one you could sit on from time to time if need be.

The man had white hair, and a matching white beard, all neatly trimmed. He sat with his hands folded, looking attentively at the freshly dug grave. My heart ached as I sped by, and I prayed for the man as I drove down over the hill on my way to Mapleton.

I loaded my truck at Mapleton and headed to my destination, and as I crested the hill that cradled the cemetery, I could see the old man, still sitting there as a sentinel at the grave; nearly 2 hours had gone by!

As the summer drifted by, I would see the old man at the grave, two or three times each week. When I saw the old man, I would often whisper a prayer, and think about the person he loved so much. I would also think of people in my own life; people that I loved dearly. I began to appreciate the blessings of cherished loved ones, and I found myself praying for some of those who I had taken for granted.

The summer ended and fall approached, the beautiful leaves exploding in color, then dropping lifeless; taking their beauty with them as they fell to the ground, blown around by the fall winds; until they found their final resting place; returning to the ground from where they came.

Even as the cool fall breezes began to blow, the old man remained at his post. Whenever the weather would permit, I would see his white crop of hair as I crested the hill to the cemetery.

Autumn gave way to winter and the old man no longer came to sit at the cold, frosted grave. Yet, as I drove by daily, I remembered his faithful watch, his unwavering devotion to whoever rested there.

Winter passed and the spring rains began to melt the snow and I wondered if the old man made it through the winter. As I drove past each day, I thought of him.

On one particularly warm spring afternoon, as I made my way back across the mountains, I spied the familiar crop of white hair as I crested the hill; there he was, perched once again at his watchful post.

I felt a sense of joy and sorrow, mixed together. I was glad to see the old man; like a long lost friend, a sense of joy sprang to my heart; then sorrow for him, as he continued to grieve for the one so dear to his heart!

I decided I needed to know more about this man. I wanted to find out who it was he sat by, and how they met; I wanted to know his story. The cemetery had no place to pull over an 18-wheeler, so I made several trips to the area in my car, hoping to catch him as his post. Each time I stopped by, he was not there.

On one occasion to the cemetery, I stopped in my car and gently walked to the grave and looked at the name; then I searched for the obituary and found out that this was certainly the old man’s wife, Grace, and his name was Joe!

I went home, doing a little more research, and found out where Joe was living; it was a large apartment complex with many residents.

I was preparing for an annual personal retreat; a time for me to go out into the woods, to pray and seek God for direction; something I try to do each year. I took a Friday off work so I could have an extended weekend and as I made plans, it was clear the Lord was prompting me to go and see Joe.

I drove to the apartment complex where Joe was living, and as I pulled into the parking lot, I could see the familiar golden colored Chrysler Concord he drove to the cemetery; I knew I was in the right spot, and he was in there somewhere!

The apartment complex required a code to gain access, something I did not have, but as I approached the door, a man simply let me in! I made my way to the elevator and headed to the apartment where Joe lived. I stood outside his door, and then I started having second thoughts! Would he let me in, would I frighten him, and would I be in trouble for “sneaking” in?

I went back down to the first floor and went to the office. I told the attendant that I was looking for a man named Joe. I had told her that I was a truck driver and had seen him sitting by a grave for over a year and I wanted to talk to the man; possibly writing a story. She told me that he was in the social room playing bingo and to follow her, she would show me where he was.

We walked into the room and there he was; I recognized the familiar white hair and neatly trimmed white beard. He was engrossed in a lively game of Bingo with a couple dozen elderly folks. The office attendant went over to him and told him that I was there to see him.

He looked furtively at me across the room and nodded, I nodded back, and then I took a seat to wait for the bingo game to conclude. I waited, and waited and waited some more. The Bingo marathon had just begun when I entered the room. Finally, after 45 minutes of Bingo, the games concluded; Joe called out Bingo three times!

As the room cleared, Joe began to make his way out and I carefully met him in the center of the room. I asked him if I could have a few words with him and he agreed; we headed to a comfortable corner and sat down together.

I told Joe who I was, that I was a trucker that saw him at the cemetery often, and that I admired his faithful devotion to whom, I now knew was his wife. I asked him if he could tell me their story.

He looked at me and said that he was a trucker too, many years ago! The fact we had something in common gave Joe the freedom to share openly.

Joe was born in 1938, now 80 years old, his wife Gracie was three years older than he was. Joe said he knew Gracie from high school. He recalled a school dance where he approached Gracie to dance with him; she was a senior and he was a sophomore.

He said he got the courage to ask her to dance; he said she looked at me and said; “I don’t take seconds.” He said she crushed him! “Boy did she put me down right there, which really hurt me bad!”

As I recall, Joe said that after school he joined the Navy and spend 4 years there. After serving in the Navy, Joe came back home, and began working as a truck driver. I believe he said that his father got a hold of an old Mack truck that had two long gear shift levers, and his father could not shift them right. Joe said at 14 years old he would sit in the passenger seat and shift the truck for dad; learning how to drive a big truck early on.

Not long after he returned from the Navy, he said he went to a local nightclub and a dance going on, and Gracie was there. He said he got a little courage and asked Gracie for a dance, she smiled and said she would dance with him this time.

He said; “we danced a few songs and really hit it off, then they played a slow dance and Gracie said she did not know how to slow dance.” Joe said he looked at her and said; “Just follow my lead.” Joe said they danced the night away and began dating after that.

It did not take long for the two to fall in love; but problems brewing. Gracie had two brothers who did not care for Joe at all; actually, they despised him for some reason. Joe recalled a night when he got in a serious tussle with the two young men.

He was in a tavern after work one night and the two brothers began mocking Joe and calling him some rather ugly names. Joe said he was not going to put with that and called them out on it. He said the next thing you knew a fight broke out, Joe said; “I got in some pretty good licks, but those two boys put a serious hurtin’ on me.”

It was a few days later, after this scuffle, Joe went to Gracie’s house to see her, and Gracie’s father answered the door. Joe said Gracie’s father grabbed him by the neck, nearly lifting him off the ground! He told Joe; “If you ever come around her again, so help me I will put you in the ground.”Joe decided that he probably would never see Gracie again, and made up his mind that he would not go back to her house.

Joe said later that night, around 2:00 in the morning, he felt someone shaking him awake.

He said; “I woke up wondering what was going on and who was in my room trying to wake me up, I reached over and turned on the light to see Gracie, tears streaming down her face.” He said; “I asked her what she was doing there” and she said; “I can’t live in that house with my father anymore, and I am never ever going back.”

Gracie would begin staying with some girl friends while she figured out what to do next. If I recall Joe correctly, this turmoil was taking place in the winter and very near Christmas. Joe recalled Gracie stopping by Christmas Eve, close to midnight, and she asked Joe if he would go with her to a church that was having a midnight service; Joe said I looked at her, and said; “sure, I will go with you” . . . how could I say no!

