Your Life in Pictures

Scripture Reading: Mt 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Did you ever want to be a movie star? Lots of kids after seeing their first movie, aspire to be one. They will get out in the backyard and act out some story they make up. Sometimes the stories are good, but most times they make no sense. I remember trying to make a short movie when video first came about, it didn't make sense. Actually I am older than video and remember loading and 8mm camera, to give it a go, to no avail. However that attention people give to actors/actresses does something for the human ego. Being in front of the camera makes some folks feel important, while others it makes nervous.

Making movies is what I studied in school. I can tell you to professionally make a film involves a lot of hard work. One of the more time consuming job is the editing process. You spend long hours going over and over footage to get it trimmed to the right length. When you think you have it right, it needs more! You see a lot of pictures this way. In fact, for every second the camera is on, it takes either 24 or 30 pictures per second! Each one of these pictures is called a frame. Frames added together make movies, after all, a movie is only a whole lot of still pictures hurriedly shown together one after another. Its nice to have a smooth running film with none of the frames damaged or have any marks on them. Yet, with so many frames there are bound to be a few that are undesirable. Such as it is in our lives. Every moment of every day we present a picture or frame to someone, hopefully those frames are good ones, sometimes we would rather edit out the bad ones.

Our lives compose of stuff and events that all compacts together to make us who we are and who others see us to be. In the old days of film editing, we would have a rack of small reels, which would contain clips of different stuff. You would label that clip and then run it through a viewer to see how it fit with whatever subject or story you would show in your film. It is true that most of a film's footage never gets seen for either it was shot wrong or just didn't help support the topic. How many times in our lives have we said of done something that does not really support who we are in Christ? Wouldn't it be nice to pull off the shelf that bad statement, thought, action, etc and toss it? This is what Christ does when He forgives us. Our bad parts are taken out completely never to be reviewed by anyone.

Physical cutting of film is something necessary to produce a good film. Likewise there are things in life we must physically cut out of our lives or abstain from altogether. Things that seem to fit or seem to be okay, just not our best, are just the things that can be the most harmful. We all would agree that drugs and alcohol is bad for us and certainly hurts our bodies as well as our testimony, it is the seemingly Innocent things that do more damage. The innocent matters of life when compiled stifle our spiritual walk. So many times we get caught up in the temporal that we forget the eternal. This is when we know its time to cut out certain habits, favorites, etc. When God gets lost in the stuff of our lives then the picture we present to others isn't very clear. Its hard to tell a story when you go off on rabbit trails from the main subject. Its hard to show a film that has a lot of extraneous content and tell a story with it. Such it is with your life and showing Christ.

Handling a film with gloves is necessary to prevent scratching and other marring influences. In life we need to handle ourselves carefully according to God's Word. The "Gloves" of the Word protect us from all sorts of failure, fears, doubts, ideas, bad habits, etc. Gloves also clean off dirt that lays on the surface of the film. The Word of God likewise helps us identify and clean areas of our lives that become soiled with sin. The problem is we don't always like to wear gloves. We like to think we can do things pretty well on our own. Some Christians believe themselves to be so spiritually strong that they can look out for themselves. Tragically, when we don't wear the gloves of the Word we end up in bad shape and bring others down with us. Without the correction and protection of the Word, our lives become so dirty that they become unusable, just like film that is not cleaned. A dirty film does not project well. It misses and jumps in the projector and does not show a clear image. Dirt builds up and shows in the projected image as well. So it is with our lives. We don't take the time to clean spiritual selves, we present a poor quality picture to the world around us.

Did you ever think yourself to be in "pictures?" Whether you want to be or not, we are. The good news is that it is God who is doing the editing, if we let Him. He alone makes a finished picture of our lives a masterpiece and a great story of His redemption. It is so important we take aim not to present anything to the all watching world as a deterrent from them seeing Christ projected.

When people see a compelling and clear projected film, it changes some part of them. When people see us, how do they visualize Christ? How clear is our life and example of what others should desire for themselves?

Lord, how guilty we often are of not showing our best of what You have done in us for others to see. Help us Lord to examine our lives and project the best example and testimony we can to win others to you and for others to be an encouragement. Thank You for taking an interest in us to be involved with our lives. We praise You and love You Lord. In Your Name, Amen.

Remember

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-25

The words of Jesus: "This Do In Remembrance of Me." These words have echoed in my mind today. I think about this and though I don't know the Greek interpretation of the passage, I can see the heart of Jesus towards His disciples (and to us) at the meal. The most difficult and overwhelmingly despairing hour was about to come upon Him. Though He knew He would raise from the dead, and though He knew that the Father would be glorified in the cross, He knew that it would be a very long time before He would be with them for a long period of time. In fact, Jesus said that He would not eat the Passover meal with them until they were in Heaven with all the saints. We need to remember that Jesus was not only God and man, but has feelings like we do. So when Jesus uttered the words, "Remember Me" for the practice of showing His death till He comes again, I really think in the midst of all this He also included in this wants us to Remember Him as the loving Savior and Friend.

Just like you and me, we want others to think about us, in life and after death. We do not want to be forgotten and neither does Jesus. I wonder if there was angst in His foresight not for the disciples but to all who would follow Him. He knows that we drift away from Him. He knows that we can accuse Him falsely of things. He knows that things of the world cause us to misplace our focus of Him. When we do this, we forget Jesus. We forget the One who redefined what love really is and that awesome love is directed solely at our hearts. If we had a earthly friend who perhaps gave his or her life for us we would not quickly forget it. We would tell all the ones we know how this person pushed us out of the way of the falling building, took the bullet that should have been ours, or went back into the fire to get us out and dying after we were safely out. Of course we would tell others about this, but would they be constantly on our minds. This constant remembrance I believe is what Jesus had in mind. He knew the volume of love he would out pour and though He never asked we earn that love (how could we) but I think He wanted us never to forget our Supreme Benefactor over the long centuries to the time we yet anticipate His return.

So, how do we keep in remembrance the Christ who gave all for us?

Remember Him by putting Scripture to memory. Prayer and Bible reading are the staples of our Christian life. However, if we read but do not retain what we've read, we are losing valuable moments with God. You do not have to memorize long verses at first, but concentrate on the shorter verses. You cannot go wrong on memorizing any scripture because it all points to Christ. I would suggest memorizing John 3:16, Romans 5:8, John 1:1-3, Romans 8:28, Romans 12:1-2, and there are many others. Putting these to memory will help us reflect on the goodness of God and desire us to know more of Him. It will aid in troubles and comfort others in theirs. Nothing honors Him more than to desire to remember the very words He so lovingly gave.

Remember Him by having a special piece of art in a prominent place. This could be a point where there are some fundamental folks, well meaning of course, would balk at. Let me say that we should never worship art or give greater place to a statue or whatever. True worship belongs to the Person of God living on the inside of you. However, it is not wrong I don't believe to have a representation of Christ. Though we do not know what He looked like, its okay to have a visual reminder of Him as it draws our thoughts to Him. The painting in the article today is one of my favorites. I personally have several prints and a sculpture and that really does help me to think of Him. I love "religious art" when it is correctly depicting Scripture. I encourage you to have something in your home like it. If nothing else, have a Bible that has illustrations opened to a particular illustration such as "the Last Supper." Spend more time with God than the art, but definitely keep it to remember Him.

Remember Him by talking to others about how He has and is working in your life.
Of course this is the way He wants us to remember Him most. Our daily lives to reflect Him. The last recorded words of Christ in Matthew tells us to tell the whole world about Him. Personal testimony is something another person may not want to always hear, but something they cannot deny. You don't have to be a bombastic expositor or preacher to do this. In fact the most valuable testimony is just the plain simple, un-embellished facts of what Jesus is doing or has done through you. Each of us who are believers should have something to point to, some grace, some work, some help that Christ has been and is being to them. We encourage others and are the instrument of help to saved and lost alike when we remember the Lord this way.

