Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Trusting in God...1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Is there something God has told you to do that seems just too difficult? You can be sure that if He has called you to carry out His will, He’s going to be faithful to accomplish it through His Spirit living and working in you. So if you tell Him, “I can’t do that, Lord—what if I fail?” you’re really saying, “God doesn’t keep His word.” And yet, our total expectation should be in Him—not in our own energy, ability, or experience.
When you doubt God’s trustworthiness, that unbelief becomes a gap in your spiritual armor, and you can be sure that’s exactly where Satan will attack you. You’ll begin to doubt even more about God’s character, such as His goodness—and that distrust will become a heavy load of baggage you’ll needlessly drag through every area of your life.
You might feel that you do not have enough faith to obey, but the Lord isn’t asking you to have faith in favorable circumstances. He’s asking you to trust that He is who He says He is.
Do you believe that God is a liar? It’s really that simple: either He is truthful or He’s not. But if you believe that faithfulness is His character, then you can do anything He requires. You’ll be strengthened by your dependence on Him—whether a deluge or trials or a flood of blessing comes.
It’s actually when life gets rough and rugged that the sweetness of God’s faithfulness makes itself real in your heart. As you walk through those storms in complete reliance on His strength, your trust in His character becomes part of who you are and strengthens from within.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

God's School of Obedience


1 John 1:3-6

Starting at age five, our children are enrolled in school and given lessons to learn each year. We are students too. At salvation, we became participants in the Lord's school of obedience. There, we are discovering the necessity of trusting Him and waiting for His direction. We are taught the importance of commitment and learn to search His Word for guidance. God also wants us to learn these lessons:
• Listen attentively to the Spirit's promptings. Our God does not speak in an audible voice, but He makes Himself heard quite clearly through the Holy Spirit. Jesus said the Spirit is our Helper who will bring to mind Scripture passages we have studied (John 14:26) and show us how they apply.
• Obey the next step. Abraham was called to leave his home and journey to an unknown destination (Gen. 12:1). He obeyed even though the way was unclear to his human mind. We, too, must step out in faith even when we do not know all the details of the itinerary.
• Expect conflict. We can't live obedient lives without having trouble with the world (John 16:33). Our friends or family may drift away when they realize certain interests of ours have changed. Some may hurl criticism our way or call us unkind names, while others may reject us completely.
Practicing a lifestyle of obedience doesn't mean we'll never make mistakes. But it does require diligence if we are to succeed. Obeying the Father was Jesus' priority and purpose in life, and we should make it ours as well. Which of these lessons do you want to tackle first?

Monday, December 29, 2014

Look up.. Daniel 12:3

Daniel 12:3

Okay, are you ready to have your mind boggled? If not, better shove this aside until you can handle it. It's too stretching to pass over with a yawn.

The germ thought struck me when I was deep in the redwoods some time ago. I lay back and looked up. I mean really up. It was one of those clear summer nights when you could see forever. So starry it was scary. The vastness of the heavens eloquently told the glory of God. The expanse silently declared the work of His hands.

No words would adequately frame the awesomeness of that moment. I remembered a statement one of my mentors used to say: "Wonder is involuntary praise." That night, it happened to me. I loved it!

What struck me deepest as I curled up in my sleeping bag was this: Everything I have seen belongs to this one galaxy. There are hundreds more beyond our own. Maybe thousands . . . some much larger than ours. Astronomers are now convinced there are twenty galaxies within two and a half million light years; there may be a billion galaxies within photographic range of the 200-inch Mount Palomar telescope.

Let's limit our thinking, for a moment, just to this one solar system . . . a tiny fraction of the universe above us. Because it is impossible to grasp the astounding distance about us, we need analogies, simple comparisons, to assist us. Hold on as we take a quick trip to the regions beyond.

If it were possible to travel the speed of light, you could arrive at the moon in one and a third seconds. But continuing that same speed, do you know how long it would take you to reach the closest star? Four years. Incredible thought!

If you've ever visited New York City's Hayden Planetarium, you've seen that miniature replica of our solar system showing the speeds and sizes of our planets. What is interesting is that the three outer planets are not included. There wasn't room for Uranus, Neptune, and the now "dwarf plant," Pluto. Uranus would be in the planetarium's outer corridor, Neptune would be around Eighth Avenue. And Pluto? Another three long avenues away—Fifth Avenue. By the way, no stars are included, for obvious reasons. Can you imagine (on the same scale) where the nearest star would be located? Cleveland, Ohio. Vast! And that's just our own local galaxy, remember.

A scientist once suggested another interesting analogy. To grasp the scene, imagine a perfectly smooth glass pavement on which the finest speck can be seen. Then shrink our sun from 865,000 miles in diameter to only two feet . . . and place the ball on the pavement to represent the sun. Step off 82 paces (about two feet per pace), and to represent proportionately the first planet, Mercury, put down a tiny mustard seed.

Take 60 steps more, and for Venus put an ordinary BB.

Mark 78 more steps . . . put down a green pea representing earth.

Step off 108 paces from there, and for Mars put down a pinhead.

Sprinkle around some fine dust for the asteroids, then take 788 steps more. For Jupiter, place an orange on the glass at that spot.

After 934 more steps, put down a golf ball for Saturn.

Now it gets really involved. Mark 2,086 steps more, and for Uranus . . . a marble.

Another 2,322 steps from there you arrive at Neptune. Let a cherry represent Neptune.

This will take two and a half miles, and we haven't even discussed Pluto! If we swing completely around, we have a smooth glass surface five miles in diameter, yet just a tiny fraction of the heavens—excluding Pluto. On this surface, five miles across, we have only a seed, BB, pea, pinhead, some dust, an orange, golf ball, a marble, and a cherry. Guess how far we'd have to go on the same scale before we could put down another two-foot ball to represent the nearest star. Come on, guess. Seven hundred paces? Two thousand steps more? Four thousand four hundred feet? No, you're
way off.

We'd have to go 6,720 miles before we could arrive at that star. Miles, not feet. And that's just the first star among millions. In one galaxy among perhaps thousands, maybe billions. And all of it in perpetual motion . . . perfectly synchronized . . . the most accurate timepiece known to man.

Phenomenal isn't the word for it.

No God? All by chance? Whom are you kidding? I honestly cannot think of a more erroneous thought than that. Listen carefully to the truth:

They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. (Romans 1:19–20 NLT)

The boggled mind leads to a bended knee.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Contradictory Truths part 2... Kings 19:9-21

1 Kings 19:9–21

God often delivers His best gifts to us in unexpected ways . . . with surprises inside the wrappings. Through apparent contradictions. Somewhat like the therapy He used when Elijah was so low, so terribly disillusioned.

How did the Lord minister to him? By an earthquake? In a whirlwind? Through a scorching fire? You'd expect all the above since Elijah was such a passionate, hard-charging prophet. But no. The story from 1 Kings 19 makes it clear that Jehovah was not in the earthquake or the wind or the fire. Too obvious. Too predictable. That's not the Sovereign's style.

After all the hullabaloo died down, there came "a gentle blowing" and shortly thereafter, ever so softly, "a voice" came to him (vv. 12–13) with words of reassurance and affirmation. Not, "You oughta be ashamed of yourself!" Or "What's a man of your stature doing in a crummy place like this?" None of that. No blame, no shame, no sermon, no name-calling, no blistering rebuke. In contradiction to the popular idea of confrontation (and surely surprising to Elijah himself), the Lord encouraged His friend to go on from there. He gave him a plan to follow, a promise to remember, and a traveling companion to help him make it through the night.

Another mysterious back-door delivery . . . another victim of despair rescued from the pit. No wonder Paul burst forth in praise of God's wisdom and knowledge by exclaiming:

How unsearchable are His judgments . . . [how] unfathomable His ways! (Romans 11:33b)

About the time we think we've got the whole picture in finite focus, an infinite hand quickly grabs the camera, changes lenses on us, points in another direction, and has us take an entirely different picture. Yet to our amazement, when everything is developed, we get the one thing we wanted all our lives through a process we would never have chosen.

It's like the anonymous poet's profound admission:

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;
I was made weak, that I might learn to humbly obey.
     I asked for health, that I might do greater things;
     I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
     I asked for power, that I might have the praise of
            men;
     I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life;
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
     I got nothing that I asked for,
     But everything I had hoped for.
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Vision... Acts 1:8

by Charles R. Swindoll

Acts 1:8

It's a cartoon I've smiled at again and again.

There are two Eskimos sitting on chairs, fishing through holes in the ice. The fella on the right has draped his line through your typical disk-like opening . . . about the size of a small manhole.

The Eskimo on the left has his line in the water too. He also waits calmly for a nibble. His hole, however, is more like a crater, a Rose Bowl-sized opening that reaches to the horizon—in the shape of a whale.

Now that's what I call vision.

Smile all you please, but you gotta hand it to that Eskimo on the left. He's ready! You can be sure that his fellow fisherman thinks he's a nut. He might even be mumbling words of criticism, like:

"How greedy can you get?"