Not long after those tumultuous days, Gracie and Joe would set their minds to get married, and on June 21, 1962, they tied the knot and began life together. They would have two sons, both of whom Joe is very proud of.

Joe and Gracie had a wonderful life together and Joe recalled the depth of Gracie’s love for him by sharing this following story with me.

One of his best friends was married to a girl from Osceola Mills. Joe’s friend found out his wife was cheating on him and he was heartbroken. Joe talked with his best friend, trying to help him through the pain.

Joe told me that one night his friend jumped in a work van and drove down the hill to Osceola as fast as he could, purposely driving the van into a large tree, taking his own life; this shocked Joe to the core!

Joe, a truck driver, started a trip to Chicago a few weeks after his close friend died, and as he began the drive, he said grief and anxiety overwhelmed him, and he pulled the truck over at a truck stop.

He called Gracie and told her that he was feeling emotional and did not think he could make the trip and he asked Gracie if she would ride along. Gracie said she would love to.

Joe said Gracie drove to the truck stop in her car and jumped in the cold truck with Joe and rode all the way to Chicago, then back to Aurora NY for the return trip. Joe looked at me with tears glistening in his eyes and said; “I sure love that girl, I never could have made that trip without her.”

Gracie died on Friday, April 7, 2017 at her home; they would have been married 55 years that June. Joe said that the last 6 years of Gracie’s life, she developed dementia, and he took care of her until her passing.

Joe told me that he goes out to the cemetery to sit, where he says he prays for friends and family; it is peaceful there. He told me that not only is Gracie in that cemetery, but many relatives and friends are there too. Joe said that when I sit there, I feel surrounded by people I loved and it makes me feel better.

I told Joe that if I see him out by Gracie’s site, I will give a toot; and he said that would be OK.

I told Joe; “you know, in a world where abandoned marriages are normal, and relationships are increasingly hard to keep, it is refreshing to know that there is true love; the kind that endures through the ages; you and Gracie represent that kind of love to me. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with me”

I told Joe that I estimate that on any given day, while he sits there next to Gracie for those two hours, nearly a thousand people whiz by that busy highway; many of them thinking and wondering about the depth of love that old white haired man must have, and feeling a sense of tenderness toward their own loved ones.

Thank you Joe for your silent testimony, it means more than you will ever know!

I will keep watching that hill on my daily run, looking for that familiar crop of white hair, sitting beside the love of his life; now I know his story, and I am sure I only touched the surface. Joe said I could stop by anytime, and I think I might; perhaps I may even play a round of Bingo!

Mark 10:2-9

Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

“What did Moses command you?” he replied.

They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

“It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’

‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Aug

2018

A Stroll in the Woods – Lesson 3 – Smorgasbord

One of the things I found a little unnerving on my recent hike to the Red Moshannon Viaduct, was the dense terrain that I had to walk through. The area was new to me, as I had never been there before. On my way back to my car, I got somewhat turned around, or uh, you might say, I was taking the scenic route . . . Oh, I’ll just tell the truth, I WAS LOST! There . . . I said it!

As I was walking through this dense, sopping wet forest, I noticed many blackberries, huckleberries, and then I began to see large rotten trees and tree stumps torn apart, then it dawned on me, there were bears rummaging through this area, and I was walking through their kitchen!

I started to feel uneasy. The rain was pouring down; the ground was silent to my steps, and I anticipated coming face to face with a black bear at any moment; possibly surprising the bear, and hoping it was not with a set of cubs, making the encounter even more dangerous.

So I proceeded with an increased level of scrutiny as I took each step, looking this way and that, being very careful as I picked my through.

It reminded me of an old passage in the Bible; the passage in Genesis, shortly before Cain killed his brother Abel. Both had brought offerings to God, Abel’s offering was acceptable to the Lord, but God was not pleased with the offering Cain brought.

Cain got angry and jealous of his brother and began to think ugly thoughts; God spoke to Cain and said; “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6-7)

We live in a world where “sin is crouching” at every turn, looking to ensnare anyone who falls into the temptation trap! Satan cannot make you sin, but he is very good at setting a tempting table; a smorgasbord for you; and as you pass by, he whispers in your ear . . . “Oh there must be something on this table for you, try a little something, so tasty!”

The Apostle Peter described the devil as a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. We need to be careful as we negotiate the crazy world we find ourselves immersed in, the dangers out there are far worse than encountering an angry bear!

To coin a phrase used by an old friend, Phil Burkhouse, author of a weekly outdoor column, Wandering Aimlessly; “You be careful out there.”

Aug

2018

A Stroll in the Woods – Lesson 2 – Stuck in Mid-Air

As I was walking through the woods on my way to the Red Moshannon Viaduct, I came across a rather odd-looking site; a leaf stuck in mid-air! I took a picture of the leaf, as it dangled in the air, four feet off the ground.

As I studied the optical anomaly, looking for the solution to the magical dangling leaf, I saw it, a single silky strand, barely visible to the naked eye!

The leaf, released from its lofty perch, sent on a mission to add to the beautiful tapestry of the forest floor. While en-route to the desired destination, a single thread captured it in mid-air, effectively ending the desired journey and the hopeful outcome.

A single spider thread is only about 10 microns thick, that is four ten thousandths of an inch! Yet, as small as that single thread is, it has great strength; a single spider strand is 5 times as strong as a strand of steel the same diameter!

As I stood there pondering this amazing sight, I realized that it only takes a little “sin” to stop a person’s spiritual journey with Jesus. Just as the little leaf stopped in mid-air, so too does the Christian’s journey suspend in time, until the minute thread, cut loose.

Only when we call out to Jesus, declaring we have made an error in judgment, does He stop and cut us loose. It is the confession of the deed, which sets us free. If we choose to ignore the issue at hand, we will remain stranded and more silky thread will be applied, and the bonds grow tighter and tighter, choking the very life out of us!

When walking through dangerous places with Jesus; it is best to keep your eyes on Him; you will be less likely to be enticed off the trail. The Good News; if you do fail, call out quickly to Him, even if you feel embarrassed, or ashamed, tell Him what you did, and how sorry you are. He will come quickly and free you from the snare.

1 John 1:9

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Aug

2018

A Stroll in The Woods – Lesson 1

Annually I like to take a weekend and spend it in solitude, deep in the mountains of Pennsylvania. I do this to reflect on God’s Word, to clear my mind and heart, seeking God’s direction for the year ahead.

This year, I chose to hang my hammock and pitch my tent, on a secluded spot on Sandy Ridge, Pa. It was a gorgeous spot overlooking the scenic valley below, surrounded by forest.

I decided to take a day to hike into an area I had always wanted to see, the Red Moshannon Viaduct. My grandfather used to pick cranberries there.

