Apr 5, 2024 – PART 3 – “People like us make up a church like ours.”
An old blacksmith thought he was as perfect a blacksmith as there was. One day he picked out a strong young man to become his apprentice. The old blacksmith was crabby and demanding. After all, he thought he was perfect! He told the boy, “Don’t ask me a lot of questions. Just do whatever I tell you, because I will always be right in what I tell you.”
One day the old blacksmith took a piece of iron out of the forge and laid it on the anvil. The blacksmith told the apprentice, “Get the hammer. When I nod my head, hit it real good and hard.”
Sure enough, the apprentice followed the instructions. The blacksmith nodded his head. The apprentice hit IT real good and hard, and now the town is looking for a new blacksmith.
Oh, that we could see ourselves as others see us! We assume so much…yea, too much and we miss what others see.
KEY: Never forget that imperfect people like us make up an imperfect church like ours. Who we are and what we do sets the tone for the church. It is unlikely the church will rise any higher than what we allow it to rise nor sink any lower than we allow it to sink, because it is people like us that have established the status quo. It is much easier to stay with the status quo than become better than the status quo.
A sign in China says, “Choose your rut carefully. You will be in it for the next thirty miles.” That’s the status quo!
So the new member joins the church and walks into the status quo. If you’re like most churches, nothing much has changed in the last ten or twenty years except the average age has gotten older and the church has more likely turned inward to address its membership needs. It’s gone into a “maintenance mode” rather than a “growth mode.” Outreach has been replaced by stay put. So the status quo is likely geared to make the new member like the stale status quo.
What chance does the new member have to grow in your status quo? Will the new member even be accepted, especially if he yearns for something more? Does the status quo have an assimilation process to identify the new member’s strengths and how best to use this individual? How will the status quo react to a new idea? Does the status quo have a vision worth sharing with the new member? Does the status quo represent a generation that is dying out and has little appeal? Most important, is the status quo doing the work that God wants done?
Lesson #3: Don’t assume the status quo truly wants new members. After all, it’s the status quo. Perhaps it would be good to evaluate what God expects the church to do with your new members.
Apr 4, 2024 – PART 2 – Do we understand what God does when He sends a new member our way? We began this study yesterday in recognizing that a new member is actually an investment by God in our church. It is as if our church is a bank and God is depositing a sum of money into our bank’s care. Naturally, God expects a return on that investment. We must ask, “What are we doing with God’s investment of a new member in our church? Are we intentionally growing that new member? Are we producing disciples that can represent God in this decaying world?”
Lesson #2: New members are imperfect just like the overall church is imperfect.
We can think of church life in the same way as married life. One husband said, “A married man should forget his mistakes. There’s no use in two people remembering the same thing.” Ah, no perfect marriages! Likewise, there are no perfect churches or perfect new members either. Churches make mistakes, new members make mistakes, and everyone must be able to accept that and continue on.
The church needs to be careful in expecting too much from any new member. Sometimes we expect more from a new member than we expect from ourselves!
What kind of people made up the church at Corinth? Imperfect! This church had morality problems, but it was still God’s church. It was divided into at least four camps, but it was still God’s church. It did not even know how to observe the Lord’s Supper, but it was still God’s church. “Just as I am, without one plea, and that Thou bidst me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come.”
Likewise, new members need to be careful in expecting too much from any new church. A man left a good church to join our church. His home church had gotten on a roll during the preceding year, added many new members and he had joined the church at that time. Now it was our turn to be on a roll, and we were the exciting place to be. He said, “The Spirit is better in this church than in my church. When we joined the other church everything seemed great, the Spirit was really high, but now it’s not as good as being here with you folks.”
I told him, “The same thing will eventually happen here. We will go through a lull, too. One year we will be more spiritual than your church; the next year your church will be more spiritual than us. We’re a church and that’s just the way churches are. Will you stay with us when that happens?”
He said, “Yes,” but he didn’t. He gradually drifted away then moved to another church which was on a roll, drifted with the tide, always looking for something he could never find in himself either.
Guess what? I currently serve as an IMPERFECT interim pastor for an imperfect church. We don’t have a perfect minister of music, perfect praise team, perfect secretary, perfect deacons, perfect teachers, perfect heating system, perfect sound system nor a perfect budget either. But we do have people who love one another and want to lift up the name of Jesus!
Let us remember, “People like us make up a church like us…”
(This subject is fully developed in my book God’s Greenhouse: How to Grow People God’s Way…available at Amazon, Apple, etc.)
Apr 2-3, 2024 – What does God see in a new church member? More than we often think!
A little old lady went shopping. She saw a dress in a store window that she liked. She found the dress in her size then took it to the sales counter and said, “I want to buy this dress. It’s the last dress in my size. I don’t have an account with your store. Would you please take a personal check?”
The sales clerk answered, “Yes, we’ll take a personal check provided you can identify yourself.”
The little old lady reached inside her purse, pulled out a little pocket mirror, studied herself in the mirror for a long time then she smiled and said, “Yes, it’s me, all right! I can identify that I am really me.”
Let’s open a mirror today and look not at ourselves but at the new members that God has sent into our churches in the past couple of years. We know them by name, by some characteristic. But what does God see? What is God doing with these new members? Why did they come our way? What are we to do with them? Let’s explore this topic for the next few editions of Today’s Verse.
We begin with an understanding of how that member came to be part of us. God sent us more than numbers, more than names. He sent us people to grow into complete disciples of Jesus Christ. Those people possess a variety of skills and are at different levels of development. For example, one of our lists included choir members, teachers, givers, encouragers, administrators, discerners, soulwinners, prayer warriors, people to teach us the way of faith, worshippers, a preacher, helpers to fill in all of the cracks, pianists, program organizers, a Boy Scout leader, and on and on the list went.
These are the people that God sent our way! Wonder why He does so?
It has always been this writer’s belief that God places people where He gets the best return on His investment (Matthew 28:18-20, Ephesians 4:11-12). As a general rule, God does not waste assets. He’s an investor who has invested spiritual gifts in His people in order to then invest those people in churches where they can make the biggest difference. If a church is not focused on developing people, it is unlikely that church will be blessed with new members that will make much of a difference. After all, why place anyone in a school where they will not be taught or discipled? We see this pattern duplicated in church after church after church.
One of my early pastorates did so much right in discipling people into becoming better Christians, the average age in the membership declined by more than fifteen years, the church went from an old church to having an average age that was younger than the average age in the community. But eventually the people decided it was too hard to keep operating at that level and the effort waned. This writer moved on. Pastors came and went. The church closed its doors a few years ago. God had stopped investing people in the church.
Is your church struggling? Most churches are. We want to grow…but we need to go back to Lesson One. It is God who invests the new blood in the church. Does He want to invest people in your church? Are you growing disciples that can change their world for Christ? It seems to this writer this is where we must begin…we must earn God’s trust!
Apr 1, 2024 – How should a Christian think about Bible passages that seem impossible? In ages past a young man went to a well-known philosopher and said, “I want to know all there is to know.”
The philosopher took him to the shore and instructed him to peer closely upon the ocean. He said, “Tell me about the ocean.”
The young man proceeded to tell him all that he SAW. The philosopher grunted and said, “Tell me about the ocean.”
The young man answered, “I just did. I told you about everything I see.”
The philosopher said, “Tell me, though, about the ocean you do not see.”
The young man struggled for a moment then confessed, “The ocean is too big for me to see all of it.” And it is. The would-be philosopher soon grasped not the ocean but the reality that the ocean was more than he could see, comprehend or grasp. It stretched before him to the curvature of the earth. It stretched on either side of him farther than he could see. And if he walked either right or left for a full day or a full month or a full year, he would see even more ocean and still have more to discover.
“Tell me, though, about the ocean you do not see.” Mortal man can only see what is before him but even much that can be seen cannot be truly seen or comprehended. The mighty ocean is just a tiny “microcosm” in this vast universe. If we struggle in comprehending the vastness and mysteries of the ocean, how can we ever comprehend the universe or the even greater Creator of the universe? We need help! Thank God, He has provided the help! That help is provided in the Bible. We believe the Bible record in full! Even the parts we do not understand (and who can understand Today’s Verse?).
It has been stated by many that the Bible does not begin with a defense of God’s existence, but rather, it simply states, “Here He is and here is what He does. Look at Him!” Indeed, nature proclaims His existence and revelation assumes His existence. But at no time does God offer proof of His existence nor does He feel the need to do so. His Word simply declares, “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). “Must believe that He exists” marks the beginning stage of knowing Him.
John R. Rice says, “We would be wise to take the counsel of a dear saint of God to, ‘believe your beliefs and doubt your doubts.’ What we do know makes us certain. What we do not know we take by faith.”
Ah, friend, let us resist the temptation to put a question mark where God places a period!
Mar 30-31, 2024 – Imagine this answer appearing on the tv show Jeopardy! “Most important day of celebration in Christianity.” What would be the responding question? How about, “What is Easter?”
The world celebrates Christmas and does so mostly because of the gifts. However, the Christian faith centers on the resurrection of Jesus Christ who freely and graciously offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. On the cross Jesus traded places with the sinner. He absorbed the sinner’s sin and resulting judgment; at the same time, He gave His own righteousness to the believing sinner so the sinner “could be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). I LOSE MY SIN AND I GAIN HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS! What a trade!
How do we know that God the Father accepted His Son’s sacrifice? Because the Father resurrected His Son on Easter! Suppose Jesus’ sacrifice failed to satisfy God’s righteous demands; if that was so, Jesus would never leave the tomb. But He did leave the tomb…walked out in a glorified body…and that means salvation from God’s wrath is available to you and me both. A dead Savior can save no one but a LIVING Savior can save from the guttermost to the uttermost! A living Savior can fulfill each and every promise in the Word of God! A living Savior can come again and receive us to Himself! A living Savior can hear our prayers! A living Savior can “walk with me and talk with me and tell me I am His own!”
How can a person be saved or delivered from the wrath to come? The Bible says it is by placing our faith in the Jesus who died, was buried, and rose again—by trusting Him (not anything we do nor anyone else) as our Lord and Savior. After all, He truly is Lord! He truly is the one and only Savior!
Have you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? If not, here is the good news and it is awesome news: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved!” It worked for me and it will work for you, too!
P.S. Our own resurrection is covered in great detail (four chapters) in my book Sanctification: How God Creates Saints out of Sinners. Available from Amazon, Apple, Kobo, Barnes and Noble.
GOOD FRIDAY – How can a man (sinful by nature) come to God (holy by nature?
Let’s compare Christ’s sacrifice with that of the high priest on the Day of Atonement. Christ does not need “to sacrifice himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly…But he has appeared once for all…to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself…So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:26-28).
Two words must be emphasized: “repeatedly” and “once.” On the annual Day of Atonement, the high priest had to first offer a sacrifice for his own sin (Leviticus 16:6, Hebrews 9:7). Only then, as a cleansed priest with pure hands, could he offer a sacrifice for the sins of the nation. The high priest repeated this entire process annually, because “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).
But Jesus’ sacrifice differs from the high priest’s sacrifice in three important aspects. First, Jesus was not a sinner in need of cleansing. Thus, He presented no sacrifice for Himself.
Second, Jesus offered His own blood—the symbol of His righteous life—instead of the blood of bulls and goats. The repeated Old Testament actions of the high priest demonstrated the importance of a greater sacrifice to permanently remove the sins of the people. That permanent sacrifice was provided by the Son of God. No more sacrifice is needed!
Third, Christ, at His next appearance, will “not deal with sin.” His sacrifice on the cross was of such sufficient quality that no repetition is necessary, nor can anything be added. It was a once-and-for-all-time final sacrifice. In sum total, it is what it is, and it is enough for our salvation. Each individual must accept His one sacrifice for all time or discard it. But once is indeed enough.
Spurgeon explains, “This ransom was all paid, and all paid at once. The sacrifice of Calvary was not a part payment. The whole of the demands of the law were paid down there and then. So priceless was the ransom one might have thought that Christ should pay it by installments. Kings’ ransoms have sometimes run through years. But our Saviour once for all gave Himself a sacrifice, leaving nothing for Him or us to do.
Spurgeon adds, “When Christ paid all this ransom He did it all Himself! Simon, the Cyrenian, might bear the cross, but not be nailed to it. Two thieves were with Him there; not righteous men, lest any should have said that their death helped the Saviour. He trod the wine press alone.”
Thus, we sing, “I saw One hanging on a tree, In agony and blood; He fixed His loving eyes on me, As near His cross I stood. O, can it be, upon a tree The Savior died for me? My soul is thrilled, my heart is filled, To think He died for me!”
Thank God, He died for [on behalf of] me.
Mar 28, 2024 – There is a saying often heard that is not true at all.
‘Tis this, “There’re many ways to Heaven and God approves them all.”
For those who talk in such a way, I take my pen in hand,
And hope the picture that I paint will help them understand.
I seem to see an angel stand beside a golden gate,
Beyond the gate is Paradise, where heavenly glories wait.
Stretched through the heavens waits a throng who fain would enter there.
The Angel sentry they must pass—He questions each with care.
“You know the passwords?” he inquires of one with stately mein.
“I’m Presbyterian,” he says, “My people all have been.”
The angel bends on the stately soul, a searching look, yet kind;
Then turns the leaves of his golden book but the word he cannot find.
“I’m sorry,” he says, “but it is not here. Friend, kindly step aside.
As soon as you think of the proper words, the gate will open wide.”
A friendly look the next soul has; he eagerly draws near.
“With Methodists I met,” he says, “I’m sure that you know us here.”
The angel loveth the friendly soul; by his face as we can plainly see;
Yet he stops for a look at his golden book:
“The name is not here,” saith he.
“Stand here by the Presbyterians,” he saith with a pitying smile,
“You’ll surely remember the proper words when you have thought a while.”
And now a soul approacheth him, in the Baptist faith well versed,
Who tells the angel in detail of how he was immersed.
The angel hears the story through, with interest to the end;
But this his simple verdict is, “This will not save, my friend.”
A follower of Luther next comes up before the gate,
And in the great reformer’s name doth his credentials state.
“Luther I know,” the angel says, “Heaven holds him very dear
But following him is not the way to gain an entrance here.”
And now a very little child stands where the rest have stood,
Its voice rings out in accents clear, “I trust in Jesus’ blood!”
Lo, at these words the golden gate suddenly swings open wide,
And a Lovely One with nail-pierced hands welcomes the child inside!
If you were summoned today, my friend, to stand at the gate of God,
Would your answer be that of the little child, “I trust in Jesus’ blood”?
C. D. Heard
Mar 27, 2024 – How is it with your will? The defiant boy was told to sit down by the teacher. The standoff continued for nearly three minutes…the boy refusing to sit, the teacher insisting that he sit. Finally, the boy sat down. The teacher thought she had won. But the boy said, “I may be sitting down on the outside, but I’m still standing up on the inside!”
Just wondering: How is it with your own will? Indeed, how willing is your will to do what God wills? In Today’s Verse Jesus is faced with the struggle of bringing His own will into submission to the Father’s will. We often forget that Jesus was human, too, and faced the same internal pressures that we face (Hebrews 2:17-18). Going to the cross was a daunting task. If I had been Him, I would have abandoned the idea and just started over with a new creation…a new Adam or perhaps someone more or less advanced. But He chose to die for me! How can I explain such love as that?
One of the most difficult experiences in the Christian life is submitting our own will to the will of God…saying no to what the flesh wants and saying yes to what God wants. That is not only “doing what is right” but it is also in the will of God that the joy of the Lord will be found…where “I shall give you rest” and the experience of Psalm 23 is found. Until we submit, Psalm 23 cannot be experienced…because we are still seeking to be our own shepherd!
So how is it with your own will? Pastor Paul Badgett provides these helpful thoughts.
• The Bible teaches if we are not saved, we are out of the will of God (2 Peter 3:9).
• The Bible teaches if we are not being sanctified, we are out of the will of God (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
• The Bible teaches if we are not Spirit-filled, we are out of the will of God (Ephesians 5:17-18).
• The Bible teaches if we are not serving, we are out of the will of God (Romans 12:1-2).
• The Bible teaches if we are not submissive, we are out of the will of God (Ephesians 5:21)
• The Bible teaches if we are not willing to suffer as a Christian, we are out of the will of God (1 Peter 4:16).
May you truly experience this Easter with a willing will.
Mar 26, 2024 – A Sunday School teacher was teaching her children about the deity of Jesus Christ—that He was God come to the earth. The teacher asked, “Did Jesus have any sin?”
All the students answered, “No,” except for one little girl who said, “Yes.”
The teacher patiently explained to the little girl that Jesus Christ was holy. The devil tried to make Jesus sin, but Jesus refused to obey the devil and sin. The teacher then asked again, “Did Jesus have any sin?”
Everyone answered, “No” except the little girl insisted on saying, “Yes.”
The teacher asked, “Why do you keep saying Jesus had sin?”
The little girl answered, “It is because He had my sins on the cross of Calvary.”
The little girl knew something that some of us have forgotten! The story of the cross is about the holy becoming our unholiness, righteousness becoming our unrighteousness, innocence becoming guilty, and the Son of God becoming the Sacrifice of God for the sins of the whole world.
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, everyone, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).
The old song is so true: “The cross upon which Jesus died Is a shelter in which we can hide And its grace so free is sufficient for me And deep is its fountain as wide as the sea. There’s room at the cross for you. Though millions have come, there’s still room for one, Yes there’s room at the cross for you.”
This writer brought my sin to the cross nearly sixty years ago and God the Father nailed my sin to His Son’s cross. He then went one step further and He gave to me the righteousness of His Son. What a trade! I gave my sin to Him and He gave His righteousness to me! “You ask me why I’m happy, well, I’ll just tell you why! It’s because MY SINS ARE GONE! They‘re underneath the blood on the cross of Calvary.””
Thank God for Good Friday. Thank God for Easter, too! Those two days have made all the difference in the world for me, how about you?
Mar 25, 2024 – Imagine you are the firstborn. Imagine you are six years old. You hear the news broadcast of the death angel coming at midnight to kill the firstborn and the firstborn is you! How would you then feel? Peaceful or troubled?
Would you go to your daddy and ask, “Daddy, am I going to die? Is there anything we can do about it?”
Your daddy would then gather you in his arms and say, “Yes, there is. We need to kill a lamb and put its blood on our front doorpost. When the death angel sees the blood, he will pass over our house and not harm you.”
“Daddy, do we have a lamb?”
“My child, we have many lambs but not just any lamb will do. God expects the best.”
“Daddy, why must it be a lamb?”
“It is because God will someday send someone who is just like a lamb to take away the sin of the world.”
“Daddy, do we have any lambs that are without blemish? No broken legs? No disease of any kind?”
“Yes, child, we do.’
“Daddy, will you be sure it is that kind of lamb because God is very specific?”
“Yes, child, I will.”
“Daddy, why must the lamb die? What evil has the lamb done?”
“Child, it is because the innocent must die for the guilty. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All we like sheep have gone astray and the Lord will lay upon His lamb the iniquity of us all.”
“Daddy, am I worth an innocent lamb?”
“No, but God commends His love toward us in that while we were sinners Christ died for the ungodly…for a world of rebellious sinners.”
“Daddy, that blood will make the house look awful. I know how much you and mommy want the house to look nice. Daddy, will you really do that for me?”
“Yes, child, we will.”
“Daddy, can I watch to mark sure you do it like God says?”
“Yes, child, you can.”
“Christ our Redeemer died on the cross, Died for the sinner, paid all His due, Sprinkle your soul in the blood of the Lamb,
And I will pass, will pass over you.”
The blood…the only thing that can save my soul from the wrath to come. Amen.
Mar 23-24, 2024 – PROPHECY #3 – A man needed money to pay his income taxes. This man decided the best way to raise cash was to rob the safe in a department store. He worked his way inside the store and found the safe. He started to get out his dynamite when he saw that someone had taped a note to the safe. The note said: “Please do not use dynamite. This safe is not locked. Just turn the handle.”
The burglar thought, “That sure is smart. This way the furniture won’t get damaged.”
The burglar turned the handle on the safe. Instantly, a heavy sandbag fell on the burglar, lights began flashing, and alarm bells started ringing.
The police came and arrested the burglar. As the burglar was being carried outside on a stretcher, he complained, “You just can’t trust anyone these days!”
Have you ever felt like that? But let us remember you can always trust Jesus!
What does the Bible say Jesus will do for us who believe? Someday soon He will come again to claim us for Himself. “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
Based on the inspired scriptures, Jesus won’t send a representative—He will come Himself. HE IS COMING FOR HIS BRIDE: for us! He will first resurrect the bodies of dead believers. Someone said, “The dead are raised first, because they have further to go!” Maybe so! The bodies of the living saints will be changed…glorified, also. Then both the resurrected saints and the still living saints (all glorified in perfect bodies) will be “caught up” or “raptured” from planet earth. No rocket propulsion system on our back…just up, up and away like He did in His ascension!
Notice this meeting will not occur on the earth, but in the air, even in the clouds so it is obviously some distance above the earth. Some preachers try to spiritualize the “clouds” as being “clouds of believers,” but that lacks common sense and violates the entire context as well as John 14:3. “If the first sense makes good sense then seek no other sense.”
Where will we go? It makes no sense either to go up just to immediately come back down like some say. Jesus’ words must be taken literally: “I go to prepare a place for you…and it is where I am or live.” We are obviously being transported to His heaven for a period of time. (The absence of the church on earth in Revelation 4-19 speaks louder than words. We’re obviously somewhere else during that time of worldwide suffering.)
The promise is to us, “So shall we ever be with the Lord.” Wherever the Lord is from that point on, we can expect to be there, also.
We may not know all the in’s and out’s of prophecy, but do we really need to know every last detail? This writer thinks not. But what we do know is food to our soul: We who believe will be with Jesus! Can you think of anything better than that? So keep sowing, keep praying, keep walking in the Spirit…for He is coming soon!
