Wisdom

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     James 1:5-6 says, “ If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”

     Tomorrow is going to be “April Fool’s Day” and I usually make some comment about what a fool thinks about God but decided to go the opposite way this year and make mention of wisdom versus the folly of the fool.  It is not hard to find plenty of examples of people who act in a foolish way and as my mother used to say of some people, “They don’t have enough sense to get in out of the rain.”  Now, my Father used to say, “It is better to be thought of as a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

     Wisdom is an elusive characteristic  that we often strive for but is difficult to find.  The word “wisdom” occurs some 234 times in the Bible with over 50 times in the Book of Proverbs. We often refer to the three Wise Men of the Christmas story as seen in Matthew 2 and then make the statement, “Wise men still seek after God.”  Then we read that no man actually is seeking after God but that it is in the reverse, as God is seeking us with salvation.  Afterwards, we come across the above statement that if we lack wisdom and truly want it, we need to ask God for it as wisdom only comes from Him.  A good example of a man getting wisdom from God is found in the account of the life of King Solomon.  Solomon was considered to be the wisest man in the world and it was due to his asking God that He might have wisdom to rule he people of Israel.  We might ask the question, “How will God give me wisdom?”  “Will I just wake up one day and be wise?”  As we usually find, the answer is in the Word of God.  We read it and observe all that there is in a passage and then find out what it means and then find out how it is going to be important in our own lives.  Carrying a Bible or having one present on  your desk or table will not be sufficient.  It will depend on getting the word of God into your life every waking moment that you have.  Is God he most important  part of our life?  Are we thirsting for the things of God more than the things of the world?  How do we place the things in our lives in relation to God Himself?    In order to answer these questions, we have to have God’s input into our lives.  It has to be in every moment and not just five minutes or even fifteen minutes a day.    I am aware of so many people who have the songs of he world in their lives.  They can sing “Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head” but can’t sing of the “Old Rugged Cross.”   Praise God today that He is the True Source of wisdom for this life.

Christians

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Acts 11:26 says, “And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”

     If you are from a certain state, you may have a nickname.  People from Indiana were known as “hoosiers.”  There are a couple of stories as how the name originated but I feel that the true story was from a park ranger in Vincennes, Indiana.  According to him, the term “hoosier” was a label that the British at Fort Vincennes who called the local residents of the territory, “hoosiers.”  To them, it meant “country simpleton.” Inhabitants of Pennsylvania are “Quakers” and residents of Ohio are “buckeyes.”   

     A nickname of sorts was given to the early church  which had previously been called people of “The Way.”  Perhaps that came from John 14:6 where Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life…”  The early believers, according to the above passage, were called “Christians” in the city of Antioch. The Greek word, “Χριστιανούς,” is only used once in the Bible but is almost a transliteration from Greek to English,  It simply meanest one who was a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, such as a “disciple.”  The term has been degraded somewhat over the past 2000 years.  Many people use the term to describe their faith but do so without really being a “disciple” or “follower” of Christ.  Many will say they are “Christians” just because of their ethnic background.  When I joined the navy, I had to make a choice to put on my dog tag.  The choices were, “Protestant,” “Catholic” or “Jewish.”  On a recent hospital stay, I asked a  nurse if she was a “Christian,” and she honestly  answered, “No.  I don’t know what  I am.”  People have more of a tendency to reply as to their denomination rather than to say they are a Christian or not.   One author once stated, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”There will be a day in the near future, when you and others will have to declare if you are a Christian or not.  The question for us today is “Am I a disciple of Christ or a disciple of the world system?”  Being a Cornhusker, a Sooner, a Hoosier or a Buckeye won’t make any difference at all at that final judgment but being a disciple of Christ, a Christian, or a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ will be the most important labe, if one is to have a label, in all the world.  The outcome make an eternal difference.  Praise God today  for His leadership in all areas of life, both here on this earth and t hat  which shall be in heaven for all eternity.