Remember Him by not forsaking any of the worship services your church has. This is something rather of a lost importance in today's society. Not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together is sort of marginalized because our busy schedules won't allow it. Typically this comes in the form of Sunday EVENING church attendance. Anyone remember that??? It is obviously a huge pet peeve of mine. But more than that, it is a huge hurt to Christ to know His followers think so little of Him as to give Him an hour or so a week in corporate worship. Then there is Wednesday or midweek meeting that are skipped. Though Christ is hurt by our lack of attendance, we are the real losing ones. Of course there are job reasons and sickness that keep us away, but that is not what I am referring to, I am referring to a willful attitude that church is not really that important on a given time, especially when it interferes with some highly sought after earthly activity. If family time interferes with Church time, I guarantee you, you will not be sorry when your kids are grown by "keeping" them in the Lord's house every time the doors are open. As a matter of fact too often not taking them to every service as much as possible leads to shipwreck later in life because the Word of God was not firmly planted in them. Remember Christ in corporate worship.

In the coming week, make plans to remember Christ in your hearts and minds by following the suggested ways. These are certainly not all the ways and not one of them takes place of prayer and Bible study, but remember, how much Christ loved us. This desire of His to be remembered by us should be our joy and motivation, becoming so intertwined with our daily lives. Remember.

Dear Lord Jesus, we thank you for remembering us in our most desperate hour. It is a shame we don't think of you more than we do. Draw our hearts to you and help us to place you in the forefront of our lives as David said in Psalm 16, "I have set the Lord before me." May this week find us closer to You than in many years. In your name, Amen.

Identifying An Idol's Ways

Scripture Reading: 1 John 5:20-21

Are there any idols in your life? You may not have a curio cabinet full of carved wooden statues honoring Diana of the Ephesians or Baal of the Canaanites, but in many cases we may just have some idols hanging around.

Like me, you have probably heard down through the years a preacher say, "the TV can be an idol, sports can be, a car, your hobbies, etc." Of course all of this can be very well an idol, but the Apostle John in this letter to the Saints really didn't have in mind the type of idols we may have, but the power over the owner and the neglect of seeing them as competition to our Lord Jesus Christ. This week lets look at the ways an idol can influence someone and take away one's interest in serving and knowing Christ.

Idols of any type begin as innocence, but end in disaster.
Satan never presents us with something irrefutably harmful to us. When he tempted Eve it was with something tangible she wanted, and something intangible she thought she wanted. Both proved to be disastrous. Whatever can possibly be taking your focus from God did not start announcing it would do so. Just a taste, a sweet taste, of even a good wholesome thing can turn into an addiction. The problem is that people scoff and say, "Oh I have more sense than to be controlled by that," or, "Something that small cannot possibly hurt me." Let's say you're into doll collecting. Nothing wrong with it, its a nice hobby. However, there is much information about various dolls. There are scads of books, periodicals, etc about the subject. You of course are diligent in your pursuits and you want to know as much about a subject as you can, so more and more of your time gets spent in studying this subject that used to be devoted to God's Word. If left unchecked, you will start to consider taking in a doll show that is on a Sunday, and the reasoning mind will whisper, "well, after all they don't have these things that often, and they try to make it convenient for everyone..." Go to one, maybe two, and your hooked. Why? Not because it was a bad thing, its because the voice and direction of God was replaced for something else. This is what John is stressing in these verses, keep yourselves from idols and know the true God and His Life that He gives, lest you give over your life for something that will perish.
Pretty soon you stop going to church altogether, always a reason. Your life starts having difficulties and you wonder where God is in all this. You have forgotten God's ways and His Word and the perils start from here until you confess it and repent of it.

Idols have no message or hope, but they seek to undermine Christ's Message to you. Back in John's day where idols were mostly carved objects, it should be easy to see how foolish it was for anyone Christian or Unbeliever to pray to and expect an answer from a block of wood or stone. Yet so many even in Paul's day were integrating certain pagan rituals with Christianity. Again we don't normally incorporate paganism, but we do incorporate rituals. The ritual of popular opinion, the ritual of worldly philosophy, the ritual of ecumenicalism, etc, all has ties to the Christian believer today. The main point is, no matter how innocent or harmless we think something to be, a little of this here, a little dab of that there and it soaks in the soul and builds a blindness and hardness towards God. All of the world's messages are attuned to our flesh. Our flesh agrees and it seems to make perfect sense. It may not overpower our thinking at once, but what it does is weaken our spiritual immunity so much that God's Word has little effect because we listen increasingly more to worldly propaganda and forget God's instructions.
Then God seems a stranger and we have seemingly lost hope.

One of the best sermon series on this topic, of which this material is not copied from, is The Danger of Drifting by Charles Stanley. Check it out for further study on this topic.

Idols have no genuine affection for you, but they cause doubt about the One who does.
It is purely the work of darkness that would captivate a man or woman to think that some inanimate object cares for their soul and physical well being. Yet in so many deceived minds that is exactly what takes place, a feeling of belonging to a god that does not hear, nor speak, nor gives hope beyond what someone imagines. We have the Bible, God's spoken Word. We know it is true for many reasons but especially the way it works in peoples lives, changes their hearts, and has lasted for at least four Milena without change or error!!! Only the power of God's marvellous Light can do this. So, can a Christian really fall for some other fancy and expect more from it than from God? Yes. The reason is because we still have the flesh, and when we feed it the more powerful it becomes. Thankfully our salvation is not dependent on fleshly strength or weakness.

Here is the real issue. People become disappointed with God over some thing and these things did not turn out the way the person thought God would act, therefore they think God must be unreasonable, He probably does not love me, maybe there is someone or something better.

This is tragic thinking, but it is easily slipped into when we take our eyes off God. All of the sudden, sin looks practical. False ideas seem plausible. All sorts of old enemies surface as "friends" to help you in your derision. It's not however that we wholesale go for all the things the world throws at us, it's the fact that we compare them with God's Word and start to distrust God and doubt Him. When we lose our confidence in God, we have wandered into the most helpless miserable place.

Idols have no identity or future, but they cause us to protect them from the Truth.
Here is perhaps the most entangling influence of idols. Even though we know in our souls there is nothing to what they say or do, the longer we stay wrapped up in them, the harder it is to rid ourselves of their deceptions and lies. In fact we protect them when another Christan rightly confronts us with the True Faith of God's Word against what we are doing. We put up walls and spar with believers, so intoxicated with the world we forget we are not of the world but of Christ. It's like uncovering a wall that has had years even decades of vines growing over it. The years have produced a thickness that we have become accustomed to. We forget that underneath there is the True identity of Christ within us. The longer we give place to whatever idolic influence, the harder it is to brake away. This is why John said shortly but firmly, "Keep yourself away." Don't grow accustomed to sins and false teachings! Just because they may have made you feel good or appealed to your flesh doesn't mean they are for you or are correct. The only way to deal with this is to rip away the cancer feeding on your soul. Stop whatever is feeding your desire to be turned to idols than to Christ. Then spend time in God's Word. You must rebuild that which was lost and renew that which was forgotten. Only then will idolatry leave you alone.

Are there idols in your life? If that question offends you, then it is a sure sign that they are present. Consider the source of idolatry and consider the dangers, then consider Christ, it will be purely obvious what to do and Whom to turn to.

Father thank You today that we are not cast away from You even when we turn to idols. Forgive us wretched creatures for even drawing a chair up to listen to what they have to teach us, and cleanse us from any stain they have had on us. I pray as those who read this will be challenged and convicted, but more importantly set free by returning to You. Thank You for the great bond of perfect love we have in You. May we make the most of our time at Your Feet and not those of another. In Your Name, Amen.

Image Source

Lest Darkness Overtake Poem

Scripture Reading:  John 12:25

Hello all, 

As you who subscribe know, I normally don't do two postings a week.  However, regarding the storms we had last night in WV, I found myself without power as thousands did.  I used to live in a rural area and was quite used to total darkness after all the lights were out.  Now living in a city where there is some form of light always shining, it was sort of weird to experience a total black out, not able to see the hand in front of my face.  It was sort of disconcerting spending a night in total darkness.  But I am reminded that this is what every person without Jesus Christ will experience forever.  10 hours was bad enough for me (of course I had candles and flashlights) but just imagine eternity (no ending) where no Light is and no Help or Hope.  So in all this, I used to write poems a lot and sort of fell off from doing it, but I felt compelled to form these words in the wake of our power outage due to the storms. Excuse my meter and literary inabilities, this is just what flows from my head.  I would like to share it with you.  

PS

Please take time to read the Scripture passage above too.

LEST DARKNESS OVERTAKE

By Jon Browning

Have mercy on a sinner Lord

  A sinner in darkness indeed.