Or "Man, talk about a showoff!"

But there's one thing he must admit about his buddy, he's thinking big! The time he spent preparing for the catch was both extensive and tiring—he probably wore out three saws hacking and chewing through all that frozen stuff. But there is nothing that tugs on his line—and I mean nothing—that he won't be able to handle. From the very start of the project, the man has been visionary.

Vision becomes contagious. You can't sit very long beside a fisherman like that without enlarging your own hole in the ice. Something down inside us admires a person who stretches our faith by doing things that are filled with vision. Initially such actions might appear to be foolish. That occurs when we don't know the facts behind the action.

For example, I heard some time ago about a couple of nuns who worked as nurses in a hospital. They ran out of gas while driving to work one morning. A service station was nearby but had no container in which to put the needed gasoline. One of the women remembered she had a bedpan in the trunk of the car. The gas was put into the pan and they carried it very carefully back to the car. As the nuns were pouring the gasoline from the bedpan into the gas tank, two men were driving by. They stared in disbelief. Finally, one said to the other,

"Now Fred, that's what I call faith!"

It appeared to be foolish. Trouble was, those doubters just didn't have the facts. And were they ever surprised when those nuns went ripping by them on the freeway!

So much of what we undertake lacks vision. We cut our tiny holes in the ice and make plans to go home cold and hungry. And then if we're not careful, we'll find ourselves criticizing and scoffing at those who, as Luis Palau puts it, dream great dreams and plan great plans. "Sensationalists," we call them. Or worse—"foolish."

Jesus, however, when he called Andrew and Simon, promised:

"Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." (Mark 1:17)

The two fishermen probably thought too small. I gather this idea because Dr. Luke records their reaction the time they caught two boatloads of fish. They were dumbfounded! But Jesus replied with insight:

"Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men." (Luke 5:10)

It seems as though Jesus realized their inborn "fear" of something sizable. He challenged them, "Don't be uneasy. With My help, you'll catch people just like you caught these fish."

How long has it been since you've punched a hole in the ice and thrown out a line? Sure, it may mean "breaking the ice" with "pre-Christian" neighbors or colleagues at work—getting beyond the slick surface stuff like the weather and sports and the condition of your lawn. It may mean investing some time, taking some risks, and putting out some effort in practical acts of loving compassion. Fishing for men and women is no casual thing.

Are you expecting success? Listen to Joe Aldrich:

For many, the first step in neighborhood evangelism is attitudinal. If they think they will be successful or unsuccessful, they're right. What we anticipate in life is usually what we get. If you say, "I can't do it," you're probably right, especially if you firmly believe you can't. God says you can. Who do you intend to believe? . . . It's true, where there is no vision, people (your neighbors) perish.

Take another mental glimpse at those two Eskimos. Be honest now. Which hole are you fishing in?

“If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator.
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior.”

Merry Christmas everybody!

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Contradictory Truths part 1...Philippians 2:5-11

Philippians 2:5–11

Tom Landry, the late head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, was once quoted as saying something like this:

"I have a job to do that is not very complicated, but it is often difficult: to get a group of men to do what they don't want to do so they can achieve the one thing they have wanted all their lives."

Coach Landry, in that seemingly contradictory statement, described what discipline is all about . . . doing what we don't want to do so we can accomplish what we've always wanted.

So much of what results in a fulfilled life is really the product of a contradiction. Those who wish to be the best leaders must demonstrate true servanthood. Those who ultimately are given the oversight of vast regions and broad responsibilities have initially proven themselves faithful in the little things. The most effective form of retaliation is an absence of retaliation . . . leaving all vengeance to God. In doing so, to quote the Scriptures, we "heap burning coals upon the head" of an adversary, which is nothing more than overcoming evil with good—another contradictory truth.

Want a few more?

The way to show yourself wise is not so much by speech but by silence.

The way to stop a loud argument is by a soft-spoken word. The most powerful rebuke is not a loud, negative blast, but a quiet, positive model.

The secret of helping others mature is not more rules and stricter laws but greater trust.

Those who are most respected for their knowledge and the skill of drawing others into it are not those who have all the right answers but rather those who ask the right questions.

Those who give generously have much more than those who hoard.

One lovely flower, personally picked from the garden by tiny hands, can mean much more than two dozen long-stemmed roses ordered from the florist.

A handwritten note of love and affection lingers longer in one's memory than a $3.50 embossed card from Hallmark.

Forgiveness is the key to handling our enemies, not revenge.

A brief, warm, tender embrace with very few words says more to the grieving than an evening's visit full of sympathy talk and long prayers.

Funny, isn't it? God often delivers His best gifts to us through the back door of our lives. In unexpected ways . . . with surprises inside the wrappings. Somewhat like the therapy He used when Elijah was so low, so terribly disillusioned. How did the Lord minister to him? We'll talk about that in Part Two.

 God often delivers His best gifts to us through the back door of our lives.

Monday, December 22, 2014

Customs... Luke 4:14-30

Luke 4:14-30
"... on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom." (v. 16)

One reason there is a casual approach to personal devotions in the Christian church today is a reaction to the legalism of past days. Another reason is the rise of the charismatic movement. In the early days of the charismatic renewal, many of its leaders from the historic denominations who had been fed on a diet of legalism began to emphasize (quite rightly) the joy of knowing Christ's presence through the indwelling Spirit every hour of the day. People in charismatic services often said: "Now I don't have to have a daily quiet time in order to feel God's presence. Every waking minute is a quiet time." Dangerous stuff. The danger lies not in emphasizing that we are in Christ's presence every hour of the day but the de-emphasis on closeting oneself alone with Him in personal prayer and study of His Word.

Although most leaders of the charismatic renewal did not teach or encourage people to dispense with their personal times of devotion with the Lord, many came to believe they could get through the day simply by speaking in tongues. Nothing must become a substitute for those private and personal moments we spend in prayer and communion with Christ. Our Lord knew and sensed the presence of God with Him and in Him to a degree we will never fully experience here on this earth, but it is said of Him in Scripture that He had two "customs." One custom was to go regularly to the house of God; the other was to pray regularly. And these must be our customs too.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, if You needed to spend time closeted with Your Father in personal prayer, then how much more do I need to also. Help me steer a middle course between legalism and casualness. For Your own dear Name's sake. Amen.

Friday, December 19, 2014

God of Wonder... Daniel 12:3

Daniel 12:3

Okay, are you ready to have your mind boggled? If not, better shove this aside until you can handle it. It's too stretching to pass over with a yawn.

The germ thought struck me when I was deep in the redwoods some time ago. I lay back and looked up. I mean really up. It was one of those clear summer nights when you could see forever. So starry it was scary. The vastness of the heavens eloquently told the glory of God. The expanse silently declared the work of His hands.

No words would adequately frame the awesomeness of that moment. I remembered a statement one of my mentors used to say: "Wonder is involuntary praise." That night, it happened to me. I loved it!

What struck me deepest as I curled up in my sleeping bag was this: Everything I have seen belongs to this one galaxy. There are hundreds more beyond our own. Maybe thousands . . . some much larger than ours. Astronomers are now convinced there are twenty galaxies within two and a half million light years; there may be a billion galaxies within photographic range of the 200-inch Mount Palomar telescope.

Let's limit our thinking, for a moment, just to this one solar system . . . a tiny fraction of the universe above us. Because it is impossible to grasp the astounding distance about us, we need analogies, simple comparisons, to assist us. Hold on as we take a quick trip to the regions beyond.

If it were possible to travel the speed of light, you could arrive at the moon in one and a third seconds. But continuing that same speed, do you know how long it would take you to reach the closest star? Four years. Incredible thought!

If you've ever visited New York City's Hayden Planetarium, you've seen that miniature replica of our solar system showing the speeds and sizes of our planets. What is interesting is that the three outer planets are not included. There wasn't room for Uranus, Neptune, and the now "dwarf plant," Pluto. Uranus would be in the planetarium's outer corridor, Neptune would be around Eighth Avenue. And Pluto? Another three long avenues away—Fifth Avenue. By the way, no stars are included, for obvious reasons. Can you imagine (on the same scale) where the nearest star would be located? Cleveland, Ohio. Vast! And that's just our own local galaxy, remember.

A scientist once suggested another interesting analogy. To grasp the scene, imagine a perfectly smooth glass pavement on which the finest speck can be seen. Then shrink our sun from 865,000 miles in diameter to only two feet . . . and place the ball on the pavement to represent the sun. Step off 82 paces (about two feet per pace), and to represent proportionately the first planet, Mercury, put down a tiny mustard seed.

Take 60 steps more, and for Venus put an ordinary BB.

Mark 78 more steps . . . put down a green pea representing earth.

Step off 108 paces from there, and for Mars put down a pinhead.

Sprinkle around some fine dust for the asteroids, then take 788 steps more. For Jupiter, place an orange on the glass at that spot.

After 934 more steps, put down a golf ball for Saturn.

Now it gets really involved. Mark 2,086 steps more, and for Uranus . . . a marble.