Mar 2, 2024 – PROPHECY #2 – Adolf Hitler put a great deal of faith in the occult. (The Indiana Jones movies are partly based upon that obsession.) Hitler often consulted spiritualists and fortunetellers. One time he went to a fortuneteller and asked her, “On what day will I die?”
The fortuneteller told him that it would be a Jewish holiday. Hitler asked her, “How can you be sure?”
She answered, “Because any day you die will be a Jewish holiday!”
The greatest enemy that God’s chosen nation of Israel has ever faced was Adolf Hitler.
But the worst part about the future is that Satan already has someone lined up to replace Hitler! His name is the Antichrist! The Bible prophesies that the Antichrist will deceive Israel into trusting him, but the Antichrist will eventually declare war upon Israel and there will be no place for the Jews to hide.
Jesus told Israel, ““When you see the abomination of desolation (spoken of by the prophet Daniel) STANDING IN THE HOLY PLACE…then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. A man on the housetop must not come down to get things out of his house, and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! Pray that your escape may not be in winter or on a Sabbath” (Matthew 24).
Question: Won’t your city, though, be safe? NO! Revelation 13:8 indicates this will be a worldwide persecution because the Antichrist will have worldwide power. His persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jewish people will be unprecedented and relentless.
This writer expects to be delivered from that day by the Rapture or catching away of God’s saints. But imagine what those “left behind” will see. The Jews in your neighborhood will go into hiding! One morning the community hears a police siren. The neighbors look out their windows and see the entire police force raid a house down the street. The neighbors ask the police, “Are there terrorists inside?”
The police answers, “Worse than that! There are Jews inside!”
A Jewish family consisting of a husband, wife and two children are pulled outside, lined up against a wall, arrested, and, in certain localities, executed publicly.
The cry is heard, “Why?”
The answer is, “War has been declared on the Jews and there is no place to hide!”
The old adage is appropriate: “Fore-warned is fore-armed.” These are not times to play around with one’s soul.
Mar 21, 2024 – Are we living in the end times? Are we the last generation to proclaim the Lord’s coming before He comes again?
Matthew 24 describes a time when the world has clearly changed. The Bible picture of a patient and loving God has now been replaced by the picture of an angry God. During our current age the Bible tells us that the goodness of God leads you and me to repentance and faith in Christ. God, in patience, is dealing with the hearts of people.
That is why we sing, “Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, Calling for you and for me. See on the portals He’s waiting and watching, Watching for you and for me. Come home! Ye who are weary come home!”
But there will come a day, perhaps very soon, when things will change in a horrible way. Yes, 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that God is longsuffering toward us and is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. That longsuffering has now lasted for 2,000 years since the death of Jesus, but the next verse tells us, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise.” 2,000 years of patience will be followed by a horrendous judgment upon all who dwell upon the earth.
This will not be the first time that God has done this. The first time was in the days of Noah in Genesis 6. God looked upon the sinfulness of man and said, “My Spirit shall not always strive or struggle with man. I will destroy the earth with a flood!” But, even so, God waited patiently 120 years and kept reaching out to man.
But then things changed! Patience ended! The flood came! Imagine the people trying to hold back the rain, the flood but with no success! Such a thing will also happen in the future, but in even a more terrible way…”great tribulation such as has never been seen before even in Noah’s day and will never be seen again after this particular era of judgment.”
Revelation 6:15-17 tells us, “Then the people of the earth hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’” God’s wrath is being poured out and the world knows the reason! “HIDE US FROM THE WRATH OF THE LAMB against our sin!”
A man was washing his car. The sun was going down and preparing to kiss the earth good night. The man looked up at the sun. An impulse struck him and he pointed the hose at the sun as if he could extinguish the sun with the hose. Then the foolishness of his action struck him and he laughed! Imagine, he thought, how this would look in the newspaper: “Man tries to douse the sun with a garden hose!”
That’s what it will be like during the time Jesus called “Great Tribulation.” The wicked nations will continue their rebellion, but He who sits in the heavens will not be disturbed in the least! He doesn’t even rise from His throne; He just laughs in scorn and ridicule: “Man tries to douse God’s judgment with a garden hose!”
Yes, the day of His wrath is coming, and who shall be able to stand?
Let us remain faithful in the “here and now” to tell people about that time called “then.”
Mar 20, 2024 – Have you ever forgotten a promise? Perhaps so. One of our pastors told about forgetting a wedding…not once but twice! In those cases, it wasn’t the bride or groom not showing up but the minister!
All of us have been the victim of broken promises at one time or another. Our experience with people causes us to ask, “Can I still trust God?
It is similar to hiring a new employee. Can you trust the new person to do a good job? We routinely answer that question by checking his resume and references. Well, the entire Bible is God’s resume and reference!
What does God’s resume say? In Genesis 8:22 God promised the continuation of summer and winter, day and night, seedtime and harvest. The last time I checked, God was still doing it. Even global warming will not change this promise.
In Genesis 15:13-16 God promised four centuries of misery in Egypt for Israel, but ONLY four centuries! Was God faithful to deliver His people? Exodus 12:41 declares God was faithful!
Isaiah 7:14 promised a virgin birth. How could such a thing be? Galatians 4:4 declares Christ was made of a woman without a man’s involvement.
This writer likes God’s resume and references, how about you? I believe in my God so much that I trust God with my soul, my life, my future, my everything. And that includes my ministry as a pastor, too.
What promises do I rely upon as a pastor? “My word shall not return unto Me void” (Isaiah 55:11). The foundation of my ministry has always been the Word of God AND the conviction that God will honor His word, not necessarily my preaching! “Give the Word to the people and give God a chance to do what He can do!” has worked for me.
Second, Jesus promised, “If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). Evangelist Fred Brown taught us, “Make much of Jesus and He will make much of you!” “He must be given the increase.”
“Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). The offer is to all including those to whom we witness outside the church. God turns no one away. As the old joke goes: “If one of the non-elect gets saved, well, God will forgive me!”
“God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and a sound mind”– written to a fearful preacher named Timothy (sometimes me, too!) to encourage him to preach the Word and “be instant in season, out of season!”
Last, “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). “Knowing” is not the same as guessing or hoping, but it expresses certainty. You and I both can be certain that God is able to do something with us! Isn’t that good? I trust these promises and so I will just keep plugging along for my Lord. Amen?
Mar 19, 2024 – The British philosopher Bertrand Russell was opposed to God’s Ten Commandments so he penned his own “Ten Commandments of Liberalism.” The first commandment reads, “Do not feel absolutely certain about anything.” What a shame! To go through life plagued with uncertainty about everything.
Let’s contrast Russell’s philosophy with the reality of God…who He is and what He does. The Bible does not begin by defending God’s existence. It simply turns the spotlight on Him and says, “Here He is and this is what He does.” Through the Bible we learn enough about who He is and what He does to trust Him with our very own soul…and to believe on the One that He sent into the world to be our Savior. We have faith and that faith gives us a sense of certainty.
But let’s think of Russell’s words in another context, specifically in God’s courtroom. Those words may be a good way to describe “hearsay evidence,” evidence which is generally inadmissible in court.
“Hearsay evidence” is evidence which is at least one step away from a reliable source. For example, “My friend Bill told me that he heard Jack admit to the crime.” The court needs to hear directly from either Jack or Bill, not from me. I may have misheard or I may even be fabricating a story.
Man’s prosecutor often tries to admit hearsay, rumors and gossip into evidence because his case is weak. If the prosecutor possesses a strong case, he does not need to rely upon lower quality evidence.
Surely a defendant deserves more than the evidence of hearsay, rumors and gossip! The courts obviously agree and usually rule against such evidence.
The same principle holds true in God’s court. God, though, has one major advantage over an earthly prosecutor. Because He is an all-knowing God, the Judge knows every detail about the case and does not even need to hear any evidence, let alone rely upon hearsay.
Dragnet’s Joe Friday often says, “Just the facts, sir, just the facts.” Every piece of evidence in God’s courtroom will be factual…no theory, hearsay or rumor. Nothing will be introduced into evidence except undisputable facts.
Amazingly, if a witness needs to be called, God can call Himself to the witness stand. He knows it all! The beginning and the ending as well as everything in between. He knows the time of the deed, the participants, the motives, the cover-up, the forensics, even things that CSI does not even know. Amazing! “Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, ‘You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court’” (Romans 3:4).
Therefore, how can any man think he can escape the judgment of God? That, my friend, is something about which we CAN BE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN.
Mar 18, 2024 – Little Timmy was in the garden filling in a hole when his neighbor looked over the fence. The neighbor wondered about the hole and he asked, “Timmy, what are you doing?”
Timmy began to cry and he said, “My goldfish died and I just buried him.”
The neighbor was concerned. He said, “That’s an awfully big hole for a little goldfish, isn’t it?”
Timmy patted the mound of dirt and said, “I needed a deep hole, because my goldfish is inside your stupid cat.”
QUESTION: How deep must one dig to build a life which is really worth living? A life which will stand the test of time as well as eternity? The parable of the two houses in Luke 6 contrasts two different approaches to caring for one’s soul. One man built his house upon sand, and the house failed when the storm of final judgment came. The second man, though, dug deep into the soil, dug past the sand, found something rock solid and only then did he pour his foundation and begin building. That rock, of course, is Jesus Christ.
According to Jesus, this man dug deep! He didn’t dig just six inches…a foot…three feet…he kept digging until he was absolutely positive! He made sure – doubly sure – triply sure – that he was right –that whatever he built would survive the coming judgment!
Last week an on-line reader objected to one of these devotionals. He said the usual things such as “you Christians believe in fables, no one knows which religion is the right religion,” etc. Interestingly, he also wrote about being a faithful church member for many years until he saw the light. Now he realizes Christianity is ridiculous, because it believes in a man being raised from the dead.
How did I respond? First, in pity and mercy. I shared that he had just proven he had never been born again, for he was looking at Christianity from the angle of an unbeliever, not a believer. If you have been born again, I stated, you would know the reality of the living Christ. Though he discussed being religious, at no point did he mention being born again or knowing what it meant.
It is important to realize the parable’s “rock” man was not satisfied easily but he dug deep. He investigated the matter thoroughly. His methodology was not whimsical. What did Jesus say? “Sit down and count the cost before you begin building.” This man decided that he needed the rock so he stripped away the sand of human works, the sand of church membership or church rituals, the sand of community involvement, etc. until he was left with only one thing: THE ROCK, JESUS CHRIST!
“My hope is built on NOTHING LESS than Jesus’ blood and righteousness! When He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found. Dressed in HIS righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before God’s throne. On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand.”
Jesus finishes the story with these words: “Then the flood arose, the stream beat violently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was built on the rock.”
Don’t hesitate in sharing the gospel with a church member or a church congregation. You may be sharing with someone who built his life on a religious deed rather than Christ!
Mar 16-17, 2024 – I remember Eddie. As a pastor I have been with sick people in the hospital who knew their life was nearing its end. I returned to a former pastorate to baptize Eddie when we was 63 years of age. That was a glorious night when I baptized four men—ages 15, 40, 63, and 70. Eddie now, though, was sick with cancer. He wanted to end his life at home so the family did everything they could to let Eddie finish at home. They brought in a bed, medical equipment, and Hospice. They fulfilled Eddie’s desire, and he ended his life at home.
Do you know there are really only TWO places a Christian can end his life? Oh, we might talk about places like the nursing home, automobile wreck, hospital, mowing grass, or sleeping in bed, but in reality there are only two places that a Christian can end his life:
First, a Christian can end his life IN the will of God, knowing that he is living in obedience to God’s revealed will or…
Second, a Christian can end his life OUT of the will of God, living a life which is not in accordance with the will of God…rebelling against God! Declaring with his last breath, “I want my own way!”
Today’s Verse shouts loudly, “Jesus is coming!” When He comes our life on earth will come to an end! If we abide in Him (in the will of God) we will not be ashamed to see Him! But if we do not abide in Him (out of the will of God) we’ll be ashamed…embarrassed.
Can you imagine going up in the Rapture, but being embarrassed to see Jesus? Can you imagine dying today and going to heaven, but being embarrassed to see Jesus? We’d be like the kid whose mother caught him with his hand in the cookie jar…but much worse. Jesus will say, “I died for you.” We will bow our heads and admit, “But I did not live for you.” The embarrassment of such a failure!
The most embarrassing place for a Christian to die is OUT of the will of God! But the most rewarding place for a Christian to die is in the will of God.
Do you remember how the Apostle Paul died? Embarrassed? No! “For I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.” Paul then stepped over to the executioner’s block, put his head down upon the block and said, “Well, glory to God! I’m going home! You may cut off my head down here, but Jesus will put a crown on it up there!” Oh, what a way to finish!
A man went to see a lawyer to make out his will. He told the lawyer to give so-and-so $100,000, so-and-so $200,000, so-and-so $500,000. The lawyer said, “But, sir, I don’t believe you have that much money to leave.”
The man said, “I know that, but I just want to show them my good intentions.”
It is good to leave money behind for your family…maybe a fine house…an automobile. But the greatest thing you can ever leave behind is a good Christian testimony that can be continued from one generation to the next generation until Jesus comes.
Let us “abide in Him that we may have confidence” when our life on earth reaches its end.
Mar 15, 2024 – Ah, Playdoh—the magical invention that thrilled this boy’s heart! You could make anything with that stuff: pies…cookies…people. Even my grandkids play with it. How pliable it is! In a similar way, God wants us to be pliable like Playdoh so He can mold us just like Jesus Christ—not just in heaven but here on earth, too.
If I want to be like Jesus, I need to know what kind of person Jesus really was.
Did Jesus come to do His own will? No. “I came not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.”
Did Jesus live a life of sin? No. “In the wilderness He resisted the devil and the devil fled.”
Did Jesus have compassion for the lost? Yes! John 4:4 speaks of His determined spirit: “I must needs go through Samaria to reach one Samaritan woman.”
Did He pray? Yes! At the tomb of Lazarus, He said, “Father, I know that You hear Me always.” ALWAYS!
Did He study the Bible? Yes! He often quoted the holy scriptures. At the age of twelve He knew it frontwards and backwards.
Did He build up other people? Yes! He took eleven men, just ignorant fishermen, and made them special.
Did He let His light shine against wickedness? Yes! His righteousness shone like a spotlight in this dark world.
God wants to turn us into that kind of person. Just as we shaped the Playdoh into our own design, so God wants to shape us into the image of His Son.
A prince had a crooked back, causing him to be deformed. He called for a sculptor to make a statue of him. The prince said, “I do not want this statue to show a crooked, dwarfed back. Have it stand as straight as a fence post.”
The sculptor said, “But it wouldn’t look like you.”
The prince said, “I am the prince, you are the sculptor. Do as I tell you.”
The sculptor made a statue of the prince that showed him standing as straight as a fence post. The young prince was so pleased with the statue that he spent time looking at the statue every day. Then something strange happened. The people said, “It seems the prince is now standing straighter than he ever has.”
Several months passed. One day the prince looked at himself in a mirror. He looked once…twice…then he realized that his back was as straight as the statue. He had so wanted to look like the statue that he was now standing straight just like the statue.
Wonder what looking at Jesus will do for us?
Mar 14, 2024 – Who do you really want to be? Many of you are acquainted with the famous writer Stephen Covey. He wrote a book which appeared on the best-sellers list for a number of years, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” That book is still popular today, because it helps you focus on the person you wish to be.
On pg. 106 Stephen Covey says, “The most effective way I know to begin with the end in mind [in other words, the kind of person I want to become] is to develop a personal mission statement as to what you want to be.”
That means, write out a list of items that you really want to be then practice those things tomorrow, the next day, the day after that, continue it every day that you live. If, heaven forbid, you die on that future day, you’ll be close to the person that you wanted to be! After all, you can’t change the past…it is set in concrete. But you can change who you are tomorrow by clearly defining a goal and then targeting that goal with the help of the Holy Spirit.
I took Covey’s advice and wrote my own mission statement. It is on my desk protected by a sheet of glass. I see it everyday that I am at my desk. It serves as a constant reminder that I need to become someone of greater value than I am today.
Evangelist B. R. Lakin often said, “I want to live my life in such a way that my family won’t have to apologize for me when I am dead.” He succeeded. His words are good advice for all of us! But his goal is not very specific, is it? Maybe you could jot down a few specific ideas right now on your note pad, let it simmer until the next time you sit down at this spot then perhaps add some more items at that time. Before long you’ll have something specific…and something achievable, too.
Don’t be like the old man who died! This old man was lying in the casket. His wife and son were sitting on the front row of the audience. The preacher began talking about the old man…salt of the earth…dependable…friendly…best neighbor you could ever have.
Finally, the old man’s wife leaned over and said, “Son, sneak up there, look in the casket, and see if that’s really our old man, because that can’t be who the preacher’s talking about!”
How will your life end? If it ended today, would you be satisfied with the kind of person you are right now? Are you the person your spouse needs? Your children need? Your church needs? Your Lord needs? Remember: If you aim at NOTHING you will hit your target and produce NOTHING. But if you aim at something…you get the idea!
Jul 15, 2024 – Let’s probe a difficult, disturbing question: What is the most boring part of a church service? Every poll shows the same result: the preaching or teaching of the Word of God.
That is the opposite of what one would expect, because we emphasize the Bible as the world’s most important book. Yet people often want something else. How ironic!
Perhaps it is because many people come to church for a reason other than to hear the Word of God. The Bible-loving teacher wishes he/she had more time to share the treasures of God’s Word, the serious Bible student wants more time, but many listeners have a different expectation or desire.
A woman asked W. A. Criswell, the well known pastor of First Baptist in Dallas, to visit her husband and urge him to become a member of the church. Criswell obliged. The man said, “I will not join your church, because I do not like to hear you preach.”
Criswell asked, “I would like to know the reason why.”
The man said, “I have been to your church several times with my wife. You preached the Bible EVERY one of those times. I have never heard you preach anything else.”
Criswell responded, “That is true. What do you want me to preach?”
The man continued, “When I go to church, I would like the minister to enlarge my field of interest, expounding on the political scene, on our economic dilemma, on current events, or about the latest and finest literature. I get tired of listening to you just preach the Bible.”
The man never joined the church, because Criswell never quit preaching the Bible.
Criswell concluded, “It seems to me that once in a while a man would like to know what God has to say. If God does say anything, who else but the preacher—God’s spokesman—will tell us what God says? I am convinced this is the assignment of the preacher—to stand in the pulpit, to open the Word of the living Lord, and to tell us how our souls can be saved and how we can enjoy the blessings of God in our lives.”
Today’s text is about people that “would like to know what God has to say.” They crowded Jesus so they would not miss a single word. Their souls were hungry for spiritual truth. And that hunger was evidenced by their listening.
God help us to concentrate on meeting their need! And God help our people to WANT to know what God has to say! Our job is to keep preaching, keep teaching, keep sowing! And wait on God to give the increase.
Rest assured, someone is ALWAYS listening! Give the listeners your best effort. This, too, is your calling.
Jul 13-14, 2024 – IT’S ANOTHER GOOD DAY TO PRAISE THE LORD! “O, taste of the Lord and see that He is good!”
In the days of old, the people imagined their god(s) was not good; hence, they feared their god even to the point of offering human sacrifices to their god. Such a god was viewed in malevolent terms…vicious, hateful, vengeful, delighting in pouring out wrath upon weak humans.
I write in the upcoming book, “Wrath is considered an attribute of many pagan gods. Those gods delight in bringing wrath upon people; such an attitude is in their nature, because it is who they are. ‘They wake up every morning thinking of ways to make people miserable.’ Accordingly, the pagan gods need their anger or wrath to be propitiated, but they do not concern themselves with providing their own propitiation. After all, it is not in their nature to do so. They delight in wrath so why voluntarily alleviate the wrath?“
But that description is NOT true of our God. “The LORD is good.” “God’s mercy endures forever!” “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me ALL the days of my life.”
Many years ago my father (also a pastor) taught me, “Some will be saved by preaching on hell but more will respond to preaching on the love of God.” There is much truth in those words.
Think about the guy holding up a sign at the basketball game behind the basket. What Bible verse appears on the sign? John 3:16. (That is not a verse about hell.) How does it begin? You know! “For God so loved…”
The greatest message I can hear is that God loves…me! God loves enough to provide a Savior, to warn me of the consequences without the Savior, to receive me into His family, to be my friend and companion during life’s journey, to prepare a home for me in His own house, to furnish guides (the Bible and Holy Spirit), and to give me strength for the task at hand.
Is it any wonder I wish to praise the Lord today? Great things He hath done, and great things He will continue to do!
Jul 12, 2024 – How much can one know? The amount of knowledge doubled in the 1800’s, was doubling every twenty-five years by 1950, and is now doubling every year.
IBM recently shared that the build-out of the “internet of things” will soon lead to the doubling of knowledge every twelve hours. This writer cannot comprehend such a rate of increase.
Sir Francis Bacon, an English philosopher, popularized those unforgettable and very true words, “Knowledge is power.” For example, suppose Japan or Germany had first developed the nuclear bomb in World War 2. Would today’s world be different? Undoubtedly!
Today’s Verse urges us to expand our lives by continually acquiring further knowledge, making it an everyday process. In other words, never stop learning! Never stop growing! Keep refreshing yourself!
This is true in every category of your life: spiritually, socially, financially, culturally, vocationally, medically, etc. (Scientific study even reveals that a growing mind is a formidable weapon against dementia.)
No man knows it all although some may think so! There are still “worlds to conquer” and much more to be learned. Indeed, these are very exciting times. Yes, these current days are disappointing in many regards, but they also represent days of great opportunity, including expanded opportunities to take the gospel to the uttermost parts of the world.