Life's work and life's credits

  Are man's selfish creed.

Fill me with they Grace and Love

   Sweep o'er me Thy Power.

Save me from the wicked one,

   And the darkness abiding in the evil hour.

Should darkness come and a soul overtake,

   Lord what hope is there

Where no Light of Yours doth break?

   Light from Heaven dispels the darkest sea,

Ever shining, ever pointing towards

Our Hope, Our Salvation, Our Eternity.

Run swiftly towards this Light O searching soul,

  For the Light is visible and fading fast.

Bask in its glory and let it fill you complete and whole,

Cast away sin's garments with darkness did it thee infect,

  Lest darkness find you helpless for eternity,

For so great a salvation you did neglect.

O Light of Christ thou art my glory sure.

  From darkness I did flee

My soul will never walk its dark paths evermore.

Keep shining for my brethren even just a little while,

  Plead with them tenderly 

To sail from this world's despairing isle.

Let me have a lantern and fill it with thy Light so free

  Call to others in the darkness

For they to come and with us spend eternity.

Lord Is It I?

Scripture Readings: Mark 14:17-19 and
1 Corinthians 11:28

The famous painting of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper will perhaps remain the hallmark of Christendom paintings. The fictional garbage of Dan Brown will not be referenced here. Of course we have all heard the statements of how inaccurate the setting is (I am not sure what good that ever did) but the pictorial message da Vinci was portraying is one that is seldom talked about in sermons or lectures.

The most typical assumption of this painted scene is one in which Jesus has said, "do this in remembrance of Me." However that is not the moment of the meal for which the painting is struck If you examine the painting we see a lot going on, but the snapshot is of the reaction to Jesus statement, "One of you will betray Me." Three things are going on. First, the disciples looked stunned. Second they begin to ask each other and the Lord, "who will betray You?" Lastly, the Apostle John is seen close to Jesus secretly inquiring the answer to the same question. It is the pivotal moment in the meal. After that, Christ would give the most important lesson on servanthood. Most certainly this lesson is and should be the most emphasized, but what about the former moments of revealing the traitor? Judas Iscariot was controlled by Satan to carry out the deed of betrayal, but the disciples didn't know that. So they each began to examine their own hearts and motives. In connection with remembering the Last Supper, the Apostle Paul challenged us to examine ourselves as well. This process of examination we'll look at is not only beneficial but necessary for the Christian is our day to day lives.

I don't believe that any of us are in danger or want of betraying Christ as Judas did, however we do betray His plans for us and His vision for us when we sin. Something to note before going any further is that the betrayal even of Iscariot was not a sin that couldn't be forgiven. Just this morning I was thinking about the Gethsemane betrayal and remembering how Jesus addressed Judas as "friend" just before He was betrayed by him. I personally think not only could Judas have been forgiven of this act of betrayal, but that night Judas was heavily on the grieving heart of the Master. Such are we on the heart of the Lord as we sin against Him. So when we sin against Christ, we should instantly stop and examine what has been done and the space put between us and Christ as the result. Examining ourselves is the best way and the first step towards restored fellowship with the Savior. Here are some areas which this process is achieved.

First, Self Examination must be an inward desire to be most effective. The mark of the true follower of Christ is to put sin far away from them. One preacher put it this way, "we need to keep a short account with God." None of us like to go to a doctor. But when we do go it is out of need, but how much better it would be to go out of desire for prevention of a disease. Likewise we must constantly desire within us to examine ourselves to see if there be any wickedness that cuts off our fellowship with Christ. Christ is our lifeline just as is our mortal blood to our body. We do not desire bodily disease, therefore in the same manner we should not desire the encroachment of sin in our souls. However, if we shy away from looking inwardly, or, if we put it off for a more "convenient" time which never comes, we allow the spread of sin to run unchecked working its discord. It is true that one of man's superior talents is to pick out sin in someone else's life, but unless we see it for ourselves in our own life, we fail harshly in our purpose to glorify God while we bear an unsightly mark of unconfesed sin. Therefore, to invite self examination is to desire Christ's person and witness in the life of a believer to be first place above all else. May it be true of us.

Second, Self Examination must be willing to truly admit what it finds. Denial is one of man's voluntary natural reactions. When found out of some wrong doing, the first reaction is to deny out of shame or perhaps protection of one's "character." Sin is a reproach to anyone, believer or unbeliever. Yet just because a sin is not admitted to exist in a person, changes nothing. John tells us in his first epistle, that if we say we have no sin we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us 1 John 1:8. Even though we commit a sin, we would rather put it out of our minds than deal with it. We don't like the looks of sin nor do we like the thought of us behaving shamefully. The truth is we cannot mask off parts of our lives from the eyes of God. So, we must admit our faults before Him. Notice that in confession of sin we are not bringing to God something that He is not aware of, we are simply agreeing with His Holy character that the sin does not belong. Also in true confession we cannot sugar coat or dress up our sin. For example, (none of this is intended to be critical) a person who is in the sin of adultery, we would rather call it an "affair." Another example is one who is caught up in stealing or vandalization, we wink at it and call it "mischief." One more example is one who cheats either a person or the government, we giggle and smile as we justify ourselves. God however neither giggles nor smiles. Sin must be dealt with straight on for what it truly is, not what we want it to be. Sin must be seen as an offense to God and something that needs immediate attention. We must be willing to admit we messed up, we are to blame, we are at fault, we need forgiveness.

Third, Self Examination must be willing to submit to the only treatment.
Once we have discovered the wrong in our lives we cannot falter on its remedy. We are so use to getting by with doing things half way. We want to make an end run around the situation without having to face up to the consequences. Naturally on the inside, we do not want to face up to God's holiness. The flesh has a tender nerve to it. That nerve doesn't want to submit itself to the forgiveness of Christ. The reason is that the flesh always wants to be first. It cannot stand it when we make ourselves lowly. When we ask Christ to forgive us our trespasses, we are lowering our position to depths of truth, but not necessarily of glamour and enjoyment. The only working prescribed treatment for a cavity in a tooth is to have it drilled out. Deliverance from its effects cannot be had any other way no matter how much we desire otherwise. Such it is in the spirit of man when we sin. Fortunately, the treatment of Christ's forgiveness is less painful than any medical procedure! But is greater seriousness, this matter of humbling ourselves is why Jesus said that there are few who find the narrow road which leads to eternal life.

Lastly, Self Examination is not something set aside for just a special occasion. We put up a Christmas tree during the holidays. We eat a turkey for Thanksgiving. We watch fireworks for the fourth of July. Each of these actions are only done at special times and never all day, every day. We cannot treat self examination in the same manner. Even though in the Old Testament the High Priest made an atonement offering for the sins of the people once a year, it is important to realize that the individual sin was to be dealt with immediately. Setting aside a time for forgiveness does not say much about our caring relationship with Christ. We cannot approach Him with the desire to know Him and love Him when we treat Him carelessly about our sin. Just as when we offend someone deeply, we do not go up to them and greet them as if nothing happened when we know there is an offense between us. Typically in a religious sense, man feels the need to confess sin at a particular time, usually for Communion, which it is commanded so. However, the heart of the true believer in Christ is not religious, but related. Our relationship to Christ pushes us towards this examination willingly every day out of love not out of duty or occasion.

When sin is uncovered by the Holy Spirit in our lives, is our default mode like the disciples, saying, "Lord is it I?" "Does this sin have presence in me?" We should always keep this mindset of examination in front of us for the reason of our love for Christ and the desire to be more like Him.

The great thing about this examination is that no matter the diagnosis, the cure is always sure, plentiful and completely effective.

Father thank You that You do not condemn us in our sins. However Lord we must realize how valuable it is in our relationship with You to keep our sins in check. We fail so often, but thank You that You're forgiving, loving and kind. Help our hearts not to be so hard as to not acknowledge our sin before You. Help us rather to be tender of heart and desirous of Your Character always. In Your Name, Amen.

