What's That Button For?

         I have several different Bible programs on my computer.  One of those programs provides free classes on how to operate the program and to get to learn all of the features.  I have been using the program for a number of years but thought I might as well try a couple of the courses since they were free anyway.  I took just two, so far, of about a dozen classes on various aspects of the program and was really surprised.  There are a number of features that I had no idea even existed.  Sometimes, it was just a number of the menu buttons that I had no idea what they did anyway, so just ignored them.  I am embarrassed to say that the classes were in the "beginner" stage.  I look forward now, to learning more about this program.  When I think about it, I am reminded about the following verses from the book of Ephesians.  Ephesians 3:20-21 says, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,   Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." 
        We can know the basics of being a Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, like salvation, heaven and living the Christian life.  There is however, that little clause that says, "...able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think..."  My knowledge of the things that God can do, has done, or will do is so much limited.   I am fascinated by the discourse between Job and the LORD in the final chapters of the Book of Job where God tells Job just a portion of the things that He has done and is doing even in Job's lifetime.  There are so many different things that I have not figured out how they take place, yet God does them and we only know just a portion of His working in the universe.  I don't know how God parted the Red Sea, or Joshua  watched the Jordan River stop flowing and allow the Israelites to cross over on dry ground, or the ascension took place or how the Holy City is going to ascend and hover above the earth or how God is going to life the depression or discouragement that is in our lives, but God does it all.  Then, to think that He even does more than we ask or think!   How is it that God can get a bunch of hornets to get into the armor of an advancing army?  I can't stand to have a bee in the car!   Yes, God is able to do a lot more than we even think about.  So, praise God today for His mighty acts that occur even in your own life.

Is Your Mail Box Full?

         Every now and then I get a message from my email devotions that one of the addresses could not be delivered and the reason given is that their mail box is full.  I know from past experience that a mailbox for email doesn't get filled with just a few pieces, but in some cases, it is thousands of emails.  Considering that we get just as much email junk mail as the physical mail box outside of your home, it takes a lot of time for the electronic one to be filled.  One can readily see that the recipient has not read the "daily" email for quite some time.  There are other reasons why it can be filled such as the person got a new email address and just failed to cancel the old address to you or to give you the new address.  The "full mail box" however does remind me of the average person sitting in the pew ot the average American church.  The blank stares and fidgeting indicate that "the mailbox is full.  return to sernder."  John 5:24 says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
        One of the inputs of the Word of God comes by hearing.  We have opportunities to "hear" the Word of God in church but also we can hear it on tape recorders, television, radio, computers and any other electronic devices you have including you smart phone.  So, hearing is not the problem but what comes next is often a step that is left out.  The verse reminds us to both hear and then to believe and when we believe, there is going to be a natural outpouring in your life which is the result of "doing" the Word as well.  How many things from God's Word can you do at the same time?  Can you both love and forgive at the same time?  Can you hear the Word and follow the Holy Spirit at the same time?  Can you be kind to one another and look for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ at the same time?    It would seem as though there are many whose mail boxes are full.  They are so full, they are over flowing and the messages are not getting in to be processed in the hearts of those believers.  Peter reminded us at the end of his second epistle that we are to grow.  Growing requires hearing and doing of the principles of God's Word.  How are you doing today?  Is your mental mail box full and the messages bouncing back to the sender?  While we know that doesn't take place, it is similar to the same condition as the new material is not able to be processed because we are still working on that which we got yesterday, or last week, or even last year.  You and I have a copy of God's Word and we need to listen to what He says and then be obedient to it.  Praise God that He still speaks to us.  Just don't let it bounce back to Him being unanswered.

How Many Bibles Do You Have?

          Well, I was amazed again.  We had the opportunity to be present at the Wycliffe Associates banquet in our home town and to learn of just some of the things that went on since the last banquet and how the Word of God is being translated now compared to 50 years ago.  It was a bit sad to imagine myself living in certain villages around the world that still do not have a Bible.  I just glanced at my shelf in the bookcases that has my Bibles and there are fifteen of them.  Some of different translations and some of different languages.  This is not to mention the Bibles that are on my computer.  The program that I utilize the most is E-Sword, which is a free program, easy to use and one that presently has 57 different Bibles in English, Latin, Spanish, Greek and Hebrew.  So, what really amazes me or blows me away is that there are people who do not have one Bible.  This is what Wycliffe is all about.  There are, to my knowledge, which is indeed limited, only 3 or 4 agencies who are dedicated to translating the Bible into the language of a particular group of people who do not have it.  Many testimonies were given by people in various parts of the world as to what God did in their life through His Word.  Isaiah 55:11 says, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."  
        It is possible to possess many copies of the Bible and still not know the message of how God is going to work in your life.  For years, we had a family Bible in our home but it was never read.  For one thing, it was in German and no one could read it.  My Father had a New Testament that was given to him when he was very young by the New Testament League.  The New Testament was in a drawer and never read.  The Scriptures remind us that we need to incorporate God's Word into our lives.  It doesn't get there by the process of osmosis, you have to read and apply the message of the Bible into your word.   Psalm 119 has 176 verses and 171 of those verses speak of how the Psalmist loved God's Word.  We can memorize Psalm 119 but still not have the Bible affecting our lives.  It would be mere head knowledge.  People come to know God by His Word and we are exhorted to take up the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.  How are we going to do that if we do not know about God's Word?  There are still people groups who do not have their first copy of God's Word.  They really get excited when they discover the message about God and His Word and have their own copy.  If you are reading this, you probably have your own Bible and perhaps several different ones around your home.  So, praise God today that you have His Word.  May you and I be just as excited about God's Word in our lives as those new believers that are coming to Him around the world.