Interestingly, someday man’s potential for knowledge will be more fully realized…perhaps by leaps and bounds above what we know today. Daniel 12:4 looks at a future time (perhaps the Millennium when Jesus rules for 1,000 years) and says, “knowledge will increase.” That is supported by Isaiah 11:1-2, 9, 41:19-20, 54:13 and Habakkuk 2:14.
Long term thinker/investor/optimist John Templeton often talked about a coming “golden age” for mankind with longevity restored, cures for our diseases, ease of transportation and communication, an abundant and increasing food supply, etc. He felt it would begin in this current century, and he may very well turn out to be right.
After all, the promised Millennial Kingdom (and its amazing leap forward in knowledge) may be close at hand. It may appear childish to say so, but sometimes I wonder if the world of Elroy Jetson and Astro will soon be a reality rather than a cartoon!
So take today to refresh yourself…and learn something new!
Jul 11, 2024 – What is happening in our world? The world has changed so much since my ministry began in 1976. Church experts anticipate this change will accelerate over the next two decades as the baby boomers’ generation enters its decline.
Here is what is coming. “Gen Z, those born between 1995 and 2015, is the largest generation in modern history. Influential and largely unreligious, only 59% identify with some sort of theistic religion and a mere 4% embrace a biblical worldview. They’re in our homes and our schools but oftentimes absent from our churches. The oldest members of Gen Z are now age 29.”
Jonathan Clark, regional campus minister at Murray State University, identifies apathy as a barrier that leaders frequently face when ministering to Gen Z. “Many simply don’t care about spiritual things,” he said.
The intersection of biblical truth and cultural norms also impedes the communication of the gospel on college campuses. “The culture constantly paints true biblical Christianity as oppressive, sexist, intolerant, homophobic, and other things that many people in Gen Z don’t want to be labeled as. When they see the church as simply against those things without having a full understanding of Christians approaching life with a biblical worldview, they often see it as ‘us versus them.’”
Yes, the world is changing, but one basic truth has not changed: The best ministry meets people where they are.
Jesus demonstrated that principle throughout His ministry. He met people in their own unique situation: the woman at the well, Zaccheus in a tree, a thief on a cross, the apostles in their fishing boat, Martha in her grief, and Nicodemus in his confusion.
Jesus understood them; that fact improved His ministry to them. He knew His audience better than any preacher before or after Him.
Important: Jesus knew His audience both in terms of their generational characteristics AND their individual characteristics. EVEN MORE IMPORTANT: Jesus knew what every person most needs—to be reconciled to God by knowing Him as Lord and Savior.
Gen Z needs the same thing as any generation: It needs to fill the void in its heart; that void can only be filled with the same Christ that you have experienced. Yes, Jesus is multi-generational!
Look around you today. Zero in on two or three people. Write down something very basic about them. (Writing requires thinking.) Then pray about that person’s need. Perhaps the Lord will soon open the door for you to ask, “Will you give me a drink?”
Jul 10, 2024 – Please take your Bible and look at the first word of Mark chapters 1 & 2. Then look at the following chapters, too. Most translations begin the majority of Mark’s verses with the conjunction “and” or another conjunction such as “but” or “because.” For all intents and purposes, the book of Mark consists of one very long run-on sentence.
My English teacher would have flunked Mark for his writing style; however, by so doing Mark teaches us a very valuable lesson about ministry (as well as life in general). Mark presents the ministry of Jesus in terms of one long, unending flow of ministry events rather than an occasional event such as teaching a Sunday School lesson once a week.
Jesus was constantly ministering…each day of the week, to whomever He met in whatever circumstance He found Himself, constantly viewing Himself as being on mission for His heavenly Father. Why? Jesus might explain it like this: “It’s who I am, it’s what I do, it’s why I keep on doing it.”
The concept of Christian ministry was totally engrained in Him. He lived it and breathed it. He did so when He felt like doing it; He also did so when He did not feel like doing it (Garden of Gethsemane). Yes, He rested from ministry (Mark 6:31), and He enjoyed friendship (with Lazarus and others). But He never ceased BEING what He was supposed to be.
In a similar way, the best Christians are not the flashy Christians that make a big splash on Sunday but are the ones who never cease BEING what they are supposed to be.
It begins with the internal, not the external. The best Christians simply do it and keep on doing it, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year and decade after decade. They aren’t measured by events but by an everyday process of representing God before man. The effectiveness of such lives CANNOT be measured in the here and now.
I salute so many of you who have made your Christian calling your #1 calling for your life. Rest assured, you have indeed made a difference…and will continue to make a difference.
“It’s who we are, it’s what we do, it’s why we keep on doing it.”
Jul 9, 2024 – Some years ago, in the city of Toronto, a young man passed a street meeting. He heard the street preacher quote one verse from the Bible, “Son, give me thine heart” (Proverbs 23:26). The young man kept walking and heard nothing else. The verse seemed to go in one ear and out the other.
Fifty years later, though, the verse became alive to the now much older man. The verse continued to repeat itself to his mind. At last, the conviction of the Holy Spirit fell upon him, then belief came to him and he fell upon his knees, crying to God for mercy and forgiveness.
The lesson is so simple: The Word of God is a living book unlike any other book in the history of the world. But, above all, this Book must be understood or it accomplishes nothing.
Today’s Verse establishes the goal of the teacher/preacher/parent as being more than simply communicating knowledge; it must be the goal of providing understanding. “They gave the sense of the passage so the people understood the reading.”
One evangelist said, “Follow the Apostle Peter’s instructions and concentrate on, ‘Feeding the sheep’ rather than ‘feeding the giraffes.’” The majority of church members are not giraffes with the ability to eat the higher fruit but sheep that need their daily bread at ground level.
Vincent Van Gogh reminds us, “How difficult it is to be simple!” There is an art to making things simple. It is not easily learned.
My father (also a pastor) gave me a book in 1982 (my sixth year of ministry) with the following inscription: “May God grant that you should always speak so that others will understand and follow Him.” Then he highlighted this Bible verse: “In the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, in order to teach others also, than 10,000 words in another language” (1 Cor. 14:19).
Indeed, the goal of reading the Bible to yourself or to others is more than simply reading. Ruth Ellen and I read the Bible to our children each night in our family altar. As they became older, we engaged them in reading the Bible, also. In many ways, our children learned to read by reading the Bible in that sacred time. But even that success was not the goal. The goal was not merely reading but creating life-change based upon “understanding the reading.”
That same goal must be your goal as a teacher of God’s Word. Before teaching your students, think through what they may not know about the text and how best to help them know; only then can you properly apply the truth to their lives. Never forget: You do not exist as a Sunday School teacher, pastor or even seminary professor to merely inform; you exist as God’s instrument to bring about life-change in the listeners.
“Oh, God, teach us how to communicate Your Word to those whom You have entrusted to our care!”
Jul 8, 2024 – “I’ve got a secret for you!” Those words usually cause our ears to open wider, our minds to activate to a higher level, and our attention to become very focused.
The CBS network actually broadcast a game show by that name for FIFTEEN years. Evidently, Americans really wanted to know the contestants’ secrets!
But God’s secrets are even more special. The word “secret” in Today’s Verse has the idea of “intimacy” or “counsel” as in “secret counsel” or “intimate counsel.” Although it may be translated “friendship” it seems to go much deeper in this context.
The entire Psalm is a plea to know God better but also deeper. Knowing God intimately begins with an act of our will. Jesus says, “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know…” (John 7:17). Our will must want to know Him, not merely hear about Him. In other words, one must become more than a casual Sunday morning Christian.
Second, our attitude must include a spirit of reverence. We can’t be a television news reporter squawking a question for the sake of the viewer or for mere knowledge; rather, we must possess, not merely demonstrate, a reverence for Him (“fear Him” in vs 14).
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10). Knowing Him is actually viewed as understanding!
“The fear of the Lord can be defined as a continual awareness that you are in the presence of a holy, just, and almighty God, and that every motive, thought, word, and action is open before Him and will be judged by Him.”
Such an attitude does not produce a sniveling coward but rather one whose spirit has been brought under the control of Someone much bigger than him. This person is allowed to live in God’s presence and know God intimately. In so doing, the rest of Psalm 25 somehow “magically” happens.
It is amazing what God can do when we enter such an intimate relationship with Him. Some people know God, but some people REALLY KNOW God! Which person do you wish to be?
Jul 6-7, 2024 – “Count your many blessings, name them one by one!” Let’s do that.
H. A. Ironside titles his commentary on Ephesians “In The Heavenlies” because the term “heavenlies” expresses an environment for “other world” living—a distinct expression to describe the victorious (not defeated) Christian life.
Verse 3 describes our complete environment. Criswell writes, “Environment means ‘to circle around,’ and we are encircled by three things. First, we are in Christ. Our Christian life is lived in Christ. Second, our life is lived in the fellowship of the saints. Third, our life is lived in our own Ephesus, in the world around us…We are not saints in heaven, we are saints in our Ephesus.”
And we are wonderfully blessed while living in our Ephesus! Blessed beyond all measure in the here and now. Ephesians develops those blessings throughout its six chapters.
The blessings include more than salvation from sin (God already sees us seated in heaven in Christ); they also include our eternal purpose, our union with Christ, our daily walk, our role in God’s church, our family and work relationships, our armor against Satan, plus much, much more.
We have received not only the first blessing, not only the second blessing but thousands more…and they keep coming. Each verse in Ephesians is a case of Paul counting his blessings…and yours!
Warren Wiersbe reminds us, “When you were born again into God’s family, you were born rich. Our heavenly Father is not poor; He is rich—and He has made us rich in His Son.”
Are you discouraged today? Then look up! Ephesians is the “look up” book. You will then realize the reality of these words from the early church father Clement of Alexandria: “God has turned all our sunsets into sunrise.”
Ah, the world looks much different when you view it with God sitting alongside you!
Jul 5, 2024 – Let’s go back two years. This writer received a great compliment as I neared the church on my last Sunday (July 3) as its pastor. The church sign greeted me with one of my favorite sayings, “Keep sowing Jesus!”
My first thought was, “Praise God, someone has been listening!”
My second thought was, “Those three words will determine the fate of every church in America. Inside-the-wall churches are destined to go down, down, down…outside-the-wall churches, though, are fulfilling God’s mission of taking the gospel OUTSIDE the church walls; it makes sense that God wants such an obedient church to continue.”
My formula for a surviving and thriving church may be simplistic to some, but I remain a firm believer that God’s plan is always the best plan. “A going church for a coming Savior” should be more than a slogan. It should be a core belief! “As the Father has sent ME, I also send YOU.” We should view ourselves as Christ viewed Himself: as a missionary to a sinful world headed for a godless eternity. (Indeed, my first book “God’s Greenhouse” is built entirely on this premise.)
Nat Olson writes,
“Where is the mission field?” some people ask,
And then act surprised when they hear me say,
“You’re living on a mission field with every passing day.”
A mission field’s wherever there are straying souls to find,
Wherever there’s a neighbor who needs someone who’s kind,
Wherever there are young folk who need a guiding hand—
There, my friends, is a mission field—do you understand?
“Go ye into all the world” may not mean a foreign trip,
It may be a smile and a chosen tract to leave with a waiter’s tip.
“The world” is everywhere, you know—at home, where you’re employed,
Wherever hearts are lonely and sense an aching void.
There, yes, there’s your mission field—wherever you may be,
Here in dear America or somewhere ‘cross the sea.
Wherever you can work for Christ, wherever hearts can yield,
There, my friend, is where to serve—there’s your mission field!
Jul 4, 2024 – “GOD BLESS AMERICA, LAND THAT I LOVE. STAND BESIDE HER AND GUIDE HER!”
In October, 1976 President Jimmy Carter received a certified check for $35,000 made out to the United States of America. The attached letter said, “Dear Mr. President, The check of $35,000 is a gift for the U.S.A. – LONG LIVE! With me it is not what the country will do for me; it is what I can do for my country. My age is past ninety-two. I came from Russia in 1906.”
This man felt he owed a debt for the privilege of being an American. Sadly, too many of today’s people on both sides of the aisle feel America owes them something just for breathing its air. Perhaps they would feel different if they came from Russia in 1906!
Due to our affluence, practically all of us have lost sight of what it cost to bring this country (the greatest country the world has ever known) into existence. Imagine how different things might be today if just a few things had occurred in a different way. What things?
Paul Revere could have said, “Why pick on me? It is the middle of the night. I can’t ride through Middlesex Village. Besides, I am not the only man in Boston with a horse.” (Revere, however, climbed on his horse and warned the countryside, “The British are coming!”)
Patrick Henry could have said, “Yes, I am for liberty, but we must be realistic. We are small compared to the British, and someone is going to get hurt.” (Henry, though, pushed forward and risked everything for the American cause.)
George Washington could have said, “Gentlemen, you honor me, but I am getting some personal matters settled and have much to do at Mount Vernon. Why don’t you try General Gates? Also, you might say I have served my time fighting the French.” (Washington instead rose to the challenge and rightfully deserves the title “The Father of Our Country.”)
Benjamin Franklin could have said, “I’m over seventy-five years old. What you need as a Minister to France in these strenuous times is a younger man. Let a new generation take over. I want to rest.” (Franklin instead negotiated the Treaty of Versailles.)
And God could have said, “These people will eventually turn against Me. I will not help them.” O, if that had happened…
My friends, let’s not take America for granted! Let us continue to pray, “God bless America, land that I love!”
Jul 3, 2024 – Ready? “This is what the Lord says: The wise man must not boast in his wisdom; the strong man must not boast in his strength; the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth. But the one who boasts should boast in this, that he understands and knows Me—that I am Yahweh, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things” (Jeremiah 9:23).
Paul’s version (Today’s Verse) is shorter, Jeremiah’s is longer (hence, it was made into a praise song). Both, though, deal with a central issue of life: What is wrong with my boasting?
Simple: It is a case of ALL OF US midgets arguing over who is the tallest.
We would be puzzled at such a scenario, because the tallest midget is still short compared with the rest of humanity. Well, let’s compare ourselves with the Almighty; compared to God are we even as tall as the smallest midget? No.
We cannot conquer death, the need for sleep or food, cancer and other diseases, gravity, earthquakes, even the simpler things like human relations. The Bible even teaches we cannot know God unless God chooses to reveal Himself (He does).
We’re like 2021’s cicada swarm: here today, gone tomorrow or as the balding man moaned, “Hair today, gone tomorrow.”
But what about God? God created an entire universe, established life, revealed Himself so His creation might know the Almighty of Almighties, provided a Savior to rescue Adam’s race, guaranteed to save anyone to the uttermost that would come to Him through the blood of the cross, will resurrect all men, even disintegrated bodies, at the last day, and, as a curtain call, He will create a new heaven and new earth.
Compare that to my (or your) puny accomplishments! I’m no longer the tallest midget nor the smallest midget nor even a tadpole. Similar to Job, I must humble myself in the ashes and repent for exalting myself.
“Lord, help me today to remember it is not me that counts. It is You that counts. To God be the glory, great things He hath done!”
Jul 2, 2024 – There are consequences to our choices: both good and bad. Some believe God may show us in eternity the “life which might have been” had we “wholly followed the LORD.” How good a parent? How good a pastor or teacher or soulwinner or employee or example?
How far might we have gone or how much might we have accomplished? One thing is certain: We will never achieve that level of performance unless we choose a very disciplined lifestyle and “wholly follow the LORD.”
Caleb intentionally chose a life of faith. He firmly believed God would give them the victory over their enemies! But the nation of Israel did not believe. Instead, they disbelieved! The nation outvoted Caleb. As a result, he had to endure forty years living in the wilderness with the unbelievers. (Read Numbers 13-14.)
Most importantly, Caleb did not turn away from God at Kadesh like the rest of the nation. Rather, he embraced God’s promised land as something worth fighting for…worth giving his life for…worth every day’s effort.
Amazingly, this disciplined attitude did not change for FORTY years. Unlike so many, Caleb started his race well, he continued running his race well, he eventually conquered the “mountain the Lord has given me” and he kept running the race until God called him home.
How did he do it? He was a disciple or disciplined follower.
J. Vernon McGee says, “What do you want of God? If you think you can sit on the sidelines and get it, you are wrong…you are going to have to go out there and take it. God said He would give to Caleb the land that he had TRODDEN upon. A great many of us today are not being blessed because we are spending too much time sitting down. That is the wrong place to be if we want the blessing of God. We are to walk. There is a great deal said in the Scriptures about the Christian’s walk and very little said about the Christian’s sitting down. We need to lay hold of God’s promises.”
Let us, “Go forth and become a Caleb!”
Jul 1, 2024 – Ken Burns is the film maker best known for his PBS renditions of the Civil War, Baseball and the Vietnam War. Regarding the subject of American exceptionalism, he says, “We simply have to hold ourselves to a much higher standard than anyone else is held to. I think that’s part of the American promise.”
Those words are true for America but are also true for us as God’s people. We are held to a higher standard by the world AND God because we have a higher calling and a higher destiny. Jesus describes us as “the light of the world” in a world of “darkness,” as “salt” in a tasteless world, as walking on a “narrow road” when most are walking on a “broad road.”
So let’s paraphrase Ken’s words like this: “We Christians simply have to hold ourselves to a much higher standard than the world is held to. I think that’s part of the Christian promise.”
Evangelist Fred Brown tells about getting in trouble as a child by imitating the neighborhood children. His mother reprimanded him severely. Fred complained, “Why can’t I be like the other children?”
His mother answered, “Because you’re a Brown, that’s why!”
Throughout the Old Testament rebellious Israel asked, “Why can’t I be like the other nations and have a king and do all of this other stuff?”
God’s answer never varied: “Because you’re Mine, that’s why!”
Quite simply, God has made you special! That means the world needs your godly influence! Try to attain that standard each day that you live.
Jun 29-30, 2024 – The foundation for a successful ministry begins with our absolute conviction that the Bible is a book of TRUTH. Many people today have never found such a foundation, or, for that matter, ANY foundation for their lives. They simply don’t know anything for certain.
Their dilemma is evidenced in how they live their lives. Sadly, they simply don’t know for certain if they are right! But that situation does not have to be!
Josh Billings says, “I’d rather know a few things for certain than be sure of a lot of things that just ain’t so.”
The Bible will help any Christian (of any intellect) know at least a few things for certain. The Apostle Paul describes the Bible as “the Word of TRUTH” and guides Timothy to build his entire life upon its teachings. Those teachings not only made Timothy “wise unto salvation” (3:15) but also established a rock-solid foundation that gave him confidence to deal with the many struggles of life and ministry.
No man can ever be wrong or go wrong by following the Word of God’s truth! Furthermore, Paul urges Timothy to “rightly divide” or “cut straight” as in the sense of plowing a straight furrow or sewing a straight seam. Quite honestly, the Word of God cannot be improved. Therefore, it should be declared for what it is: God’s truth for wayward souls.
Samuel Rutherford encourages us to, “Believe God’s Word more than you believe your own feelings and experiences. Your Rock is Christ, and it is not the Rock which ebbs and flows, but your sea.” The truth never changes! It is constant. A man can confidently stand on God’s truth and KNOW he is right even if the rest of the world says he is wrong.
William Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury, provides the only logical conclusion, “Christianity is not a drug which suits some complaints and not others. It is either sheer illusion or it is the truth. But it if is the truth, if the universe happens to be constituted in this way, the question is not whether the God of Christianity suits us, but whether we suit Him.”
I encourage you to choose truth—God’s truth—for your foundation!
Jun 28, 2024 – Helen Webb, a good friend in this author’s first ministry, wrote:
WHAT WILL YOU SAY?
On that great judgment day
Oh, what will you say,
When He says, “What did you do
With the time I gave to you?”
The believer in Christ is scheduled for his own review day or judgment day. Helen’s poem captures the essence of the believer’s judgment: “with the time I gave to you?” The believer’s judgment is not concerned with “the Savior I gave to you” as in salvation but with how the believer utilizes such elements as time, finances, passion, ability, spiritual gifts, prayer life, education, witnessing, experiences plus so much more in his ministry for Christ.
This judgment has nothing to do with the believer’s salvation, because it has nothing to do with the believer’s sin. Jesus promised, “‘Anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under [the Great White Throne] judgment but has passed from death to life’” (John 5:24).
The judgments for the believer can be summarized in this manner: past judgment as a sinner, present judgment as a son and future judgment as a servant.
God the Son has purchased us for His own glory. The believer is “no longer his own master. He has been bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body, soul, spirit and all you possess” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
Isaac Watts looked at the cross of suffering and shame. What he saw drove him to his knees, crying out, “Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”
The Apostle Paul expresses Watts’ passion in these words: “We make it our aim to please him” (2 Corinthians 5:9, ESV).
The question must be asked: How well did we do?
The Judgment Seat of Christ will reveal the quality of the believer’s effort.
Let us give Him our best today…tomorrow…and just keep on keeping on until He calls us home.
Jun 27, 2024 – Jesus taught, “The Scriptures cannot be broken” but experience teaches the Scriptures can sure break us! Indeed, God describes His word as a “hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.”
Thus, one of the first lessons to a Better Ministry is this: We are not here to judge the Bible, but the Bible is here to judge us.
2 Peter 3:16 warns us to not be like those who “twist” the Scriptures into a convoluted pretzel. The Greek word refers to an instrument of torture similar to the torture rack of old. People were placed on the torture rack and their limbs stretched until their bones were dislocated from their joints. Sure enough, some people do that with the Bible. They have an idea, and they twist the Scriptures to support the idea.
One man told this writer, “I already know what I believe. Don’t confuse me with the Bible.” That slip of the tongue spoke volumes!
Psalm 119 says, “Great peace or stability have they who love the Scriptures,” but we can also say, “Great instability have they who ignore or twist the Scriptures.” God’s Word or God’s hammer breaks even the best of man’s ideas into pieces.
Warren Wiersbe explains, “Most heresies are the perversion of some fundamental doctrine of the Bible. False teachers take verses out of context, twist the Scriptures, and manufacture doctrines that are contrary to the Word of God…This warning is good for all of us. We must accept the teaching of the Scriptures and not try to make them say what we want them to say.”