Reuben & Helen Pifer with 119 quarts of Cranberries

My devotional for the morning, prior to my hike, was one of my favorite passages in the Bible, Matthew chapter 5, 6 and 7; we often refer to this section as the “Sermon on the Mount.”

This part of the Bible contains the “Nuts & Bolts” of Christianity. Jesus really laid it out here; I recommend that you read it . . . all three chapters, and then read it again, a little slower, savoring all the nuggets along way; then read it one more time for good measure. I guarantee you will want to go back to this passage, repeatedly, I know I do!

In chapter 7, verses 13 and 14, Jesus says this: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

As I headed down over the side of the mountain to reach the Moshannon Viaduct, I found myself paralleling Interstate 80. As I headed down over the bank, I was about 100 yards from that massive highway; the cars and truck roaring by; careening to destinations unknown to me.

I was picking my way through the soggy, dense forest, now on a deer path traversing a 50-degree slope, pushing through thick, wet mountain laurel, stinging twigs slapping my face, brushing off mosquitoes, slipping from time to time! Only 100 yards away was a smooth, flat, easy highway; people whizzing effortlessly past me.

I sat down to rest, and then I realized that this must be what Jesus was talking to me about earlier. Getting on the interstate is easy, and once you get on it, it’s pedal to the metal and off you go!

So many today are flying through life, roaring to new jobs, bigger homes, adding relentlessly to a retirement fund, breathlessly chasing dreams, running fast and hard; all the while unaware at the end of this broad highway, according to Jesus, there is nothing but eternal destruction.

The other option is not so much a road, but a path; this road has a Gatekeeper, and His Name is Jesus; there is no other entrance-way; you MUST go through Him. Once you meet Him, He takes you on a journey. Jesus leads the way, looking back and with a grin stretching from ear to ear, He says; “Come, Follow Me.”

The way is often precarious, the twists and turns can be both frightening and exhilarating. There is danger, mysterious intrigue, and profound wonder, as you follow the Son of God. The narrow road is full of sights and sounds that those, only 100 yards away, never see.

The destination of this road less traveled is life . . . life never ending; it does not end in destruction, but continues; on and on, it is eternal, forever and ever!

If I have wet your whistle and you want to enter this narrow way, then consider Jesus. If drawn to the gatekeeper, and by ANY means, run to Him, and get in on this journey.

I can’t wait to see what’s around the next bend . . . Hey Jesus, wait up . . . I’m coming!

Aug

2018

Hornets’ Nest

I recall one hot summer afternoon when I was about 8 years old my dad, mom and me, went looking for some chokecherries so mom could make some chokecherry jam!

There were a few chokecherry trees not far from our property, so we took a couple of small buckets and off we went. We found a tree loaded with them, but the first few branches were high of the ground, so dad hoisted me up, then handed me the bucket, and I scurried up into the tree.

I was carefully plucking chokecherries, when suddenly; I felt a sting on the back of my neck, then another, and another! In a matter of seconds, I felt stung repeatedly!

I dropped the bucket and started yelling to dad as I made my descent as quickly as possible. When I got to the last branch, I jumped into dads arms and we ran away as fast as we could!

When we got home, mom attended to my stinging wounds; stung about a dozen times or more.

A hornets’ nest, tucked in the tree; unnoticed by us, and disturbed by my presence, the hornets attacked me!

Watch out for Hornets in the wild

I am so glad that my parents rushed me home and took care of my stinging wounds, applying pain-relieving ointments and cold cloths to the afflicted areas. I am sure the temptation was for my dad to knock down that hornet nest and make them “pay” for what they did to me.

The fact is, we have hornets in the wild, and when we get too close to their nests, they react. It is best to be a little more careful when investigating the great wilderness surrounding us, and when we locate a hornets’ nest, give it a wide berth.

It is an entirely different situation when the hornets decide to build near our home; we simply cannot permit it, so we take measures to ensure that does not happen. When we spy those aerial stinging insects, attempting to build a nest on our house, we knock it down and destroy it swiftly.

Furthermore, we remain diligent, keeping close watch, inspecting our homes and properties often, making sure they are safe from these stinging critters.

We are born with a fatal sting

While remembering this almost forgotten event from my childhood, it dawned on me, that we could make an important spiritual application from this story.

We know that, spiritually speaking, we are all born with a sting in our soul, a spiritually fatal sting; we know only one cure for this lethal condition, and that would be Jesus.

Jesus went to the Cross embracing every sting of every person; you could say on the Cross-, He was swarmed. The fierce stings of sin penetrated His flesh, burning deep.

Even after He had given up His Spirit to the Father, one last “sting” for good measure given, as they pierced His side! It was finished!

Of course, we know that the Father raised Jesus up; Praise God for that! The Bible now declares . . .

1 Corinthians 15:55-57

“Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

For those who have come to Christ Jesus, the “sting” of death, now erased, and all our “stings” forgiven; this is great news!

On a mission to remove the sting of death

Now, as followers of Jesus, we are on a mission to show people everywhere, how to get that “sting” of death out, and replaced with the River of Life!

Early in my Christian journey, as I wandered through our community, I noticed all these “hornet” nests established throughout our town; cults, bars, secret societies, and the like. I recall standing in front of these establishments praying against them, invoking the power of God to come and destroy these places of iniquity.

Almost every time I did this, I would feel swarmed by “demonic hornets” throughout the following week; some spiritual attacks were quite vicious and painful; I got the feeling the devil was out for blood!

I began to wonder what I was doing wrong, so I began to examine Jesus’ life and His tactics; and my eyes opened.

During the time of Jesus’ ministry, certainly one HUGE hornet nest, was the Roman Empire. The folks following Jesus, wanted Him to eradicate that nest; to tear it down and bring freedom, political freedom from the oppression everyone felt from that ungodly regime!

Jesus did not go to Rome, standing there praying against it; rather He went to people, offering to remove the “sting” of death from their heart. He knew advancing His Kingdom would happen, one heart at a time!

He focused on His mission; Isaiah 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

His mission has become our mission; we would do well to follow it!

Do not permit hornets to build in your house

Jesus did not go to the “hornet nests” in the wild; rather He left them alone. However, He would NOT tolerate the building of “hornet nests” in His household; He tore them down quickly, and so should we!

It is one thing to encounter a hornets’ nest in the wild, and another thing to discover one in your house. The ones we find in the wild, we avoid, and give wide berth to; the ones we find in our home, we quickly exterminate, so it is in the Kingdom of Christ!

When Jesus encountered the money-changers, Pharisees, and false teachers of the Law, doing business in His Father’s house, He let them have it, and called them out; even driving them out with a whip!