T he Church

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Acts 2:46-47 says, “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,  Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”

     “How much do you need the church?”  Oh, wait a minute, “you are the church!”   There are a lot of buildings in most towns and cities that are referred to as a “church.”  Years ago, I looked at those buildings as “churches” and was trying for a long time to figure out which one was the right one for me to “go to church.”   The Lord Jesus Christ said He was going to build His church and so which one did He build?  Thus, we go on and on trying to figure out what is the church.

     We need to come to the point where we finally decide that the church is not a building but the people are the church.  The definition is a “called out gathering” of people.  We have been called out from the world to combine  together in an “assembly” of believers.  We often refer to local churches  adn there are a lot of them.  I looked in the phone book in 2005 for a church to go to in our city and found over 144 Baptist churches listed in the Roanoke Valley, plus 80 or so Methodist churches and 40 or so Presbyterian churches.  There were plenty of building from which to choose.  The above passage tells us how the first church began and how it functioned in those days.  The church was not the temple but those people who had been saved and we go on to see that God added to their number those that were being saved from day to day.  There is a cute saying that goes, “Seven days without prayer makes one weak.”  When we started going to a local church in Alexandria, Virginnia, there was a sign out front that said, “What’t Missing?   C  H __ __ C  H.      The answer is,U  R or You are the one that is missing.  It  is just a play on words, but the thought is there that the church is made up of believers from all corners of the globe.  The question as to how much do we need the church is  answered by the “ one another” commands as found in the Bible.  It is also good to notice that the early church “praised God and broke bread together.”  We can further notice that they were functioning in unity or as it says above, “in singleness of heart.”   We often demonstrate strong desires for various gatherings of people such as some sporting events where people will subject themselves to snow and rain just to watch two teams battle it out on the playing field but then not have a desire to come together in a comfortable building  with a coffee bar in the entrance, donuts in the classroom, padded pews and a sound system that makes the music clear and pleasant to listen to wherever you are sitting in the sanctuary.  We now gather in the buildings and refer to them as “going to church” when in reality “we” are the church.  The church is still being built from day to day adn someday soon, the last soul will be added.  Praise God today for the “Body of Christ.”

This Present War

 Greetings to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Romans 7:16-18 says, “If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.”

     I make a video update every now and then to let most of you know how things are going  with us here at the assisted living facility and as you may have gathered  things have been rather difficult lately in some areas of my life.  It is a personal thing in that my patience with others  was prompting me to quit preaching.  I mentioned that in the last video and asked for prayer in that  regard.  As usual, the replies that  I got back  reminded me of my ministry here over the past  couple of years and even over the past forty years.  One dear lady made mention of the fact of my humanness, that is, the difficulties that I face day to day  and so do you.  To put it mildly, I was not a happy camper.  I did spend a fair amount of time in Psalm 51 seeking God’s forgiveness for losing my temper.  The “sister in the Lord” pointed out the difficulties that we all face in living the Christian life. There was a popular statement that went, “As a believer in Christ, I am not perfect, just forgiven.”  I praised  God for my fellow believers who have been most  encouraging in this last  spell of difficulty.  I will keep on preaching  and doing the best  that I can even  while I am living in this human body that  seems to be more inclined to the things that I do not want to do rather than doing the things that I am supposed to do.  Paul says that in our flesh, there is not one thing that  is good.  We are, however, stuck in our fleshly bodies even as we strive to grow spiritually from day to day.  Paul says that there are things he knows he should do, but does not do them.  He also states that there are things he knows he should not do,  but ends up doing t hose things which makes him miserable.  We can say  that because to end up doing the  things you don’t want to do is still sin and needs to be confessed as according to First John 1:9.   In our  humanness we can still continue to encourage and exhort  one another knowing that a great disciple like the Apostle Paul had the things in his life that were frustrating him.  We can praise God for many things today such as our brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ and God’s faithfulness to us in every situation.