Another 2,322 steps from there you arrive at Neptune. Let a cherry represent Neptune.

This will take two and a half miles, and we haven't even discussed Pluto! If we swing completely around, we have a smooth glass surface five miles in diameter, yet just a tiny fraction of the heavens—excluding Pluto. On this surface, five miles across, we have only a seed, BB, pea, pinhead, some dust, an orange, golf ball, a marble, and a cherry. Guess how far we'd have to go on the same scale before we could put down another two-foot ball to represent the nearest star. Come on, guess. Seven hundred paces? Two thousand steps more? Four thousand four hundred feet? No, you're
way off.

We'd have to go 6,720 miles before we could arrive at that star. Miles, not feet. And that's just the first star among millions. In one galaxy among perhaps thousands, maybe billions. And all of it in perpetual motion . . . perfectly synchronized . . . the most accurate timepiece known to man.

Phenomenal isn't the word for it.

No God? All by chance? Whom are you kidding? I honestly cannot think of a more erroneous thought than that. Listen carefully to the truth:

They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. (Romans 1:19–20 NLT)

The boggled mind leads to a bended knee.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Wasted years... Joel 1

No such thing as wasted years
"So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten…” - Joel 2:25
The book of Joel was written by the prophet of whom we know the least. His book is only three chapters in length but is packed with sincere pleas for repentance for the nation of Israel. Joel knew the Lord’s Day was coming but he also knew and spoke of God’s endless mercy and grace. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Joel 2:25. For me, this verse represents great hope and encouragement for the future. Not only is our God a God of second chances, but also He is a God who restores our past. I have witnessed this restoration first hand in my own life.
I was raised in church, accepted Jesus as my Savior and was baptized, all before the age of 10. I can honestly say I have known the Lord most of my life, but I have not always chosen to walk with Him. There is a big difference in knowingHim versus livingfor Him. There is also a big difference in knowing aboutHim versus knowing Him personally. I spent many years as an adult choosing to live my life my way. I still read the Bible, went to church and prayed…prayed a lot for the things I wanted. But my life was my own. Then one day, something changed in my heart. My eyes were opened in a very different way. I realized who was really on the throne of my life and it was not Jesus. I began to see how empty my life had become and that I wanted more. More meant more of Him. It was time to live for Jesus. It was time to change my course. But what about those wasted years? I had such sadness realizing the time I had wasted. If only I had done things differently.
Then one day, I come across this verse in Joel. And the Lord Himself said to me that He would restore all of those years that the locust had eaten. He has a plan for my life and His plans and callings are irrevocable. Not only is God with me as I go forward but also He has never left me. I look back and see God’s tremendous grace. And I have seen God do immeasurably more than I could ever ask or imagine in just a few short years.  Do you have regrets about wasted years? Know today that God will restore them all. If you have been away from Him, come back today. Repent and ask the Lord to sit on the throne of your life and carry out His plans and callings for you. Let this verse give you hope and encouragement to begin a new day.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Successful setbacks...Philippians 2:9-11

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9–11)

Christmas was God’s most successful setback. He has always delighted to show his power through apparent defeat. He makes tactical retreats in order to win strategic victories.

Joseph was promised glory and power in his dream (Genesis 37:5–11). But to achieve that victory he had to become a slave in Egypt. And as if that were not enough, when his conditions improved because of his integrity, he was made worse than a slave — a prisoner.

But it was all planned. For there in prison he met Pharaoh’s butler, who eventually brought him to Pharaoh who put him over Egypt. What an unlikely route to glory!

But that is God’s way — even for his Son. He emptied himself and took the form of a slave. Worse than a slave — a prisoner — and was executed. But like Joseph, he kept his integrity. “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Philippians 2:9–10).

And this is God’s way for us too. We are promised glory — if we will suffer with him (Romans 8:17). The way up is down. The way forward is backward. The way to success is through divinely appointed setbacks. They will always look and feel like failure.

But if Joseph and Jesus teach us anything this Christmas it is this: “God meant it for good!” (Genesis 50:20).

You fearful saints fresh courage take  
The clouds you so much dread  
Are big with mercy and will break  
In blessings on your head.

Contagious joy...1 John 1:1-4

1 John 1:1-4
Jesus calls us to be His “witnesses.” When some Christians hear this word, they worry that they need exceptional skill or charisma in order to share the good news with others. Yet to witness is not to merely speak of the “plan of salvation” to someone. The word literally means to see, hear, or know by personal presence and perception; to testify; bear witness to; give or afford evidence of. When John wrote that he was sharing what he had experienced first-hand, he was saying, “I am full of joy because of the experience of knowing Jesus, and I want to invite you to share in that joy!”
When you’re in love with someone, you are excited about the relationship and time spent together. Likewise, when you’re in love with Jesus, you can’t keep to yourself the joy that comes from knowing Him—it just spills over, bearing witness and strengthening other believers. In fact, as you give testimony of who God is and how He’s working in your life, it makes no difference whether you speak quietly or with great exuberance: in their spirit, Christians will pick up on the deep, genuine gladness in your heart that goes beyond natural happiness. And people who don’t yet know the Lord will find themselves hungering for the relationship you have. In that way, they will be drawn to His Spirit in you.
Witnessing is not a matter of eloquence or talent. It’s an overflow of the personal relationship with Jesus Christ that is conforming you to His image. As you allow the Holy Spirit to increasingly express His life and power through you, contagious joy will be “fruit” of His indwelling presence.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Uniqueness... Matthew 16

Matthew 16

When Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” they replied, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” But Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:13-16).
What set Jesus apart as the Messiah?
His birth: He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born, as prophesied, in Bethlehem to a virgin. Though angels announced His arrival and He reigns over all creation, Jesus entered our world in a lowly manner so He could be identified with the meek and the poor.

His wisdom: At age 12, He spent three days with rabbis, asking questions that showed his uncommon understanding.
His baptism: Though He didn’t need cleansing, Jesus asked John to baptize Him so He could identify with sinners and demonstrate His love to them.
His temptation: Satan tempted Him relentlessly for 40 days, yet He did not sin.
His ministry: He challenged man-made religious traditions. And by healing people—regardless of nationality—raising the dead, and forgiving sins, He revealed that God wants to be involved personally in our lives. Leading Pharisees wanted Him dead, but the Father protected His life until the crucifixion.

Many people deny Christ’s deity, calling Him simply a “prophet” or “good teacher.” But Jesus was never merely human. As complex as it is for us to comprehend, He was fully God and fully man. This is the unique way in which our heavenly Father chose to demonstrate His eternal love for us.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

God's Peace...1 Peter 2

Ezekiel 37; 1 Peter 2

The Holy Spirit in You
I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD. - Ezekiel 37:14

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we receive His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God and He is a gift from God the Father that allows us to have a relationship with the Lord. The Spirit of God intercedes for us in prayer as He uses words that enter into the throne room of God when we can only moan and groan. He is our Counselor, our Teacher, our Comfort and our Guide. But the most important eternal promise we receive when the Spirit of God is placed in us is the seal of our salvation as we come alive spiritually for eternity. Amazing!
Do you realize the power you have living inside you? That power raised Lazarus from the dead, healed all kinds of diseases and delivered souls from bondage. That same power is found in you through Jesus. Jesus shows us this power through His indwelling peace. When we receive the Spirit of God, we have peace with God, not peace as the world gives, but the peace of God that surpasses understanding. It is peace that "settles" you. No matter where you are or what you are struggling with, God has settled your soul to have peace with Him.
The peace of God is a promise for you today. Claim it, speak it and live in it. Throw off the distractions of illness, financial loss, negative comments, guilt, and self-condemnation. And let the peace of Christ dwell in you richly. Nothing can interfere with the love Christ has for you and the peace that is yours by knowing Him. All these things on earth will pass away, but your security for eternity is fixed. Fix your eyes on Jesus by reading His Word. Get a verse today that you can claim as a promise and live beyond the struggles. Cast your cares upon the Lord for He cares for you.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Names of Christ... Philippians 2:5-11

Philippians 2:5-11
The Bible ascribes many different names to Jesus, all of which provide great insight into His character and person. Here are some from John’s gospel that I find particularly revealing:
The Good Shepherd (10:11) protects his sheep at all cost from predators. They know His voice and follow Him.
The Door (vv. 7-9) is the only way to enter heaven. Whoever enters through the “gate” of Christ will be saved.
The Vine (15:1-10) is the source of our spiritual life. When we stay intimately connected to Jesus, we bear fruit. If we do not remain in Him, we wither.
The Bread of Life (6:25-35) the only one who can truly satisfy our hearts. Jesus feeds our souls with sustenance that never leaves us wanting for more.
The Light of the World (9:5) shines His light through our countenance as a ministry and testimony to a dark world.
The Way (14:6) to happiness, peace, joy, and eternal life is Jesus Christ.
The Truth (14:6) of His revelation, as recorded in the New Testament, is the reason we can know as much as we do about God.
The Life (14:6) Jesus imparts to believers is powerful, effective, and fruitful, not only in eternity but here on earth as well.
In biblical times, Israelites would choose a baby’s name based on the child’s characteristics or a hope or prayer of the parent. The names given to Jesus tell a great deal about His ministry on earth 2,000 years ago. The scriptural names describing Him reveal who He was and is and will be for eternity.