Peace For Our Time

Scripture Reading: John 14:25-27

Recently I had an opportunity to share God's Word with a group of senior citizens at an assisted living home. Of course it is Christmas time and I wondered what to share with folks, some of which have heard the Christmas message scores of times. The theme of Christmas throughout the ages has been the message of the angel to the Shepherds of "peace on Earth." This buzzword seems to be involved in a lot of things from decorations to cards. Men want peace on the Earth, but they are not so sure how to get it or to maintain it. So I was wondering how to get the message of the Promise of Peace across. So I recalled two illustrations from the past of the greatest generation. Two people. Prime Minister Chamberlain of England and General Douglas MacArthur of the USA. Now you may think what does these two people have to do with peace or Christmas? Well....here it goes......

In the late 1930's the United States was burdened with an economic disaster called the Great Depression. Europe, though financially more prosperous, had a storm cloud looming over it with the portrait of Adolf Hitler in its billows. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain thought he could appease Hitler's thirst for conquest by making available the Sudetenland. He heralded the Munich Agreement as a tremendous success and said this agreement was guarantee of "peace for our time." Shortly thereafter Germany seized Czechoslovakia and the Second World War commenced not long after that. Why? Simply because REAL peace cannot be negotiated by man or granted by man. Any man is lawless and depraved and incapable of righteous behavior apart from the help and influence of Jesus Christ in the life of a believer. The second major flaw in mankind trying to establish "peace" is that man's peace is established by man's wavering standards.

Jesus Christ is the ONLY author of "peace in our time." Of course that seems narrow minded to most folks, but they either fail to see or choose not to see how human peace doesn't last or doesn't work. The reason why is because true peace is an inward matter of the heart, and particularly of the soul's eternal standing. Jesus said that the kind of peace that He gives is not like the world gives. The world makes a divine promise on a flawed table. Until you meet the Prince of Peace in your heart and have your eternity settled, than no earthly peace will be gained as well. This is not to say that if you get nervous, worried, or depressed that it is a sure mark you're not really a Christian. What it does mean is that when the Prince of Peace reigns in your heart, you have someone to lean on when it looks rough. You know that even if the present circumstances look hopeless we have the surety that God will work things out. Lost people have no such guarantee. Their hope of peace is always foreshadowed by the unsurety of man's explosive emotions.

This unsurety sets the stage for a man or woman to look upon the Christmas scene more intently. When the prophet's Isaiah and Micah penned God's promise of a Messiah who would not only bring peace but would rule in it, man began to have hope. The prophets identified what kind of a person Christ would be, the town in which He would be born, and His given Name and Program. Man is searching for something deep inside. He or she may not know what it is, but they need to understand its not in a what but in Who. If they would be open to listening to what God says then the blanks would be filled in their empty hearts with proper information.

When Jesus Christ was born into the world EVERYTHING changed. Though it may have seemed on the outward appearance that very little to nothing had changed. The first dramatic change was that PEACE literally came to the world. Peace, the Person, came as a Light to a dark place. Peace illuminated our gloom, reshaped our goals, transformed our hearts, and secured our eternal destiny by His Death and Resurrection. The power of darkness, though mighty at the time of this writing, now had its death sentence pronounced by the King of Kings. Had Jesus' birth not been that important, Satan would have not tried so desperately to kill Him both then and all the while He lived. As Jesus was born, all hopes of a dark empire now vanished. The King dwells with His people! Emmanuel--God with us!

Mr. Chamberlain couldn't guarantee the peace of Christ. because He didn't have the authority of Christ. Mankind cannot guarantee what he or she does not have to begin with.

After His Resurrection, Jesus ascended into Heaven. The next phase of His great promise was now beginning. That was His return in power and glory. Here is the second parallel that was shared with my talk to the Assisted Living folks. Perhaps you recall from history the phrase made by General MacArthur to troops he temporarily left behind. The phrase is, " I shall return" is a promise that Christ made over a Milena before MacArthur. Like the General, Christ left us in the world to do His instructions. Believers will be under fire, mocked and scorned, etc. Still the promise holds hope and rings true. One blessed day we shall see Him return for His church. We shall behold Him face to face and live with Him.
The signal of MacArthur's return was the waves of airplanes and sight of naval war crafts. They all said one thing, "MacArthur kept his word." So to shall the coming of the Messiah be. The whole sky will be filled with His Glory and we shall be changed instantly to the body we have believed and hoped for.

Alter a time of unspeakable tribulation, peace will come in our time in a literal physical fashion. At the Second Coming, the whole program will be different. The King is here not to be lowly and walk among His haters, but now clothed in majesty like no other. There will literally be peaceful relations with nations, peace with unfriendly beasts, peace with the government, peace with all men because the King is here on His throne to personally oversee it. There will be no empty letter of promises, but a sure and certain reign of THE PROMISE. What a glorious time to look forward to!

In conclusion, while I write this, even I admit that all that has been discussed and what we are looking for seems distant and far off, perhaps by human reasoning even too good to be true. However we must remember that Christmas set the stage for a new order of living far different than what we have always known. Had Christ not been born in Bethlehem, the darkness would have thickened to the point of total hopelessness. Imagine a world without John 3:16, or a world where God does not care to intervene. Christmas is all about peace, but its peace that is not like the world's cheap substitute. Real peace comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. Do you have Him in your heart? If you do then the miracle of Christmas is fulfilled in you. The peace given by salvation in Christ only awaits that glorious day when every eye shall behold Him. Those who cursed Him will wail at His piercings, but we the redeemed know no beautiful portrait than nail prints that made possible our peace. When all of life is said and done, there is nothing more a man craves than peace. All the money, fame, popularity, etc fades into the abyss of eternity. But for the believer, Jesus Christ stands in that place with an open hand to welcome us home. What a great and certain peace available in our time!

Father, thank you for sharing Your Son in this world to be the perfect Son of Peace and the payment for our sins. As we celebrate this Christmas season, cause us to remember the great price and plan made for our personal redemption. We as a a people are so underserving. But more than we are undeserving are You loving. Help us to share that Gospel message with others and in a tangible way too. We love You Lord, thank You for first loving us. Graciously we thank You for the wonder that is ours in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Herod: Puppet On A String

Scripture Reading: Matthew 2:1-18

Once the Messiah Prophecy was fulfilled, it made no small stir in the community. Many people rejoiced, many scoffed, but one man became really worried, really fast. Herod, set up ruler of Israel under Caesar Augustus. Herod is an interesting character in the Scripture.

Three things are interesting to note about this "king."
First, Herod wasn't a Jew. Second, Herod wasn't a royal member or even a distant cousin nine times removed of King David. Lastly, Herod was a coward in a brave man's throne. The most significant realization of Herod is that he was controlled by the Devil, for the Devil's purposes, while all the time Herod thought he was acting on behalf of his own interests.

In the latter middle ages, many carols came to life in England. Many of these carols have found a place in our Christmas traditions. One of these is the "Coventry Carol." It is of a stark contrast to traditional carols in that while they speak of joyous tidings, Coventry recounts and remembers the "massacre of the Innocents," carried out by Herod. One of the carol's lyrics defines Herod as "this man of might in his own sight." How true. Man sees only himself and what he does. Man's centralized thinking writes God out of plans and actions. Man does this because he is blinded by Satan and has no concept of Divine matters. Naturally then man sees his own affairs of paramount importance. This is why mankind is largely self centered, desperate, controlling, fearful, obstinate, and overly wise in their own rationale and perception (for this is all they have).

Like Herod, all sinful mankind is but a puppet on Satan's string. Man does as Satan voluntarily or involuntarily directs. Man thinks himself or herself to be acting on their own impulses (which they do) but are unknowingly fulfilling Satanic purposes against themselves and Christ all behind the curtain they are blind to. So why talk about Herod at all in this time of the Christmas season? Simply, Herod plays an important role in helping us see that the King of Kings has nothing to fear or compete with from earthly rulers. Let's see why.

First, God's Kingdom doesn't advance on the fear of loss. When Herod heard what the Messiah, this new King, would do, one thought crossed his mind. "I am not the rightful King of Israel, I will lose my position, my castle, my status, the new King must be killed, or I will be." All Herod could see is what lay before him. God's Kingdom on the other hand looks at not only what is ahead, but what will last for eternity. Herod didn't really, I think, sort out all the spiritual implications of the Messiah's birth, he just saw a threat. When a man cheats or gets somewhere unlawfully, deep down inside the thought plagues him that he will lose eventually to the right person or manner. So Satan capitalized on this and used Herod. As long as Satan could keep the status of King dangling in front of Herod's eyes, Satan could mask a more sinister plan to kill the Infant King Jesus. Who is it then that can steal anything from the Lord? Who has seriously challenged the security of His Kingdom and stands a chance against Him? No one. Yet a helpless cooing baby was enough to unnerve a puppet king to rash fearful action. In the end, God's Kingdom will triumph and that never taking thought of loss. Jesus said that the Church will crash through the gates of Hell and never be defeated.