Purpose and Mission

           While attending a class on sermon preparation, the teacher reminded us that a message should have one central idea.  Why do you want to preach a message to a specific group of people at that given time?  In the same manner,  I once heard the expression that a teacher should be able to put his or her lesson into one sentence and if they were not able to do so, they were not ready to teach.   What is it that you hope to teach?   This is the age of purpose statements and mission statements.  These are little sentences that express the basic reason why an organization exists.  I heard one man state that the main purpose for the Holy Bible could be summed up in four words.  Those four words are:  "Man's problem.  God's solution."  It is true that there are a lot more things in the Bible than those four words, but the words are basically true.  From the very beginning, we soon learn about man and the problems that occurred which separated man from God.  Then, the Bible traces the history of the Jewish people from that point on and how it was all going to lead to the coming of the Messiah.  John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." 
        While we spent a lot of verses showing man's problem, we can now see in this verse what is God's solution to the whole problem.  This is also a prime example of our definition of "Biblical love" whereby it is expressed with the words, "Righteous acts to meet the needs of another."  We are the "another" in this verse and God's righteous act was the sending of His Son to die on the cross for our sins.  Now, we may have over simplified the purpose statement as the Bible goes on to state just how God came to the sending of His Son.  As Galatians 4:4 reminds us, it was at the "fullness of times."    The world was ripe for the sending of His Son and so the events at Calvary were accomplished that our problem might be solved.   Of course, that solution was guaranteed by the empty tomb.  We can now have eternal life simply by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.  So, praise God today for His goodness and especially for sending His Son to die for your sins.

Lifted Up

         While attending a lecture on "aging" at a local college in the area, an assignment came up where the leader asked us to identify how many assistive devices was in the opening scenes of "Up."    The movie is about an old man who has lost his wife and decides to journey to Brazil via a lot of balloons tied to his house.  In the opening scene, the old man has glasses, hearing aids, a four prong cane and a motorized chair for his stairs.  Now, some years later, I have a cane although not using it a lot, but I bought it for when I will need it.  I have glasses and hearing aids and my favorite one is what I call the "grabber."  It enables me to reach in to the back of the cabinet and get things and also to pick up even the smallest item off of the floor without the danger of falling on my head. Falling on the floor or getting on the floor to pick up something requires a lot of furniture to climb back up on.  So, the "grabber" gets most of the jobs.  In fact I have three of them strategically places throughout the house.  Spiritually speaking, we may find ourselves in need of being lifted up.  Notice the instruction that James gives us.  James 4:10 says, " Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."
        In the spiritual sense, we get down and need to be lifted up.  It is like the sheep that gets "cast down" and can't get up on its own without the shepherd to help it.  As Philip Keller mentioned, once a sheep gets cast down it will do it again and again.  Sound familiar?    Being cast down for a sheep occurs when it gets on its back in a ditch to scratch its back.  It feels good.  However, it can't get back up due to extra wool and being a tad too big, so it is "cast down."  It felt good to the sheep before, but now has caused a problem which if not soon solved, will result in the blood leaving the legs of the sheep.  This is where the shepherd comes in.  The shepherd gets the sheep out of the ditch and begins to rubs its legs and soon the sheep is back to normal and heads back to where it is supposed to be, that is, for awhile and then it gets "cast down" again.  We are much the same and require our Great Shepherd to lift us up when we get cast down due to being in a ditch on our back with no way to get out except for our Great Shepherd.  Notice that we make our call to the Shepherd by humbling ourselves in the sight of the Lord.  We certainly try to get out on our own, but just can't do it.  Then, the LORD comes along and lifts us up, soothes us and we go on our way until we get "down" again.  Whenever we find ourselves in such a situation as does the sheep, we should be looking and calling our to the Great Shepherd to get us back to normal and what person is there who does not need to be lifted up now and then.  Praise God today that He is there to lift us up.

"More fish, please."