Monday, December 8, 2014

Do you believe this?...John 11:25

[Jesus said,] "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
—John 11:25 (NIV)

Thoughts on Today's Verse...
This is the most important question you will ever answer. Do you really believe this? Do you believe that when you died with Christ in baptism through faith, that you died the most significant death and that your physical death will not separate you from Jesus? All of life, even all of eternity for you, hangs on this one question.
Prayer...
Almighty and Everlasting Father, I believe that because you have adopted me into your family, that death will never claim me. Help me live with new vigor and confidence knowing that Satan cannot have me and death cannot claim me because I am yours through Jesus, your Son and my Lord, risen from the dead. In the name of my precious Redeemer I pray. Amen.

Peace...Ezekiel 34:25

"I will make them a Covenant Of Peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods"   (Ezekiel 34:25).
It is the height of grace that Jehovah should be in covenant with man, a I feeble, sinful, and dying creature. Yet the LORD has solemnly entered into a faithful compact with us, and from that covenant He will never turn aside. In virtue of this covenant we are safe. As lions and wolves are driven off by shepherds, so shall all noxious influences be chased away. The LORD will give us rest from disturbers and destroyers; the evil beasts shall cease out of the land. O LORD, make this Thy promise good even now! The LORD's people are to enjoy security in places of the greatest exposure: wilderness and woods are to be as pastures and folds to the flock of Christ. If the LORD does not change the place for the better, He will make us the better in the place. The wilderness is not a place to dwell in, but the LORD can make it so; in the woods one feels hound to watch rather than to sleep, and yet the LORD giveth His beloved sleep even there. Nothing without or within should cause any fear to the child of God. By faith the wilderness can become the suburbs of heaven and the woods the vestibule of glory.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Partnership...1 Corinthians 12:4-11

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

I don't know how some in today's church got the false idea that the preacher is a servant and the folks in the pews are just members. No one is a bystander in God's kingdom! All believers are in partnership with the Lord (2 Cor. 6:1). He chose to work through mankind to accomplish the gospel mission on earth. To borrow a biblical metaphor, we are the workers cultivating and harvesting His fields (Matt. 9:37-38).
God gave one or more spiritual gifts to every single believer to aid in the work for His kingdom. We each need this special "wiring" to carry out our unique role in His plan. He knits that spiritual gift into our personality and inborn talents to create a useful and effective servant. And just to be clear, there is no such thing as a non-gifted believer.
Believers are the Lord's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of good works (Eph. 2:10). Spiritual gifts are not our own abilities. The Holy Spirit manifests them through us. Remember, it is the sap running from the vine into the branches that produces fruit (John 15:5). In the same way, the Spirit lives and works through God's followers to bring forth acts of service. The Lord's power is behind it all. Think of that when you are tempted to shy away from God-given opportunities.
God's awesome power is present in and available to every believer. The Holy Spirit equips us to obey the Lord in whatever He calls us to do. Don't waste your life sitting in a pew! Get busy using that spiritual gift. The fields of this world are ripe for harvest (John 4:35).

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Covered and protected... Psalm 91:4

"He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His Truth shall be thy shield and buckler"   (Psalm 91:4).

A condescending simile indeed! Just as a hen protects her brood and allows them to nestle under her wings, so will the LORD defend His people and permit them to hide away in Him. Have we not seen the little chicks peeping out from under the mother's feathers? Have we not heard their little cry of contented joy? In this way let us shelter ourselves in our God and feel overflowing peace in knowing that He is guarding us. While the LORD covers us, we trust. It would be strange if we did not. How can we distrust when Jehovah Himself becomes house and home, refuge and rest to us? This done, we go out to war in His name and enjoy the same guardian care. We need shield and buckler, and when we implicitly trust God, even as the chick trusts the hen, we find His truth arming us from head to foot. The LORD cannot lie; He must be faithful to His people; His promise must stand. This sure truth is all the shield we need. Behind it we defy the fiery darts of the enemy. Come, my soul, hide under those great wings, lose thyself among those soft feathers! How happy thou art!

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Crucial element... Acts 17:16-34

Acts 17:16-34
"... but now [God] commands all people everywhere to repent." (v. 30)
There are, of course, many reasons why some people move along the path of discipleship at a snail's pace, while others appear to cover twice the distance in half the time. It has much to do with the way we enter the Christian life. Those who have studied the manner in which people become Christians tell us there are two main ways of coming to faith in Christ. One is through a dramatic conversion, whereby a person confronted with the claims of Christ yields to Him in a single moment. The other is when a person moves more slowly into faith, and sometimes cannot even pinpoint the exact moment when he or she made the great surrender. What must be remembered is that both experiences are valid. The best evidence that we are alive is not our birth certificate but the fact we are going about our daily lives as living, breathing people. I myself find no problem when individuals say they do not know the day or hour when they committed themselves to Christ, providing they show evidence that they belong to Him by such proofs as a desire to be alone with Him in prayer, a longing to know Him better through His Word, and an eagerness to meet and have fellowship with other believers. But no matter how one enters the Christian life -- suddenly or slowly -- the most essential element is repentance. I have no hesitation in saying that if we do not understand what is involved in living repentant lives, then regardless of how we start the Christian life there will be no successful continuance.

Prayer:
My Father and my God, if repentance is so important -- and I see that it is -- then help me understand it more deeply. I am at Your feet. Teach me, dear Lord. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

Say it well... Acts 17:22-31

Acts 17:22–31

Paul was a misfit. When it came to a place like Athens, the crusty apostle clashed with the decor.

Made no sense at all. The classic oil-and-water combo. A monotheistic Jew smack dab in the middle of polytheistic Gentiles. Narrow-minded former Pharisee surrounded by broad-minded philosophers. One idol-hating Christian among many idol-worshiping pagans. Outnumbered. Outvoted. Outshouted. But not outwitted.

Those eggheads may have felt superior. They may have looked upon this little runt from Tarsus about like a grizzly views a dirt dauber, but when he opened his mouth and started preaching, they closed theirs and started listening. It wasn't very long before they realized this guy hadn't just fallen off some turnip truck. When it came to communicating, Paul had his stuff together. He was a class act.

The extemporaneous excellence of a message like the one in Acts 17:22–31 makes every preacher's and teacher's mouth water. Unintimidated by their brilliance, unimpressed with their position, and singularly unprovoked over their opinion of him, the apostle captured the attention of the Stoics and Epicureans by means of a genius game plan. With the confidence and deliberateness of a veteran returning to the heat of battle, the seasoned warrior tightened the belt on his toga and took charge. He covered every base necessary for quality communication.

Ever analyzed his Mars Hill message? Allow me:

He started with a jolting attention-getter.
"Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects." (v. 22)
He then used a relevant illustration to amplify his opening remark.
"For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.'" (v. 23a)
Next, he employed an interesting yet brief transition into the body of his speech.
"Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you." (v. 23b)
At the heart of his speech, he presented sound theology in clear, easily understood terms.
"The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him." (vv. 24–27a)
He held their attention by making it personal . . . he even quoted from their own literature.
"Though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.'"
(vv. 27b–28)
He then challenged them with a theological truth woven neatly into Athenian culture.
"Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man."
(v. 29)
Finally, he "drove home" the application ("all everywhere should repent") by a declaration of two inescapable facts (God's judgment, Jesus's resurrection).
"Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."
(vv. 30–31)
Put 'er down, friend. That's quality communication . . . all the ingredients necessary to guarantee edge-of-the-seat interest. The preacher could have gone longer (the speech didn't last two minutes), but the philosophers had gotten enough. Soon as they heard him mention the resurrection, end of Paul's speech. But not end of God's speaking. Some sneered. Others said they'd be back again. A few believed. Typical response. The song had ended, but the melody lingered on.

It's the same today. A mixed bag Sunday after Sunday. Change the particulars and you've got a similar setting in places the world over. One speaks, many listen, some believe. How easy for the spokesperson to be intimidated . . . to think, like Andrew, "But what are these among so many?" . . . to forget that empty philosophy doesn't stand a chance against biblical theology. It's the timeless David-and-Goliath principle—one plus God . . . aw, you know the equation.

But wait. A warning is in order. Before we rush to judgment and claim a pushover victory regardless, let's understand that the strategy calls for quality. It's not as simple as dumping a half-ton load of religious whine, a hodgepodge of verbs, nouns, and adjectives, but preparing the heart, sharpening the mind, delivering the goods with care, sensitivity, timing, and clarity. It's the difference between slopping hogs and feeding sheep.

Occasionally, it's good for communicators to go back to Athens. To blow the dust off those ancient idols in the street and hear again the voice of the preacher as it echoes across that historic wind-swept hill. To look into those dark eyes and to feel again his passion. Then to trace the incomparable heritage of God's mouthpieces down through the centuries.