Second, God's Kingdom doesn't resort to duping its servants to do God's will.
Though God doesn't always fill us in on the complete details of every plan, He never has us do one thing in order to unknowingly do something else. There is no guile in God's camp. When God spoke to the prophets, He gave them a clear message to tell. The standards of God's law do not change. This is so opposed to a world swallowed up in change. God never tells us to do something against His own standards. We ought to have and can have an open relationship with God. None of the Devil's servants are the Devil's friends. Yet Jesus in John 15:15 plainly told His disciples, "I have not called you servants, but My friends." Friends have a relationship not formed in deceit. Herod had very little friends. Those he did have probably were such out of fear or want. To live under a tyrant breeds no true friendship. But it was all the Herod knew being the child of darkness. We have it better, we as believers are children of Light. Light always reveals, it never disguises.

Thirdly, God's Kingdom doesn't rely on earthly power solely to accomplish its goals. But wait a minute! Didn't Jesus send out twelve ordinary men? Didn't God promise Abraham the seed of the nation of Israel? Wasn't it John the Baptist who prepared the way of the Lord? The answer to all these is "yes." The important thing to remember though that God is not dependent on us, He chooses to use us. Satan on the other hand does depend on human involvement. Satan influences man to wreack havoc in the world. The reason is that Satan is bound to this world. On the other hand, God directly rules everything and everywhere. God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. Satan is none of those things. Satan is powerful, much too powerful for even the strongest of Christians to take on single handed. Yet, in all his rage and power, Satan MUST use flawed beings. If God solely depended on such, the world could not and would not have any justifiable hope in Him. We see from the text that Herod had to send out the Wisemen to find Jesus. Herod had to use soldiers to slaughter in order to preserve himself. Herod had to rely on religious men to tell him the Truth recorded by Micah the prophet, for he had no knowledge himself. The king of any nation is nothing without his servants. God is the Supreme Exception!

Lastly, God's Kingdom doesn't have to shoot in the dark to achieve its needs. God has no "Plan B" for the salvation of mankind. It has never entered in the mind of God to desperately try to hold control over everything. When God acts, it is intentional and direct. Satan on the other hand could not quite kill baby Jesus directly. Herod's grand plan was to kill every male child born in a certain time frame. Herod figured that he would surely end this threat to his rule by carrying out a massive shotgun raid. All he managed to do was fulfill a prophecy in spite of himself (Jeremiah 31:15). Though in all that sadness that cannot be accurately described, comes the Prince of Peace and the Giver of Life. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He didn't wonder, "now will this do it?" Sovereignty shoots a straight arrow and hits the mark every time. Satan is not Sovereign, nor are his servants.
Blanket attacks, endless attempts, redirected strategies, vain endeavors, all this has no place in God's Kingdom. Even in the last hours of the known world, Satan will try to rally a force against King Jesus. It is interesting that the Saints coming with Christ in the battle of Armageddon wear no weapons. We simply watch God wipe out evil with His words. God spoke the world into existence in a single purposed manner, likewise He can speak them out too.

So here we are. Its Christmas time, lots of busy preparations. In all this consider the power of God. After all, had God not acted purposefully and sovereignly as He did, we would flounder with all the world in a never winning battle. We would all be led along by the Old Liar never knowing who was really controlling our movements, thoughts, or blinded us from our condemnation. But God who is rich in mercy, saved us from all our sins and cut our strings by the love of His heart, the shedding of His blood, and the Resurrection of His body.

How about you today, are you trusting in your own wisdom or desires above God's? Does the attitude of your life reflect a life dependent on God, or, strung along by Satan? I urge you to consider the fate of a life not placed in Christ. If your life is in Christ, let's humbly show the world there is a better life with no strings attached!

Heavenly Father, thank You for not being such a one as the Devil. Thank You that You love us and have no plans to condemn those who trust in You. Forgive us when we falter and turn our hearts once again to the great all encompassing wonder of why You came just for us. We have in You a Sovereign who is not disturbed with fear, duping, or rash behavior. Thank You for the privilege of calling You Father and Jesus, Brother and Friend. Help us to keep this in mind this Christmas. In Your Name, Amen.

Image by: Meul

Blessings Beyond Words

Scripture Reading: Psalm 100



The more I grow as a Christian the more I realize that the words, "Thank You," are such weak ones to deliver to our Provider. This doesn't mean we stop giving thanks, but it seems God deserves so much more, some greater memorial of praise to Him. Some discourse of deeper and greater expressions of our gratitude that goes far beyond "thank you." Unfortunately, many times this mortal tongue is bound by its known vocabulary. However, we see that the offerings of our thanksgivings are far greater than the words we say when it genuinely comes from a heart that showcases true gratefulness and joy to God. The illustration here at the left is one I never have seen before of the Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving. But the image on the man's face (standing in prayer) so reads well his heart that should be the outpouring of our heart to God. There is many faces to be studied in this painting. Each face typifies an attitude common to mankind. There is one face though that is either curious or disturbing. Notice the man at the end of the table to the right. While everyone else bows in prayer, the man here is looking away. I haven't figured out if he is not having anything to do with the thanks offered to God, or, if he is curious to know what makes these other people give thanks like they are. Either way, it shows that some folks aren't acquainted with our God as we believers are.

Believer's have so much to be thankful for. This should be noted in three areas of the Psalm reading for today. I trust you are clicking on the link or opening your Bible to read these. Psalm 100 is the second Psalm I learned in Christian grade school. The verses have stuck with me ever since. The declarative statements in the latter part of this Psalm contain blessings that are ours and that no one can take away. Note these three areas that Christians ought to be extremely thankful beyond words for.

For the Lord is good. This may sound like something we have known and have a firm grasp on since Sunday School days. Its obvious, its review, its...........the key doctrine the Devil attacks when beating down the Christian's heart. When I reread this passage I sort of liken this last part of the Psalm to perhaps a father on his deathbed giving the last pearls of knowledge and wisdom he can impart to his children before he goes to meet God. These three elements are essential in his mind for the road left to trod by his offspring. THE LORD IS GOOD. We should be thankful that the God we serve has a heart of goodness towards us. God could have chosen to afflict us every day with torment and that for no purpose. He could have never made any room in His heart for you and me. God was under no obligation to send His only Son to die for us. God did not have to provide your turkey in the oven either. The blessings of God are manifold and countless. It is difficult though to see this when our lives are given so many months left to live by a doctor, or when your "secure" employment just got its termination notice, or when your child totally abandons the precepts and principles of God's Word for some other desire. None of these things are light things. They are real and they happen. But the Lord is good. Though God blesses us immensely, the complete expression of this thought will completely be understood in glory. When we finally see all that He has prepared for us and all that He kept us from in this world, then we shall fully know the meaning and find a greater voice of uttering our thanksgiving.

Secondly, His Mercy Is Everlasting. This would take longer to articulate in words than you have time to read or I have the description to write. A verse I am constantly reminded of is Lamentations 3:22, "It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not." I often wonder how close I have come to being vaporized by God's Holiness in light of my sin. Thanks be to God that the precious blood of Jesus stands in our behalf, not as a license to continue in sin, but a payment for that sin that should condemn us. If we really grasped how black stained sinner's we are then our lips would never cease to thank and praise Him for His unfailing mercy. The mercy of kings and people have shown that there is a condition or a very thin limit to their "mercy" towards an offender. The thing that makes God's mercy so far more powerful and different than that offered by a man is unfailing, unsearchable love. Unredeemed man forgives in obligation to a standard or law. Christ has no sense of obligation, but a love that tears His heart to see us chained and condemned in sin. Friends the gulf between obligation and love are wider than the span of the universe itself. You and I are loved and therefore have His mercy. That is certainly worth all our thanks and praise, as feebly as this old tongue can say.