         Some people like to go to a particular restaurant because of the way they prepare their food.  We naturally tend to pick out an eating place due to their reputation for good food.  The other day, I was preparing a recipe and I decided to put some dumplings in it so found a recipe that was simple enough and made the dumplings.  The secret was not to take the lid off for fifteen minutes.  I followed the instructions and when I took the lid off, I was amazed and they tasted good with the meal that I had prepared.  I not an excellent cook but I like to use my spice cabinet and try new flavors.  This one hit it off and I hope I can remember it.  John 21:9 says, " As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread."
       There is no indication that the breakfast of fish and bread was catered by someone else.  The women were not there tending to the post resurrection needs of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Now, obviously, anything that God prepares is going to be the best.  Do you remember the wedding feast at Cana?  The wine that Jesus had made was the "best" wine and not just an average tasting wine.  I thought, "What was the breakfast like that was there on the seashore that morning?"  It would have been the best prepared food every to every one present.    There would be no one saying,  "My fish is not done?" or "This is a tad overcooked."  Everyone would have been satisfied and that is far more than anyone can say about a group going to a restaurant.  Someone surely will complain about something.  It seems to be our nature.  The food that morning, however, was the best and when you think about it, everything that the Lord Jesus Christ is involved in is going to be the best.  You will have no complaints about the "dwelling place" that He has prepared for you.  You will have no complaints about the provision that He brings to you in your time of need.  You will have no complaints in connection with the answers to a prayer that you have uttered.  You see, everything that God does is perfect so that would have been perfectly cooked fish and perfectly prepared bread.  If you would have been there and they had doggy bags, you would have wanted to take some home with you.  When you notice in God's Word about the promises that He has made, realize that they are going to be the best fulfillment possible and not just done half way.  So, Praise God today for providing the best things for all of us.

Your Final Address

          For many, when we think of an "earthly house" we think of a building.   I have to say that I have lived in a lot of places, three homes in Indiana, probably almost ten homes in Virginia, two homes in West Virginia, two homes in central Spain and maybe I missed a couple.  Yes, there were two homes in the District of Columbia.  We spend a lot of time finding and then adapting a physical structure to be our earthly home.  We have grown accustomed to having the right appliances, the right number of rooms and the best places to be able to have our entertainment center.  After all, our earthly home is the place where we are going to spend a lot of time.  To others, the "earthly home" is just a single room.  It may have four walls made of something that at least blocks the view of others.  It may also have a roof made of something that may keep out the rain or it may not.  When we look at the following verse more closely, we realize that we are not talking about the physical structure in which we live, but we are speaking of our physical bodies.  This physical body is the dwelling place for that which really makes up our character.  It is our soul and our spirit.   Second Corinthians 5:1 says,  "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."   
       This earthly body is a temporary dwelling place and God has prepared another place which is far greater.  The older we get, the more re realize that this body is in a state of decay; that is, it is wearing out.  Some "dwelling places" will last longer than others, but that is not the most important issue.  As the Apostle Paul wrote in this verse, "If this earthly body is dissolved, we know that we have  a building of God.  That is the hope for which we all look ahead.  While God doesn't give us all of the details about this new dwelling place, he does give us enough information that we are comforted in the death of loved ones that know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  It is also an incentive to get out there and tell others about God and His plan for salvation.  So, you can realize today that you are living in "temporary housing" as God has been working on your permanent dwelling place.  John 14:1-6, Jesus gives us some wonderful instructions about our future dwelling place and it is a place that He has prepared for us.  You won't even have to paint it.   Praise God today for His continual work in your life and His preparations for the future.

He is Risen, Indeed!

          In the early years of my life, the Resurrection Day had different memories.  One in particular come to mind which happened in 1951 and I was about 12 years old.  My parents had left my sister and myself home alone and had gone to a party about 10 miles away.  My sister was in bed and I made up my bed and went to sleep only to find Trixie my dog jumping on my chest around midnight.  When I opened my eyes, flames could be seen just breaking through my ceiling.  The house on fire.  The fire had caused a lot of damage and obviously, we got out but my "Easter" basked had a smokey taste to those marshmallow peanuts.  It would be years later that the emphasis would change from colored eggs, chocolate bunnies and jelly beans to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Now, in my older years, I am so thankful for the resurrection as it gives me hope and guarantees my future.  First Corinthians 15:3-4 says, "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;   And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"   
      The disciples didn't know fully what had happened and were expecting Him to be in the tomb and as the women came to that spot, they found the tomb to be empty and the stone already rolled away.  Not knowing what to do, Peter finally said, "Well, I'm going fishing."  John 21 tells of the account of the night of fishing, catching nothing and then hearing a voice from the shore, telling them to cast the net on the other side and then hauling in 153 fish.  Then came the breakfast on the shore and the probing discussion with Peter.  As Paul mentions the forty days afterwards and the numerous appearances of Christ with so many people and with the final words and the ascension as mentioned by Luke.  All of these things mount up together to give us a hope in this life that is far greater than the world will ever understand.  No one understands it until they come to the the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation.  Then it become clear.  The world today however, still celebrates spring, hangs plastic eggs on trees, makes a lot of chocolate bunnies and sings songs abut Easter and never even thinks about Christ.  For the believer, this day lives on everyday because we continually exalt the Risen Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ and we continually echo the words of the music, "Because He lives, I can fact tomorrow."  Praise God today for an empty tomb.  He is Risen.  He is Risen Indeed.