In light of these truths, I have decided to change my tactics a bit; rather than looking for spiritual hornet nests in the wild, and standing there shouting at them. I have decided to concentrate on identifying hornet nests inside the church (His Body) exposing and knocking them down!

I intend to be intentionally helping persons remove the sting of death in their soul; then warning them to stay away from known hornets nests in the wild.

Now, don’t get me wrong here, if the Holy Spirit directs me to stand in front of a hornet nest and shout at it; I will do so without hesitation, fully expecting that the nest will fall, just like the walls of Jericho fell when the Israelite army shouted at it!

Meanwhile . . . there are stings to remove, soothing salve to apply, a Kingdom to advance . . . one soul at a time!

Get your gear, let’s get at it!

Jul

2018

Lights Out

It was early in my pastoral career; I was serving two small community churches about 16 miles apart. I received a call from a woman at one of the churches. The woman told me that a friend of a friend, heard of a family in the community, whose mother was in critical condition at a local hospital; and would I go see her.

New to ministry, and wanting to be a good pastor, I said that I would go. I put on my pastor suit, grabbed my Bible and headed to the hospital. I was ill prepared for what I was about to encounter.

When I arrived to the hospital, I asked for the room number of the ailing mother. I approached the room with a great deal of anxiety; not knowing what to expect.

The door was open, so I gently entered the room, standing in the doorway. I saw about 8 people in the room, and an elderly woman in the hospital bed. She was on life support; a respirator was helping her breathe; I could tell she was not long for this world.

When the family in the room turned to see who I was, they recognized I was a preacher; two of the teenage granddaughters, burst into tears and ran out of the room past me. The rest of the family just looked at me, not saying a word.

I began to stammer a bit, as I struggled for something to say. I told them that a friend of a friend of theirs had mentioned to a friend of mine, the situation regarding their mother and I thought I should come . . . awkward silence ensued!

As I stood there, in that tongue-tied, odd moment of indecision, the Lord took action; the power went out to the entire hospital! The room went dark for about 30 seconds; which seemed like an eternity.

The magnetic doors to all the rooms slammed shut; the poor woman on the ventilator began to choke and gasp for air, alarms were going off and the family in the room began to panic!

The whole power outage was short lived, but it created quite a stir; the nurses came bursting into the room, caring for the elderly woman; resetting the alarms and making sure she stabilized.

When the pandemonium calmed down; I whispered, “Lord, You don’t ever have to do that again . . . I know what I need to do and why I am here.”

I went to the bedside of the woman and I took her hand. I could not tell if she could hear me or not; she never once opened her eyes. I told her that I was a pastor who came to pray for her. I began to tell her how much Jesus loved her, and that she needed to trust in Him right now.

I shared a little more about Jesus, and then I asked if she was trusting in Jesus right now; at that instant, she gripped my hand hard, an indication to me that she heard everything I was saying, and that she was indeed trusting in Him.

I told her that if Jesus comes to her soon, that it is all right to go to Him. I said a prayer for her, and then quietly left the room.

The next afternoon, Jesus came to receive her and she went quietly with Him.

The family, none of whom attended any church, called me to see if I would do the funeral for their mom, since I knew her. I graciously accepted the request with honor. I began the funeral service by telling the very same story, I just told you!

God helps us in our walk with Him, going to extraordinary steps, to getting our attention. He got mine that day, and reminded me that I am on a mission to let people know, sick or not, that He is near, He loves them, and wants them to follow Him . . . It is that simple!

Isaiah 61:1-3

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me

To preach good tidings to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,

And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,

To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

Apr

2018

Set Sail

Following Jesus and serving Him, is not for the faint-hearted. You will find it a costly endeavor; but one full of great rewards, both in this life, and certainly in the one to come.

God is not safe . . . but He is Good!

To know the depths of His riches and grace, one must surrender to His Lordship.

Remember, a ship in the harbor is safe there . . . but that is not what ships are built for!

Be un-tethered and set sail into the deep waters; the Lord will fill your sail and the adventure of a lifetime gets underway! Hang on; this is going to be Good!

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Apr

2018

Are You Listening To ME?

There is nothing quite as annoying as sharing a life-experience story; you are verbally setting up the ending, the punch line, the grand finale, hopeful to relish in the reaction from the group, only to have a zealous over-talker jump in before you even finish your thought!

Has this ever happened to you? How did that make you feel? If you are like me, it totally turned you off; it invalidated your spoken engagement with the group. Your story just got cut off and you had the same feeling you get when you are in traffic, and some rude driver cuts you off.

I have to admit, I used to be one of those rude conversation usurpers! To be honest, I still need to guard my tongue, or I easily revert to those verbal assault tactics.

God had to do a great deal of work in me in order for me to see this glaring fault in myself; others saw it, but were kind enough to put up with it, allowing me to interrupt, cutting front of other oral traffic.

I have often pondered why I felt the need to “jump in” to a conversation before letting the person finish. God revealed the answer; I was full of myself and wanted to be important, I was self-absorbed! Ouch!

Once God began to reveal to me how disrupting this was, I found that my listening skills began to improve, and I began to notice how often this “verbal road rage” was taking place.

To illustrate this phenomenon, consider a small group of men chatting about their hunting exploits. Invariably, one man will begin sharing his best hunting story, the other men are already thinking of their own legend, one that will outdo the current narrative.

Just like the driver who is rushing home after work is looking for that minuscule opening to dart in front, so does the verbal jouster look for his opening, a breath, a pause in a sentence; then wham, they jump in and full throttle ahead!

When this takes place, it reveals the selfishness of that person and the inherent need of an ego boost. It is rare that someone actually learns how to listen more than talk.

The one, who can master their tongue, will gain the confidence and respect they never could have, by jumping in, and jumping on, other conversations.

The Bible says . . . “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak …” (James 1:19)

Now those are words to live by. Someone once said; “God gave us two ears and one mouth, so we ought to listen twice as much as we talk.”

Are you listening?

Apr

2018

Take His Hand

I have learned that when it comes right down to it, most people when pressed, will admit they believe in God. I think that is a good thing, but simply believing is not enough, there needs to be a bit more.

One needs to believe enough to follow; in fact, that was the very challenge Jesus gave to those He encountered along the way; He said, “Come, follow Me . . .” and many did!

Do you believe enough to follow? Following Jesus may require leaving some things behind, and that may be just what you need! His invitation still stands . . . “Come, Follow Me . . .”

Put your hand in the hand of the Man from Galilee!

Apr

2018

Jesus + Humility = Friend of Sinners

1 Peter 5:5-7

In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” ⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

There may be no other word used in the Bible that congers up more confusion and misunderstanding than the word holiness. The Bible declares that holiness is a very important component to the Christian faith; so important that without it . . . we are in big trouble!

Hebrews 12:14

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord.