Lastly, His Truth Endures to All Generations. Again, I can't describe the perimeters of this fact. The key word is "endures." The truth of man lasts only as long as it suits man. Human truthfulness is in a constant state of change. Things that were once true are now replaced. Nothing in this world is fixed or stable. Suppose God emulated man in this point. One minute saved by grace, the next minute grace really wasn't enough! Can you imagine the total despair we would all be in! His Truth not only endures, but endures to ALL generations. Every people of every decade since time began have the same promise that God doesn't change. What He promises to one people of His love, salvation, grace, etc. He grants to all people. God is not in the business of playing favorites. It is true that He has chosen Israel for His own, but the offer of salvation is made manifest to both Jew and Gentile. There will be no segregation in Heaven. The same Lord is rich unto all who call on Him (Rom. 10:12). Imagine a society where the standards are righteous and nothing can corrupt them. No dependence on a political party, empty promises, failing motives, etc. This describes the effect of God's Truth. God's Truth totally enacted in the Millennial Kingdom, of which we as believers will all enjoy.

In conclusion, we haven't spent much time talking about the traditional thanksgiving list of blessings, like family around us, good food, warm homes, etc. All of this is most worthy of thanksgiving to God. But consider this. If the three points of this Psalm were absent from God's character, we would have little to celebrate. In deed all that we have in this life and in the life to come all hangs on these three points. If God were not good, we would live in mortal torment and be subject to divine affliction every day. If God were not merciful, we would all be in Hell right now. If God's truth was not everlasting our world and very lives would be in more chaos than we could imagine.

Ponder a moment in your heart the meaning of this Psalm in your life. As you sit down at the dinner table this week, look around and see the evidence of Psalm 100 all around you. We know that God desires true gratitude and thankfulness of the heart. Lip service alone He does not desire. Remember the older man in the picture. See his face, study his pose. Incorporate that in your heart of thankfulness. Words need to be spoken, but the outpouring of your heart is what God delights in. Read the Psalm at your table this Thanksgiving. Express your heart from it to your table guests and families. Show Christ's love for you in a tangible way. Blessings beyond words are ours everyday.

Heavenly Father, Provider of all the good things we have. Our words are so feeble compared to the magnitude of your blessings. All we have is by Your hand and we're so grateful. Help us to expound that gratitude in our hearts. May Your Name be praised for all Your works towards us. Help us not to be complacent in thanking You. Forgive our offenses, heal our hurts, and nurture us with Your peace. May we show it towards others as You have shown it to us. We praise Your Name High King of Heaven, Provider, Savior, and so wonderfully our Friend. Amen.

The Slough Of Despond

Scripture Reading: Luke 15:11-24

It has been said that John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress was second in popular book sales only to the Bible. I am not sure of that contest now. However, if you have never read the allegory I would challenge you to do so. It is the tale of a Christian's plight through this world. People and places he encounters all have allegorical names. Such as Mr. Pliable who represents a fair weather friend, or, Evangelist who represents the persons telling of the Good News of the Gospel. The City of Destruction denotes the places of this world slated for judgement. So on we could go. The book starts with Christian, the main character, having a burden on his back (sin) and desiring salvation sets out to find the Wicket Gate and the path to Eternal Life ending in the Celestial City (Heaven). Now if you're not familiar with the story I can assure you it is most Biblically sound. The writer Bunyan wrote it while in an English dungeon of which he was put there for preaching the Gospel.

The first hardship Christian encounters is the Slough of Despond. This is a term so described by Bunyan as:

"It is the low ground where the scum and filth of a guilty conscience, caused by conviction of sin, continually gather, and for this reason it is called the Slough of Despond."

Christian falls into this Slough and sinks under the weight of his burden of sin on his back. He does this by not heeding the stepping stones the King (Jesus) put in the slough as a way of escape. Near to drowning, and left by his temporary companion "Pliable" Christian is rescued by a goodly man named "Help."

The Slough of Despond is interesting in two ways to me.

The first, we find that the Slough of Despond is a place of discouragement but can also be a place of remembrance pointing to thankfulness. Though the Lord does not at all wish us to dwell in sin and be languished with its guilt and shame, we ought to remember our guilt only long enough to give us a fresh renewal of Christ's salvation. He paid All He had so you and I would not be forever drowning in our own muck of sin. Drowning is a horrible thing, but more so when its in mire. I have fallen in quicksand once. Fortunately there was a strong branch I grasped held of to pull me out of the mire. Such a Branch is the Righteous Branch, of whom the Strong arm of the Lord extends to everyone in trouble. It reminds us of just how gracious our Lord is by making an escape of a humanly inescapable horror.

This next short paragraph is speculative. This is just me talking. Opinion. Nothing more. But I have for some time wondered at the thought if when we reach the portal's of Heaven, when we receive our glorified un-cursed bodies, once we have encountered every wonder there is, even to the point of seeing the Savior's wonderful loving face, will we completely and fully, 100 percent appreciate and fully recognize all that was paid on our behalf for such a salvation as we have? I wonder if at sometime, NOT that we are in any means unappreciative or apathetic of our Supreme Benefactor, but will it be when we shall see the hordes of the Lost (those who refuse to accept Christ as Savior, not a Christian who has committed a sin) have their final judgement pronounced on them, cast into the Lake of Fire, hearing the agony of our lost friends and even family as they disappear forever into that great cauldron of suffering simply because they refused the Strong Branch that wanted so desperately to save them. Will it be then, LITERALLY seeing what could have and should have been our fate too, then appreciate so great a salvation to its fullest? Will we then run to bosom of our dear Savior and thank Him in joyous weeping? Reminding us of His price for our salvation by the gentle touch of His Hand on our shoulder, we feel the scab of the nail prints that He bore for us.

The second point is that this Slough of Despond can be instrumental in working out our own need for restored fellowship. When we sin, it cost us inwardly and outwardly. Sometimes Christians refuse out of pride to admit to our sinfulness. The mire has to sometimes rise to uncomfortable levels around us before even we cannot go any longer in denial of sin. Is there some burden of sin you have, perhaps something you have been dealing with for a long time? Perhaps its something that no one but you and God knows about. The prophet Jonah tried such a ruse to run away from God in refusing to own up to his prejudice about going to preach revival to Ninevah. Jonah's Slough of Despond was worse than a mud bog, but in the literal digestive tract of a large fish (let your imagination take over). But it was good for Jonah because it made him come to realize that his sin and the all seeing eye of God cannot be dismissed in secrecy. I urge you if your in a situation that keeps making your life miserable, to let it go, repent and turn away and out of Slough.

The Slough of Despond was aptly named. Despond is that emotion or state in which deep depression and lack of joy flows freely. There are other causes for this same emotion, but when it is Sin, its clear to the Christian. Despond will crowd you, choke you, stifle your life until we are brought to the place of confession and repentance. We can be so glad that "Help" (Christ) stands ready to forgive and pull us out of the mire we have made for ourselves. Not only did Help pull Christian out of the mire, but He put Christian back on the right road that leads towards Heaven. We can be assured that Christ will do no less for us too.

Watch for the Slough of Despond, avoid its clutches, but gaze for a slight moment and remember that those who are by choice languishing in Despond can be freed as you have been. To go a step deeper, perhaps the Lord would use you to rescue someone from that state today. I do not mean that we can offer salvation to the Lost in the sense we do the saving, but we can encourage and lovingly confront a failing brother and by the Lord's permission help to lift them out of the mire, pointing them to Christ who is their Benefactor.

Father, thank you for rescuing our poor helpless souls from the Slough of Despond. We do not deserve such kindness. We ask You to help us to avoid the pitfalls of life that lead to miry bogs. If we find ourselves trapped inside one such bog, may it not take long to call to You for help and forgiving lift us out. We pray for a brother or sister living in some form of sin. Help them not to desire the filth any longer. May today be the day, like the prodigal, they will arise and head towards the Father. Thank you for Grace, greater than our sin. We love you Lord. In Your Name, Amen.

Central Is Never Busy

Scripture Reading: Psalm 69:30-34

In my last post I mentioned I like old things, particularly old hymns and songs that are mostly forgotten. Out of these hymns there are certain phrases that makes wonderful sermon and teaching topics. Cliff Barrows, the choir and song leader for Billy Graham, once remarked that good hymnology makes wonderful theology. Though a lot of songs are not completely theologically structured, they have good references to Biblical principles. The reference we are going to look at today is one of prayer.