Grumble, Grumble, Grumble

          There are some things in life where we have become especially skilled.  One of them is the ability to murmur.  The definition of murmuring is that of complaining or grumbling or even a low whisper.  We can all probably think of occasions where either we were murmuring or someone near us was murmuring.    We have also been the one to complain or even the one complained about.  In either case, it is easy to recognize the act of murmuring.  If you are doing something, no matter how big or small it is, someone will start to complain.  The murmuring will begin.  First Corinthians 10:10 says, "Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer."   
       Obviously, the act of murmuring is not something for which God is pleased.  We are admonished from God's Word to not be a murmurer, a complainer or one who grumbles.  It was brought out by  a pastor in his message  that murmuring will ultimately be traced to God.  That is, every time we murmur, we are complaining about something God has done in our lives.  If we complain about the situation that we are in or we are complaining about some person who is doing something differently than we would, then we are complaining about our particular position in life in that day and in that time.  We are all conscious of the fact that God is with us all of the time.  He has said that He will never leave us nor forsake us.  We are also assured that God will direct our paths and that He is in control of each and every thing.  No matter how small or how great the situation, God is there and He is in control.  Therefore, to murmur against any detail, no matter how small or great, is to complain against God.  That became a startling fact to me.  You see, there are many different ways to murmur.  There are the obvious ones whereby we murmur with words.  We can even grumble or complain to others about how folks are treating us or we can tear down someone else by out words.  Then, there are the more subtle ways to murmur.  This is the rolling of the eyes, the inflection in our voices, the shrugging of the shoulders or whatever body movement we have adapted in order to display our negative feeling.  We have become good at murmuring.  We can sigh, whisper, move our heads, roll our eyes all at the right time in order to complain about what is going on.  God says, however, that we shouldn't be involved in this skilled craft but that we should get rid of it.  Murmuring wasn't appropriate in the days of the Old Testament, during the time of Christ, nor is it appropriate now.  After all, we have the promises of God in which to rely.  Praise Him for His working in our lives and may be as Paul was; content in each situation  in which we have been placed by God.

Soul by Soul

           When we moved to our present home, we needed to find a new "church" to attend.  I took the yellow pages of the phone book and found the listings for the churches in our area.  At that time, there were 144 Baptist churches in the area along with about 80 Methodist churches and 45 or so Presbyterian churches.  Some were considered large and some small based on the size of their building.  We chose a church that had the AWANA ministry as the pastor would have signed the same agreement with AWANA as we did so many times before.  As we drove up to the church building the first time, it looked like a church based on the shape of the building and we went inside and began to meet the people.  Three ladies met us and informed us of their names, Virginia, May and Jewell.  That was the church.  Ephesians 4:4-6 says, "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;   One Lord, one faith, one baptism,  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." 
       We often get confused about the church and come to our misguided conclusion that the church is the building, constructed in a certain way with stained glass windows and a "sanctuary" facing a raised pulpit area.  Most churches, but not all, have a steeple with a cross on the top.  Some churches even try to outdo the other churches by having a taller steeple than all the rest.  The church however, is not the building or the way it is constructed, or the artifacts inside that can't be replaced, or the stain glass windows or the size of the organ.  The church is the people.  If the building were to be consumed by an earthquake or fire, the church would still be there as it is the people inside that make it what it is.  The word "church" is a translation of the word Ecclesia which basically means a "called out gathering."  The people that make up that local church are those that have been called out of the world to join together to worship God.  There is another meaning of the word ecclesia which is "assembly."   The place we now worship is called an "assembly"  and is comprised of people who have gathered together to worship God.  Paul, in the passage above, mentioned that there is only "one" body.  While there are many local churches around most towns and cities, there is really only one body and we often refer to it as the "universal church."  It is comprised of every born again believer in the world and will be comprised of every believer from Pentecost to the rapture.  When we moved into a new town with new people, we found a group of believers who were friends with us because of our identical beliefs and we were welcomed to worship with them.  You will probably drive by several church buildings in the near future as you go about your business but remember that what you see on the outside is only the building that houses the real church.  Praise God today that He is building His church soul by soul, and not brick by brick.

Are You Dead or Alive?

         We live in a time when we hear the phrase, "the walking dead."  Society in this age refers this phrase to a person who has died, and then rises from the grave to walk around, still as a dead body and difficult to get back in the grave.  Our common term is that the person is a "zombie."  We may even refer to a sleepless period in our life that causes us to walk around like a zombie.  There is another group of people, however,  that is referred to in the Scriptures.  John 5:24-25 says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.   Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." 
       A person who is a non believer, or not born again, or not a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, could be more appropriately labeled as a person who is a part of  "walking dead."  Since that individual is alive physically, but dead spiritually, they can be referred to a person who is part of the "walking dead."  I was a person who was a part of the walking dead for 34 years of my life.  One question now comes to me is "why didn't someone tell me about it sooner?"  I even dated a Christian young lady but she never mentioned anything about spiritual things.  She was alive and I was a part of the walking dead.  In the first 34 years of my life, I can't recall anyone mentioning spiritual matters in my life.  My fellow instructor in the Navy shared two verses of Scripture with me which challenged me deeply, but I still ended up that day as a part of the walking dead.  Now, perhaps someone did mention it and since I was in a lost state, it went over  my head and I never got the message.  In college, my roommate invited me to church in Louisville, Kentucky and that was about the extent of my religious encounters.  The change finally came in my life when John 5:24 became a part of my conversion from the walking dead to the spiritually alive.  John mentions that the person who hears the Word of Christ and believes on God the Father Who has sent Him, that person shall have life.  That, then was the beginning of my being made alive.  In the movies, it is hard to kill a zombie, and in real life, it is hard to convince a person to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation because they are not hearing what you are saying.  John presents the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and reminds all readers of the importance of "believing" in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.  You can look at John 20:31 and notice the purpose of the Gospel when it says,  "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."  Praise God today for salvation.  May we all be about the business of sharing the gospel with those we meet in our daily life.