In light of this, it is important to understand what this means, since so much depends on this! The word used for “holiness” is this:

Hagiasmos hag-ee-as-mos’

“Purification, a state of purity; to be consecrated, sanctification”

When the Hebrews established a system of sacrificing to God, they eventually built a large temple in Jerusalem. All of the temple equipment went through a ritual of cleansing and was consecrated to God; being made holy.

The best concise definition of holiness; set apart for God, for His purposes only. When we come to faith in Christ, we become holy, by His blood, which He shed for us!

Holiness is a product of Grace; none of us did anything to become holy. In and of ourselves there is nothing holy about us; but by faith and through grace, we came to Christ . . . and He made us holy!

Therefore, it makes sense that if we would experience more holiness in our lives, we need more grace. The road to experiencing more grace in your life is learning the way of humility.

Jesus said . . . “Learn from me; for I am humble and lowly in heart;“Jesus was a humble man. Remember the opening Scripture; “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” We need more grace! So today, we will explore what it means to be humble.

To begin, we must remind ourselves that Jesus did not come to condemn sinners.

John 3:17-18

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

It is interesting to note that Jesus never condemned sinners; He did however denounce and deplore hypocrites!

“A hypocrite is a person who excuses his own sin, while condemning the sins of others.”

The hypocrite does not see his own hypocrisy, because he cannot see, or refuses to see, the flaws in himself. One who cannot see the flaws in themselves rarely, if ever, seek mercy.

Since he does not seek mercy, he has no mercy to give! Moreover, since he is always under God’s judgment, he passes judgment on others.

As a person draws near to God, they become acutely aware of the sins in their own heart. The Holy Spirit is not revealing these sins in order to condemn them, but rather to establish humility and to deepen their knowledge of their own need for more grace.

It is at this critical point that people either humbles themselves before God, or become hypocritical.

Those who choose to follow God will humble themselves and ask God for grace to deliver them from the sin that has entangled them. For those who will try to excuse their sin, the deserving title is hypocrite.

Jesus used a parable to highlight this very issue.

Luke 18:9-14

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Holiness is not about obeying a set of rules and regulations; that only breeds more hypocrisy. Holiness is about getting rid of pride, which enables us to come to terms with the true condition of our heart.

If we cannot see the depravity of our own sinful nature, we could become “Christian Pharisees” hypocrites full of contempt and self-righteousness.

Whenever we judge another, too often, we do it with a sense of self-righteousness. Whenever we criticize like this, we do it with contempt as the motivation.

Too often, when you get a group of people together, like those mentioned in Jesus’ parable, those who are confident in their own perceived righteousness, they look others with a sense of superiority.

The idea in their heart is that they are somehow a little more holy than the next one . . . this is in fact the very opposite of holiness, because they lack humility!

The holiness we seek must go beyond the living of proud lives, occasionally interrupted by brief moments of self-abasement; we need to allow meekness and humility to become a way of life; we must make a choice to walk in humility.

The hypocrite loves to judge, it makes them feel superior, and too many Christians fall into this category. Remember, Jesus came into this world not to condemn, but to save. Anyone can pass judgment, but who will promote salvation?

Will the critical one lay down their life?
Will they love the one they are condemning?
Can a critical person spend time fasting and praying for the perceived weaknesses in others?

That is what Jesus would do!

One act of Jesus’ love operating through us, would do more to warm a cold heart than all of our wonderful criticisms. So grow in love, give mercy, be humble in heart, and you will be sure to grow in holiness!

Examine your own heart . . .

Do you insist on finding fault in others?

Do you consider yourself to be spiritually superior?

Jesus’ standard of judgment is very high; remember Jesus said; “he who is without sin, cast the first stone.”

We need to speak out about sin, but our motivation needs to be one of love, with redemptive purposes in mind, not showing others our superficial spiritual superiority!

In the kingdom of God, unless you are first committed to die for people, you are not permitted to judge them.

Mar

2018

The Silhouette Man – A Soggy New England Story

Annually our family would take a vacation from North Central Pennsylvania to Bangor Maine, where my mother had grown up. Our journey usually took place in the sweltering heat of August; just a few weeks before school started. Anticipation would build all summer long as we neared the day of departure.

The trip would take place in the old Chevy station wagon; loaded to the brim with camping supplies, snacks of all kinds, and luggage strapped precariously to the roof. Mom and dad, along with me and four sisters all packed in and ready to roll!

We would begin our yearly adventure by heading east, out across Pennsylvania; turning northward up through Schenectady, New York, and then veering eastward again, stopping in New Hampshire for the night.

Pulling into the campground, we would unpack the tent, dad making sure it was all up and secure. Once the tent was up, dad would get the fire going and mom would start getting the food ready; normally hot dogs and burgers, some beans and of course, marshmallows for dessert!

Up early, we would be off to Bangor, where we would spend a week with family; often taking a trip to Bar Harbor to see the ocean; it was a highlight of the trip. The sights and smells of the Atlantic Ocean would overload our senses.

I remember the deep throaty blast of the tugboat blowing, as it pushed big ships into the docks. The smell of the salty sea air and the crashing of waves against the craggy shoreline brought fanciful memories of stories I had read as a young child; Moby Dick, Robinson Caruso, and of course Pirate stories!

I was always fascinated by the ocean and found myself drawn to it. I recall gathering stones, seashells, even seaweed to take home, making the car smell awful; mom drew the line with my seaweed; it had to stay behind!

After a week visiting relatives, our journey home would begin. We would go home a different route, maximizing our ability to experience new sights and sounds; often visiting a lighthouse or two, as we traveled down the coast of Maine.

One particular trip home, we stayed at a small campground near the coast; Salty Acres Campgrounds, near a place called Goose Rocks Beach.

We arrived in the late afternoon, and by the time we got the tent set up, it was nearing 6:30 in the evening. I could hear the waves crashing nearby, and wanted desperately to go and see them before we went to bed. I was 14 years old at the time and felt sure I could get to the beach and back before dark.

Mom and dad reluctantly allowed me to walk around the campground to see if I could get a look at the beckoning ocean. They warned me not to be too late; I agreed, confident that I would find the beach, gather some shells and be right back; things did not go according to plan!

As I headed toward the sound of the crashing waves, I came to a forested area; undaunted, I began to look for a way through the forest; I was sure the ocean was very close. The sun was beginning to set, long shadows from the taller trees began to soften the lighting, and I knew I needed to hurry.

I saw a small trail heading into the woods; I was certain that this was the way in, so I began to hurry down the path. I took a small turn, about 50 feet into the woods and paused to look around.

As I looked to the right, something caught my eye; standing about 10 feet from me, was an old man. He reminded me of the dark silhouette man you might see standing by a tree as a decoration in someone’s yard, only this silhouette, was a real man.