God has given this charge to each of us: “Let him who has My word speak My word truthfully. What does straw have in common with grain?” (Jeremiah 23:28). Falsehood (straw) can never substitute for truth (grain).
God has promised to empower His Word, not man’s latest ideas.
Ah, it is much better to yield to the Holy Scriptures than make the Holy Scriptures yield to us.
Jun 26, 2024 – God’s world is different from our world in so many ways. Religion is one of those ways. Most religions are external in scope. They reason, “If a man DOES, he shall live.” Thus, we have many religious traditions/ceremonies that people follow in hope of being made right with God. The focus is on the external.
Jesus countered that religious practice by saying, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence!” (Matthew 23:25)
Unfortunately, it has been so since the beginning of time. Man has sought to appease God by bringing THINGS to God then going about life in his own way. But God does not want THINGS. He wants our heart or our human will to be broken or yielded to Him.
Contrast these two personalities in Luke 18: First, the proud and very religious, ceremonial Pharisee! He prayed, “I thank you, God, I am not like those awful tax collectors. Let me tell You everything (external) that I do” and he proceeded to list his external activities as if God was not aware of them.
But the sinful tax collector was so broken in spirit he would not even look up to heaven. He bowed his head (and his heart) and prayed, “Lord, be merciful (literally, propitiated) to me, a sinner!” He asked God to present a propitiatory sacrifice on his behalf, fully knowing that was his only hope of salvation.
Jesus then said, “Only the tax collector went home justified or right with God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.“
It would be good to ask ourselves, “Am I primarily an external or internal person? Am I only skin deep? How is my heart and will before God?”
Remember: God’s measurement is the only proper measurement. Amazingly, when the internal is right, the external has a way of mending itself.
Jun 24, 2024 – O, out of the mouth of babes! Pastor Jerry Pirkle told us about his little boy staging a temper tantrum at the kitchen table. The father said, “Son, be filled with the Spirit.”
The son responded, “In a minute, dad, in a minute!” and resumed his tantrum.
Choices! God created us with the ability to choose. Life is a matter of choices. Every choice we make further molds us into who we are and who we are becoming.
Therefore, who do I choose to be in this particular minute? Do I yield myself to my Master (Romans 6:13) and commit today’s minutes to Him or do I…? The choice is mine. The same choice belongs to you, also.
Joshua’s words, “Choose you THIS DAY whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15) has application to TODAY, not yesterday nor tomorrow. Joshua places a time constraint on the choice.
Sometimes, though, we are uncomfortable with time constraints. We want time to consider the issue, perhaps sleep on it. That even includes doing what we already know is right for us to do.
Two of our friends recently bought a Florida retirement home in The Villages. The husband and wife viewed the house, liked it and were given two HOURS to decide upon that specific house. The time constraint forced a decision which they would have made the same way on the next day…but it forced the decision to be made on THAT day. They said, “YES!”
There is no valid reason to put off a decision if you are already know it is the right decision. Quite honestly, if God says it is the right decision there is no reason to delay enacting the decision TODAY!
In Today’s Verse the believer can choose to put on (think of it in terms of putting on clothes) the new man (the born again nature that is patterned after God’s own righteous nature) or the old man (the Adamic nature that is ours by physical birth). We don’t need to think about it. We just need to do it. I am sure your family and friends would rather have the new you than the old you. And they’d rather have the “new you” TODAY than tomorrow or next week.
So make it happen. Put on the new man TODAY.
(This matter is discussed in detail in my book SANCTIFICATION: HOW GOD CREATES SAINTS OUT OF SINNERS.)
Jun 22-23, 2024 – On January 8, 1956, 28-year-old American missionary Jim Elliot was martyred, along with four missionary partners and friends. They were attempting to minister to a native tribe (the Huaorani) in the jungle of Ecuador. These words were found in Jim’s diary. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
Centuries earlier the 17th century English preacher Phillip Henry had said, “He is no fool who parts with that which he cannot keep, when he is sure to be recompensed with that which he cannot lose.”
The Christian life is not based upon the principle of getting/me-first but upon giving/Christ-first.
The Apostle Paul found greater satisfaction in losing earthly things (in so doing, he was free to gain a more intimate knowledge of Christ) than in gaining earthly things. Sometimes earthly things accompany our thirst for Christ, but sometimes they do not, indeed, they have a way of crowding out Christ instead of Him crowding out lesser things.
The treasure of knowing Christ makes everything else secondary. Not out of a sense of duty, but in desiring His presence as He becomes the “bestest of friends.”
Babe Ruth said, “Most people who really counted in my life were never famous. I have written my name on thousands of baseballs. I knew an old white-haired minister who wrote his name on just a few simple hearts. But how I envy him. He was not trying to please himself. Fame never came his way. I am listed as a famous home run hitter, yet beside the obscure minister who was so good and wise, I have never gotten to first base.”
Jesus, the Righteous One, taught us, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be FILLED.” Filled…”my cup runneth over”…”have life more abundantly”…”joy unspeakable and full of glory”…”that the power of Christ may rest upon me”…”filled with the Spirit”…”My peace I give to you”…”and he walked with God.”
May you seek Him today!
Jun 21, 2024 – “Blessed are the peaceMAKERS”…the ones who intentionally MAKE peace rather than conflict, who seek peace rather than argument, who seek to lower the temperature rather than raise it.
That is not a description of modern day America. We have been fooled into becoming a nation of loud-mouthed critics. There are so many troublemakers in today’s hyperbolic world, people that continually stir the pot and then complain about the pot being troubled. If they’re “good” at what they do, the media gives them their own radio or tv show!
Am I one of them? How well am I learning the art of getting along with other people? Do I sow seeds of peace and blessing or division and strife? Do I share Christ, the best peacemaker of all?
Peace making should not be merely something I do; it should also be who I am!
A little girl once said to her mother, “I was a peacemaker today.” The mother asked if she had settled a quarrel for others. “No, I knew something and I did not tell it.”
An humble preacher of small rural churches was being buried. This comment was made: “He was not a wonderful speaker, but he knew how to make peace between his neighbors.” What a way to be remembered!
Then again, a pastor was called to do the funeral of a dear lady who went to be with the Lord. He said, “Wherever she went, flowers grew in her pathway and the air was always sweeter when she entered the room.” As I typed those words, the names of some such blessings (people) immediately came to mind, people who made the world better by their calming presence. Do any such people come to your mind?
Let’s try today to “pursue peace with all men” (Hebrews 12:14). MAKE some peace wherever you go.
Jun 20, 2024 – Ever had your plans go astray? Look forward so very much to some event only to have it cancelled or perhaps you became ill and could not attend?
That experience has never once happened to God. God makes a plan and no problem is big enough to prevent God from fulfilling His plan.
God emphatically states in Today’s Verse, “I WILL DO THIS!” Not, “I hope to do this” or “I will try to do this” but “I WILL do this.”
Sometimes life goes haywire for you and me. There are so many disappointments in life and that includes ministry, too. We may have a pity party like Elijah and wonder if ministry is worthwhile. That’s where faith must arise and conquer our doubts.
Throughout my 48 years of up-and-down (mostly up) ministry I have remained convinced of: 1. The power of God to change lives through His WORD; 2. The call of God upon my life to be a minister in whatever capacity He wishes to use me; 3. That God WILL keep His word and bless the sowing process (Matthew 13). God WILL bless what we sow. The harvest may come today or next year or even after the Lord calls us home.
But it WILL come. God’s will WILL be done. He WILL accomplish whatever He pleases.
Evangelist Glenn Mathews says with such confidence, “You may say, ‘I just don’t know what is going to happen.’ Oh, yes, you do. The Lord is going to come. Suddenly, but certainly, and the dead in Christ are going to be raised. And we who remain will be called up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and we will forever be with the Lord.
“If you think it is rough now, you wait until the Church of Jesus Christ is gone, and seven years of hell on earth begin. The Lord is going to come back. He is going to establish His Kingdom. We won’t study war anymore; it will be peace. Not just peace in the valley, but peace on the mountaintop. Not just for the Jews but for the Gentiles as well. We are going to enter into that. God is sovereign.” (Expositions That Matter, p. 29)
Above all, never ever give up. Have faith in God! The zeal of the Lord of hosts WILL do this!
June 19, 2024 – How do we evaluate someone new? First, by appearance. One’s choice of clothing often gives us insight into a person.
Second, what is their “air”? Their “air” of humbleness or superiority also sends signals.
But today’s focus is on Item #3: What do they say and how do they say it? We dismiss some people because their first comments are disagreeable, harshly critical, abusive, or downright “rotten!” The Greek word for “rotten” is “sapros.” Kenneth Wuest defines “sapros” as “rotten, worn out, unfit for use, worthless, bad.” Contrast that with “what is good or builds up or encourages.” We know the difference!
A woman said, “My temper is like a shotgun. I just blow up and then it’s all over.”
A friend said, “But look at all the damage that remains!”
A gossip came forward in church to confess his sin and said, “I want to lay my tongue on the altar.”
The pastor said, “I’m sorry but our altar is not long enough!”
The Apostle Paul says, “Don’t put yourself in that situation. It’s YOUR tongue. YOU control what comes out of YOUR mouth. Use YOUR tongue instead to encourage and build up!”
Is that too difficult? Abraham Lincoln counseled, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”
Let’s write this goal on today’s calendar, “No rotten talk today!” The choice is ours as to whether we are “rotten” or a “builder.”
Jun 18, 2024 – Have you ever read the “Double Hallelujah Psalm?”
Psalm 150 has been appropriately titled “The Hallelujah Chorus” of the Hebrew hymn book. It is labeled a “Double Hallelujah Psalm” because it begins and ends the same: “Praise the Lord!” It was written 2,700 years before Handel’s Messiah, but its composition (both in words and music) may excel Handel’s work.
We must remember the Psalms are actually songs. Psalm 150 serves as the climax of the entire psalm/hymn book. Wonder how it sounded? First, triumphant. Second, triumphant. Third, triumphant.
One can only imagine the voices shouting in triumph that their God Jehovah is the one God of the universe…a Being far above the gods of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and the Canaanites…a Being not only in awesome might but also in awesome grace, mercy, love and holiness. Attributes like no other god. Infinitely perfect from eternity past throughout eternity future.
It is a Psalm that lifts our spirits, our hearts, and causes us to look up…because looking up helps us see the One Who is the solution to life. (It’s not Dr. Phil although he is in his 21st tv season. By contrast, God is in His ________ season. I can’t count that high, can you?)
Therefore, “Praise the Lord!” is appropriate for ANY season of life.
In the midst of joy and gladness, “Praise the Lord!”
In the midst of despair and grief, “Praise the Lord!”
In the midst of success, “Praise the Lord!”
In the midst of failure, “Praise the Lord!”
In the fiery furnace of trials, “Praise the Lord!”
On the way to heaven, “Praise the Lord!”
“Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)”
Jun 17, 2024 – What a miracle! The resurrection of Lazarus is located midway through the Gospel of John, is given 44 verses of coverage, and provides a thorough look at many, many issues in life. During your church experience you have probably heard much discussion on those issues. However, let’s look at an issue which is very rarely discussed. It is the outcome of this tremendous miracle.
Actually, there were three outcomes. The first outcome states, “Many of the Jews saw the things done by Jesus and believed on Him” (John 11:45).
The second outcome was the unbelieving Jews plotting, “It is necessary that this one man, Jesus, die for the sake of the nation so the entire nation does not follow Him and we suffer punishment at the hands of the Romans” (John 11:50).
The third outcome was an assassination plot directed specifically against the resurrected Lazarus. A large crowd “came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, the one he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests had decided to kill Lazarus also, because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus” (John 12:9-11).
These devotionals are purposely designed to help you develop a better ministry. The development of such a ministry requires us to both understand and accept there will be different outcomes to our ministry. There are times when we hit the ball out of the ballpark and do a fantastic job. There are times, though, when we hit only a single, and still other times when we strike out.
At least, that is the way we think…but it is often “when we are weak that God makes us strong” and the supposedly weak effort is actually blessed by God more than the very satisfying effort. Whereas the home run may be very satisfying to us (we sometimes need all the motivation we can get), it is always God that gives the increase.
Second, we must also EXPECT different outcomes. That expectation needs to be more than just an act of the mind; it must also be accepted AND expected by our heart. The resurrection of Lazarus should have blessed everyone. But it did not. The best effort of Jesus went for naught with many people.
If we allow ourselves to concentrate only on the “naughters” we will become very discouraged…perhaps even quit ministering.
But God has blessed you and me with some in the first outcome…people that enjoy the things of God. They make ministry special! Count them among your greatest blessings! They may be even more of a blessing to you than you are to them.
P.S. My second book “15 Spiritual Laws to Grow People” discusses this and other issues in preparing people for ministry. Available at Amazon, Walmart, Apple.
Jun 15-16, 2024 – How powerful is our witness for Christ? We know the answer by personal experience! Warren Wiersbe writes, “You are a Christian today because somebody cared. Now it is your turn.”
Jonathan Hayashi suggests (any one of) seven bridge questions to open the door to a gospel conversation: “Are you a religious person? How interested are you in spiritual things? What do you think it takes to get to heaven? In your opinion, what is a Christian? Anything you want me to pray about? Do you believe in God? What do you believe about Jesus?” (Pastors, this is fertile territory for a Sunday morning sermon.)
IMPORTANT: It is an easy transition from one of those questions to asking, “May I share what Jesus has done for me?” 90% of the responses will be, “Yes.” That response will open the door to sharing your own testimony of how Jesus changed your life.
This type of humble approach will create an intelligent conversation in which your heart speaks to the other person’s heart about why you have become a disciple of Jesus Christ. Believe it or not, your personal story, even though it may be uneventful to you, has great impact in the gospel presentation. The testimony of the woman at the well was built around, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did.”
It is possible your testimony will conclude with the individual wanting to receive Christ as Savior. The person may say, “I want what you have!” Some Christians immediately lead the sinner in a prayer of repentance and faith in Christ.
I suggest sharing two verses of scripture prior to that prayer. John 1:12 emphasizes the two concepts of, first, personally receiving/appropriating Christ and, second, believing on Christ alone for salvation. The second verse, Revelation 3:20, paints a vivid picture or illustration of the “receiving” part of salvation. It is easy to visualize Jesus knocking upon a person’s door/heart and asking for admittance.
The moment of salvation comes when the human will relents/repents and opens the door in faith!
One of the great invitation hymns concludes with the words, “Let Jesus come in, He will save you from sin, But you must open the door!”
May God use your testimony to bring others to Him!
(My second book 15 SPIRITUAL LAWS includes a chapter on developing your personal testimony. Available at Amazon, Apple, etc.)
Jun 14, 2024 – Why is it so difficult to pray? Is it hard to pray if you’re in a foxhole with the enemy charging at you? No, you’re desperate!
Perhaps that is the answer we seek. We do not always sense the urgency of prayer. We have time to do everything except pray…except for those times when times are no long ordinary and we sense the urgency!
It’s like the dear old lady lying in the hospital bed. The family sadly gathered around her. One said, “We’re praying for you.”
She said, “Oh, no. Am I in that bad a condition?” To her (and to us) praying about something or someone often indicates the seriousness of the issue.
But it should not be like that. Prayer should not be an event but a process. Prayer should be something you automatically do because you build it into your daily schedule like any other process. It is as important an everyday process as fixing a meal, going to work, brushing your teeth, exercising, etc.
Today’s Verse reveals we often fail to pray because we do not receive an immediate answer. We “lose heart.” Therefore, we stop taking the matter before God. We are like the preacher pacing the floor…who is asked, “What is the problem?”
He answers, “I am in a hurry but God isn’t.” No, God is never in a hurry. But God hears!
A Scottish brother testified, “I was a worldly man but I never found satisfaction. My father, a delightful Christian, passed away. I learned he had given large sums of money to Mr. George Mueller’s orphanage. I said, ‘I am sure my father would like me to help that work. I will visit it.’ I went and found they were having church. I listened and God saved my soul. I told them my name and I had received Christ. They said to me, ‘We are not surprised for Mr. Mueller never ceased to pray for you for the last 38 years.’”
It is likely someone has not yet given up on praying for you. Will you do the same for someone else?
Jun 13, 2024 – Life is like a pencil. It needs to be sharpened to accomplish anything of value. We usually try to accomplish too much; as a result, we accomplish too little.
That is not so, though, for the Olympic athletes. They have established a goal which requires great sacrifice…but, in their eyes, the reward outweighs the sacrifice. Something has to come first, something has to come second, etc.
World-changing Christians (they influence the world around them) cannot achieve that goal unless they are similarly disciplined. David says, “One thing have I asked from the LORD.” Again, “I have set the LORD always before me” (Psalm 16:8).
What about the Apostle Paul? Paul defined his life’s pursuit in five words, “That I may know Him!” Therefore, Paul was able to say, “this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, all who are mature, let’s have this attitude.”
How sharp is your pencil? It does not mean one ignores his family or work obligations and retreats to a monastery. Rather, it means we establish who is in control and allow that person to establish our priorities. The Ten Commandments are built on that premise. The first commandment is about the priority of God above all else. The next nine commandments (some suggest the entire Mosaic Law of 613 commandments) are derived from Commandment #1.
It is similar to Jesus calling the apostles, “Come and follow Me” (Matthew 4). But where to? What will we do? How will we live? Those questions would be answered in due course. But, “First, come and follow Me. That will establish your priorities. It will also determine who you become.”
So it was with David…a mere shepherd who became a man after God’s own heart. John Phillips points out, “David had a deliberate passion and a daily passion.” He was more than a Sunday seeker of God. His goal was “all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the LORD…to know Him.”
Perhaps today is a good day to take out the ol’ knife and start whittling some more.
Jun 12, 2024 – Do you ever wonder how many “once more’s” you will have? Napoleon Hill wrote, “Your big opportunity may be right where you are NOW.”
Where are you now? Though often unrecognized and neglected, you are on this very day living in an opportunity to have a spiritual encounter which can:
1. Result in your salvation from the wrath of God and the hell to come. How much thought will you give to your soul in the next hour? Wouldn’t it be sad if you by-passed that opportunity because of something on your cell phone?
2. Help you deal with an important decision. Perhaps in reading Today’s Verse the choice will become clear; the resolve may finally exist to choose God’s direction for your life. You will then be able to sing, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back.”
3. Give you motivation to face tomorrow. Tomorrow may not look very promising from today’s perspective. Maybe someone will say something that causes you to look up, up and away instead of down…to realize “the joy of the Lord can be your strength.” Don’t let that moment pass you by!
4. Strengthen your faith or belief system. One of the Apostle Paul’s goals was that we “be not blown around with every wind of false doctrine/teaching.” What can you believe with certainty? Or do you even care about certainty? Remember, “The scriptures are able to make you wise unto salvation” and also to make “you thoroughly equipped in every good work.”
5. Remove your feelings of despair and loneliness. Your church experience surrounds you with people of like emotions, like beliefs, and like values. Surprise! None of us have fully figured out life. We struggle, too. But we can struggle together in our church fellowship. After all, what is fellowship but two fellows in the same ship?
Ah, the power of today! Let us never forget today is a gift from God; after all, that’s why they call it the PRESENT!
Jun 11, 2024 – What is our work? What is God’s work? And what is the listener’s work? The Christian sower wants results. That is why he sows the seed of the gospel. He can sometimes become frustrated, though, because he wants more than he can do. Unfortunately, he cannot cause the seed to grow or reach maturity. Therefore, what is the process for reaching the world for Jesus?
First, our work is to go and tell. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every person” (Mark 16:15). “They cannot believe unless they first hear.” Our job is to tell and disciple sinners to the point of placing their faith in Christ as the one and only Savior. So many have never heard a clear presentation of the gospel!
Part of our “going” includes giving financially to this cause. Normally, the church budget allocates a certain percentage of our tithes and offerings to missions. Plus special offerings are received for specific Great Commission purposes.
Second, God’s work is to convince or convict the sinner about his condition and the solution for his condition, namely the cross of Jesus Christ.
Lee Roberson says, “One of the greatest needs of the present day in sacred work is conviction of sin. Let us remember that this conviction must be done by the Holy Spirit. We cannot convict people. The telling of stories and the singing of sentimental songs may bring tears, but there is a difference between tears of emotion and conviction of sin. We must use the Word of God and point men to the Lamb of God and let the Holy Spirit do His work.”
Third, the listener’s work is to “humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). We cannot believe for the listener nor will God believe for the listener. It must be a personal decision by the listener. What will the listener do with Christ?
We believers can pray for the listener and keep sharing Jesus with the listener. The Holy Spirit can continue His convincing work in the listener’s life. But in the end, the decision belongs to the listener. Which listener comes to your mind right now? Perhaps it is a good time to pray for that person’s soul. And to keep sowing Jesus…because the next listener might say, “Yes” to Jesus!
Jun 10, 2024 – There are consequences to how we live and sow our lives. We are taught early in life that we reap what we sow…thus, sow something good!
Many lives go wrong because of decisions we make once we leave our parents’ care and enter our independent twenties. As a result, some of our goals for life are no longer achievable.
The old saying is true: “Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”
For example, Esau sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a small amount of food. Afterward, he could not reclaim his birthright in spite of his tears of repentance.
Far too often, we cannot undo what is already done…the knot of life becomes too knotty.
The great Moses was not great enough to avoid that same trap. He sinned terribly at Meribah in Numbers 20. As a result, God did not allow Moses to cross over the Jordan River and enter the promised land…the beautiful land…that good hill country with the grapes of Eschol. It was a terrible jolt to a man who had faithfully served God but had also failed at a very critical moment.
Today’s Verse is a prayer of Moses begging God to reverse His decision and allow Moses to enter the promised land. This prayer occurred shortly before Moses’ death; God, though, refused to change His mind. Moses would die in the wilderness just short of the promised land.