What a band of magnificent misfits!

If you are one of them, study hard, pray like mad, think it through, tell the truth, then stand tall. But while you're on your feet, don't clothe the riches of Christ in rags. Say
it well.

 When telling the good news, don't clothe Christ’s riches in rags. Say it well.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Influence... Psalms 139:17

Psalms 139:17
How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!

Luke was considered by many to be one of the most influential men in American business. He controlled millions of dollars, was responsible for employing millions of workers, and made decisions that affected millions of people's lives. He spent time with most of the truly important people in the world; but no one more important, in Luke's mind, than the Lord. Schedules were always packed full, but never so full that Luke didn't take some time with God. No decision was made without consulting the Lord. When so much depended on the integrity of Luke's decisions, he wanted to make sure he took into consideration the Word of the Lord. To do less would be absurd.

The counsel of the Lord should be precious to us all. God holds the sum of all wisdom and knowledge. He is the ground of all common sense. Why wouldn't we want to consult the Lord when we make the important decisions in our lives? Doing less is absurd.

Prayer: Fill my mind with Your own thoughts, O God. Help me to see problems through Your eyes and meet them with Your solutions. Teach me to use the gifts of reason, logic, and wisdom that You have given me. Amen.

Friday, November 28, 2014

Understatements... Proverbs 10:19

Proverbs 10:19

You've heard of "too little and too late." How about "too many and too much"? That's the way I'd describe our times. In a society overrun with overstatements, I find an occasional "not quite enough" a sheer delight.

Too much empty talk. Too much rich food. Too much emphasis on success, winning, being the biggest and the best. Too much comparison and commercialism. Too many meetings. Too many pages in the newspaper. Too many TV channels, neon signs, sports teams, schools, and opinions. Too many options on stuff like cars, sound systems, computers, and soft drinks.

We find ourselves making the extreme the standard. Periods are fast being replaced by exclamation points. "Nice" is no longer sufficient. Now it's got to be "fantastic" or "incredible."

Whatever happened to a quiet, barefoot walk along a beach? Or an evening of just listening to music? Or going on a bike ride, topped off with an ice cream cone, single dip? Or flying a kite, then lying on our backs and taking a snooze? When did we let candle-lit loveliness and holding hands with someone we love get bumped by the fluorescent and flashy?

How nice to be surprised by subtlety. To stumble across genuine beauty, true sincerity without overt attempts to impress. First-class class . . . understated elegance that leaves room to imagine, to think, to decide for ourselves, to appreciate. Films and other art forms that give us spaces of silence to feel, to sigh. Speeches, sermons, and writing that reflect true craftsmanship, convincing us that so much more was meant to be said.

My plea in a nutshell? More originals, fewer copies. More creativity, less technology. More implying, less explaining. More thought, less talk. Someone put it like this:

When's the best time to stop talking? Probably now.

A story is told about FDR when he was a young lawyer. He heard his opponent summarize a case before the jury in eloquent, emotional, but lengthy appeal. Sensing the jury was restless, FDR is reported to have said, "You have heard the evidence. You have also listened to a brilliant orator. If you believe him, and disbelieve the evidence, you will decide in his favor. That's all I have to say." He won. Overstate and bore. Understate and score. When a baseball umpire says, "Strike three!" he doesn't have to add "Yer out." That's what strike three means.

"To state with restraint . . . for greater effect." That's what understatement means. As in "I love you." Next time you're tempted to say too much, just say that.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thank God

Thank God for everything!
A person never runs out of reasons to say “thanks.” Just the word lifts the spirit!  To say, “thanks” is to celebrate a gift. Something. Anything. In Scripture the idea of giving thanks is not a suggestion or a recommendation. It’s a command. It carries the same weight as “love your neighbor” and “give to the poor.” More than a hundred times, either by imperative or example, the Bible commands us to be thankful.

If quantity implies gravity, God takes thanksgiving seriously. Ingratitude is the original sin. Adam and Eve had a million reasons to give thanks. They lived in a perfect world. Then Satan slithered into the garden and, just like that, Eden wasn’t enough. Oh, the hissing we hear. “Don’t you want more?”

So thank God. Moment by moment. Day by day. Thank him…for everything!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Submitting to God... Acts 10:14-15


"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." - Acts 10:14-15

Do you feel comfortable saying "no" to God? We might not have the ability to admit it but we each say "no" to God in some way. Sometimes we say "no" by choosing to not witness. Sometimes we say "no" by refusing to volunteer. Sometimes we say "no" by ignoring the prompting of our heart. But most of the time we say "no" because we refuse to accept His will for our lives.
In Matthew 16:13, Jesusasked His disciples, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" The disciples answered His question by stating what others think about Him. "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter is the only one who answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus acknowledges to Peter that God, Himself, has revealed this to him. A few passages later, Jesus begins explaining that He will have to suffer. Peter again is the only one who speaks up as he disagrees with God's plan, taking the liberty to rebuke the Lord. Matthew 16:22-23 says, “Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’ Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.’” Peter has gone from a place of esteem to a place of rebuke. In Acts 10, we find Peter disagreeing with God again as he says, "Surely not, Lord."
We are flesh and our natural born nature rebels against the Lord at times. God can handle whatever position we take and He wants to reason with us on our position. Talk to Him and be honest. The problem comes when we place our thoughts and desires over God's, to a point of rebuking the Lord. We may not have the boldness to tell Him we think He is wrong, but our actions show the thoughts and intents of our hearts as we choose not to submit or yield or even listen to what He is trying to say. God's ways do not make sense to us and His thoughts are not our thoughts.. Peter was a man who had an honest relationship with God. His rebukes may not seem respectful but he kept himself in a position to keep listening until his will lined up with God's will.
What is the Lord trying to tell you today? Are you going through a set of circumstances that you refuse to acknowledge is God's will for your life? Are you fighting or submitting? Are you willing to listen or are you running? Let us all pray that we are on God's side. When it comes down to it, He is going to win. Don't you want to be on His team?

Monday, November 24, 2014

The church part 2... Ephesians 1:19-23

Ephesians 1:19–23

Previously, we discovered Dr. Jay Kesler's five reasons why the church really is a big deal. No, it isn't perfect (you're a part of it, aren't you?) and it hasn't always modeled its message. But whatever is next in order of importance is a distant second—and I mean way down the line.

So, what's all the commotion about the church? Well, besides the things in the list, I can think of only one other reason worth consideration. It is the church over which Jesus Christ says He rules as Head. He's in charge.

Not General Motors. Not American Airlines or the American Medical Association or the Academy of Arts and Sciences. Not the local fire station or theater or police department or library or courtroom. Although important and helpful, these cannot claim His headship. Only the church. With all its quirks and faults, it still ranks right up there at the top.

See you Sunday. That's when the Body and the Head meet to celebrate this mysterious union . . . when ordinary, garden-variety folks like us gather around the preeminent One. For worship. For encouragement. For instruction. For expression. For support. For the carrying out of a God-given role that will never be matched or surpassed on earth—even though it's the stuff the world around us considers weird and weak . . .

Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are. (1 Corinthians 1:25–28).

No matter how it may appear to others, if the church is something God has chosen and God is pleased to use, it's a big deal.

 Only the church, with all its quirks and faults, can claim Jesus as its Head.

The church... Matthew 16:18

Matthew 16:18

So, what's the big deal about the church?

Good question. And it deserves a good answer. Something more than, "You gotta have one to get married in," or "It's the place kids oughta be on Sunday." Or how about, "There's not a better spot to make business contacts."

Really, now . . . haven't you wondered at times if the church is that significant in a day of high-level decisions and powerful international issues? I sure have. How could a congregation of folks carry much clout in our modern era of transcontinental missiles, mind-boggling scientific discoveries, space exploration, and impressive educational advancements? It's easy to be a tad cynical when you compare the importance of a brilliant body of keen-thinking minds wrestling over a decision that could impact a continent of humanity with a few dozen people in some white clapboard building singing "In the Sweet Bye and Bye."

Yet, unless you've recently sliced Matthew 16:18 out of your Bible, it still says the same thing Jesus said. It still includes an unconditional promise that the church is His personal project ("I will build My church") and also that it will be perpetually invincible. No way will "the gates of hell" put it out of business. When you chew on that thought long enough, you begin to realize that the church is the impervious anvil, and all these other hot items, no matter how impressive and loud and intimidating, will ultimately cool off and be replaced.

I remember a message Dr. Jay Kesler gave at a family camp at Forest Home Conference Center. The title of his talk was unpretentious: "Why I Believe in the Local Church." Disarmed by simplicity, all of us in the audience walked away with our heads a little higher, our shoulders no longer slumped as though we had something to prove to a world that often doubts our reason for existence. Jay offered five splendid answers.

1. The church is the only institution dealing with the ultimate issues. Death. Judgment. Relationships. Purpose. Lasting priorities. Meaning in life. Identity. Heaven and Hell.