Status Quo

         There is a term that a I have used that I started thinking about and ended up making it the central idea of a message recently.  The term is "status quo."  It has the meaning, "the current situation : the way things are now ."  When I go and visit many people and ask how they are, many of them reply, "same ole, same ole."  In other words nothing has changed but just keeps on going from one day to another, with nothing deviating.  We pretty much like it that way.  We would like it a lot if the "status quo" would remain constant and that there would be not change in our lives.  The appearance on earth in flesh of the Son of God disrupted the status quo of the time and we should be glad that it did.  You can see the change occurring in the Gospels when Jesus says His hour has not yet come and then in John 11 He makes the statement, "The hour has come..."  The "status quo" was about to be changed in such a dramatic way that the people were about to be amazed.  This final week, or the week of Passion as we might sometimes refer to it, was about to dramatically change the world.   Second Peter 3:17-18 says, "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.   But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen."  What change is there in your life?  In fact, we may ask, is there any change in our lives or are we simply stuck in the "status quo?"  
       Peter reminded his readers at the end of this epistle that they were to be in the business of growing.  This is not referring to physical dimensions, but rather to the spiritual life.  Every January first, we come up with resolutions that will help us be a better believer but they often fall by the wayside in a month or two.  We, as believers, need to be growing every day in our knowledge and in our love for Christ.  We often sing the song, "More love to Thee" and then don't live up to the song.  How then do we continue in our growth?   In the sermon, I mentioned one of the churches in which I attempted to minister and whose theme was, "Scripture and Prayer to Conform us to the Image of Christ."  Those two basic elements are so important in the steady growth of the believer.  When the church or the individual believers forget that theme, their growth begins to wane.  Then  we soon find ourselves stuck in the "status quo" with no desire to change.  If you are finding yourself in the predicament, then pray for a change in your life.  May we all say, "The hour has come for a change in direction for my life" and then to covet to be in God's Word more each day and may we find ourselves in prayer.  Praise God today for always being there and for not giving up on us.

Thorns and Grace

        We planted a rose bush near the fence in our back yard.  The rose has been doing well but for some reason, the largest branch went through the chain link fence and now the branch is covered with very large thorns.  It is one of the main branches and I didn't want to chop it off so have let it grow where it wants to grow.  What is also so impressive about the plant is the size of the thorns and how sharp they are.  Second Corinthians 12:7-9 says, "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.   For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."   
       Thorns are never something that I enjoy.  On the farm, we would have to go out and chop down very large thistles which were covered with thorns.  We learn from the Scriptures that life is also filled with thorns and we would like to get rid of them.  The apostle Paul had a particular thorn in his life.  No one knows exactly what it was and everyone has their own idea but the fact is, Paul had a thorn in his flesh and he prayed three times for God to remove it and guess what?  God didn't remove the thorn.  Paul went through life with his thorn but he found that God, Who didn't take the thorn away, gave him something far greater, His grace.  It is another one of those things that we don't know just how it works, but it does.  The sufficiency of God's grace takes care of the thorn.  It doesn't remove the thorn, but the grace of God works in your life in such a way that the thorn is neutralized.  You may have a thorn in your life.  If you are like most people, there probably more than one thorn but there is that one thing that if it was gone, your life would seem to be perfect.  You seem to be able to live with the little stickers, but that one thorn seems unbearable at time.  You can hear the words that were given to the Apostle about his thorn.  God says to you, "...my grace is sufficient...."    Praise God today for His wonderful grace.  It will keep you going from day to day as you lean on Him.

Right Thinking

         I used to think that when you get older, it is easier for you to have pleasant thoughts.  Well, such has not been the case with me and I guess I could put the blame on world conditions, political division, decreasing moral standards of people in general and a general lack of concern for God and His Word.  Believers, however do have the ability to know the end of the story because of the possession of the Word of God.  We think that the world is just going to continue until the Lord comes and so we go about our business without too much concern.  It is almost like the song that went, "Que sera, que sera."  Loosely translated means, "whatever will be will be." The believer does have the assurance that God knows about all things, He knows what He is doing and His end will be accomplished no matter what the world does one way or another.  So, what are we to do?  As usual, God's Word does have the solution.    Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."  
        It is difficult for the world or for any one individual to be in control of your thoughts.  We can try to influence them by putting visual stimuli around here and there, such as does the advertising community.  Having been on a number of diets, there is one that has a lot of beautifully pictured food.  The containers are fabulous if only you could eat the picture.  The contents are very unattractive and do not match the picture on the box.  So, we can try to influence the thoughts of people by visual means or even music or aromas, but the mind may play a trick or two on you with those items introduced into your life.  For the Believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the course should be as Paul described to the Philippians in the above passage.  The passage is a good lesson for us just because these are not the normal way we think.  We are attracted more by the sensual, the outlandish, the lies of the world, the gossip and virtually anything that is horrible.  It is a sad description of our minds, but that is what we do.  Paul exhorted us to take control of our minds and to think and the specific things mentioned in verse eight.  We are to think on things that are true, things that are honest, things that are just, things that are pure, things that are lovely and things that are of good report.  If we don't take action, and deliberately "renew" our mind, we will be just going, "whatever will be, will be" and continue to think that which is unprofitable, evil, bad, untrue, sensual or whatever about the people in our lives.  In the end, it is nothing more than a waste of time, so redeem the time now and and take the admonition of Paul to the Romans seriously in Romans 12:1-2.  Praise God today that He renews our mind.  Think on that which is good.