Perhaps you are facing some difficult decisions in the next month. Be sensitive to the leadership of the holy Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. You don’t want to be wrong. And you certainly want to sow a good decision that reaps benefits down the road. Those benefits may apply to your loved ones, too.
So keep your nose to the plow and sow what is right.
Set your heart to “doing right until the stars fall!”
Jun 8-9, 2024 – For what do you pray? Everyone would benefit by taking an inventory of their prayer life.
Most people have such a short prayer life they do not need to take inventory. One fellow was asked, “Do you pray?”
He answered, “Yes.”
“Then prove it. Quote the Lord’s Prayer.”
He immediately began, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, If I should die before I ‘wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”
Many people fall into that disappointing category. But other people only pray about material needs or whatever the need of the day happens to be.
However, the prayers in the Bible are of a different, and considerably higher, nature. Today’s Verse is an example of a “higher” prayer. Paul prays for his readers to know God on a higher and more intimate level. Such knowledge, of course, is the highest knowledge possible.
Paul expressed his personal desire in Philippians 3:10, “that I may know HIM – not merely His Bible or His church or His people but HIM!” Wiersbe writes, “Paul has met God in the person of Jesus Christ, and he knows that a man cannot understand much of anything else without a knowledge of God.”
“That the eyes of your heart” – not merely mind where we think but heart (Greek: kardia – the very core of our innermost being like the inner sanctum) where we feel and love. It’s where “wow” experiences occur that affect all of our being like seeing that newborn for the first time. You realize that this little one is someone you want to know more than you know yourself.
Pray for that “heart” experience for yourself…and for others! Pray for your children, friends, Sunday School class members, etc. that they might know Him! Turn your prayer life into one of introducing people to Him.
“Lord, may they know You!”
May 7, 2024 – “Lord, I am not a very patient person. So, Lord, give me patience, and give it to me right now!”
Today’s Verse is contrary to the philosophy of Western “now-now-now” culture. By contrast, God’s culture is often “wait-wait-wait.”
The Bible says, “One day with the Lord is like a thousand years” (2 Peter 3:8). That does not mean one day equals a thousand years, but it stresses the idea that God is not in a hurry like we are. How many speeding tickets will be distributed today? However, virtually no “too slow” tickets will be distributed today. Why? Practically all of us want to get where we are going faster than we are allowed to get there. It’s just the way we’re wired.
Noah waited 120 years on the flood (how many years did he work on the ark?). That was a LONG time to wait.
Abraham looked for a city but never saw the city, nor inherited all of the “promised land” in this life.
Paul was a builder in God’s church but never lived to see the final construction (nor have I).
This writer has sown God’s Word for nearly fifty years…have seen some of the harvest but am expecting more in the YEARS which are ahead. Some of that seed will likely bear fruit after I am with the Lord in heaven. I have learned to wait on results…and such learning did not come easy.
Someone taught me, “We overestimate what can be accomplished in the short term, but underestimate what can be accomplish in the long term.” How true! Just ask the tall oak tree that began as a tiny sapling!
A. J. Gordon writes, “The promises of God are certain, but they do not all mature in ninety days.” Milton adds, “They also serve who only stand and wait.“
Is your timetable different than God’s? Perhaps it is TIME to cut God some slack and let Him do things His own way
Remember: His way (and time) is always best.
Jun 6, 2024 – The first words of Satan have served as his most effective words since the beginning of time. “Yea, hath God said?”
John R. Rice declares, “Unbelief and sin always start with a question about the Word of God, some denial of God’s authority. Did God really say it? Is the Bible really the infallible Word of God? Mark you, when you hear anybody questioning the Word of God, you should listen for the hiss of the serpent…All Christianity stands or falls with the Bible.”
Jesus spoke of the devil’s opposition in the Parable of the Sower. “The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts” (Matthew 13:19). The evil one attends every presentation of the Bible, because he knows the power of the holy Scriptures in the hands of the Holy Spirit!
One must wonder: If the Scriptures are false (as the critics claim), why does the devil and the world spend so much time attacking them?
Let’s assume for the sake of argument that there is no devil. That leaves us, though, with the reaction of the unbelieving world to the scriptures. Why does the world wish to destroy the Bible but not the Koran, the Shruti (Hindu Bible), Papal Bulls (Roman Catholic decrees), the Book of Mormon, the writings of Ellen G. White, etc.
Occasionally a government (based upon an ideology such as atheism) tries to eradicate all religion but that is an isolated event. However, the attack upon the Bible is a worldwide event which has persisted for millennia. Why? Maybe they don’t like what the Bible says…or what we teach since we teach the Bible.
Ah, but have no fear! “Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29).
The Bible survives but the critics do not! Its words have changed my life, how about yours?
Jun 5, 2024 – A man called the assistant postmaster general in Washington D.C. and urged him to issue a stamp commemorating the Second Coming of Christ. The official said, “If you will tell me the exact time and place of His coming, I will get the stamp ready.”
The caller hung up. This call was published in Kansas City. The official in Washington D.C. received twelve letters from people naming the time and place. The times ranged from July, 1961 to 2061.
Today’s Verse contains these words: “The words of the prophecy of this book.” That phrase appears in verses 7, 9, 10, 18, and 19. It is a five-fold teaching that the return of Jesus Christ WILL occur, but, we hasten to add, it will occur on God’s time.
The Bible warns us to not predict the date. Men have foolishly predicted the date for 2,000 years and been WRONG for 2,000 years.
What do we know for certain? “I am coming quickly!” We know that when He comes, He will come quickly…suddenly…practically instantly rather than like an old wagon train slowly crossing a prairie.
This event will have special meaning for us, too! The great preacher Spurgeon once received a copy of Andrew Bonar’s excellent commentary on Leviticus. (I quote from Bonar’s book in my upcoming book.) Spurgeon was greatly blessed by Bonar’s comments. He returned the book to Bonar with this request, “Please autograph this book, and paste your picture on the title page. Then return it to me.”
Bonar did as requested plus added this note: “Hear is the book with my autograph and my photograph. If you had been willing to wait a short season you could have had a better picture. When I see Christ, I shall be like Him!”
“Oh, Lord Jesus, how long, how long ‘ere we shout the glad song? Christ returneth! Hallelujah!” Amen!
Jun 4, 2024 – Evangelist Monroe Parker was one of the finest preachers I ever heard. Monroe told us at Tennessee Temple, “I announced in one revival I would preach the next night on the ‘Eschatological Implications of the Theophanies in the Pentateuch.’
“On the next night, though, the choir began the service by singing, ‘Sing it o’er and o’er again, Christ receiveth sinful men. Make the message clear and plain. Christ receiveth sinful men.’
“I thought, ‘If I do that I will have to change my sermon.’ Then they repeated the chorus, ‘Make the message clear and plain.’
“I said, ‘Lord, you win. I will make the message clear and plain.’ I instead preached a simple gospel message, several responded and were born again. Be sure you also make the message clear and plain!”
Sometimes we over-complicate the ministry. We minimize our ability (“Oh, I am too weak to be used by God!”) but over-emphasize another’s ability (“I wish I could minister like him!”).
Preachers often fall into that trap and try to out-do themselves. The Apostle Paul, though, lived within himself. Some picture Paul as a short fellow with a crooked nose (I’d have a crooked nose after being stoned) and an unbecoming, squeaky voice. We do not know all of Paul’s weaknesses, but he certainly was no eloquent Apollos. But Paul was greatly used by God.
Remember: The most effective Christians are not the most talented Christians, but the Christians who are genuine in their faith and live out that faith. The Holy Spirit enjoys taking the ordinary and blessing it. He proves over and over again that He is the most important part of our ministry…not our ability, knowledge, finances, talents, personality, etc.
Just put yourself in His hands…be an Isaiah and pray, “Here am I! Use me!” You will be surprised in eternity (the only true measurement) to discover how God has used you.
Jun 3, 2024 – The believer in Jesus Christ thinks differently than others. The believer does not know what will happen tomorrow, but, by faith, he believes in One who holds tomorrow in the palm on His hand. Let’s reflect on the level of our certainty.
Consider these words carefully: History does not revolve around man nor around the universe but around God’s plan for the ages. Quite simply, God appoints the times (Genesis 18:14, Galatians 4:4, Ephesians 1:10) as well as determines the final end of all things. (I just concluded writing a chapter about the Battle of Armageddon.) Though simplistic to say, it is nevertheless true that powerless man is simply along for the ride.
Let’s look at an example. The Old Testament prophet Daniel (540 B.C.) recorded world history years before it happened (Daniel 2:31-45). Based upon that particular revelation, prophecy scholar John Walvoord wrote in 1955 (note the date) with conviction and certainty a chapter titled, “The Future of Communism According to the Bible.” (The complete volume The Return of the Lord is available for free reading at Walvoord.com. It is one of the first books I bought.)
Walvoord confidently wrote in 1955, “If you want the inside story on Communism, turn to the inside of your Bible…The Scriptures allow for no other world empire than those already mentioned. Russia as a military power can never gain control of all the world. There is nothing in the Word of God which would lead us to the conclusion that Russia will be able to create a world power.” The same can be said about the mistaken idea that the United States can build an empire, too. Or that China, though powerful, can build an empire. The next empire will be that of the Antichrist but it will be of only a short duration!
The Antichrist’s empire will be followed by our Lord’s Millennial Empire and usher in a period that can be rightfully called “The Golden Age.” Perhaps even the aged’s so-called golden years will be golden then!
The talking heads may talk. They may even think they have enough power to implement their will. But the child of God knows different. God knows the future…including our future! This is another reason why we trust Him!
Jun 1-2, 2024 – HE HAS COME TO THE EARTH ONCE…WILL HE COME A SECOND TIME? Yer can bet yer bottom dollar the answer is yes, yea, and yeah! What a first coming! And what a second coming, too!
Jesus arrived as a babe two thousand years ago and what a difference he brought! “Never has man spoken like this man.” “What manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey His voice?” “Who has ever made the blind to see or the lame to walk?” Jesus brought change into the world—so much change that the world could not handle Him.
He will bring even more change when He establishes His future kingdom and rules in absolute righteousness.
We, too, live in a changing world. 90% of the items in today’s supermarket did not exist ten years ago. Half of college graduates are going to jobs that didn’t exist when they were born. One man said, “My great-grandfather rode a horse, but he was afraid of a train. My grandfather rode a train, but he was afraid of a car. My father rode in a car, but he was afraid of an airplane. I ride in an airplane, but I’m afraid of a horse!” In that family’s case, change has come full circle.
But the greatest change of all is the result of the indwelling Christ being at “home” in the believer. The word “dwell” in Today’s Verse has the idea of “being at home.” Such an experience in normal life means one is comfortable in the setting, the activities, the culture, the entertainment, and so on.
Let’s think of the word in a spiritual context. Wonder if Jesus is comfortable in your heart? Comfortable with the setting, the activities, the culture, the entertainment and so on?
The reality is Jesus brings change wherever He goes (including our lives) and sometimes that change can be too radical for us…just like it was too radical in His first coming. Has Jesus truly changed your life? He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10), that we might be delivered from darkness into His awesome light, that our address could change from the flames of hell to the perfections of heaven.
May your heart be a home to Him today!
May 31, 2024 Moses “…did not know…” The genuineness of Christianity is amazing to behold and deserves consideration from each of us. We live in an era of “promotion.” One boss told me, “If I don’t promote myself, no one else will.” He valued us (his employees) as his stepping stone to bigger and better things.
Promotion is the American way but does it work in REAL, GENUINE Christianity (not to be confused with the pomp and splashiness that is permeating Christianity today)?
Today’s Verse indicates the most effective “promotion” for Jesus is not a billboard or trying to stir up some excitement with something new (some think we have to out-excite the world). It is rather the transformed life that results from spending time in God’s presence.
Moses spent forty days alone with God. Just him and God. During that time God did most of the talking. Most importantly, Moses was willing to listen. The experience changed him on the inside; that change radiated to the outside (his face shone). And he did not know it!
Moses did not carry a billboard advertising Jesus; he himself became the billboard.
Beware of approaching Christianity from a worldly perspective. The heart of Christianity is a CHANGED life. Not a flashy, multi-talented life or a fleeting smile but a changed life. No amount of promotion can beat that.
Spend time with God. Let Christ change you.
Trust me, we will then see a difference.
May 30, 2024 – Are you under pressure today? Today’s world seems to bring a new pressure every day. Solve one issue and another arises. Worst of all, they’re so unpredictable, too. It is as if someone spends all day INVENTING new pressures. Do you agree? Good. We have, therefore, established that all pressures cannot be avoided. Thus, the key is not whether pressures will come but how will we handle the pressures.
We should write on our bathroom mirror at bedtime, “How will I handle today’s pressures?” and let that message be the first message we see on the morrow. Will I yield and do something I should not do, or will I stand for righteousness and do what is right?
David fell into sin with Bathsheba whereas Joseph ran from sin with Potiphar’s wife. Paul stood steadfast before kings whereas Demas abandoned the cause. John the Baptist declared the standards of righteousness to King Herod whereas Lot drunk from the cup of wickedness.
The Bible emphasizes that pressure, trials, and temptations can be faced in the power of the triumphant Christ (Phil 4:13). Never think you cannot remain steadfast in representing Christ, because many have remained steadfast. They “stood the test” like a Marine being tested in boot camp. They stood! And kept standing! And God noticed.
“Receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him enough to stand the test!” Macdonald writes, “Take comfort, afflicted Christian! When God is about to make preeminent use of a man, He puts him in the fire!”
Indeed, the best blessing may not be the crown but what you become. God describes the “in the fire” Christian as “blessed.” The Greek word is “makarios.” It describes an inner quality versus a fleeting outer quality like a winning touchdown. The words “spiritually prosperous” are a good way to visualize it. “Spiritually prosperous is the man who remains steadfast under trial…” even if the verse ends at that point. It may not feel like “prosperous” in the test, but prosperity is true both in and after the test. That is tough prosperity, but it is character prosperity of the highest kind.
Remember: God is watching and rooting for you! Do right until the stars fall!
May 29, 2024 – What motivates you to minister both to and for the Lord? Like everyone else, I enjoy being right, and I don’t like being wrong. It would be much better to be eternally right than eternally wrong.
The skeptics ask, “Is there really a God? Does it matter either way?” Investor John Bogle answers those questions from a secular but reasonable viewpoint, “Blaise Pascal, the father of probability theory, cast the question of the existence of God as a game of chance: ‘A coin is tossed. Which way would you bet: on heads (God is) or tails (God is not)?’
“Paraphrasing Pascal, consider the chances of being on the losing side of the bet. If you bet God is, you will live a holy life and give up a few enjoyable temptations, but that’s all you lose. If you bet God is not and you are wrong, and you give in to all temptations, your evil life will cause you to be forever damned. Consequences must outweigh probabilities.”
You and I need to be constantly reminded of the value of eternity. Our investment in Christ is geared more to long term, eternal results than short-term, temporal results. Jesus said, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” But is such an investment really worth it?
What better way than Today’s Verse to motivate us? To remind God’s servants that we are right? A new heaven…new earth…for eternity in contrast to the short-term focused first heaven and first earth passing away. Enjoying eternal rewards…never ending rewards are the right kind of rewards for me, how about you?
“The eminent Dutch historian, Hendrick Van Loon, thus describes the length of eternity. High up in the North, in the land called Svitjod, there stands a rock. It is one hundred miles high, and one hundred miles wide. Once every thousand years, a little bird comes to this rock to sharpen its beak. When the rock has thus been worn away, then a SINGLE day of Eternity will have gone by!”
Ah, that’s what I call motivation!
May 28, 2024 – In the old days a pastor went to visit one of his church families. The entire family crowded into the living room to hear the pastor. It was a good visit. The pastor finished by saying, “Before I leave I’d like to read a few verses of Scripture from the Bible. May I use your Bible?”
The father looked at his four-year daughter and said, “Honey, go get our Bible for the preacher.”
She asked, “What book is that?”
“It’s the book we read all the time.”
She left…and returned with a three-inch thick Sears & Roebuck sales catalog! But it was indeed the book they read all the time!
We live in a land of many Bibles but a sad ignorance of God. Israel, though, had few Bibles in Ezra’s time. Israel’s printing press was instead a scribe press: slow, methodical, but accurate.
Ezra opened the scroll; verse three says he read from early morning until noon. The people stood in respect…and they actually listened! The people’s response (verse nine) was to “weep when they heard the words of the law.”
The readers of these devotionals would likely have been participants in Ezra’s reading rather than engaging in some worldly activity. Indeed, you’re reading this devotional because you actually want a “better ministry.” That distinguishes you from others.
Quite honestly, doesn’t it feel good to know you’re different? We sometimes minimize our own effort, think of ourselves as worthless in God’s cause. We need to be reminded how much different we are from others. Yes, our heart is set on different things…on things above, not below (Colossians 3:1).
Second, you are likely engaged in some sort of “giving the Word” ministry. It may be Vacation Bible School, witnessing in the neighborhood, teaching in your church, teaching the Bible at home to your family members, participating in a Bible club at school or work, funding missionaries, etc.
Think for a moment: What are we declaring? Some sort of sales catalog? No. Amazingly, it is the Word of the living God! It is the most important communication your listener will ever hear. Think of those words…”the most IMPORTANT!” It is the Creator talking to His creation about things the creation can only know by hearing the voice of God.
That is why your ministry is so critically important. “How can the world believe without someone telling them?” You are their someone! You are also God’s someone!
I urge you to treasure your next Bible presentation like providing a life-saving vaccine to patients suffering from COVID, HIV, or some other deadly disease. Because that is exactly what you are doing. You are bringing the people face-to-face with God!
May 27, 2024 – A better ministry begins with the absolute conviction that one has been saved or delivered from the hell to come. It is nigh impossible to move forward in the Christian life if one is still confused about salvation. Such an experience is like piling books on top of a kitchen chair then stepping on top of those wobbly books to get something from the highest shelf! One does not know if it is safe to even breathe because that might topple everything!
Today’s Verse, though, highlights that everyone can know and know for certain that his salvation is secure in Christ. Jesus and Jesus alone has finished or completed what was necessary for our salvation. As His life ended, He cried out in victory, “IT IS FINISHED!”
“It is finished!” does not mean 90% finished but 100% finished. The sacrifice for sins has been slain…once and for all (Hebrews 10:14). This means the ONE sacrifice that takes away sin forever has been made in full, and, in so doing, our sin debt has been paid in full.
Evangelist D. L. Moody told of an old man who rose in one of his revival meetings and said, “I have been 42 years learning three things.”
Moody said, “I pricked up my eyes at that. I thought that if I could find out in three minutes what a man had learned in 42 years I would be doing something. The first thing he said he had learned was that he could do nothing toward his salvation.” Moody thought, “Well, that’s worth learning.”
“The second thing he found out was that God did not require him to do anything.” Moody thought, “Well, that was worth finding out, too.”
“And the third thing was that Jesus Christ had done it ALL. That salvation was FINISHED, and all he had to do was take it.”
Based upon Today’s Verse that man had it right! The way of salvation has been made complete for you, and it is yours to take. The door of salvation is open to receive you. Are you depending upon the finished work of Christ? Indeed, are you satisfied with the cross? God is the only Judge that counts and He is fully satisfied with the cross (Romans 4:25).
But unbelievers stumble at the cross (1 Corinthians 1) because they insist on adding something to the cross. However, what can one add if it is finished? God the Father’s righteous demands have been met by God the Son, not by anything we do.
On the basis of the cross we can sing, “Now we are free, there’s no condemnation, Jesus provides a perfect salvation; ‘Come unto Me,’ oh, hear His sweet call, Come, and He saves us once for all.”
Can you say “Amen” to the cross? Are you satisfied with the cross?
May 25-26, 2024 – An unusual memorial of World War Two can be found in the Chapel of St. George in Westminster Abbey. This memorial consists of four bound volumes which contain the names of the 60,000 civilians who were killed in the city of London by enemy action.
One volume lies open on the shrine. A light shines down upon the names that appear on the opened page. Each day a page is turned. Thus will the names of those who were rich or poor, titled or the common people, old or young, healthy or ill, sound of body or crippled, stand together to be revealed in the light for all to see as a page of the book is turned every day.
It is a book of death.
But there is another book in heaven called the book of life. Eternal life. Spiritual life. Born again life. Life of God in the believer and life with God which never ends. This book records my name and hopefully your name. It contains the name of every person who has received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Yes, the name of EVERY person in heaven appears in this book. Think of it! How awesome!
The old song, “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” includes the response, “I’ll be there!” Perhaps such a roll will be called, then again perhaps not, but the idea is precious. God knows I will be there! He has written my name—all twenty-four letters—in this book.
Name after name…every name spelled right…not a single name of the redeemed is missing…ah, glory!
Jesus pointed the apostles to this great truth when He proclaimed, “Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”
Brother O. S. Davis put this teaching to song with these words,
“If I Should Live a Thousand Years Upon This Earth Below,
I Never Could Forget The Day;
That Jesus Wrote My Name Within The Blessed Book Of Life,
And Took My Many Sins Away.
“He Wrote My Name Way Up In Glory,
He Saved My Soul From Sin And Shame.
I Never Shall Forget The Day
The Blessed Savior Wrote My Name.”
Ah, friend, is your name recorded where it counts: in the Lamb’s book of life?
May 24, 2024 – Let’s suppose you could pray only one prayer (limited to fifteen words) for your children and loved ones. For what would you pray?
Many would pray for health, finances, and worldly success. That is understandable. We love our children. We want what is best for them. But is that the best we can desire? I think not.
This writer believes Today’s Verse is the greatest prayer I can pray for my children and grandchildren. “Grace and peace from God” for ALL their days is the greatest gift I could ever bestow upon anyone.