The old hymn we're looking at is "The Royal Telephone." by Frederick Lehman 1919.

The lyrics are extremely clever in their analogy to our open line of communication to our Father in Heaven. We as Christians have an always "open line" direct with Heaven at any time or any place in the world. The question is, how often do we use it or take advantage of such a privilege? Let's look at some privileges and one urgent suggestion that we should appreciate about our "connection" to Heaven.

First of all, we have no intermediate operator. It used to be back before even the dial telephones that one would have to call the operator to speak to whoever they wished. Later on there were, and I suppose still are, direct line phones. When I think of such, I am reminded of the "red" phone that you would see in the movies of the 60's era, where some secret service man would pick it up and the call without dialing would go immediately to the Oval Office of the President. This "hot line" is exactly what we have with God. We need no priest, no pastor, not anyone to connect us with God. That is one of the greatest blessings we have over all other false religions. You can talk to God anytime without any interference or anyone listening in. Prayer is a personal matter and is not limited by the greatest joy of the soul to the greatest sorrow of the heart. Direct line always.

Secondly, there are no busy signals. Before the advent of "call waiting." we would be constantly annoyed and upset when the buzzing of a busy signal was heard. This was due to either the phone being off the hook purposely or accidentally, or, the person on the other end talking only to someone else. Maybe today you feel like God hands you a busy signal or has too many voices to listen to. We cannot judge God with human means. We cannot understand how He can listens to millions of voices every second and yet heed and understand each one as if they were singularly it. But He does. God stands open and willing to listen to you the believer. You're not bothering Him. The sum of all the world's urgent needs are but a trifle to His Omnipotence. God has never had more than He can handle. The line is open.

Thirdly, there are no charges to be paid. Ever since there were telephones, there have been monthly fees. Now with cell phones, those fees include roaming and data charges too. It can be expensive if not overwhelming. The Devil would like to discourage us with the lie that because we are not as Holy as God, or, because we did not do a great job in the Christian life yesterday, that God cannot and will not hear us. We have to work our way back and earn His trust and ear. No. Do we sin? Yes we do. Does God forgive? Yes He will. Does God act like a tyrant in keeping us down with earning anything? No He does not.

A completely interesting side note about the lies of Satan. Whenever Satan accuses God of being whatever, fill in the blank, and tries to discredit what God says and promises, Satan is only trying to mask himself, because his discrediting accusations towards God is really and truly the way he acts towards his own children, the unbelievers.

The blood of Jesus Christ takes away our need to pay for our sins and earn confidence with God. God sees us as He sees Christ, pure and blameless. He sees us as we will be apart from the world and these fleshly bodies. The Bible does say that we must repent of our sinful practices to restore our fellowship with God, but that is a far cry from trying to win it back. You are His freely, and He is yours freely.

Fourthly, there are no dropped calls. This sort of correlates with what we just talked about with the difference that God is not in the business of "hanging up" or losing you because of anger or some hostility. Cell phones are notorious for losing a call right in the middle of usually something important. One moment you have a full signal, the next you might as well be in a cave. As you talk to God in prayer you have His full undivided attention. In fact, God delights in us talking to Him. He wants a personal dialogue with us. So He will not drop you or leave you stranded. Once you are connected to Him in Christ through salvation, its like having a heavy anchor chain from His throne to the depths of your world. No element, no trial, no doubt or no sin can sever the connection.

Finally, the urgent warning. Prayer is a privilege, and being constantly connected like a line telephone is a great privilege. However, the greatest tragedy of prayer is that its only seemingly used when disaster strikes. This speaks and smells of deep carnality on the part of the believer. Of course, we can freely and always should turn to God in prayer when a tragedy strikes, there is never any shame in that at all. What I am saying is, prayer is supposed to be a constant connection in the good times as well as bad. We are never in need of more prayer to God for us than when we find ourselves in the times of prosperity and plenty. It is such times that we sort of feel free from depending and thanking God for all we are and have. When times are easy we sort of feel like we can do this thing called "life" on our own with no Divine Assistance. How awful we treat God by not giving Him but a sentence prayer in the fields of plenty, but give Him a screaming scroll in the times of agony. How great His love is! This was case with Israel so often. In fact if the Old Testament could be summed up in one thought it would be that God tried and tried for Israel to acknowledge Him and His love everyday, and the same from them to Him.

Spend every day thanking Him, Praising Him for Who He is towards you, Bless Him with praises of song, and speak to Him words of your love as you hear words of His.

Central Is Never Busy.

Father, help me and all who read this to appreciate this awesome privilege of prayer. We can't fathom its full blessing, but we do know what it is like to feel lonely and cut off by people in the world. Thank you that You do not treat us this way and that we can come to your listening Ear and that You not only desire to hear us, but delight in it as well. We hold the attention of the God of all that is, help us to fully realize this everyday. Thank you for not being too busy to talk to us. In your Name, Amen.

Faithful Voices Of The Past

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 11:4

I have a great desire to know about the past. Whenever I am in a crowd, I tend to gravitate towards older people. The reason is because I grew up with people all older than me and I like to hear what used to be in America. Unfortunately when I hear about what used to be I wished I had been born earlier than I was. The world which many older people lived in was far different and better than we experience today. The other unfortunate thing is that these voices are going into eternity one by one, and generations of history are being silenced. Some times we have the good fortune of having stories and wisdom recorded for us or at least written down. Stuff like this is a lasting memorial to them. Particularly of interest to me from the past is old hymns. I recently bought rather cheaply an old Revival Hymnal No.2 book from a local antique store. The book was published in 1910. I was surprised to find a lot of the hymns I knew, but the majority of them I didn't. Since I cannot read musical notes I cannot tell what the unfamiliar songs sound like, but I can read the words someone long gone has written. The words of these old hymns in my opinion far surpass in depth and scriptural meaning most anything put out today. It seems that folks 80 to 150 years ago perhaps knew the Lord better than people do today. It is at least evidenced in their writings. Nonetheless, the works were not done in vain, they survive in tattered print form for more generations to read and be challenged by.

With this in mind we know that there is absolutely nothing we can take out of this world with us into eternity, but there is a great deal we leave behind us that can potentially make a difference in someone else's life. I am not sure that Charles Wesley or Jonathan Edwards would have supposed when they penned the songs and sermons they did, that at the instant they dobbed the quill into the ink bottle they thought, "now this is going to be read and appreciated by millions long after I am dead." Yet whether they supposed it or not, they wrote what they did and God used it and still is using it. The same thing can be true for you. You may not be a great hymnwriter or Evangelist, but God has imparted to every believer a general and personal understanding of His Word. Such an understanding needs to be recorded for other's benefit.

Dr. Dennis Swanberg, famous Christian comedian, once recorded that good works done in our lives have recurring blessings for others in our future. Such blessings Dennis called "shade trees." You have it within yourself to be a source of immense blessing to others in your present but also in your future. If you can think of nothing you have done that will be of some benefit to others, ask God to give you a burden for some specific way you can invest in eternity.

So with all that introduction, how can we make a difference in someone's life that perhaps we do not know or has not even been born yet? Here are a few suggestions to appropriate age groups.

• Grandparents--what a privilege you have! I can say as a grandchild, what a treasure it to have a Godly example in a grandparent. As God leads, spend a whole day or maybe several days with your grandchildren (if you have several, space these times apart where you can make the most time with them as individuals). Talk to them about your days as a child or young person, but most importantly tell them about Spiritual challenges and victories you have had. Tell them how God led you through them and what you learned. If possible take them to the spot where you were led to Christ (perhaps a church or home place) and if they don't know Christ, by all means impart the Gospel to them. Show them literature, Bibles, teaching materials, etc that you learned and grew in Christ with. If they are old enough, trust them to take a memento with them that is given with the explanation of how it helped you to learn something about Christ better by either how you received it or how God spoke to you through it. Perhaps you can share with them some ways you wished you had done things differently in your earlier life and encourage them to follow Christ more closely to avoid problems later. You may not think the kids are listening, but it will stick with them, and later on in their adult lives, mean the world to them.