Spiritual Eyes

     There was a professor in college that made a statement in regard to "spiritualization" of Scripture.  It went, "the man who spiritualizes, tells spiritual lies, because he can't look through spiritual eyes."  There is a lot of spiritualization that goes on these days especially where the Bible is concerned.  Sometimes whole books of the bible are looked at as a battle between good and evil and that is as far as it goes.  This is especially true with the Book of Genesis and the Book of Revelation.  Once you start spiritualizing you can't stop and basic Bible truths are lost in a sea of spiritualization.  First Corinthians 2:14 says, " But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 

      The person who is not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ will attempt to explain certain passages and what comes out is a spiritualization of the passage rather than the truth of what was said.  This is especially going to happen in passages where the narration seems to be impossible such as the creation of life, the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, The ten plagues of Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, the giving of the Ten Commandments and so on and on it goes.  The person who does not believe the Word of God tries to explain it but simply can't do it because he has no spiritual eyes with which to look.  The unbeliever critic will state that the Christian just parks their brain at the front door and accepts anything that is told to them.  This is, of course, not the truth at all, for the believer accepts exactly what the Word of God says and nothing else.  The one who tells spiritual lies is truly a person who cannot look through spiritual eyes and therefore continually comes up with a spiritualization of the passage.  It all begins for the believer with the creation of new life.  Second Corinthians 5:17 tells us, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."   Once a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, then the spiritual life begins.  As Christ told Nicodemus in John 3:7, "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."   Praise God today for His Word and the fact that we can trust His Word exactly as it is written.  You can have faith in that which God tells us in the Bible.

Critical Matters

       I have a busy schedule for the next few weeks which is a tad unusual for a person my age.   Almost everything in my upcoming schedule would be classified as "important."  Doctors appointments are important.  Preaching is certainly important.  Singing at nursing homes is important but none of them are what we might call, "critical."  What areas in life are the most important for you?  If you listen to the world, you will find a great number of things that are given the status of being "critical."  All you have to do is listen to the many advertisements that bombard you from the time you look at the morning paper until you finish with the evening news.  We find that it is critical that we don't eat saturated fats.  It is critical that we have a veterinary hospital for our pets.  It is critical we brush our teeth daily.  It is critical that we change our oil every 3,000 miles.  Everyone seems to have their own list of what is critical.  The sad part of all of this is that none of these things are really critical.  They are nothing more than preferences that we can take or leave.  What, then, is really critical?  Your destination after death is critical.  What you do with the Lord Jesus Christ in your life is critical.  First Corinthians 2:2 says, "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." 
       Paul could have expounded on many different things when we went around from city to city.  But, he didn't talke about saturated fats, or how to take care of your pets or how we should brush our teeth or how often we should grease the wheels on the family chariot.  This verse tells us the most important thing in his message.  He wanted to make known the facts of the Lord Jesus Christ and His crucifixion and all that it meant.  Therefore, he preached the gospel.  He preached about the forgiveness of sins.  He preached on how having the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior would give you eternal life.  If they listened to Paul, they would know how to get to heaven.  He could have started out each message with the words, "Listen, folks, This is critical."  That would have been true of his message.  So, what's critical in your life today?  Is spending some time with God critical?  Is spending some time in prayer critical?  Is spending some time in the Scriptures critical?  Yes, these things are critical because they are speaking about the Lord Jesus Christ and all that it means in regard to your salvation.  Try not to be persuaded today about the world's view of what is critical.  Realize that where you will spend eternity is one thing that is really critical.  Praise God today for His filling of all of your critical needs.