First, such a gift is not given from my limited ability but from the unlimited ability of God the Father and God the Son. “Their coffers are full, they have riches untold.” That’s why we sing, “He giveth and giveth and giveth again.” Bringing such an incredible God into their lives is the smartest thing any of us can do!
Second, grace, in this case God’s grace, cannot be measured, because it impacts every area of one’s life. Grace is defined as “unmerited favor” or God blessing us in spite of who we are or what we do. Grace does not give us what we deserve but rather blessings that are undeserved. It’s like getting an anonymous gift of incredible value through the mail with no strings attached. All of us are weak and most of us are weaker than we realize. Even the billionaire does not achieve his billions without God’s grace.
Third, God’s “peace” meets the deepest need of the human heart. The peace my children need is not in the world but in God. It is not in things but in God. “Being declared righteous by faith we have peace with God” (Romans 5:1) and peace “with” God can soon become the peace “of” God or God’s peace in every problem of life (Phil 4). God’s peace is not external like on a gentle lake but internal in a heart at rest in Him. It is like a bird being at rest in a nest overlooking a turbulent waterfall. The internal prevails over the external!
So I pray for you today: “Grace and peace to you from God!”
May 23, 2024 – Esau is not normally thought of in good terms. But consider that God kept His promise to Esau, too, because that’s the kind of God we know.
J. Vernon McGee writes, “Back in Genesis 36 we learn that Esau lived in Seir (Edom). Jacob had received the birthright and God gave the Promised Land to Jacob and his descendants. Esau went to Seir, and it is now clear that God has given that to the people of Esau as their possession….God clearly tells Israel that they cannot touch the possession of Esau…God always keeps His promises. Even to a people such as the people of Esau, God remains true to His promise.”
Consider another promise: Verse seven (two verses later) talks about God keeping His promise to Israel. “During your forty years wandering in the wilderness, you lacked nothing.” Amazingly true, too.
Forty years in a wilderness traveling back and forth, back and forth. Forty years without a McDonald’s or Walmart. Forty years without a Hilton or Marriott. Yet “you lacked nothing” because God provided what they needed including heavenly manna, also known on the menu as, “What is it?”
Israel’s wilderness experience is a mystery in many ways to us today, but isn’t that what life really is to us, too? We need help to make it through our own mystery.
The words, “You lacked nothing” sound similar to this precious verse: “The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want or lack.” What did Paul say? “My God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
Pause for a moment and make a list of three promises God has made to you (not Esau, Jacob, or Israel but you) in His Word.
Know today that you can, “Stand upon the promises…promises that cannot fail. Living by the Word of God I shall prevail…” because I am what? Ah, you know!
May 22, 2024 – It’s Graduation season! The television preacher Charles Stanley said, “Today is the father of tomorrow. What we are today is the result of what we have been thinking and the way we have lived in the past.” We have heard the old saying, “You made your bed, now sleep in it!” Again, “You reap what you sow.”
Unfortunately, life is full of shipwrecks: people whose lives have been broken on the rocks by sailing where they should not have sailed, when they should not have sailed, how they should not have sailed, and with whom they should not have sailed.
So many people view life as a dartboard. They throw their darts and whatever happens, happens. They have no plan on where to go or how to get there. Jesus and His followers are just the opposite. They have the Bible as their technical manual, the Holy Spirit as their Guide, the church as their equipper, and the world as their mission field.
How wisely are you investing your life? If things continue as they are, will the results of your life be what you desire? Or will you discover your life has been tragically wasted on trivialities?
Pastor Pierce Harris spoke one day in a prison. A prisoner introduced him by saying, “Several years ago two boys lived in a town in north Georgia. They went to the same school, played together, and attended the same Sunday School. One dropped out of Sunday School and said it was ‘sissy stuff.’ The other boy kept going. One boy rejected Christ; the other boy accepted Christ. The boy who rejected Christ is making this introduction. The boy who received Christ is today’s honored speaker.”
Oh, heed the words of the old song, “Wasted years, wasted years! Oh how foolish! As you walk on in darkness and in fears, Turn around, turn around, God is calling! He’s calling you from a life of wasted years!”
You only live once. Make the most of your life.
May 21, 2024 – In Today’s Verse it is time for Israel to enter the promised land known as Canaan. There will be many enemies to fight. Israel is fearful. The people sense, “The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own.”
But they need to be reminded, “The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:4). We tend to overestimate our own power, skills, and knowledge but minimize our need for God’s power, skills, and knowledge.
Evangelist John R. Rice often said, “All of our failures are prayer failures.” That is often so because prayer reflects our dependence upon God’s power, skills, and knowledge rather than our own.
With that in mind, how should we face the conflicts of life? There are three items we need to keep in mind. First, the Lord goes before you. He has not abandoned you. He sees the battlefield before you, even has a plan for dealing with the enemy. Give Him the opportunity to lead.
Second, the Lord Jehovah shall be part of the conflict. “He shall fight for you.” He even gives you His own armor to wear in the conflict (Ephesians 6). David told Goliath, “This whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s. He will hand you over to us” (1 Sam. 17:47). While some people bring a knife to a gunfight, the Christian can bring God to any fight.
Third, encourage yourself by remembering how God has given you victories in the past. In Today’s Verse God reminded Israel of His prior deeds and power. Egypt was a great adversary to Israel but not to God. Pharaoh met his match in Jehovah! The battle in Egypt was bigger than the flesh could handle, but everything changed when God came on the scene.
Isn’t it good to know God is with you? That’s why we can sing, “From victory unto victory His army shall He lead, Till every foe is vanquished and Christ is Lord indeed.”
May today be another day of victory in your Christian life.
May 20, 2024 – Life! Spiritual life! One of the most important distinguishing characteristics of Christianity is that Jesus Christ gives eternal life to those who trust in Him.
The Bible says, “Christ is our life” (Colossians 3:4). “Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). “Whoever believes in Him has (the present tense emphasizes it is happening now) eternal or everlasting life” (John 3:15-16). That spiritual life becomes ours at the very moment our rebellious will repents or turns from its sinful lifestyle and receives the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
That’s why we sing, “What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought Since Jesus came into my heart.” Indeed, the born again experience is a life-changing experience of such radical quality that it is described as a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
That’s why we can confidently share the gospel with others. It is because the gospel works! The good news of being born again is accompanied by the presence of the life-changing Christ.
Let me add the words of our former pastor, Lee Roberson: “I have a reason to question the salvation of anyone who does not specifically say that he came into his salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Too many people in this age ‘get religion.’ It is not religion we need, but Christ. In the Gospel of John, the word ‘life’ appears forty-four times and the word ‘religion’ not once.”
C. I. Scofield once told a young preacher that he did not believe the young preacher had ever been born again. The young man said, “I got religion ten years ago at such a place.”
Scofield said, “That’s interesting. While you were getting religion, why didn’t you get saved?”
The confused young man asked, “Isn’t getting religion getting saved? Didn’t Jesus come to bring religion?”
Scofield replied, “No. Jesus Himself tells why He came: ‘I have come that they might have LIFE!’”
The young man soon saw his need, discarded his religion and received the living Christ as his Savior.
Conclusion: Our ministry is about life…spiritual life…the born again new nature that changes an individual’s life. The gospel works because it has the power of God in it! Keep sowing the gospel…it contains the life that people need!
May 18-19, 2024 – Look out the window and you will see the bird after the worm, the cat after the bird, and the dog after the cat. That gives you a better understanding of how our world operates. It’s the merry-go-round carousel effect of rush-rush-rush to the same destination which, in many cases, is nowhere and leaves us just as empty as when we began.
One comedian said, “When I was five years old, I was on a merry-go-round. There was a gunshot nearby. The horses stampeded. There I was galloping down the street on a purple wooden horse!”
That joke is quite real, though, to many people. Singer Neil Diamond cautions, “When you’re on the merry-go-round you miss a lot of the scenery.”
However, contrast the world’s frantic merry-go-round attitude with God’s peace. A. T. Pierson described God’s peace as “that eternal calm which lies far too deep in the praying, trusting soul to be reached by any external disturbances.”
Such peace is based upon one’s confidence in God. It is not the same as the fatalistic assumption that “what will be will be”; rather, it is doing our best but knowing God’s best is better than our best.
How does it begin? Perhaps the best advice is this: “Keep a soft heart toward God.” That soft heart will become yours by spending time with Him, listening to Him and talking to Him. “You, God, will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is concentrated or focused on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3). Through such concentration, our own faith is strengthened…our own heart is settled…and others notice and benefit.
Georgia Adams writes, “Whatever He may send, ‘tis best; It may be that it’s meant to test Thy willingness to follow Him. Press onward then, though faith be dim! He giveth peace!”
May you pursue God’s peace today…and every day!
May 17, 2024 – An old Christian slave in the deep south was troubled by an infidel master of the worst kind. One day the master took the old slave on a duck hunting excursion. During the hunt, the master turned suddenly on the slave and asked, “How is it the devil never tempts me but always worries about you? Why does he tempt a Christian more than someone like me?”
Before the slave could respond, a flock of ducks came within range and the master fired until the gun was empty. He then directed the slave to make haste and retrieve the wounded ducks first but leave the dead ducks until the last.
When the slave returned to the owner, he had the answer to the master’s question. The slave answered, “You see, master, I reckon it is this way about the devil. He thinks I’m only a poor, wounded soul that he wants to make sure of first. But you are surely his and so you can wait!”
Someone said, “The devil is not against a bank, grocery store or Walmart. But he is against a Christian testimony. If you put a sign in front of a bank which says, ‘This bank stands without apology for the blood of Jesus Christ, for salvation by grace through faith in the atoning blood of Jesus’ all the demons in hell would line up against the bank. The moment you step over on the side of Jesus Christ, the devil lines up wicked men against you.”
The poet asks,
”Who dogs the footsteps of the saint?
Who digs the pits for his feet?
Who sows his tares in the field of time
Wherever God sows His wheat?
The Devil is voted not to be,
And, of course, it must be true;
But who is doing the kind of work
The Devil alone can do?”
Alas, don’t be ignorant of his schemes! He is after both you and me.
May 16, 2024 – As a child this writer often sang, “Little is much IF GOD IS IN IT.” That is much different than singing, “Little is much if education is in it” or “Little is much if Bible knowledge is in it” or “Little is much if human talent is in it.” The work of God must truly be a work OF God if it is to succeed.
The Apostle Paul was a very smart man with excellent background, but he discarded those items, indeed, even treated them as loss, that he might experience the fulness of the Holy Spirit in personal living and Christian service. So it must be in our own ministry in order for it to be not only a better ministry but any ministry at all.
Again, consider the words: The work of God must be a work OF God if it is to succeed. Charles Spurgeon said, “If we do not have the Spirit of God, it were better to shut the churches, to nail up the doors, to put a black cross upon them and say, ‘God have mercy upon us!’ If you ministers have not the Spirit of God, you had better not preach and your people had better stay at home. If you don’t have the Spirit of God, you stand in somebody’s way. You are a tree bearing no fruit, standing where a fruitful tree might grow.”
We must begin with the question, “Do I want the Holy Spirit to minister through me?” The question is not about His willingness (He is willing) but about our willingness. If the answer is yes, start by giving the ministry to Him. Be conscious of that commitment. Perhaps write it on paper…”This ministry belongs to You!” Perhaps have a dedication service in the confines of your own heart. Above all, the ministry must be the work OF God!
Second, place yourself at His disposal. “Here am I, Lord” is the prayer of such a committed person. “Lord, what do You want me to do?” is a much better prayer than saying, “Lord, here is what I bring to the table!”
Third, get any sin out and the Holy Spirit in. Each of us likes to eat on clean plates and with clean forks. We like clean sheets on our bed. Should we expect the Lord to settle for less than we settle? No.
The black slave in the deep south said it like this: “I don’t know much about what the anointing is but I sure do know what it ain’t!” That was his way of saying, “I know the difference between me ministering and the Holy Spirit ministering. The ministry is fruitless if the Spirit is not doing the ministry!”
God help us to be a walking demonstration of the Spirit’s power!
May 14, 2024 – How big is the One whom we serve? The answer is “really big!” Based upon better understanding of the rules in Greek language (the language of the New Testament) all of the modern translations have identified this text as one of the clearest references to the Deity of Jesus Christ. Jude refers to Jesus as Master or some translations use “Sovereign Lord.” The Greek word is “despotes” (des-pot-es). What exactly is a despot? A person with unlimited power. That power can be used for good or evil, but the despot has absolute power to do whatever he wishes.
That means no one can tell him (the despot) what to do. That is exactly who Jesus is, too. He is “despotes.”
That also means no one can overthrow him (the despot). That is exactly who Jesus is. He is “despotes.”
That means no one can undermine him. That is exactly who Jesus is. He is “despotes.”
That means no one can change his laws, no one can defeat his purpose, and no one can cause him to change his mind. He is “despotes.”
My friend, try your best to grasp who Jesus is! He is more than man – He is “despotes!” He is the true Master or Sovereign of the Universe. That is the reason why the Creator has the right to tell the creation what to do. It is because the creation is His creation. The cattle on a thousand hills are His cattle. The stars in the night sky are His stars. The mountains and oceans are His mountains and oceans. The air that you breathe is His air. The food that you eat is His food. Jesus Christ is Sovereign over all of it. He determines when you are born; He determines when you will die. He determines your I.Q. He determines your century, your continent, your color and your civilization.
That is why every knee shall someday bow and every tongue shall someday confess that Jesus Christ AND HIM ALONE is Lord to the glory of God the Father! I confess those words today, how about you?
Let us therefore sing, “Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all!” Jesus Christ truly is Lord of all!
May 14, 2024 – What do young people really want? It’s time to ponder how they think…what they tell us when we take the time to listen! Remember: Our ministry is to those at home, also!
1. Love – They want parents who love them regardless of what they do. They want fathers to be home in time for supper with the patience and time to discuss what happened that day.
2. Understanding – They want parents who will at least listen to their problems and try to understand the temptations and decisions they face.
3. Trust – They want parents who have confidence in them. This means, for example, telling them how to act on a date and then trusting them to do what they say.
4. Joint Planning – They do not want parents to dictate to them, but they do welcome efforts to plan with them.
5. Religion – They want parents with strong spiritual convictions. They want them to attend church regularly, to say grace at meals, and to show other evidence of personal faith.
6. Privacy – They want a room to which they can retreat. Here, they want to be able to store their own treasures and to pursue their hobbies.
7. Respect – They want parents who will treat them as individuals. They want to be accepted for their own age and not treated like children.
8. Responsibility – They want to share in the work and decisions of the family. They want to feel needed. (Provided by The Epistle)
Perhaps it would be good to keep the above list in your Bible where you can occasionally review it. If your children are parents, perhaps you should pass these brief thoughts to them.
Never forget: Our most important ministry always begins in OUR OWN HOME!
May 13, 2024 – A little girl in Boston became critically ill. She was visited by Pastor Phillips Brooks whose Sunday School she attended. Standing at her bedside, he noticed how uncomfortable she appeared as she lay propped up in the bed. The pillow was sagging and the sheets were wrinkled.
Pastor Brooks said, “Little girl, let me lift you clear off your bed while your mother smooths the sheets and pillow and makes it more comfortable for you.” He did exactly that. The mother quickly adjusted the bedding, and Brooks gently laid down the little girl. She soon fell asleep.
When the little girl awakened, she said to her mother, “Oh, how good it felt to have someone lift me who is strong enough to feel no strain when he lifts!”
That night the nurse read this Bible verse to the little girl. “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”
The little girl said excitedly, “I know now what that verse means. Dr. Brooks acted out its meaning when he visited me.”
Dear reader, consider your shelter from harm: the eternal God! As a boy we often sang, “The Lord’s our Rock, in Him we hide, Secure whatever ill betide, A shade by day, defense by night, No fears alarm, no fears affright, A shelter in the time of storm.” We may build a fine house on earth, but eventually it will need repairs. However, our spiritual shelter never needs a single repair. “The ETERNAL God is your refuge…hiding place…dwelling place…habitation.” “The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes!”
“Underneath” means we are being supported. The world will press us down, doubts and fear may cause us to stumble and fall, but there is only so far we can fall for “underneath us are the everlasting arms” which will catch us. Those arms are as strong for you and me as they were for Abraham and Moses. Imagine that! The same arms that preserved Noah in the ark are supporting us. Ah, Silver Sneakers for us older ones shows the flesh is weakening, but the Ancient of Days is as strong today as in the days of old.
Bottom line: We are not alone in this world. God Himself is our refuge and strength. Isn’t that great? No matter what comes our way, no matter how things change or even we change, our faith is in Him who is bigger than anything the devil sends against us. “If God be for us, who can be against us?”
So don’t work about looking down…He will take care of the downside. Just look up to Him and go forth in faith!
May 11-12, 2024 – “God is being voted out of society.” That sentence captures the spirit of this age. This writer employs that sentence often in the upcoming book, “God’s Righteousness on Trial: Will Evil Triumph?” Humanism, the religion of self-worship, has replaced God on the throne. The Apostle Paul teaches man has “EXCHANGED the glory of the incorruptible God for the image of corruptible man and other life forms” (Romans 1:23). Man can never change who God is, but man can exchange or trade God for some other god…and that is what man is doing.
What does this mean for our own future? It is apparent man is turning against organized religion, including Christianity, in his turn toward humanism (answering to no one but himself). Some Christians are terrified because the Christian view is no longer the prevailing view in society. The Southern Baptist publication On Mission printed the following items that we should never forget.
“The church of Jesus Christ has always resembled her King best when she was in a place, not of dominance, but of yielded weakness. Here are six ways hostility can be an advantage:
First, opposition reminds us of what matters. Believers awaken to the singular aim of gospel saturation.
Second, opposition weeds out the frauds. Opposition assists in distinguishing between broad-sweeping evangelical labels to those who genuinely walk with Jesus in His mission.
Third, opposition raises prophetic voices to gain a missionally effective future. The status quo voices will have little compelling insight into the church’s future.
Fourth, opposition enhances the need for genuine discipleship. Unfortunately, we are not currently helping people develop the disciplines that will allow them to thrive outside the walls of the church. That has to change. Perhaps opposition will help push the change!
Fifth, opposition helps prioritize discipleship. How does this priority rank in your church?
Sixth, opposition unites believers. When we awaken to our mission and to the actuality of our true competition, we find estranged kingdom allies (believers with a different denominational label) living in close proximity. The world will finally see that we are His. (Note: Missionaries on foreign fields can testify to this item.)
Ah, you can’t lift up Jesus if you are lowering your own standards at the same time!
May 10, 2024 – Are you ever forgetful? Ever forget where you are or what you went to do?
One cartoon shows a person driving up to a U.S. Mail drop-off box and saying, “I’ll have a hamburger, large fries and coke.” Isn’t it amazing that just as we reach an age when we begin to know things that we then begin to lose things…such as our mind!
We often forget as a country, too. We forget the sacrifices of prior generations who worked so hard to build our country despite long work hours, no health insurance, poor wages with no minimum wage, no social security or welfare or food stamps but instead food lines, no air conditioning (oh, no!) because they had no electricity, bloody war after bloody killing war, and on and on the list goes. Those people did not have televisions in their kitchens or bedrooms. Some were very fortunate to have a radio!
Is it wrong to say America is now spoiled? The sense of entitlement that exists in America’s poorest population is sadly equaled by the sense of entitlement that exists in America’s richest population.
We are sadly missing Paul’s words, “Godliness/righteousness with contentment is great gain,” because we dwell more on the outside of man than on the inside of man. But you can’t really fix the outside until you fix the inside!
I urge you to take some time to reflect upon those individuals who struggled mightily to give you what you now have. Who would they be?
In many, many ways, you are now able to see farther and rise higher because you stand on their shoulders. They should not be forgotten.
May 9, 2024 – What draws most of your focus? The negative or the positive? The bad or the good? The eternal or the temporal? Things that edify or things that criticize?
A second grade boy began his morning by falling off the school bus. He received three stiches to close the cut. Ouch!
During recess he collided with another boy. Two of his teeth were loosened. His lip was bruised. Double ouch!
During the afternoon he fell and injured his arm. What a day!
The principal drove the boy to his home. During the ride the principal noticed the boy was clutching something in his hand. He asked, “What do you have?”
The boy answered, “A whole quarter.”
“Where did you get it?”
“I found it today on the playground. You know, I never found a quarter before. THIS IS MY LUCKY DAY!”
Someone wrote, “The Roman Empire could put narrow limitations around John’s body, but it could put no narrow limitations around John’s mind. Marooned on Patmos, he saw a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
“Through Christ, Paul, in prison, could say, ‘Whatever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report—think on these things!’
“In prison, John Bunyan’s mind roved the earth and heaven. And he wrote a book that escaped the jail, traveled more highways and walked more bypaths and knocked at more doors and spoke to more people in their mother tongue than any book save the Bible.”
So what draws most of your focus?
‘Nuff said.
May 8, 2024 – The church member said, “I’m against buying a chandelier for this church for three reasons! First, no one can spell it. Second, no one can play it. Third, what we really need is more light in here.” Have you met that fellow? This writer has encountered a few in his ministry. Their favorite song is, “I Shall Not Be Moved!” and not even a stick of dynamite could move them to do something new or different. We call them “again-ers” as in “against everything.”
Another way of expressing that sentiment is this, “We can’t do it, because we’ve never done it that way before!” It’s an entrenched value in many people…must be the 11th commandment!
Israel probably said those very words at the Passover, Red Sea, Jericho, etc. Indeed, those words were likely said on the edge of the Promised Land at Kadesh-Barnea. God promised Israel with victory if they would go forth in faith to conquer the promised land. But Israel refused to step forward by faith (faith is always a forward walk, never a backward walk). Their “evil heart of unbelief” led to defeat instead of victory.