• Parents--Your job is right now. You are in control under Christ's supervision of your child's formative years. What you do and say now will form the basis for their decision making and character qualities as they will someday have their own families. Make a daily habit to talk to them about Christ. Challenge them to serve and to witness to their friends who may be not as privileged in the home as they are. Godly example and witness are paramount at this stage of life as one day what you do and say now will be in their minds and hearts later when you are not around. Their minds will replay what you invested in them either good or bad. Perhaps it would be good for you to write out some things about how you came to know the Lord, and then share some hopes you have for them about their future. This will be very special to them.


• Singles--Well we have no kids to pass down things to yet, but we have a world around us of young and old alike to impact. Ask God to help you find a way to minister to people who need to hear what you have to say. Start writing about the Faith in Christ. If you don't have it within you to write expositionally, just keep a journal. No one for years may ever read it, but its there available and God can use it to impact someone that you may never meet. So many times God uses our talents in a covert manner, that is, us never knowing the direct impact we are having on someone unknown, yet the impact is there.

The whole conclusion to this is that no matter in what stage of life you find yourself, the truth is one day you won't be in the world any longer. All that you are and all that you do will be only a memory. I think we would all agree that we would want our lives to count and be remembered for something significant. Such was the case of Abel in our reading today. The third or fourth human being ever to live, who surely would be forgotten after thousands of years is remembered by God for his act of obedience and faith. Then there is the Widow who cast her two mites, Mary who washed the feet of Jesus with costly ointment, or the Magi who traversed a great distance to see the newborn King of Kings. All of these people by all respects should have been forgotten as the sands of time shift, but their deeds and works for God were recorded so you and I could read, profit, and edify others with. That is the kind of life we all would want. A life that Jesus was clearly seen and remembered by the living. We should not want a temple or shrine built to our lives, but we should desire that the time spent on Earth was valuable.

What are you doing that will impact the future generations? If you have not seriously considered this, do so. There should more to your life than just a stone marker in a green pasture. Once you are in glory, you can no longer speak to the living on Earth, but if you leave a legacy that reflects Jesus Christ you will have done more than all the Alexanders, Caesars, Napoleons, Socrates, Platos, Einsteins, all put together could hope to do.

Someone once said, "Heaven and Earth will fade and pass, only those things done for Christ will last." You will be counted one day as a "voice of the past." May that voice be clear and helpful to others. As whoever finds something about you that is left behind, make sure it contains Jesus in word, action, plan, and history that will spur others to come to Him and know Him too.

Heavenly Father, please help us to consider making a difference in the world which we live in that something will be remembered after us for Your sake. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves, but cast all glory coming towards us, away from us and to Your throne. Yet Lord, we desire to help others and leave them with things that they will benefit spiritually by. So use us Lord to do just that. Help us not to be slothful, but as You give us the time, let us give the evidence of a changed life in you to impact future generations. In Your name, Amen.

The Plentiful Harvest

Well its October! My favorite month of the year, mainly because it spells the end of summer, which because of the heat I greatly detest. Not just the changing seasons, the color of leaves, the cooler temperatures, the holidays forthcoming, etc. say as much as does the time of Harvest. God intended when He created the seasons for there to be a time of sowing and working, and then a time of reaping, or enjoying the product of your labors. Such time is called Harvest. The photo here was taken from a local farm produce market out a little ways from our church. There must have been thousands of pumpkins, mums, corn fodder bundles, you name it. As I was staring at the bounty of all these goods I am reminded that we here in America are living in the land of Plentiful Harvest.

If only the Pilgrims could see far into the future all of what God allowed and afforded us today! I wonder if they would be amazed and/or non-chalant about all this we have. I say this because though I believe they would be amazed, yet they knew when they survived the first hard winter in Massachusetts, that God was in control and there was no limit to what He can do and what He can bless a people with. Let's address three areas of "Pre-Thanksgiving" items in the areas of Harvest.

First, of course there is an earthly harvest. Praise God that He knows we cannot live on just bread alone, we need the Word of God, however He knows we need the bread too.

God sees fit to bless us here in America with more food and vegetables than we can take in. I believe this is all the result of our foundations upon honoring God at the inception of our country. Of course now we see our country's moral and spiritual state in a ragged unrepairable condition. Yet in all this we still reap the goodness of God. The Psalmist David said that he had never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging for food. How good it is to know that God will provide our daily needs and also those things we desire that aligns with His best for us.

Secondly, there is an inward bodily Harvest. Do you stop and take time to thank Him for every little detail in life? We should. That would take hours you may think. You would be right, but certainly He is worthy of it. Everything we have, own, eat, work at, accomplish, are rewarded for, everything right down to the air we breathe and the lungs to breathe it with is from God's hand. Know this, no matter what your view of God is (hopefully its positive) He is good to you because you are living and breathing, this is a privilege from Him so taken for granted today. We should take the time to thank Him for the growth of our bodies and strength of our muscles to dust the house, mow the lawn, vacuum the house, drive the car, type on the computer, cook the meals, make the beds, work at whatever you do. Our bodily harvest is the product of our hands work. Whenever you complete a project, that is your harvest. Our minds and intellect as well as our physical members all combined to reap that which you have worked at. This may be as simple as typing a report, or it could be as large as building a house, but all in all it is the harvest of reaping what God has allowed you to do by your labors.

Then there is most certainly a Spiritual Harvest. There is so much that can be said here. We harvest this type all the time. There are essentially two Spiritual Harvests. The most recognized are our daily triumphs, victories and of course, "fruit" that we see of our personal growth and the effects it has on others around you to whom you minister. The other Harvest is the one great day of reward as spoken of in Matthew 16:27. The question arises here, will there be a Harvest in you Spiritually? Are you planting a Spiritual Crop that will be harvested. So many believers all over the world are satisfied to be saved and then not produce any works to evidence such a salvation. This is dangerous for many points but certainly none other than the fact that Jesus said in Matthew 7:17-20 that by your fruits people will know whether or not you are indeed Redeemed. So how do we prepare for a bountiful Spiritual Harvest both now and in the future? Here are some ways.

• Read Your Bible---of the paramount importance is the act so simple. You cannot grow in God if you know nothing about Him as revealed to you in His Word


• Seek God in Prayer--how shall we relate to God our thoughts and needs as well as hear from Him if we do not talk to Him on a daily basis?


• Seek ways to share your Faith in Christ--The Gospel hid is worthless to those who need to hear it if we keep it shut up and never share it.


• Sacrifice your time to help the body of Christ--Christ gave totally of Himself, so He also desires that we do our part, sharing what we have, to nourish and encourage one another for His Glory.


• Give your resources for His use--this is different than giving time, but literally your money or possessions to help further God's work and provide for the real needs of His people.


• Make the most of your gifts in service to God--each of us has talents and abilities that others do not have. We do this not to puff ourselves up, but show the world there is something different in you and that is Christ. Put to use these talents to further the Gospel and thereby reach out to others in tangible ways


• Don't forsake the assembly of yourselves in the Church--you show that you love God by readily anticipating the day of meeting and worship to Him.

This is a small list of what can be done. No matter though the list of suggestions you read, you must understand we do not labor solely for our own reward...we do it for the furtherance of Christ's Kingdom and His Glory. However, God is not unjust to reward labor done for Him. We understand that we shall be rewarded but its not our most important goal.

The Harvest of the Spirit will not be fully realized until we get to Heaven. However, in this world we have the joy of seeing souls redeemed by God through our witness. We see needs met, hearts encouraged, families strengthened, missionaries sent, praises uttered, and hope conquering despair. These are but a shadow of the reward that awaits. If we do not sow these now, we shall not have anything to offer Christ from our Harvest and He will have nothing to reward us with in return.

Harvest time is a time of plenty. As we see the Earth settle in its time of reaping, take time to review how thankful we need to be in our own reaping of the creation, the body, and the spirit. If you have not spent much time in God's Harvest fields (as we all could spend more) then refocus your priorities to include the Lord's work, as His Work so wondrously included you.

Father in Heaven, Giver of all that is good from Your Hand. Help us to be more thankful at the reaping of the Harvest you have for us. Thank you that you're not a tyrant who cares nothing for those under You, but you sacrificed Your own Son for our sakes. We are the one's undeserving, help us to remember this and in gratitude serve You and help others to not only come to You as Lord and Savior, but to help reap a bountiful harvest in the fields of life. One day this world for each of us will end, work will be no longer done, help us Father to serve faithfully so one day we may reap bountifully. Thank you Father. In your Holy Name. Amen.