2. The church provides perspective that gives dignity to mankind. We live in a day in which man has become a means rather than an end. This creates a desperate sense of inner worthlessness. The church counteracts this insidious message.

3. The church provides a moral and ethical compass in the midst of relativism. Like a swamp of murky, slimy water, our society has either rethought, resisted, or completely rejected absolutes. Not the church! It still stands on the timeless bedrock of Scripture.

4. The church is the only place to find true community, healing, compassion, and love. It is here people care. Really care. Not because of status or money. But because the Spirit of God is at work, weaving together the lives within the Body.

5. The church (like no other institution) has provided motivation for the most lasting, unselfish, essential, courageous ministries on earth. Schools. Hospitals. Halfway houses. Orphanages. Leprosariums. Missions.

Look back over the list. Think each one through. See if it doesn't thrill you to realize you are connected with such a significant arm of strength.

 The church is Jesus’ own project ("I will build My church") and it’s invincible.

Shout out...Psalm 100

They say that when you complain, half the people who hear you aren't interested, and the other half are just glad you finally got what's coming to you!
As Christians, we are called to have an attitude of gratitude. Interestingly, our celebration of the holiday called Thanksgiving has a precedent in the Old Testament.
The ancient Israelites worshiped God through a series of five offerings: the burnt offering, the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. The last two were compulsory; you had to do those. But the first three were voluntary; you did them only if you wanted to. And so those three offerings were important to God; they were called "a sweet aroma to the Lord" (Leviticus 1:9).
The burnt offering signified the consecration of one's self to God, and the grain offering was about the dedication of one's service to God.
The peace offering is my favorite; it's the celebration of salvation. Like our Thanksgiving, the people gathered together and shared a meal. They brought a portion of it as a sacrifice, and a portion of it went to the priest. They took the rest of it home, cooked it up, and had friends and family over to thank the Lord for what He had done.
So, on Thanksgiving we gather with family and friends and share a peace offering, thanking the Lord for His goodness and kindness. And if ever there was a national holiday in this country that symbolized a biblical worldview, it is the celebration of Thanksgiving.
This year, I invite you to read one of the psalms of thanksgiving with your family. Try Psalm 100, which begins, "Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!" Today, we would say, "Give Him a shout-out!"
In the New Testament, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 gives a commandment: "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." So, if you've ever wondered, "What's God's will for my life?" that's part of it. Be a thankful person—not a griper, a grumbler, or a complainer. Learn to count those blessings and recite them. Make it your habit and practice to give thanks.
The greatest thing we have to be thankful for is what Jesus Christ did for us in shedding His blood on the cross 2,000 years ago. Now, that's worth a shout-out!
The writer of Hebrews said, "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe" (Hebrews 12:28, NIV).
This peace offering that we celebrate once a year, this Thanksgiving feast, should be centered on gratitude for our salvation. The kingdom that we've inherited will last forever. The joy that we get from time to time in our Christian walk will be maxed out to the full, and in eternity, it will never end. That's also worth a shout-out!
May you have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Fine Art...2 Corinthians 12:8-10

The Fine Art of Blowing It
2 Corinthians 12:8–10

It happens to every one of us. Teachers as well as students. Cops as well as criminals. Bosses as well as secretaries. Parents as well as kids. The diligent as well as the lazy. Not even presidents are immune. Or corporation heads who earn six-figure salaries. The same is true of well-meaning architects and hard-working builders and clear-thinking engineers . . . not to mention pro ball players, politicians, and preachers.

What? Making mistakes, that's what. Doing the wrong thing, usually with the best of motives. And it happens with remarkable regularity.

Let's face it, success is overrated. All of us crave it despite daily proof that man's real genius lies in quite the opposite direction. It's really incompetence that we're all pros at. Which brings me to a basic question that has been burning inside me for months: How come we're so surprised when we see it in others and so devastated when it has occurred in ourselves?

Show me the guy who wrote the rules for perfectionism and I'll guarantee he's a nailbiter with a face full of tics . . . whose wife dreads to see him come home. Furthermore, he forfeits the right to be respected because he's either guilty of not admitting he blew it or he has become an expert at cover-up.

You can do that, you know. Stop and think of ways certain people can keep from coming out and confessing they blew it. Doctors can bury their mistakes. Lawyers' mistakes get shut up in prison—literally. Dentists' mistakes are pulled. Plumbers' mistakes are stopped. Carpenters turn theirs into sawdust. I like what I read in a magazine recently.

Just in case you find any mistakes in this magazine, please remember they were put there for a purpose. We try to offer something for everyone. Some people are always looking for mistakes and we didn't want to disappoint you!

Hey, there have been some real winners! Back in 1957, Ford bragged about "the car of the decade." The Edsel. Unless you lucked out, the Edsel you bought had a door that wouldn't close, a hood that wouldn't open, a horn that kept getting stuck, paint that peeled, and a transmission that wouldn't fulfill its mission. One business writer likened the Edsel's sales graph to an extremely dangerous ski slope. He added that so far as he knew, there was only one case on record of an Edsel ever being stolen.

And how about that famous tower in Italy? The "leaning tower," almost twenty feet out of perpendicular. The guy that planned that foundation to be only ten feet deep (for a building 179 feet tall) didn't possess the world's largest brain. How would you like to have listed in your resumé, "Designed the Leaning Tower of Pisa"?

A friend of mine, realizing how adept I am in this business of blowing it, passed on to me an amazing book (accurate, but funny) entitled The Incomplete Book of Failures, by Stephen Pile. Appropriately, the book itself had two missing pages when it was printed, so the first thing you read is an apology for the omission—and an erratum slip that provides the two pages.

Among the many wild and crazy reports are such things as the least successful weather report, the worst computer, the most boring lecture, the worst aircraft, the slowest selling book, the smallest ever audience, the ugliest building ever constructed, the most chaotic wedding ceremony, and some of the worst statements . . . proven wrong by posterity. Some of those statements, for example, were:

"Far too noisy, my dear Mozart. Far too many notes." —The Emperor Ferdinand after the first performance of The Marriage of Figaro

"If Beethoven's Seventh Symphony is not by some means abridged, it will soon fall into disuse." —Philip Hale, Boston music critic, 1837

"Rembrandt is not to be compared in the painting of character with our extraordinarily gifted English artist Mr. Rippingille." —John Hunt (1775-1848)

"Flight by machines heavier than air is unpractical and insignificant . . . utterly impossible." —Simon Newcomb (1835-1909)

"We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out." —Decca Recording Company when turning down the Beatles in 1962

"You will never amount to very much." —A Munich schoolmaster to Albert Einstein, aged ten

And on and on it goes. The only thing we can be thankful for when it comes to blowing it is that nobody keeps a record of ours. Or do they? Or do you with others?

Come on, ease off. If our perfect Lord is gracious enough to take our worst, our ugliest, our most boring, our least successful, our leaning-tower failures, our Edsel flops, and forgive them, burying them in the depths of the sea, then it's high time we give each other a break.

In fact, He promises full acceptance along with full forgiveness in print for all to read . . . without an erratum sheet attached. Isn't that encouraging? Can't we be that type of encourager to one another? After all, imperfection is one of the few things we still have in common. It links us close together in the same family!

So then, whenever one of us blows it and we can't hide it, how about a little support from those who haven't been caught yet?

Oops, correction. How about a lot of support?

 Imperfection is one thing we all have in common, linking us in the same family.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Someday... Philippians 4:11-13

Philippians 4:11–13

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, things are going to be a lot different. The garage won't be full of bikes, electric train tracks on plywood, sawhorses surrounded by chunks of two-by-fours, nails, a hammer and saw, unfinished "experimental projects," and the rabbit cage. I'll be able to park both cars neatly in just the right places, and never again stumble over skateboards, a pile of papers (saved for the school fund drive), or the bag of rabbit food—now split and spilled. Ugh!

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, the kitchen will be incredibly neat. The sink will be free of sticky dishes, the garbage disposal won't get choked on rubber bands or paper cups, the refrigerator won't be clogged with nine bottles of milk, and we won't lose the tops to jelly jars, catsup bottles, the peanut butter, the margarine, or the mustard. The water jar won't be put back empty, the ice trays won't be left out overnight, the blender won't stand for six hours coated with the remains of a midnight malt, and the honey will stay inside the container.

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, my lovely wife will actually have time to get dressed leisurely. A long, hot bath (without three panic interruptions), time to do her nails (even toenails if she pleases!) without answering a dozen questions and reviewing spelling words, having had her hair done that afternoon without trying to squeeze it in between racing a sick dog to the vet and a trip to the orthodontist with a kid in a bad mood because she lost her headgear.

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, the instrument called a "telephone" will actually be available. It won't look like it's growing from a teenager's ear. It will simply hang there . . . silently and amazingly available! It will be free of lipstick, human saliva, mayonnaise, corn chip crumbs, and toothpicks stuck in those little holes.