As a result, “God swore in His wrath, they will not enter into rest in the promised land of Canaan” (Hebrews 3:11). The Hebrews writer elaborates further by identifying that attitude as an “evil heart of unbelief” or “lack of faith.” Thus, Israel spent the next forty years wandering in the wilderness, waiting on all the “again-ers” to die.
We need to remind ourselves that God is constantly making things new. “Behold, I make all things new!” is fully displayed throughout the Bible. God blesses His churches with the spiritual gift of “faith” to keep us from staying in the same rut year after year. Those people challenge us to get up and move. Some are great at starting and finishing a new project; others are great at starting and depend on others to join in and finish.
God’s truth never changes, but His techniques for explaining truth get upgraded like everything else. God is not behind the times. God even uses the internet, television and radio to reach people!
The North Carolina governor once complimented Thomas Edison on his inventive abilities, but Edison denied that he was a great inventor. The governor countered, “But you have over a thousand patents to your credit!”
Edison replied, “Yes. But my only original invention is the phonograph. I am just a good sponge. I absorb ideas from every source I can, put them to practical use, and improve on them until they become of value. The ideas are mostly those of others who don’t develop the ideas themselves.”
Please allow Israel’s failures and Edison’s successes to motivate you!
May 7, 2024 – When was the last time you really thanked God for what He has done for you and will soon do for you? May I share a few thoughts that came to me as I prayed today? First, thank you, Jesus, for not calling ten thousand angels to destroy the soldiers at your crucifixion. If You had done that, there would have been no blood offering to cover my sins.
Second, thank you, Jesus, for searching for this one lost sheep. As far as I am concerned, the parable about the one lost sheep is not about those reading this devotional…it is all about me! I was that one lost sheep. Thank God, Jesus found me! That action has changed my entire life.
Third, thank you, Jesus, for giving me your Word. I am known as a preacher of the Word because I believe in the Word with all my heart. In my younger days I began my sermons with a question then said, “The answer is to be found in none other than the inspired, inerrant Word of God.” I still believe that. I thank God for giving me His Word as a source of truth.
Fourth, thank you, Jesus, for my ministry. It began 48 years ago. Like most preachers, I wish I had the ability of a Billy Graham to reach millions. That was God’s choice for Billy, but not for the rest of us. However, God’s ministry for me has allowed me to sow abundant gospel seed and to proclaim the cause of righteousness to an unrighteous world.
Fifth, thank you, Jesus, for my wife—my faithful ministry partner for all these years. I have never once doubted her loyalty to God. She has faithfully served in practically every capacity. I am most proud of her being the “soulwinner” for our AWANA program in one church. Everyone knew where to bring the seekers!
Sixth, thank you, Jesus, for always meeting our financial needs. We started in the ministry on faith. I want you to know God has always provided…just like He promised! Even in our lean years we were able to pay all of our bills on time. I remember the day one member walked into my study and gave me his car keys. He had bought a new car. He gave me his old one. That car met a big need for us.
Seventh, thank you, Jesus, for the many friends You have brought my way. As you know, I now write books about Christian growth. I often think of special friends (now with the Lord) that I could have shared those books with: Paul Edwards, Paul Woods, Clyde Moore, Carl Holderby, my father, Carl Riggle, Calhoun Jackson, Bob Holbrook, Vern Davis, so many who have helped me along the way. They were very important to me.
Eighth, thank you Jesus, for someday making me like You! “We shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is!” Maybe today! Yes, maybe today!
Perhaps today would be a good day for you to write down some of your blessings. In so doing, you will likely realize that God has turned you into a blessing to others, also.
May 6, 2024 – The words appeared this morning: “Every woman faces one major challenge in life: either she is married to it or she gives birth to it.” Those humorous words caused my wife to laugh…and even me to chuckle though I am on the other end of the joke! But there is much truth in the words. Life presents an awesome series of challenges. And people, both male and female of all ages, represent a high percentage of those challenges.
The story of Joseph, son of Jacob, is an inspiring tale of a man who refused to be overcome by “people challenges.” His OWN brothers sold him into slavery. Oh, how they despised him! He was declared dead by the same flesh and blood…and they probably hoped he was dead. Joseph arrived in Egypt and became a steward in the house of a military officer known as Potiphar. Things began to look up! But not for long. Potiphar’s wife brought a false accusation of attempted rape against Joseph, and he was sentenced to prison. Joseph later helped the king’s cupbearer…and was owed a favor in return but the cupbearer totally forgot him. The result: Joseph was still in prison.
These three challenges were caused by people. Quite honestly, some people are just difficult people and seemingly enjoy being difficult people. It is estimated that difficult people make up 20-40% of the adult population. That’s a bunch of people!
Someone defined difficult people as those who must stand on their head in order to smile. Ouch! Such difficult people have a way of making life difficult for the rest of us. Such difficulties led the comedian Victor Borge to say, “Santa Claus has the right idea—visit people only once a year!” Double ouch! Our church custodian once whispered to me, “Deacon so-and-so is grumbling about the grumblers.” Triple ouch!
Joseph’s greatest challenge in life was dealing with such people. He could have become bitter, withdrawn, resentful, arrogant, and actually a challenge himself. After all, he was human. But he drew near to God and God gave him a soft heart toward people. The story ends with Joseph graciously opening Egypt to care for the same family that sold him into slavery.
My father said to me as a young minister, “Keep a soft heart for as long as you can.” Dad knew ministry is not easy. We need help to minister to people. God’s cure is the filling, fulness and fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24) to continually transform us.
Did someone ruffle your feathers today? Or yesterday? Well, join the club. We’ve all been there and done that…because ministry is to people. Jesus understands because He has been there, too. After all, people crucified Him. Yes, He thoroughly understands this part of ministry. Take Him by the hand and pray today for more grace to keep on keeping on. In so doing you can develop the qualities of a Joseph!
May 4-5, 2024 – NEVER WASTE A DISAPPOINTMENT! Have you learned each disappointment is an opportunity to know God better?
John joined our church. One month later he left an evening service, only to realize someone had thrown a brick through his van window. How do you handle that?
There are many possible responses: “I won’t go back to that church.” “If God treats me like that, there’s no reason to know Him.” “I’ll bet God is plotting against me…doesn’t love me…doesn’t care.”
We are so short-sighted! We forget good opportunities arise in every disappointment; one of the best opportunities is getting to know God better.
What kind of God do you serve? A God to be feared? A God who abuses His people? One who sits in heaven figuring ways to make your life miserable?
Let’s remember, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.”
One pastor always locked himself in his study until noon. During that time no one was allowed to disturb him. This time was reserved for only God and him. There was one exception to the rule. If one of his little children said, “I need to see my father,” the secretary would immediately take the child to the father’s office. The father would stop what he was doing, pick up his child, and listen to what the child needed.
You are a child of God. God has an open door policy for you, too. You can run into God’s office any time of the day and God will always take the time to listen to you!
Luther Bridges was a well-known Methodist preacher with a beautiful wife and two lovely children. They lived in Kentucky. Luther Bridges was called to Georgia to hold a revival meeting. During this time he received word that his house had burned to the ground. His wife and two daughters were dead.
The news was more than Luther Bridges could bear. He became very despondent; he could not preach for a time. He almost left the ministry. But God took Luther Bridges by the hand and led him out of the valley. It was not long until Luther Bridges was back in the ministry. Luther Bridges then wrote a song about his loss and about how real God was to him:
“There’s within my heart a melody, Jesus whispers sweet and low, ‘Fear not, I am with thee, peace be still,’ In all of life’s ebb and flow.
“Tho’ sometimes He leads through waters deep [He knew what he was writing about, Trials fall across the way, Tho’ sometimes the path seems rough and steep, See His footprints all the way.
“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know! Fills my every longing, Keeps me singing as I go!”
Never waste a disappointment. God is working in the disappointments, too.
May 2-3, 2024 – Do you know—really know—that every day is the building block for another day? What God does in your life today is the building block for your future…but perhaps, more importantly, for someone else’s future and the entire world’s future?
Today’s Verse begins with great news in the preceding verse. God describes the just-saved Saul of Tarsus (later the Apostle Paul) as “a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.” That’s awesome! God says such things about very few people in history. Saul has not yet made the transition to Paul, but he can rejoice in the preceding verse: He is going to change the world for Jesus Christ.
Now we come to what I want you to see. The preceding verse was verse 15. What, though, about verse 16? IT’S THE OPPOSITE OF VERSE 15! God talks about suffering…pain…persecution…anguish of the soul. Nothing positive from a typical human viewpoint.
But we fail to understand that it is through verse 16 that God accomplishes verse 15! If there is no verse 16, there can be no verse 15!
Picture it like this: Imagine God walks down the aisle at church and informs you that you are going to have a fabulous ministry (be the greatest soulwinner in the city’s history). You will probably interrupt the church service shouting, “Praise the Lord!” But after a moment of celebration, God goes on to say there will be much suffering involved and it is through that suffering you will accomplish this great work.
People will insult you, but God will bless you with many getting saved. People will curse you, laugh at you, mock you and ridicule you, but God will use you like He has never used anyone before you. Yes, there will be days when everyone will be against you; however, you must never forget that every day is a building block for another day and who knows what God intends to do tomorrow?
Paul’s suffering was the building block which allowed his ministry to grow deeper, broader and higher.
Too often we moan, “Today did not go the way I planned.” But is it possible today went the way God planned? Romans 8:28 says, “All things work together for good to them who love God…” In other words, God intends to use the moans of today as a building block for another day!
Never forget: What God did in your life today can never be measured. Thus, don’t ever quit on God because God will not quit on you!
Paul’s suffering also laid the foundation for someone else’s future including our own. Paul’s ministry was to the Gentiles. You and I heard the gospel because Paul took the gospel to the Gentiles. Aren’t you glad he endured the suffering and laid the foundation for you? I am.
The old preacher taught us, “First the cross then the crown! First the rejection then the reception!”
Remember: Your faith will always shine the brightest when the night is the darkest!
May 1, 2024 – A police officer pulled over the man for speeding. The man pled his case, “I’m a pastor going to the hospital to see a dying man.”
The police officer said, “Prove it. Quote the Lord’s Prayer.”
The man prayed, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Amen.”
The police officer said, “Glad you could do it. You’re free to go!”
Obviously, neither man had a clue about Today’s Verse. “Lord, You hear my voice! I lay my requests before You! I wait EXPECTANTLY for Your presence, answers, guidance, and involvement in my life. Lord, let’s talk!”
Psalm 5 is traditionally regarded as a morning prayer often prayed to God. John Phillips points out that Psalms 3, 4 and 5 “stand together in the Hebrew hymnbook…In Psalm 5 David was going forth to face treacherous and powerful foes, and he prepared for such a day with prayer. The psalm should thus speak to our own hearts for, as G. Campbell Morgan reminds us, we face no day which is not filled with danger.” The danger may be outside us or inside us…but each day does indeed have its own challenge. Thus, David resolved that “in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly…why? Because YOU HEAR MY VOICE.” God hears…because David calls! But if David does not call, God has nothing to hear. God cannot hear what is not said.
Which is your bigger problem? Is it what you say to God or the fact that you don’t say it to God? That’s item #1 in today’s devotional.
Item #2 – How do you begin the day? Some begin by moaning, “Good Lord, it’s morning!” while others triumphantly begin, “Good morning, Lord!” The difference is monumental. The new day has many fresh hours to both know and serve our God…to sow our God in the hearts of the people we meet including some that we treasure very dearly.
Richard J. Foster writes in Celebration of Discipline, “The first act of submission is to the Triune God. At the beginning of the day we wait, in the words of the hymn writer, ‘yielded and still’ before Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The first words of our day form the prayer of Thomas a Kempis, ‘As thou wilt; what thou wilt; when thou wilt.’ We yield our body, mind and spirit for his purposes. Likewise, the day is lived in deeds of submission…As the first words of the morning are of submission, so are the last words of the night. We surrender our body, mind and spirit into the hands of God to do with us as he pleases through the long darkness.”
Think about your own approach to every day. How difficult is it to get the day started right? Starting the day right includes starting it with God in the day’s first few hours. It’s not hard. It just takes discipline. And you can do it as easily as David.
Apr 30, 2024 – You can rejoice because TODAY is as much a part of God’s plan as any other day. Yes, it really is.
Let’s look the context of Today’s Verse. Everyone knows the importance of a cornerstone to a building. You can’t build unless you have a cornerstone! The cornerstone ties everything together.
The picture in Psalm 118 is that of building the temple. Many builders have been hired including many who are totally untrained in building anything of size. There are a lot of things they will need to learn. Many stones have been delivered from the rock quarry. Somewhere during the building the untrained builders come across this stone which seems to be out of shape. They examine the stone and determine it is not usable. They then reject the stone and roll the stone over the hill.
Sometime later the boss comes along and says to them, “I have looked everywhere but I cannot find the cornerstone. Have you fellows seen it?”
The untrained builders tell him about this strange stone which they have rejected and rolled over the hill. The boss says, “Don’t you know that is the chief cornerstone? We can’t build anything without it! Go get it!”
The untrained builders retrieve the cornerstone and the stone which the builders rejected then becomes the cornerstone of the temple!
What does that mean? Prophetically, Jesus Christ is the cornerstone which the nation of Israel rejected and nailed to a cross. But God raised Him from the dead and made Him the cornerstone of those who are born again.
When you look at the cross, you see the cornerstone which the builders rejected, but when you look at the empty tomb you see the cornerstone which God has accepted and made to be the head of the corner.
Two Questions: #1 – Was the cross of Jesus part of God’s plan for Jesus? Yes! Jesus’ death was foreordained before the foundation of the world. God pre-designed a plan to save the world by the death of His Son. #2 – Is the resurrection of Jesus part of God’s plan? Yes! It is the proof that His sacrifice for sinners has been accepted by the holy God of heaven.
BIG QUESTION: Which day was easier to rejoice in? The day of the crucifixion or the resurrection? Answer: The resurrection.
But can you have a resurrection without a crucifixion? No.
Thus, the day of the crucifixion is just as much a part of God’s plan as the day of the resurrection. For that reason, “This (the day of the crucifixion) is the day that the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in it. This (the day bad things happen) is also the day that the Lord has made! By faith I will rejoice and be glad in it!”
That is why Jesus died in victory and not in defeat! Just before He died He cried out, “It is finished,” and He rejoiced that God’s payment for salvation had been made in full!
Jesus knew the outcome to His death and He rejoiced in that outcome.
KEY: We do not know the outcome of today, but we must have faith to know the outcome is the one God has chosen! My friend, you can rejoice, because today is as much a part of God’s plan as any other day.
Apr 29, 2024 – Do you believe the world understands the Christian life? I do not. Nor did Jesus. Jesus and His messengers continually presented a message of victory, including deliverance over sin, Satan, and temptation that left the world questioning how such a strategy could ever work.
In brief, Christianity and the Christian life emphasize the exact opposite of what the world emphasizes. Christianity actually teaches such axioms as “up is really down,” “eternal values trump temporal values,” “the narrow road is preferred to the broad road,” “faith is more important than ability,” “providence opens the right door whereas ambition opens the door to uncertainty,” and on and on the contrast goes.
Jesus asserts in today’s verse that He can do better with your life than you can. Is there any doubt about that? Of course not. But living it is another reality.
Today’s Verse urges us to put our lives, including everything about us, in our Lord’s hands and trust Him who is LORD OF ALL to do with us as He pleases, recognizing He never makes a mistake, and trusting Him with both the major and minor issues of life.
Perhaps you are struggling with this. The question is not what this writer thinks. The question is what you think about what Jesus says. His words are the opposite of how you have been conditioned to think by this world system. But His words are true…and right for your life and mine.
YOU GAIN SOMETHING WHICH CAN NEVER BE MEASURED WHEN YOU GIVE IT ALL TO HIM.
George Matheson teaches us to sing perhaps the most contrasting song in Christianity:
Make me a captive, Lord, And then I shall be free.
Force me to render up my sword And I shall conqueror be.
I sink in life’s alarms When by myself I stand;
Imprison me within thine arms, And strong shall be my hand.
Amen. May you also find it to be so.
Apr 27-28, 2024 – PART 6 – The wise old preacher told the young preacher, “Jesus said, ‘Feed My SHEEP, not feed My GIRAFFES.” That is good advice for all that we do as a church. In today’s PART 6 we conclude this series about issues non-church folk encounter when attending our church services. These people aren’t spiritual giraffes, they aren’t sheep either. As a result, they are often confused by what we do and why we do it. That does not mean we can’t do what we do, but it should help us understand them better.
Now to our last question for this study: “How can the pastor be so confident about heaven? He hasn’t seen it for himself nor talked with anyone who has been there. But you Christians are so confident!” Due to the recent scandals in church ministry, it is understandable if they ask, “Does the pastor sound confident because he is paid to sound confident or is he really confident?”
Confession: This pastor never thinks about my spending eternity in hell. I am not saying others don’t, but I don’t. In my childhood days, I probably would have answered, “It’s because that’s what I’ve been taught.” But that time did not last long for me. As I continued to search the Scriptures, I became convinced through the witness of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit that the Bible is genuinely the Word of God…not merely to me but to all of humanity.
Based upon that unfaltering conviction, I take God’s Word at face value. It means what it says on all subjects. Therefore, I can not only accept it but build my life upon it…and I have done so.
It’s easy to take these words of Jesus at face value: “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
My confidence is not in myself but in the Jesus who is also Lord and Christ. He promised, “Whoever [that means me] comes to Me [I have], I will never cast out.”
This writer could quote many such words of Jesus, but how many words does one really need? When I approach the pearly gates, I can put my finger on Today’s Verse and say, “This is why I am here.” I am very satisfied His promise will be enough.
A pastor in Scotland was approached by a member and asked how he could exhibit such peace. The member asked, “Do you really have that good a hold on God?”
The pastor laughed and said, “Oh, no, it is not my hold on God that gives me peace, but it is God’s hold on me that gives me peace! ‘Of all those whom Thou hast given Me, I shall lose nothing—not a single one!”
Amen. It will be true when it’s my time to go, too. How about you?
Apr 26, 2024 – PART 5 – Many of us have been saved for so long that we have forgotten what it is like to be on the outside looking in. We have forgotten the Bible is a mystery book which is spiritually, not mentally understood and, therefore, is confusing to many. We have forgotten Christianity is a mystery religion in the sense it is hard to explain to those who have never experienced its spiritual truths. We have also forgotten the child of God is a mystery person. Jesus said of His disciples, “You are not of this world system just I am not of this world system.” The Christian is different and often difficult to understand by those with a different world view.
That brings us to another question posed by those outside Christianity. “What does ‘born again’ mean?” This term is not found in the Old Testament but rather it begins with Jesus. Jesus told Nicodemus, a lawyer of the Jews, “You must be born again.”
Nicodemus knew the Old Testament by heart, but he was thoroughly confused. He responded, “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus had no concept of what Jesus meant.
President Jimmy Carter popularized the term “born again” during his run for office. He was asked many times what he meant by being “born again.” The term was mocked by many, reduced to something less than it is by others. For example, a man was rescued from a burning building. The reporter asked how he felt. He answered, “I feel like I have been born again.”
Is that what born again means? Jesus explains the term in John 3:6. What does the word “again” mean? First, it means a second time! There is a birth of the flesh; there is also a second birth by the Holy Spirit. Born again actually means a second birth which is just as real as the first birth…occurs at a specific time and a specific place just like the first birth. That’s why God refers to us as His children or “little born ones” (1 John 2:1).
Second, “again” comes from the Greek work “anothen” which is translated “above” in John 3:31. This suggests the origin of the second birth is from heaven itself. It is a second birth—a spiritual birth—which takes place from above! Thus, we offer this definition: “Being “born again” is a birth of heavenly life into one’s earthly life!” In so doing, the believer receives a new nature with heavenly desires to counter his old nature with non-heavenly desires.
What kind of life is it? 2 Peter 1:4 says the believer receives a life patterned after God’s own nature. That does not mean he becomes God, but rather he has a new nature which is holy like God’s nature. Paul says in Galatians 2:20, “Christ lives in me.” 1 Corinthians 6:19 says the believer’s body has become a temple of the Holy Spirit who “is in you.” 1 John 5:12 says, “He that has the Son has life.” “When Christ who is our life shall appear” (Colossians 3:1). Eternal life is the life of Christ in the believer.
This incredible truth provides the answer to another question posed by unbelievers: “Why don’t I enjoy church? I come because someone asks me to come, but I cannot identify why they come either because how can anyone enjoy himself at church?” Jesus answers the question, “Except a man be born again he cannot see/experience the kingdom of God.” This born-again spiritual nature makes spiritual things important to the believer. In essence, it is what makes a Christian a Christian.
Apr 25, 2024 – PART 4 – Two American pastors were vacationing in Germany. They decided to attend a German church even though they did not know the language. They sat behind a dignified man and did everything he did!
During the service the pastor made a special announcement. The man in front of the two pastors jumped to his feet. The Americans jumped to their feet, too, and the entire congregation roared in laughter. The pastor then spoke in English, “I was announcing we had a new baby in the nursery and I asked the father of the baby to stand.”
Can you imagine how those pastors felt? Sometimes people feel like foreigners in our churches. They come to church and don’t have any idea what we’re talking about… singing about…praying about… they don’t know when to stand…when to sit…when to shake hands or laugh or amen and when they leave, they say, “I don’t have the slightest idea what that was about.”
Let’s continue our study with a new question: “Why does the Bible read like a foreign book?” Have you ever had someone say, “I’d read the Bible, but I cannot understand it.” That was the experience of this man in Acts 8. He is the treasurer of the queen of Ethiopia, thus a very educated man. He has been drawn to Jerusalem to worship the God of the Bible, but it is evident he does not know who that God happens to be. Next, we see him reading Isaiah 53, but he does not understand.
God sends a preacher named Phillip who asks, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
The man answers, “Not on your life. I know something is real about this book, but I do not understand it. Can you help me?”