He was a thin man of slight build with white hair flowing down from under the Scottish hat he wore on his head. He was smoking a curly pipe, the kind that the great detective Sherlock Holmes used to smoke. He was leaning against a tree. When I saw him, I nearly jumped out of my skin!

I stopped, my heart beating a mile a minute; he took the pipe out of his mouth and began to speak to me with a pronounced New England drawl, he said;

“Wouldn’t be going out there if I was you. Tide does be coming in soon, and fog with it; nope, I wouldn’t be going out there if I were you.”

He put the pipe back in his mouth and clicked the stem with his teeth.

I heard those words, but I was still tingling from the scare he gave me, and I said quickly; “Oh, I won’t be long” then I went quickly into the woods.

As I sped down the path, still shaking from the encounter with the old man, I quickly lost track of the twists and turns I had made. I did not notice the other trails crossing the one I was on either.

I stopped and listened for the sound of the waves and they seemed to be very close. However, the sun was now down low, and I knew it would be dark within a half hour, so I needed to get back, but I was lost!

I walked quickly in the direction I thought would take me out, but the woods got thicker and thicker. I went in another direction; more trees, and now, it was getting darker; I began to panic.

Finally, I saw what looked like field through the trees and I headed toward it. As I broke out of the trees, the field I saw was actually a salty marsh. It was about a quarter mile across; I could see a highway and a small store of some kind on the other side.

It was getting darker and becoming hard to see where I was going, but I decided my best bet, was to go across the marsh, so I started across. As I headed out into the marsh, I quickly realized that the whole swamp was full of channels of seawater. The channels were not very wide so I jumped over the first few.

After about 15 minutes, I was nearly halfway across. As I looked at the little channels, I realized the water was beginning to swirl and the channels started looking deeper and wider; then the words of the old man came rushing to my mind!

“Wouldn’t be going out there if I was you. Tide does be coming in soon, and fog with it; nope, I wouldn’t be going out there if I were you.”

The tide was coming in quickly, so I got a run for it and tried to leap across one of the channels, but it was too wide. I landed about 2 feet from the other side and went in over my head; the water was deeper than I thought and the bottom that I hit, felt like bottomless mud.

I panicked, I came up out of the channel like a wild-man, clawing and scraping to get out, then I just started running, jumping and splashing my way across the swampy marsh, until I reached the other side. I must have looked like a swamp creature coming out of there.

I recognized the little store and realized the campground was not far away and I started walking toward it. I saw a car coming down the road; it was my mom and dad, worried and looking for me.

They stopped and asked what happened, and I pointed to the marsh and told them of my harrowing ordeal. Dad just shook his head and told me to walk to the campground; I was too messy to get in the car.

When I got the campground, I took a long hot shower. I came over and sat by the fire; still shivering, not because I was cold, but because I was still somewhat traumatized by the whole ordeal.

Had I only listened to the wise old man at the edge of the woods, I would have avoided the whole thing!

I still love the ocean, and whenever I get a chance to spend time there, I cherish every moment. One thing I have never quite gotten over is a certain “feeling” I get whenever I see one of those silhouette men in somebody’s yard.

When I see one, especially in the waning hours of the day, I get a little flutter in my heart and I remember the old man at the edge of the woods.

As I remember this story of my youth, I can recall many times, words of wisdom came to me, and I refused them. The Bible give amazing direction regarding wisdom; one of my favorites from the Book of Proverbs ring loud and clear . . .

Proverbs 2:1-9

My son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you,

²So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;

³Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,

⁴If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;

⁵Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.

⁶For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;

⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

⁸He guards the paths of justice,
And preserves the way of His saints.

⁹Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
Equity and every good path.

Oh that I wish I would have heeded the words of the Silhouette Man on that summer evening on the coast of Maine. I would have avoided the traumatic experience altogether!

Heed the words of wisdom given to you; even those words of wisdom coming to you by surprising people you encounter on your journey of life. Ponder those words, consider their value and avoid discarding them.

If you choose to rebuff those words of wisdom given to you, do not be surprised if you find yourself looking like a swamp monster some evening, walking aimlessly though life, smelling like seaweed!

By all means, go see the ocean, explore the world, be daring and adventurous; but do so with all the wisdom you can gather; it will make the adventure so much more enjoyable and fruitful.

I hear the waves crashing, and a tugboat horn blasting; I think a new adventure is in store for me . . . Mr. Silhouette man, where are you?

Mar

2018

Crying in a Bucket – A Lesson in Humility

The year was 2000 and our church had just undertaken an amazing act of faith; we purchased an old school building. Built in 1924, it served as the High School in our community for many years. Later, it became a middle school; in the year 2000, the school placed it for sale, and by God’s provision; we bought it!

We began to renovate the building, a little at a time, but the task was daunting. As we went about the work of renovating the building, we also went about the work of renovating the hearts of people as well.

We developed a food ministry, and outreach center, along with a variety of ministries aimed at helping g the poor and disenfranchised.

Over the course of the next few years, we met dozens of wonderful people; many of whom came to a saving knowledge of Jesus. The folks we encountered were interesting, to say the least!

One of the folks I was privileged to know, was a gentleman named Brad. He was a tall, lanky man, about 65 years old at the time. He would frequent our center, stopping in several times each week.

Brad was a pleasant man; witty with a wry sense of humor. He was a chain smoker, and chose to live outside, under a bridge during the summer months. He would stop in my office and chat endlessly about everything!

I had a large comfortable, cloth chair, in my office that Brad’s thin, gangly frame would disappear into as he chatted. The chair would retain the “essence” of Brad, long after he left. It was during this time that I learned of the blessing of Febreeze air freshener spray!

As time progressed, I found myself cutting short some of my visits with Brad; not wanting my office overly saturated with the scent of stale cigarettes and campfire smoke.

Sometimes I would see him sauntering down the hall toward my office and I would quickly meet him in the hall; feigning some work project, I needed to get to!

One day, the phone rang in my office and it was one of the wealthiest people in our community. He previously owned a large manufacturing center in our area and was a multi-millionaire! The conversation went something like this . . .

“Hi Rock, this is **** and I would love to come and talk to you about your building, I have some great ideas that may interest you and your church, can I stop down next Tuesday morning and see you?” I was stunned and said, “I would love to meet.”

Over the weekend, my head was spinning. One of the wealthiest men in our community was coming to see me; I wondered what he wanted. I wondered if he would want to help us renovate; with one stroke of the pen, he could cover the entire cost of the project, with room to spare!

Monday came, and I looked at my office and realized how dirty it was. I figured I had better give it a good cleaning, since I was going have a very important meeting the next morning; a meeting that could alter the direction of our church renovation project immensely!

I got a bucket of warm soapy water, a scrub brush and a couple of rags. I got on my knees to wipe the dust off the baseboard. As I was scrubbing, I got the sensation the Lord was nearby.