Hope Abound Amidst the Scoffers

        There is an expression that goes, "'The pot calling the kettle black'.  It is a response often given when someone criticizes another for a fault they also have themselves.   The original seems to have ciome from Cervantes and Don Quixote but was first used by William Penn in English.  I find it difficult at times to discuss the sins  and general degradation of the world in which we live when I feel so inadequate to do so.  We are imperfect creatures and often fail to do what God instructs us to do.  The world system, which I seemed destined to observe each morning as I turn on the "computer news" is one that is filled with surprises and echos of  "I can't believe that this is happening" as a result of reading what took place just in the last day or so.  It makes the following passage even more true each and every day. Second Peter 3:1-3 says, "This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:  That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:   Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts," 
       Peter seems to be repeating the phrase of Paul as Paul wrote to Timothy in his second epistle in reference to the last day in chapter three.  Just when we think that things can't get any worse, they do.  Peter's declaration under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, declares what will happen in the last days.  This progression has been going on for a long time and as we read the local paper or see the news broadcast on radio and television, we see it is even more appropriate to declare that the last days have been upon us for some time. and are accelerating day by day.  Peter describes the day and it all fits together as we read and hear about "scoffers."   There have always been scoffers around.  They were present during the days when the Lord Jesus Christ walked upon the earth and they are certainly present in today's society.  As we realize that we are not perfect and feeling like the "pot calling the kettle black," we still have a great asset and that is the fact that the person who has believed in the Lord Jesus Christ has salvation and has an eternal destiny that is a sure promise from God.  Scoffers abound in this world and even in our own circle of acquaintances, but we have the Word of God and the confidence of the Scriptures which gives us hope.  The Word of God seems to be the only bright light in a world of darkness and therefore is that which gives us hope in the land of scoffers.  Praise God today that He gives us hope each day through His Word.

God Know How It Is Goint to Work

        There probably is an area in your life that you don't know everything about.  There are a lot of things where I could say, "I just know enough about them to be dangerous."  I figured out how to start and drive my car, but I don't attempt to get under the hood anymore and take it apart.  I did that once to a 1961 Valiant.  I was changing the plugs, points and rotor and dropped the screw holding the points in place, down into the distributor.  There was only one bolt holding the distributor on, so I removed it, took out the distributor, got the screw out and replaced the distributor.  Only thing was the car didn't start.  I knew what the distributor was, but didn't know that it had to be placed in the car in only one way.  My car was towed to the garage while the driver of the tow truck said, "You know, I don't go around teaching music lessons."  He then drove off with my car.  Some things, we just don't know all there is to know.   First John 3:1-3 says, "  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.   And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." 

       We look forward to the second coming of Christ and marvel at the words describing this event yet we don't know all there is to know about the event nor what we will really be like after it happens.  We can guess and artists can draw some fantastic pictures, but the truth is, we don't know everything there is to know about the event.  John made a statement here that goes, "...it doth not yet appear what we shall be."  We don't know how it is going to work or what it is going to be like.  John then went on to say, "but."  I love it when that takes place.  He said, "but"  this is what we do know and went on to give us the statement, "but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him..."  I don't know how it is going to work or how the change is going to take place, but it says in the Bible that we do know that we will be like Him.  That's enough to satisfy my curiosity about one of the greatest moments ever.  This is one of those gems that jumps off the page and excites every reader of what  is about to take place.  This makes the day bearable no matter what is going on in your life.  So praise God about the things that you do know and even the things that you don't understand.  God is going to work it all out and we know that whatever He does will be magnificent and awesome. 

Spiritual Giant

      As a child, it is amazing how many things that my mother considered to be wrong that  would stunt your growth or put hair on your chest..  One of them was whether or not I would eat the crust on the bread.  If I would not eat it, then my growth would be stunted.  That, of course, meant that I would be forever short in stature. It was also said that a failure to eat the crust would keep you from getting hair on your chest.  Bread crusts seem to have miraculous powers.  People often come up with a list of things that will supposedly stunt your growth.  The list is usually just so that the child will do what it doesn't want to do.  Spiritually speaking, there is one thing that will stunt your spiritual growth.  It is refraining to read and study the Word of God.  Second Peter 3:18 says, "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen."  
        Peter's epistle here reminds us that we are indeed commissioned to grow.  The Lord wants us to grow and this growth is determined by how much we know about Him.  This means that we will take various opportunities to be in God's Word.  As you may remember, the group called, "The Navigators," had an illustration of a hand gripping a Bible.  I have even used this illustration most recently in my teaching of a Sunday School Class.  The more fingers that were wrapped around the Bible, the harder it would be for someone to pull the Bible out of their hand.  The five fingers were to signify five different ways of getting God's Word into the life of a believer.  Those ways were:  Hearing, Reading, Studying, Memorizing and Meditating.  If the believer would do these five things in regard to the Word of God, then the Word would be implanted into their lives.  We have found it convenient to probably do the first two of those methods.  We can use tapes to "hear" the Word of God and then we can find maybe 15 minutes a day to read a portion of the Scripture.  But, do we get involved in the actual "study, memorizing and meditating" on the Scripture?  These require more time and our time seems to be chewed up by other things.  We have meeting with others, we have exercise classes or just time blocks that have been committed to exercise because we have eaten too much, and affairs to attend because of our social commitments.  As you can see, it is difficult to maintain a time of study, memorizing and meditation.  What will happen?  Oh, it probably won't be disastrous, but you will find that your spiritual life will be stunted and you didn't even notice it taking place..    It will do a lot more to stunt your growth than not eating the crust on your bread.  Praise God today that He has given you the instructions that you need in order to achieve an increase in your spiritual stature.  Even a person who is short in stature can be a giant in Spiritual matters.