Philip then introduces the treasurer to the Lord Jesus Christ, God helps him to understand, and he is wonderfully saved.
What is the problem? This man has no capacity to understand or comprehend spiritual truth. 1 Cor. 2:14 explains, “The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” The natural man represents the man who does not know Christ as Savior.
Such a person can relate historical facts, discuss the miracles, but he cannot understand what it means to be born again, have peace with God, or be filled with the Spirit. “For the word/message of the cross is folly (the Greek word is “moronic”) to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). We look like idiots because the unsaved man has no capacity to understand why we believe in the cross.
But as soon as a person believes, he quickly changes his mind. His reaction is, “WOW! If I had known what I know now, I would have done this a long time ago!”
What is the difference? The difference is he now has the spiritual capacity to understand spiritual truth. He sees the truth from a spiritual perspective rather than a natural perspective.
This issue is beyond our control. It is one of those God-things that only God can do. But it does explain why some do not understand. I suggest pointing the unbeliever to the Gospel of John and letting God do what only He can do!
Apr 24, 2024 – PART 3 – “I don’t understand this churchy stuff.” Many people are so far outside the church they don’t understand any of this churchy stuff that we do. This series addresses some of their concerns. Today’s Verse focuses on, “Why don’t I feel comfortable when I attend church? Why do I often feel guilty?”
Let us remember every church service provides many different benefits. Quite often, our need determines what we take home from the service. What is the most basic need, though, of all of us? It is the need of being restored to our Creator. That restoration is called salvation.
If the person has never been born again, it is likely that the Holy Spirit will approach his heart and seek to woo him to Christ as Savior. While some people unfortunately count down the minutes for the final “Amen,” God is actively seeking that which is lost (see yesterday’s devotional) and making the issue of receiving Christ a very real issue for them.
The Holy Spirit performs a work on the unbeliever’s soul called “conviction.” Other translations use the word “reprove” or “convince.” In normal life (think of being reproved by a supervisor or a spouse) conviction is not usually a happy time. Instead, it is an interruption in the happy times. The Holy Spirit takes the person into God’s courtroom and presents evidence against that person. The devil presents evidence the unbeliever is not really bad enough to need salvation, but the Holy Spirit convinces the unbeliever that, without Christ, he is a sinner in need of righteousness headed for God’s judgment. Thank God, for sharing the truth with us, but the truth is not pleasant.
A little boy was praying his bedtime prayers. He prayed, “Lord, if you can’t make me a better boy than I am, don’t you worry about it. I’m having a real good time like I am.”
KEY: If you are having a good time, you will not see a reason to receive Jesus Christ! Conviction, though, convinces you of your guilt and that brings a feeling of guilt to your soul.
I have seen two unbelievers attend the same service and hear me preach the same message. Strangely, one was bothered by the message; the second was not bothered. I do not have the power to convict. That is God’s ministry! Pastor Leo Gibson taught me, “I began to sleep a lot better at night when I realized I could not save anyone. All I could do was preach the gospel. It is God’s job to do the rest.”
IMPORTANT: Conviction does not usually come and stay but rather it comes and goes. It is an awareness of your guilt which only God can bring. God says, “NOW is the accepted time; TODAY is the day of salvation.” “Seek the Lord WHILE He may be found; call upon Him while He is NEAR.” Why? Because He may not be near again. Sadly for many, there may come a day when all the preaching, songs, and church services that bother you now will then be like water on a duck’s back! That’s why everyone needs to be saved on the day they know they need to be saved!
Thank God for His ministry in our souls. If not for Him, our souls would be forever lost!
Apr 23, 2024 – PART 2 – “Pastor, I have a lot of hard questions about Christianity. I am an outsider looking in. I don’t really understand what Christianity is all about.”
Let me see if I can guess some of your questions and how the Bible answers those questions. We began this study yesterday and will continue it for several days.
Question: “What does saved and lost mean? The average church member uses those words but what do those words mean?”
The Bible uses many words to describe mankind. Basically, though, God describes all of mankind as being in two groups: saved and lost. Saved, of course, has reference to those who have been rescued. Rescued from what? Hell! Jesus says, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the WRATH of God abides on him” (John 3:36). That word “wrath” suggests serious consequences!
The word “lost” has reference to those who have NOT been rescued and are lost or away from God. Jesus says in Today’s Verse, “I have come to seek and save that which is LOST.” The Bible elaborates on our “lost” estate with these statements: “All we like sheep have gone astray” and “There is none that seeks after God, no, not even one.” Sadly, we don’t even have the capacity to find God. Therefore, He must find us or come to us!
John 3:18 mentions these two groups under the headings of “he who believes” and “he who believes not.” Does the individual believe in Christ as Lord and Savior or not?
Question: “Does this word ‘lost’ mean that I am an alien from outer space?” No, you are normal in every sense of the word, but it does mean you are separated from God…like a sheep that has wandered away from the sheepfold and is lost, unable to find its way.
Question: “Isn’t being a church member the same as being saved?” No. Matthew 7:21:23 describes unsaved church members. It says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23).
A woman asked to join one of my father’s pastorates. During counseling, Dad asked her when was she saved. She asked, “Saved? From what?” She had never been saved. But she was a few minutes later!
Question: Isn’t being baptized the same as being saved? Baptism is not mentioned in John 3:15, 16, 18, and 36. Faith or belief is the only item mentioned in those verses. Have you placed your faith in Jesus?
Question: Isn’t going to the front (altar) the same as being saved? Some churches have an altar to which people come. Some churches invite people to come to the front pew for counseling. Some take people to a special counseling room. Some ask you to fill out a card that you have received Jesus.
KEY: The most important location in salvation is not the front pew, back pew, or altar, but it is the location of your heart. “It is with the heart that man believes unto righteousness or salvation” (Romans 10:10).
Two words…SAVED and LOST. Which word describes you?
More tomorrow!
Apr 22, 2024 – A farmer and his wife were having a friendly argument about whether a town in Pennsylvania should be pronounced LAN-caster or LANC-aster. The farmer decided to settle the argument by driving there and hearing how the natives pronounced it. The farmer stopped at the first business in town, took his wife by the hand and walked in. He said to the clerk, “Tell my wife the name of this place and speak very slowly and distinctly.”
The clerk said very slowly and very distinctly, “Bur-ger King.”
Who cares how you pronounce anything as long as you are at Burger King?
Seriously, though, it is important we know how to pronounce things, but it is even more important we understand what we are talking about and to whom we are talking! Too often in our church services we use the “churchy” language, we sing the “churchy” songs and we read the “churchy” Bible but we never really communicate. Thus, when folk leave they say, “I don’t have the slightest idea what that was about.”
Nicodemus is like a lot of people who attend the average Baptist church. He is a person who lacks spiritual understanding as to what the Bible is really about. This was true even though Nicodemus belonged to the most prestigious religious denomination of his day: the Pharisees. It is likely he could quote more of the Bible than any of us! But he did not understand the “churchy” language that Jesus was using in John chapter 3. As a result, Jesus continues to break down these spiritual truths to lower and lower levels so that Nicodemus can have the answers to his hard questions.
Jesus’ answers become increasingly so easy that John chapter 3 is the chapter most of us use when we try to explain the gospel. For example: What verse is the most favorite verse in the Bible? John 3:16—”For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Without fail, someone holds up a sign saying, “John 3:16” behind the backboard of every college basketball game. Why that verse? Because everyone can understand it! As for me, I especially understand the word “whosoever.” How about you? That word means me!
You may be saying, “I have a lot of hard questions about Christianity. I am an outsider looking in…I don’t really understand what Christianity is all about.”
Let me see if I can guess some of those questions; over the next five days let’s see how the Bible answers those questions.
Yes, “How can these things be?” “Be” means they exist, but “how?” Perhaps you’ll be able to use these brief studies to make your own ministry more effective.
Apr 20-21, 2024 – I was horribly humiliated and still remember the pain to this day.
It happened in the fifth grade. I was one of the smartest boys in our class. I was fortunate that year to earn a straight “A” report card. Two girls matched my grades throughout the year. The three of us were always in competition with each other.
One day the teacher was explaining multiplication tables…not just 2 x 2 but we had advanced to the two-digit problems like 25 x 42. How do you carry the numbers over into the next column?
The teacher wrote a problem on the chalkboard and called me to the chalkboard to answer the problem. I didn’t have an inkling of an idea! My mind was totally blank. I guess I froze! I stood there with chalk in my hand, looked at that problem, and had no idea where to begin. I stood there and stood there. I can still remember the tears welling up in my eyes. I can still remember the emotion of that awful experience, of everyone in the class waiting for me to answer that problem but me not having the answer! At last, the teacher took the chalk from my hand and told me to return to my seat. I don’t remember what happened after that, because I was totally heartbroken!
By contrast, my God has never had the experience of standing at a chalkboard and not knowing the answer! He has never been stymied by a mystery, never struggled with a puzzle, never had to make a guess, even an educated guess. No one has ever taken the chalk from God’s hand and told Him to return to His seat.
Albert Einstein became famous for discovering the Theory of Relativity which dealt with gravity, space, and time. But what Einstein really discovered was God’s Law. God established this law or principle in the very beginning. God not only figured out all the laws of science, mathematics, etc. but He also established those laws in the very beginning; amazingly, God did not even need a chalkboard to figure them out!
Einstein was so impressed with his discovery that he uttered these immortal words, “God does not play dice with the world.” I.e. God has things under control!
Twenty years ago our church received a significant financial contribution to install a first generation projection system. We announced the good news on Sunday morning. After the service Marie walked up and said, “You’re not going to believe this, but my boss arranged for me to take a PowerPoint course this coming Thursday. I’ll be able to help once I know how to help!” Was that a coincidence? Of course not. That was a God-thing. It was just another proof in a long list of proofs that God is in control.
There are many reasons to “have no other gods before Me.” But the biggest reason is simply this: No one can ever out-god God. He is #1. He is in control. We can trust Him with our future. Do you agree?
Apr 19, 2024 – A consultant asked several hundred General Motors’ employees, “What person has almost absolute total control over the events in his or her professional life?”
One foolish man brazenly answered, “Mothers!” There were eighty-three mothers in the room; they were ready to take the man outside and stone him to death!
Have you ever heard someone say, “I’ve lost control of my life”? What they are really saying is they are no longer in control of the EVENTS which make up their lives.
They are instead reacting to events!
But God is not like that. Based upon the Holy Scriptures, you and I can have absolute confidence that nothing is too complex for our God. Our God is always in control!
For example, how does tomorrow’s schedule look to you? Impossible? Simple, though, to God! He multitasks better than anyone I know. Do you have to be in two places at the same time? No problem to God. He is omnipresent. Do you need answers to a problem no one else can answer? No problem! God is omniscient. Do you need to get out the ladder to hang a decoration outside? No problem! God is omnipotent! He really can leap tall buildings in a single bound!
My friend Richard took this writer to view his assembly line for making clamps for planes. (I am not a mechanic.) I marveled at the step-by-step process, how all the equipment came together to make that piece. Someone much smarter than me designed that process…and you designers would say it was an easy process to design!
So let’s move up from the minor leagues to the big leagues. Our God is able to operate an entire universe, keep every planet in its orbit, keep every star shining. He proved that recently in the total eclipse that encompassed our community. It was stunning to lay in the grass and look directly into that eclipse. Amazingly, it occurred at the very moment it was expected. A cheer rose from our neighborhood when the wave of semi-darkness swept over us. Amazingly, the science community even knows when the next total eclipse will occur as well as where it can be seen. How can they predict that event? It is because God has everything in order.
Can you imagine what the universe looks like to God? I can’t. It’s overwhelming to me but not to Him. Therefore, I think it best if I leave the world, including my world, in His hands for at least one more day. How about you?
Apr 18, 2024 – Do you ever wonder how many “once more’s” you will have? Napoleon Hill writes, “Your big opportunity may be right where you are NOW.” Where are you now? Though often unrecognized and neglected, you are at this very moment living in an opportunity to have a spiritual encounter with God which:
1. Can result in your salvation from the wrath of God and the hell to come. Many are just drifting through life with little regard for their eternal soul’s welfare either in the hereafter or the here-and-now. How much thought have you given to your soul? Wouldn’t it be sad if you by-passed this opportunity because of something on your cell phone?
2. Can help you deal with an important decision. God is at work all around you opening doors as well as closing doors. It is very frustrating to try opening a locked door without the key! Perhaps the choice will be clear; the resolve will finally exist to choose God’s direction for your life. You can sing with us, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back.”
3. Can give you motivation to face tomorrow. Tomorrow may not be very promising. Maybe God will direct a song your way. Perhaps a fellow Christian may say something that causes you to look up instead of down. A relevant Bible verse may supernaturally enter your mind. Don’t let that moment pass you by!
4. Can strengthen your faith. The Bible encourages us to build a life grounded in Bible beliefs and to not “be blown around with every wind of false doctrine/teaching!” Faith truly moves mountains! Most of all, it moves us! What can you believe with certainty? Or do you even care about certainty?
5. Can remove your feelings of despair and loneliness. You are currently surrounded by Christian people of like emotions. None of us have life fully figured out. We struggle, too. But we can struggle together in our Christian fellowship. After all, what is fellowship but two fellows in the same ship?
Let’s march forward and seize today’s opportunities!
Apr 17, 2024 – As a child in Sunday School (or in a home devotion led by your parents), did you ever act out the story of Jericho? My teacher Ann Rice had us little ones walk around our table like Israel walked around the city of Jericho. I suppose we were a sight! But I’m older now…I wonder who looked sillier? We preschoolers or Joshua’s people?
Normal military procedure in that day would require a battering ram to break through the gates, ladders to storm the walls, and a long siege to starve and weaken the inhabitants. But that was not the way this battle was fought, because God was once again proving that He does not do things in man’s way.
The Apostle Paul described himself as a “fool for Christ’s sake!” All of us ought to seek that designation. We see that which the world does not see, we then act in accordance with what we see and our actions run contrary to the world’s actions.
You and I encounter many Jericho’s in our Christian walk. Some are more intimidating than others. But the secret to winning those battles is not the size of Jericho but the size of our God. Here are some simple thoughts you might wish to add to your Bible regarding Joshua 6:
First, God is here and God wants to do something. The #1 complaint about church worship is “boring!” How can the most exciting thing in the world (the gospel) be boring? Perhaps the answer is this: Church becomes boring when God becomes limited in the people’s hearts. They forget Proverbs 19:21: “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’S PURPOSE THAT PREVAILS.” God is busy all around us. His Word will not return void. He honors the sowing and reaping principle, so we need to keep sowing with the expectation of reaping. He works in people’s hearts and uses us in that process. Quite honestly, we need to stir ourselves and realize God wants to do something more than we want Him to do something.
Second, God is here and only God can do what must be done. Jericho is a mighty city and cannot be conquered by man. Someone said, “Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.” How true! Crossing the Red Sea was a simple thing when God did what only God could do. So was crossing the Jordan River and fighting Jericho! Note the Lord’s words to Joshua: “I have GIVEN…” Dear reader, when God gives, it’s time to go to the bank and cash the check! We cannot outgive God, and we certainly can’t do God’s work for Him.
Third, God is here and He has a timetable. “Now is the time, This is the place, We are the people.” “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done” (Ecclesiastes 11:4). We often miss God’s will and God’s opportunity, because we wait for everything to be perfect. Was everything perfect for Joshua in Today’s Verse? No! Not with that crowd of his! But the time was NOW. Nothing is said about delay to design a more perfect plan. The time was now…it was in accordance with God’s timetable.
As a boy, I recall hearing a country preacher tell us of how God called him to preach…and to pastor. But he said to God, “I work too much. I’ll do that when I retire.” So he worked many years, did a little preaching but never pastored, then eventually retired. He then went to God and said, “I’m retired and ready to pastor. But God said to me, ‘I don’t need you now.’” The preacher then urged us to not repeat his mistake. In case you’re wondering, he never pastored.
“Now is the time, This is the place, We are the people.” Is God speaking to you about something? If God is giving it into your hand, what does He expect you to do?
Apr 10-15, 2024 – LESSON #7 – New members are like puzzle pieces. No puzzle is complete until all of the pieces are included in the puzzle.
You may think, “No one at church would miss me if I just dropped out.” Do you know what would happen? The puzzle would be missing a piece and that piece would be you! Let’s think about your importance.
Charles Plumb was a United States Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. On his 75th combat mission his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent six years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and returned to the States.
One day Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant. A man walked up to him and said, “I remember you. Your name is Plumb. You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down.”
Plumb’s mouth dropped open in amazement. He asked, “How in the world did you know that?”
The man said, “I was the man who packed your parachute.” Plumb was totally blown out of the saddle. The man shook hands with Plumb and said, “I guess my parachute must have worked!”
Plumb said, “It sure did. If your parachute hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Plumb couldn’t sleep that night because he kept thinking about that man. He said, “I kept wondering what that sailor must have looked like in his Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and those bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said, ‘Good morning, how are you?’ because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor.”
Plumb thought of the many hours that sailor had spent in the depths of the aircraft carrier, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each parachute, holding in his hands the fate of someone he didn’t know but, oh, how seriously he took his responsibility!
Plumb now gives talks about his Vietnam experience. He shares that story then asks the audience, “Who’s packing your parachute?”
The point is that everyone has someone who provides what you need. Plumb needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory. He needed a physical parachute, a mental parachute, an emotional parachute, and a spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports during his six years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp.
Plumb says, “Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize the people who pack your parachute.”
Who packs your parachute in your church? Are you doing the same for others?
Apr 9, 2024 – LESSON #6 – New members may reveal what God wants to do in the future.
We often ask, “What is God doing in our church?” One way to answer the question is to think through the type of people that God has sent our way in recent years. One of God’s names in the Bible is “I AM” (Exodus 3:14). Guess what? God is never called “I WAS.” This name emphasizes that one of God’s goals is to always keep doing things which are new. So we read about a new testament, a new creation, a new heaven, a new earth, a new life, a new song, a new and living way, a new name written down in glory and on and on the list goes!
And when Jesus speaks of His church He speaks of it like this: “I will build my church and the process of building is always oriented to the new.”
Example: God sent a man named John the Baptist to the nation of Israel. Be careful how you think of John the Baptist! Some folk like to talk about John as being old-fashioned, but the truth is there was nothing old-fashioned about John! John was so NEW fashioned that the religious establishment of his day did not know what to do with Him! John represented the new wine that would cause the old bottles to burst.
Do you know what John really represented? John represented God doing something which was brand new!
Someone has suggested that God’s motto for this entire universe is, “Behold, I make all things new…”
If God is a God who likes to do new things (and He is), if God is a God who always lives in the present and never lives in the past, then what is God telling us about our future based on the new members He has sent us in recent years?
Here are some questions to answer: Did God send us people that will:
1. allow us to enlarge our children’s ministry?
2. allow us to improve our music ministry?
3. help us to become even more mission minded and to take the gospel outside the walls and into our neighborhoods?
4. stretch our faith so that we can do something even more special than we are right now thinking or dreaming?
5. replace some of our older folks so that we can continue into the future?
6. give us more ways to provide 21st century solutions to 21st century people because the needs of this generation are different from the needs of two generations ago or even the last generation?
What opportunities has God given us in these new people that we might be missing?
Do you believe these people joined by accident? Today’s Verse says, “God has set the new members in our local church as it has PLEASED HIM.” These people are in our church, because God wants them to be part of His ministry in our church.
Why? It is very possible God wants to do something brand new or refresh something which is dying. These new members may very well be a part of that “newness.”
Apr 8, 2024 – PART 5 – There once was a farmer who lived so far back in the hills he had never seen a mirror. This farmer was working in the field when he found a piece of a mirror. He looked into it and said, “I can’t believe it! It’s my dad.” He looked at the mirror again and again then put it under his pillow at bedtime.
After he fell asleep his curious wife reached under his pillow, pulled out the mirror and looked into it. She said, “Just as I thought. It’s another woman! And an ugly one, too!”
Ah, sometimes we don’t see what we should see. We have previously discussed that new members are an investment from God in our church. I encourage you to read Parts 1-4 to better understand what God is doing with a new member and what your church’s responsibility is to the new member.
Lesson #5: New members need a spiritual family, and they hope you’re the right family. People need people! It’s horrible to be in a neighborhood where you have nothing in common with even one soul. That is not so in a church. The beginning foundation for church fellowship is a mutual born-again experience and a knowledge of Christ. The church is a living organism! The local PTA is built on school links and is dead as a doornail; by contrast, the church is built on spiritual links and is spiritually alive in Christ. Based on our common nature, we have something in common with all the people in our local church.
We are spiritually linked just like the parts of a human body. The Amplified Bible adds the teaching, “mutually dependent on each other.” And we are! We are a spiritual family; the Bible refers to the men as my brothers and the women as my sisters. A spiritual union exists that sometimes becomes deeper and more enjoyable than exists in our physical family.
Have you ever visited the homebound of your church? What do they desire? To touch you…enjoy your spiritual fellowship…be with people who know Jesus. They miss being with God’s people so much. Their spiritual nature is starved for that which is spiritual. No tv preacher will meet their need. No gospel music cd will meet their need. They need to be a part of a family, rub shoulders with people, engage in congregational singing and a church sermon, experience a communion service and someone’s baptism. The spiritual part of them is dependent upon us!
Trouble comes, who ya gonna call? I’d rather have my brothers and sisters praying for me, having them physically alongside me than call Ghostbusters! We’ll go to the throne TOGETHER! In so doing, the new member can help us just as much as we can help him.
The new member needs us! His spiritual nature cries out for spiritual help. He needs more than friendship; he needs spiritual brotherhood. He needs spiritual togetherness. Attending a baseball game together is fine, but spiritual brotherhood goes many miles further.
Let’s think through how we can quickly bring the new member into our spiritual brotherhood…and make them part of our family!