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, I'll be able to see through the car windows. Fingerprints, tongue licks, sneaker footprints, and dog tracks (nobody knows how) will be conspicuous by their absence. The back seat won't be a disaster area, we won't sit on jacks or crayons anymore, the tank will not always be somewhere between empty and fumes, and (glory to God!) I won't have to clean up dog messes another time.

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, we will return to normal conversations. You know, just plain American talk. "Gross" won't punctuate every sentence seven times. "Yuk!" will not be heard. "Hurry up, I gotta go!" will not accompany the banging of fists on the bathroom door. "It's my turn" won't call for a referee. And a magazine article will be read in full without interruption, then discussed at length without mom and dad having to hide in the attic to finish the conversation.

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, we won't run out of toilet tissue. My wife won't lose her keys. We won't forget to shut the refrigerator door. I won't have to dream up new ways of diverting attention from the gumball machine . . . or have to answer "Daddy, is it a sin that you're driving forty-seven in a thirty-mile-per-hour zone?" . . . or promise to kiss the rabbit goodnight . . . or wait up forever until they get home from dates . . . or have to take a number to get a word in at the supper table . . . or endure the pious pounding of one Keith Green just below the level of acute pain.

Yes, someday when the kids are grown, things are going to be a lot different. One by one they'll leave our nest, and the place will begin to resemble order and maybe even a touch of elegance. The clink of china and silver will be heard on occasion. The crackling of the fireplace will echo through the hallway. The phone will be strangely silent. The house will be quiet . . . and calm . . . and always clean . . . and empty . . . and filled with memories . . . and lonely . . . and we won't like that at all. And we'll spend our time not looking forward to Someday but looking back to Yesterday. And thinking, "Maybe we can babysit the grandkids and get some life back in this place for a change!"

Could it be that the apostle Paul had some of this in mind when he wrote:

I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
(Philippians 4:11)

Maybe so. But then again, chances are good Paul never had to clean up many dog messes.

God's Plan...1 Samuel 4:1-11

Read: 1 Samuel 4:1-11
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.” —Psalm 91:2

Everybody was wrong about the ark of the covenant (an item in the tabernacle that represented the throne of God). After losing a battle to the Philistines, Israel sent messengers to Shiloh to ask that the ark be hauled to Ebenezer, the site of their army camp.

When the ark arrived, the Israelites celebrated so loudly the enemy heard them all the way over in Aphek. The ark’s arrival caused the Philistines to fear and the Israelites to have courage.

They were both wrong. The Israelites took the ark into battle and were again clobbered by the Philistines, who captured the ark. Another mistake. The Philistines got sick and their false gods were destroyed.

We can understand the Philistines’ error—they were idol-worshipers. But the Israelites should have known better. They failed to consult God about using the ark. While they knew that the ark was earlier carried in battle (Josh. 6), they didn’t consider that God’s plan, not the ark’s involvement, allowed Israel to defeat Jericho.

No matter our resources, we will fail unless we use them according to God’s plan. Let’s study the Word, pray for God’s direction, and trust His leading (Ps. 91:2) before we step out in any venture of faith.

My times are in my Father’s hand;
How could I wish or ask for more?
For He who has my pathway planned
Will guide me till my journey’s o’er.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Relevance... Matthew 10:24-39

Matthew 10:24–39

He was a hated man. He was therefore maligned, threatened, publicly criticized, and privately rebuked. By his own admission he struggled vigorously with sins of the flesh. Especially outrageous anger. His debating disposition, wrote one biographer, caused his writings to "smell of powder; his words are battles; he overwhelms his opponents with a roaring cannonade of argument, eloquence, passion, and abuse." Sarcasm dripped from his pen.

He insulted a colleague by deliberately and repeatedly misspelling his name. He piled such vulgarity on him that one reputable historian said he could not translate its meaning into decent English. "One massive thunderclap" is an apt description of the man's style.

You may be surprised to know he was a Christian. He was, in fact, clergy. Once he admitted:

I never work better than when I am inspired of anger; when I am angry I can write, pray and preach well.

His maverick spirit led to his being excommunicated by the Pope when he was only thirty-eight. Rubbing salt into the ecclesiastical wound, he married a nun (in the sixteenth century, no less!) and became the talk of every monastery in Europe. Unintimidated, he stood alone like a bull in a blizzard . . . but silent he wasn't.

As is true of all such notorious characters, exaggeration and extravagance swarm around his story. It is difficult to filter out myth from truth, but one thing is for certain, Martin Luther was not irrelevant. Irreverent, yes; irrelevant, no. Out of step, yes; out of touch, no. Off base, yes; off target, no. Insulting and offensive, yes; impertinent and tedious, no.

With all his faults, Luther could never be criticized for being dull and distant. His philosophy could be summed up in his own timely words:

If you preach the gospel in all aspects with the exception of the issues which deal specifically with your time—you are not preaching the gospel
at all.

Don't misunderstand, he wasn't advocating a "social gospel," but rather a word from God that contains the solid ring of relevance. The gospel isn't to be changed. It is not ours to tamper with. But it is to cut into each generation like a flashing sword, sharpened on the stone of Scripture, tempered in the furnace of reality and need.

Of all the reactions a person may have to the gospel, I can think of none worse than a yawn . . . a sleepy "So what?" A bored "Who cares?"

I find it refreshing that Jesus Christ met people where they were. His words touched nerves. There was a lot more here-and-now than then-and-there in His talks. His attack on the hypocrisy and prejudice of religious phonies came through loud and clear. He met people as they were, not as they "ought to" be. Angry young men, blind beggars, proud politicians, loose-living street-walkers, ignorant fishermen, naked victims of demonism, and grieving parents were as clearly in His focus as the Twelve who hung on His every word.

His enemies misunderstood Him, but couldn't ignore Him. They hated Him, but were never bored around Him. Jesus was the epitome of relevance. Still is.

It is we who have hauled the cross back out of sight. It is we who have left the impression that it belongs only in the cloistered halls of a seminary or beneath the soft shadows of stained glass and marble statues. George MacLeod, who wrote the following piece, expresses my firm conviction.

I simply argue that the cross be raised again
at the center of the market place
as well as on the steeple of the church,

I am recovering the claim that
Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral
between two candles:

But on a cross between two thieves;
on a town garbage heap;
At a crossroad of politics so cosmopolitan
that they had to write His title
in Hebrew and in Latin and in Greek . . .

And at the kind of place where cynics talk smut,
and thieves curse and soldiers gamble.

Because that is where He died,
and that is what He died about.
And that is where Christ's men ought to be,
and what church people ought to be about.

 Jesus met people as they were, not as they "ought to" be.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Big picture... Matthew 28:16-20

Matthew 28:16–20

If you were to do a little fun research to discover the sheer quantity of activities that happen each day in America, you'd be amazed. Consider, for example, the number of cups of coffee consumed, the number of babies born, the number of people who take a taxi, bury a pet, get divorced, go to the hospital, watch prime-time television, ride on an airplane, and go to school.

So what? That's trivia, right? When you multiply all those things by 365, you get the general idea that there's a fair amount of energy, money, activity, and trauma going on in a year's time. And that's just in America—representing only a portion of the world's population. We may not be big, but we're busy. In fact, we are so busy it's easy to get selfishly swept up in the whirlwind of our own little playground sandwiched between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans . . . blessed beyond measure and rich beyond comparison.

Every so often it's helpful to stop the annual merry-go-round, get off, look objectively, and think clearly. It's not only helpful, it's essential for the Christian. In this circus-like American lifestyle of ours, we tend to be deafened by the blare of our own band and blinded by the lights of our own spots, shining—always shining—on the ring of our own choice.

That needs to change. We need to hear the voice of the Ringmaster as He raises His hand to stop the band:

"We interrupt this program to bring all of you a reminder that the world in which you live is not the whole world . . . but only a very small part of the world for which I died."

The Great Commission is still "the Great Commission," not "The Limited Agreement for My Corner of America." He still looks out across a wide world and weeps over men and women and children who do not know—have never heard—His healing, life-giving Name.

Can you feel His pain? What could you do this week to reach farther, see wider, feel deeper? What could help you kindle a greater understanding, perspective, and compassion for this vast hurting world of ours?

Taking a missionary out for coffee?
Reading—really absorbing—a good missions magazine?
Writing a letter to some battle-weary missions veteran in the trenches of a distant country?
Making friends with a lonely international student?
Writing a check so that a hungry third-world family finds hope for another day?
Praying that the Lord would give you an opportunity to serve Him in a cross-cultural experience—even for one year?

Sound risky? Maybe. But I've got a hunch that when the score is added up one day as we stand before our Lord, many of us will wish we'd played a lot more Risk . . . and a lot less Trivial Pursuit.

 God looks over the world and weeps for those who haven’t heard His healing Name.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Suffering...2 Corinthians 1:3-11

2 Corinthians 1:3–11

Of all the letters Paul wrote, 2 Corinthians is the most autobiographical. In it the great apostle lifts the veil of his private life and allows us to catch a glimpse of his human frailties and needs. You need to read that letter in one sitting to capture the moving emotion that surged through his soul.