Standing Watch

         While I was in the U. S. Navy, I had many an opportunity to stand watch over something.  In boot camp, my first watch was over the clothes line which contained all of the freshly washed uniforms of the recruits of our group.  Then, I had gate watch at the Anacostia Naval Receiving Station which would be four hour shift checking people in and out of the base.  Then, there were the numerous watches at the School of Music.  There was one thing you didn't want to do and that was to curl up somewhere and take a nap.  Your body would tell you that being awake from midnight to Four in the morning was not right, but you couldn't take a nap, not even for five minutes.  It's always been that way.  Being a guard is important and always carries the rule of always being awake.  When the Jewish leaders heard what had happened they came up with an idea about how to explain the disappearance of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.    Matthew 28:13-15 says, " Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.   And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.  So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day."   
        The guards were to receive large amounts of money to confess their lack of remaining watch over the tomb.  The money would not have done them any good as the Savior had risen as He said He would and they would have lost their heads for claiming that they were sleeping while on watch.  When people come up against an issue that they can't deal with, they have to come up with some story that, even though it is absurd, they tell it anyway. Such was the case in Jerusalem on that first day of the week when the women went to the tomb to finish the preparation of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Our evidence goes on in the fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians to give a list of the appearances of Christ, and the list goes far above just two or three people.  The account gives record of over 500 people in one appearing who witnessed the risen Savior.  Because of the event that took place so many years ago, Christianity still flourishes because He is alive and is soon to come again.  Everything about Christianity hangs on this one event and if the Romans or the Jews could have produced the body of Christ it would have been over and stopped, but they couldn't do it.  So, because they couldn't do it, you can rest assured in your faith that God will take care of you today and that all the rest of His promises are in effect and most of all, you have the assurance that what God said in John 3:16 is just as true today as it was in the day that Jesus said it.  Praise God today for the empty tomb.

Fan or Just for the game?

        Do you attend the game or are you a fan?  The announcer at our local baseball team will often speak about the "fans" that are present at the ball game.  The truth of the matter is probably that there are some who are present that are fans while the rest are just there for the game.  The Salem Red Sox fan is a person who wears red much of the time, has a baseball cap that they wear even when they are not supposed to have their head covered, has pennants in his house, two flags on his car, attends almost every game and will even travel some distance to see them play in a game that is away from home.  They live and breathe baseball and support their team in any way they can.  That would be a "fan."  The rest of the people present are there just for the game or for the fact that they had nothing else to do that evening.  John 14:21 says, "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."  
       Now, we turn to the average church attender.  Is he or she there for the service or because they are a devout follower of the Lord Jesus Christ?   Are you and myself there because we love the Lord Jesus Christ with all of our heart, and soul, and mind and strength, or are we there just for the service?  I saw a picture of a group of people sitting in the bleachers of a football game and they all had several inches of snow on them, yet they remained at the game.  At the same time, there are those people who will tend to leave a church because they feel either too warm or too cold, or the music is too loud, or the preacher goes too long.  The word "fan" is a shortened version of "fanatic."  We may not like to be called a "fanatic" in anything, but that is what we need to be.  We don't like to use the word "fanatic" when referring to church but would rather be called a "disciple."  Either way, the most important condition is going to be how we regard our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  The key is found in this verse of Scripture which says that the true disciple is going to be the person who has the commandments of Christ and keeps them.  One of the most difficult commandments to keep when referring to Christ is the one given in John 13:34-35.  It says, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another..  Now, are we true "fans" or are we just there for the game?  Praise God today for His working in our lives each and every day.

Things in the Treasure Box

          I used to have a treasure box when I was young.  It contained the things that caught my eye from day to day.  It even included a large door knob that looked like a huge diamond, but it obviously was just made of plastic.  It included a couple of pennies that had been placed on the rail road track and when the train came it flattened them to about the size of a half dollar.  My little box would contain such items as those mentioned and even a couple of colorful marbles and whatever else I could find.  Sometimes, you had to look hard to find something but could usually come up with something to put in the treasure chest.  The Bible is also that way.  Every now and then, a gem appears that stands out.  Maybe it stands out because it is something that you need at that time or it is something that has a great promise connected to it.  Philippians 4:13 says," I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."   

       This verse is one of those gems.  The Apostle Paul is in the middle of a discussion with the church at Philippi about their willingness to give toward his ministry and how that God always took care of him no matter in what situation he might find himself.  Then, the Holy Spirit guides him in this verse where He can do all things through Christ which strengthens him.  He always depended on the Lord Jesus Christ to guide, protect and to supply the necessities of life.  He depended on Christ for everything.  I have seen this verse of Scripture many times as schools, sports teams and others have taken this verse of Scripture and applied it to their own situation.  This verse of Scripture is one that can lift us up out of the situation in which we may find ourselves at the time.  It is especially helpful when you are regarded as the underdog.  It is always applicable no matter what the occasion.  We can see from the passage that it is directly involved with the Lord Jesus Christ as He is the One Who is supplying the strength to make it all possible.  When we realize that it is the Lord Jesus Christ Who is with us in all of these occasions, we find comfort.  So, when you go out today or in the days to come, realize that Christ is certainly with you and that He can make the impossible become a reality.   This passage is probably already in your treasure chest.  Praise God today that He provides the strength that we need in all the situations of life.