I continued to scrub and I felt the Lord ask me a simple question; “Rock, what are you doing?” With a little excitement, I began to share that a very important man was stopping by the next day; perhaps he would help finance our project!

There was a moment of silence; I was waiting for some indication that God was listening; perhaps He would help persuade this wealthy man. As I waited for His response, I felt Him ask another question; it was a simple one, and it changed my life.

He asked; “So Rock, how is it that you would clean your office for this very wealthy man, but you never even swept it for Brad?” I was undone, busted if you will! Still on my knees, scrub brush in my hand, tears began to splash in the bucket.

I stopped cleaning, emptied my bucket, and spent most of the day repenting of my foolishness, reminded of the passage of scripture in Matthew . . .

Matthew 25:34-40

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

God helped me to see that my motives were askew; revealing that I was more interested in financial support, than I was for the soul of kind old man.

A couple of years later, Brad moved from our area; he stopped to see me before he left. He brought me two antique oil lamps; a gift thanking me for spending time with him. Those lamps meant more to me than anything the other man could have ever done.

Oh, by the way, I did meet with the wealthy man; we had a pleasant, albeit short meeting. He wanted to turn our center into a museum . . . go figure!

God is great; I love Him so much! The lessons He teaches last a lifetime!

Mar

2018

A Second Touch

There is a sense today that the church; the people of God, are somewhat weary, tired and maybe even a little confused as to what to do in the face of ever increasing evil in this world. We are certainly living in what the Bible declares to be, “the last days.”

It is easy to drift off and lose sight of our anchor; when this happens, we need help, so today we ask God for that help.

Mark 8:22-25

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. ²³He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

²⁴He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

²⁵Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

Before meeting Jesus, we were all very much like this blind man. Oh, we could see with our eyes all right, but spiritually speaking, we were quite blind! We may have known a thing or two about God; we may have known that Christ was God’s Son.

Most of us know about Christmas and Easter, for some of us, it was the only two days of the year, that we really stopped for a moment to consider Christianity; even going so far as to set foot in church on one of those two days!

For most of us, that was the extent of our knowledge of God! We were quite blind . . . and for good reason; the Bible declares that the god of this age (satan) had blinded our minds . . .

2 Corinthians 4:4

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

You see, satan did a wonderful job of keeping us in the dark; while we were without Christ and in unbelief, we could not see the truth, no matter how many times we heard it!

Then something miraculous began to take place. We began to feel something stirring inside; our heart touched in ways, we could not understand. The mention of God and the work of His Son Jesus began to spark an interest in us.

Maybe you heard a message on the radio or TV, perhaps at one of those annual church events you reluctantly attended.

You heard the dramatic message concerning your sin, and about Jesus mission to come to this earth and give His life as a ransom for yours; offering forgiveness for your life of sin. Drawn to Christ, you could not explain it. The Bible reveals an interesting truth about this . . .

John 6:44

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

As God drew you in, you realized that you were a sinner, not in a generic sense, but you felt it and knew it, to the point where you wanted to hide from God, yet He kept pulling you near. The Bible declares to us . . .

Romans 3:23

. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

This glaring truth stared you in the heart, and you knew that without some intervention you would be eternally lost and that there would be a high price to be paid for the sin you were enveloped in!

You became aware that if you persisted in this sinful state, you would be forever lost, with no hope of redemption! Again, the Bible reveals more truth . . .

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It was at this crucial point that you decided to go “all in.”

You risked everything and trusted in Jesus! You went to Him burdened with guilt and perhaps shame for the way you lived your life. You fell at His feet, sorrowful for the way you lived your life, you told Him that you would repent and live for Him! You asked Jesus to come into your heart, into your life . . . and He did!

Romans 10:9-10

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

This you did, openly and freely, unashamed of your allegiance with Jesus. The people around you knew; there was no mistake, you changed, and not just a little, old habits discarded and new ways began to unfold!

The joy you began to feel was awesome; the reality that your sins, which were many; completely forgiven! You had fellowship and friendship with Jesus. You developed an unquenchable hunger for the words of God. You dove into the Bible like a starving man who just sat down for a Thanksgiving dinner!

Your hunger and passion to know more about this Jesus would cause you to skip meals, just so you could read, pray and learn more about Him! Nothing was about to come between you and Him!

Do you still have that desire?
Do you still hunger and thirst for His Word?
Have you lost any of that first love?

Does your heart still burn with the fire it once had, or are you like the man in the opening Scripture who saw people, but they looked like trees walking around. Is your vision blurred? If so, then you, like that man, may need a second touch from Jesus!

I know firsthand how this happens. At an early age, I came to believe in Christ; through a Sunday school, teacher my heart opened to the things of God, and I believed.

As God began to reveal Himself to me, I started reading the Bible daily. The Bible is not an easy Book to read, especially for an 11-year-old boy, but I was determined to know more about God.

As the years passed by and I became a teenager, I began to drift away from those moments with the Bible.It was not a sudden falling away, but a gradual, gentle slipping away; I hardly noticed it happening.

Then one day a handful of us, young teenagers at the time, decided to camp out one night. As we were getting ready to go camp, we decided that we would swipe a 6-pack of beer from my friend’s dad . . . and we did!

I recall with clarity, sitting under the train bridge in near the village we lived in, and as the sun was going down, we all guzzled down that 6-pack; it was awful, but we pretended that it was good! When I grabbed that beer, something stirred inside, there was a powerful voice beckoning me not to do it.

I realized later that it was the Holy Spirit of God who was trying to prevent the problems that were about to arise in my life! The peer pressure was too great and I gave in, just like the rest! That evening, I grieved the Holy Spirit of God!

As He gently tried to woo me back in His direction, I resisted. I wanted to spend my time the way I wanted, and I did not want God interfering! I wanted to be with my friends, I wanted to experience what they experienced!

Over the next few years, alcohol was not enough, and I found new and interesting friends, who had other things I could try . . . and I did! By the time I was 18 years old, I was a wreck!

However, even then, God was trying to get through to me, but I continued to resist Him. Each time I resisted, my heart would be hardened just a little bit more!

The farther from God I drifted, the worse I began to feel. The devil began to whisper in my ear, things like; “see, you are bad and God will never forgive you” or “you will never be good enough for God, so why try.” The Bible declares that satan is a liar . . .

John 8:44

“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Satan is a formidable foe, and he is always looking for ways to distract you from God. He will tempt you in a thousand different ways; his goal is to get your eyes off the things of God and onto the things of this world; if he can accomplish this, then he is well on the way to destroying your life.

There is great temporary pleasure in sin; the excitement and adrenaline it can produce are addictive. The spiritual side of sin is deadly. The feelings of guilt, shame and frustration can cripple you.