It is in this letter alone that he records the specifics of his anguish, tears, affliction, and satanic opposition. In this letter alone he spells out the details of his persecution, loneliness, imprisonments, beatings, feelings of despair, hunger, shipwrecks, sleepless nights, and that "thorn in the flesh"—his companion of pain. How close it makes us feel to him when we picture him as a man with real, honest-to-goodness problems . . . just like you and me!

It is not surprising, then, that he begins the letter with words of comfort—especially verses 3 through 11 (please stop and read).

Now then, having read those nine verses, please observe his frequent use of the term comfort in verses 3-7. I count ten times in five verses that the same root word is employed by Paul. This word is para-kaleo, meaning literally, "to call alongside." It involves more than a shallow "pat on the back" with the tired expression, "the Lord bless you . . ." No, this word involves genuine, in-depth understanding . . . deep-down compassion and sympathy. This seems especially appropriate since it says that God, our Father, is the "God of all comfort" who "comforts us in all our affliction." Our loving Father is never preoccupied or removed when we are enduring sadness and affliction! Read Hebrews 4:14–16 and Matthew 6:31–32 as further proof.

There is yet another observation worth noting in 2 Corinthians, chapter 1. No less than three reasons are given for suffering—each one introduced with the term "that." Can you locate them? Take a pencil and circle the "that" in verses 4, 9, and 11. Quietly, without a lot of fanfare, the Holy Spirit states reasons we suffer:

1. "That we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction . . ." (v. 4). God allows suffering so that we might have the capacity to enter into others' sorrow and affliction. Isn't that true? If you have suffered a broken leg and been confined to crutches for weeks—you are in complete sympathy with someone else on crutches, even years after your affliction. The same is true for the loss of a child . . . emotional depression . . . an auto accident . . . undergoing unfair criticism . . . financial burdens. God gives His children the capacity to understand by bringing similar sufferings into our lives. Bruises attract one another.

2. "That we would not trust in ourselves . . ." (v. 9). God also allows suffering so that we might learn what it means to depend on Him, not on our own strength and resources. Doesn't suffering do that? It forces us to lean on Him totally, absolutely. Over and over He reminds us of the danger of pride . . . but it frequently takes suffering to make the lesson stick. Pride is smashed most effectively when the suffering comes suddenly, surprisingly. The express trains of heaven are seldom announced by a warning bell; they dash suddenly and abruptly into the station of the soul. Perhaps that has been your experience recently. Don't resent the affliction as an intruder—welcome it as God's message to stop trusting in your flesh . . . and start leaning on Him.

3. "That thanks may be given . . ." (v. 11). Honestly—have you said, "Thanks, Lord, for this test"? Have you finally stopped struggling and expressed to Him how much you appreciate His loving sovereignty over your life? I submit that one of the reasons our suffering is prolonged is that we take so long saying "Thank you, Lord" with an attitude of genuine appreciation.

How unfinished and rebellious and proud and unconcerned we would be without suffering! Alan Redpath, the beloved evangelist and former pastor of Moody Bible Church in Chicago, once remarked;

When God wants to do an impossible task, He takes an impossible individual—and crushes him.

Here is another statement on suffering I heard years ago. I shall never forget it:

Pain plants the flag of reality in the fortress of a rebel heart.

May these things encourage you the next time God heats up the furnace!

 Have you expressed your thanks to God lately for His sovereignty over your life?

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Our best...Mark 12:44

“She of her want did cast in all that she had” (Mark 12:44).

“Make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son . . . and she, and he, and her house did eat many days” (1 Kings 17:13, 15).

Let us ever remember that God is glorified in the full consecration of what we have, be it small or great. He desires not the increase of five talents for the loan of one, but a full, perfect consecration of that one to His own honor; and whoever renders this, He pronounces as hearty a “Well done” upon, as upon him who has received ten. I have often erred here. I will try to remember in future that all I have is all He wants.—Catherine Booth.

He couldn’t sing and he couldn’t play,

He couldn’t speak and he couldn’t pray.

He’d try to read, but he’d break right down,

Then sadly grieve at smile or frown.

While some with talents ten begun,

He started out with only one.

“With this,” he said, “I’ll do my best,

And trust the Lord to do the rest.”

His trembling hand and tearful eye

Gave forth a world of sympathy;

When all alone with one distressed,

He whispered words that calmed that breast.

And little children learned to know,

When grieved and troubled, where to go.

He loved the birds, the flowers, the trees,

And, loving him, his friends loved these.

His homely features lost each trace

Of homeliness, and in his face

There beamed a kind and tender light

That made surrounding features bright.

When illness came, he smiled at fears,

And bade his friends to dry their tears.

He said, “Good-bye,” and all confess

He made of life a grand success.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Criticism...2 Timothy 1:7

2 Timothy 1:7

Looking for a role model on how to handle criticism? It would be worth your while to check out the book of Nehemiah. On several occasions this great-hearted statesman was openly criticized, falsely accused, and grossly misunderstood. Each time he kept his cool . . . he rolled with the punch . . . he considered the source . . . he refused to get discouraged . . . he went to God in prayer . . . he kept building the wall (Nehemiah 2:19–20; 4:1–5).

One of the occupational hazards of being a leader is receiving criticism (not all of it constructive, by the way). In the face of that kind of heat, there's a strong temptation to "go under," "throw in the towel," "bail out." Many have faded out of leadership because of intense criticism. I firmly believe that the leader who does anything that is different or worthwhile or visionary can count on criticism.

Along this line, I appreciate the remarks made by the fiery president of a past generation, Theodore Roosevelt:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who does actually try to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.

To those words I add a resounding amen.

A sense of humor is of paramount importance to the leader. Many of God's servants are simply too serious! There are at least two tests we face that determine the extent of our sense of humor:

the ability to laugh at ourselves

the ability to take criticism

Believe me, no leader can continue effectively if he or she fails these tests! Equally important, of course, is the ability to sift from any criticism that which is true, that which is fact. We are foolish if we respond angrily to every criticism. Who knows, God may be using those words to teach us some essential lessons, painful though they may be.

Isn't this what Proverbs 27:5–6 is saying?

Better is open rebuke
Than love that is concealed.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

And let me call to your attention the word friend in these verses. Friendship is not threatened but strengthened by honest criticism. But—when you are criticized by one who hardly knows you, filter out what is fact . . . and ignore the rest!

Nehemiah did that . . . and he got the wall built.

 The leader who does anything different or visionary can count on criticism.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Tough days part 2... Galatians 6:9-18

Galatians 6:9–18

Tough days. We all have them. And most of us, if we're honest, must admit we don't handle them well. Others who love us try to help, but they tend to complicate matters.

Take the four guys who decided to go mountain climbing one weekend. In the middle of the climb, one fella slipped over a cliff, dropped about sixty feet, and landed with a thud on the ledge below. The other three, hoping to rescue him, yelled, "Joe, are you okay?"

"I'm alive . . . but I think I broke both my arms!"
"We'll toss a rope down to you and pull you up. Just lie still!" said the three.
"Fine," answered Joe.

A couple of minutes after dropping one end of the rope, they started tugging and grunting together, working feverishly to pull their wounded companion to safety. When they had him about three-fourths of the way up, they suddenly remembered he said he had broken both of his arms.

"Joe! If you broke both your arms, how in the world are you hanging on?"
Joe responded, "With my TEEEEEEEEEEEETH . . ."

No, other people can't help much on tough days. They may be good companions, but they sure can't stop the pain. Holding hands and singing during an earthquake is small comfort.

Some would advise, "Just get in there and keep busy—work harder." But that doesn't help much either. When the barn's on fire, slapping a coat of paint on the other side doesn't make much sense. If the tires are flat, driving faster is pretty dumb.

So—what's the answer? How can we handle tough days when the Enemy works overtime to persuade us that God doesn't care? I have found solid encouragement from four threads woven into the fabric of Galatians 6. See if you don't agree.

1. Let us not lose heart (v. 9). On tough days, you gotta have heart. Don't quit, whatever you do. Persevere. Stand firm. Be strong, resilient, determined to see it through. Ask God to build a protective shield around your heart, stabilizing you.

2. Let us do good (v. 10). Our tendency will be anything but that. Instead of good, we will feel like doing evil. Fume. Swear. Scream. Fight. Pout. Get irritated. Burn up all kinds of emotional BTU's. Rather than parading through that shop-worn routine, stay quiet and consciously turn it all over to the Lord.

3. Let no one cause you trouble (v. 17). Superb advice! Refuse to allow anyone (or anything) to gain mastery over you. That throne within you belongs only to the Lord Jesus Christ. Stop leasing it out!

4. Let grace be with your spirit (v. 18). Allow the full impact of grace to flow through your thoughts, your attitudes, your responses, your words. Open the gates and let those good things stampede freely across your tough day. You sit on the fence and relax.

It works. It really does.

 Refuse to let anything gain mastery over you. That throne belongs only to Jesus.