Sin is fun until you drink too much and while driving home, you hit a small child on a bike, taking a life. Sex is fun until you find out from the doctor that you have aids, or you find out you are pregnant and now you need to decide what your next steps are, taking a life, or allowing one to live! Drugs are fun until you see your friend lying dead from an overdose.

As I continued through life, I began to believe the lie that God was done with me. I can still vividly remember sitting in a bar Jamestown New York one night. The bar tender was flipping through the channels; he stopped briefly on a station long enough, for me to see Billy Graham with that striking pose of his; arms crossed and one hand under his chin, and he declared; “what you need in your live is Jesus.”

I remember running out of that bar in tears; as much as I wanted Jesus, I thought I had sinned too much and had resisted Him too long!

Do you feel beyond forgiveness?
Do you feel like you will never live up to His expectations?

If you feel this way, then I have some good news for you! You see, after 18 years of running from God, He kept drawing me back to Himself. When I finally stopped long enough to turn around, He was standing right there, arms open; ready to forgive . . . and boy did I need forgiven!

Just like the blind man in the opening Scripture, I received a second touch from Jesus and I could see clearly.

How about you . . . is your vision blurred?
Are your spiritual eyes seeing clearly?
Do you need a second touch?

Perhaps, the hand of Jesus has never touched you, if so; this is your Day! Maybe you can relate to my story; you wandered off, never intending to go too far, but you lost your way and now you are hurt, confused by life, wondering where God is, and if He even really exists; He is here and would love to have a conversation with you!

If you want salvation, if you want restoration, if you want healing, whatever the case may be, please take a moment and talk to Him about it; it will be a turning point for you!

Satan wants you to miss the opportunity, he wants you to believe his lies, he wants you to wait until the next time, today is not right, he wants you to believe that God will not forgive you, remember, he is a liar!

Listen to the words of God Himself from the Book of Isaiah . . .

Isaiah 1:18

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Mar

2018

Loving those Who Hate You

Matthew 5:38-48 ~ The words of Jesus; pretty radical stuff here!

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

We are taught to “FIGHT BACK” and inflict pain when hurt by others. “You hurt me, now I am going to hurt you.” Some folks you lay awake at night thinking of ways to inflict pain on those who have hurt them!

Someone in your world absolutely despises you; the mention of his or her name causes you great angst! You will run scenarios in your mind of how that person could be taken down a notch.

Jesus does not operate that way, and those who would follow in His steps, are commanded to operate like He did! Let it go! Stop hating! Stop gossiping about those you dislike!

Instead of tearing down, build up! Be an advocate for those that God has created, especially those who hate you! If you only talk nice about those who love you, what is that!

How about sticking up for those who hate you! Those that despise you! The next time someone starts a rant on a person you don’t care too much for, instead of jumping on the trash so and so wagon, shut it down!

Our grandson came home from school one day and told his parents that a kid in school was picking on him. He said the boy threatened to “kill him” as young boys are prone to say sometimes. Our grandson said to the boy, you can’t kill me, cause you’re going to be my best friend!” Today, about three years later, they are best buddies!

Be like our grandson and say something kind; come to their defense! To do less is to indicate that you despise them too!

You have now become as they are; the only difference is that you have cloaked your “meanness” in religious sounding words, while they are simply telling the truth about how they feel!

So. . . . do you love your neighbor as yourself? Why not?

Mar

2018

Hearing the Voice of God

1 Kings 19:9-13

Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

¹¹So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹²After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. ¹³When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

The voice that Elijah heard was a rather quiet voice; a gentle whisper. Most of us would rather that God would yell; but do you really want God to yell at you?

Most conversations that I have with my wife Sherri are very gentle; we do not need to yell to one another in order to be heard. Now to be sure, I can be dull sometimes and on a rare occasion, be hard of hearing; in which case Sherri may need to turn up the volume so I can hear her over my own internal noise!

There are those occasions while driving that I tend to be day-dreaming and Sherri may need to shout to get my attention; I can’t tell you how many times a disaster has been avoided because she shouted words of caution.

God works pretty much the same way. Most conversations are intimate and easily understood; a gentle whisper; after all, He is living in me, so He should not need to yell at me!

However, if I am running headlong into some moral danger or temptation of some sort, God will turn up the volume and get my attention!

One of the most amazing things that God has done for us is to preserve His most treasured words in the form of a Book we can read; we call it the Bible.

While it does not contain everything God ever said, nor does it contain every act that God has done, it does have everything we need to know about Him until we meet Him face to Face.

As a small child, one of the most cherished times took place when I visited my grandma. She would break out a children’s book, and I would curl up next to her and she would read to me.

I would drink in every word; my emotions would rise and fall with every inflection in her voice and I would be totally enthralled as she excitedly read the book to me.

The next time you open up the Bible to read; ask God to read it to you! Let Him be the voice you hear as the words tumble off the pages! Let His joy be felt as He tells of the great exploits that those of faith did in His great name!

Listen to the sadness in His voice as He recalls those times that people He loved turned and walked away. Hear the fiery indignation as He recounts how he dealt with His enemies and hear the sweetness as He shares a love story in the Song of Solomon!

Hear the hopefulness in His voice as He shares the great Gospel message of Hope found through His Son; hear the pride in His voice as He thunders from Heaven; “This is My Son. . . In Him I am Well Pleased.” Hear the excitement in His voice as He describes the Day when He is finally united with His bride!

God uses everything at His disposal to speak to His children; He can yell; but He chooses to whisper. He can shout, but He would rather talk across the table with you. He would love to sit down with you and read to you the words preserved for us.

If you will develop your relationship with God, then you will begin to say things like; “The Lord told me . . . or The Lord said to me . . .” It will be as natural to you as talking to your spouse or close friend. It may seem mysterious to those around you, but to you, as natural as breathing!

I remember talking to a dear friend and evangelist, Gene Vincent; Sherri and I met him at a prayer conference in Atlanta Georgia years ago. Gene has a close walk with God and during the course of a conversation at one of the tables; Gene was talking about hearing from God.

Someone at the table asked Gene; “Did you really hear God’s voice speak to you; was it audible?” Gene looked up and said; “Oh, it was louder than that!”

What Gene was trying to convey is that when God speaks to you, it is more than a sound; it is a deep sense of knowing, a deep down conviction, and an abiding awareness that God is communicating something to you. It is undeniable and sure!

Have you had a conversation with God . . . lately?

Unresolved anger turns to bitterness

Bitterness is a powerful explosive

Bitterness towards God

Bitterness towards others

Bitterness to oneself

Get free of bitterness, once and for all

Time to cast bitterness into the sea

Watch out for Hornets in the wild

We are born with a fatal sting

On a mission to remove the sting of death

Do not permit hornets to build in your house

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