Changes

 Greetings to  you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Hebrews 13:8 says, “ Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

     The older I get, the more I dislike change in my life.  I don’t really care for bingo, but the facility had a bingo game for families and since my daughter came, decided to go and play.  I don’t hear too well and so was not doing too well with the difference between the “B” and the “G” which resulted in my missing a few of the called numbers.  The game went on and on and I never had five in a row except once and I yelled out “Bingo” only to find out that they had changed the rules.  You now had to fill our the whole card.  With  my hearing problem, I had not heard that change.

     There are many changes that occur in our lives such as the annual IRS filings that must be made each year.  Since my vision is also a mess, I can’t read tax instructions but could not understand what they meant by what they said anyway.  Maps change, foods change, methods change and what was good some years ago is unacceptable today.  Terms also change in our speech and every now and then a new word is coined as a result of it being used commonly by the populace.

     There is however one thing that has remained constant and that is the Word of God.  The Bible has remained constant all through history because the Lord Jesus Christ has not changed as the passage above so states.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Our hope for eternity has not changed and has been guaranteed by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the grave.  The tomb is empty.  This also means that the standard set by God from the beginning has not changed.  Sin is still sin and if it is named in the Scriptures, it is still sin and it has missed the standard, or the mark, that God set years ago.  The requirement for salvation has not changed and what was ideal for the Philippian Jailor is still reliable today.  We have been saved by grace and it is a gift of God as Paul told the Ephesian Saints.   Grace is a free gift and no work of any kind can make it happen.  Paul preached that salvation was dependent upon believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and nothing else.  So, thee is only one book  of instructions that has not change and it is the Bible. God has not said nor will He say that we need to believe and then add so many credits to earn salvation nd to be placed in our dwelling place in heaven.  Our hope is still in the same plan of salvation as mentioned in the Bible and in nothing else.  Praise God today that He is the same as He was yesterday and will remain the same tomorrow.

Sin and Forgiveness

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     First John 1:6-9 says, “ If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:   But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

     I once heard a story about Martin Luther where he would go to confession and spend a large amount of time confessing each and every sin known to him since his last confession.  The priest upon hearing Luther’s long list of sins would soon grow weary  and just tell him to go on, and say so many “hail Mary’s”  and “Lord’s Prayes” and the “Apostles Creed.”  Luther took sinning seriously and wanted to make sure he had confessed each and every one of them.  The question often comes up in regard to the Christian and sin.

     How long does “eternal life” last and when does it begin?  John 3:16 says that if a person believes on the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, that person has eternal life.  John also said the same thing in  First John 5:11-13.  So, what does take place?  The above passage, also from First John says that if we say we have no sin, we lie and the truth is not in us.  We know tha we sin and probably do so in almost all of our waking moments.  There are those sins of commission, the  things you do that you shouldn’t do and the sins of omission, those things you are supposed to do, but fail to do.  The Apostle Paul also speaks about the same thing in Romans 7 and confesses that he does what he is not supposed to do and still fails to do what he is supposed to do.  If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you know when you sin because your joy is gone.  King David said in Psalm 51:12 that  he wanted to get the joy of God’s salvation back.  David knew he had sinned and that he had tried to cover it up but God spoke to David through Nathen the prophet.  In Genesis 5:24, we read about Enoch who was a man that walked with God.  It  portrays a very special and close “fellowship” between Enoch and God as there is no usual record of the death of Enoch, but that God just took him straight up into heaven.  First John describes our sin as “unrighteousness” and it must be confessed to God as David confessed that it was a sing against God and only against him did he sin and needed to confess it to restore the joy of “God’s salvation” to his life.  The believer knows when they sin and their life is miserable because of it  until confession is made.  Then, the fellowship with God returns and the Joy of His salvation with it.  Praise God today for His forgiveness.

I'll Do It Late.

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Acts 1:8 says, “ But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

     Acts 8:1 says, “And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.”

     I picture a “whopper” as a giant cheese burger with lettuce, onion, tomato, ketchup, mustard and dill pickle.  I ordered one online not too long ago and it came with a meat patty on a bun and nothing else.  I had failed to list what I wanted on it so I got nothing on it at all.  It was a basic whopper but didn’t taste like one.  You have to be specific when  you want something the exact way it is supposed to be.  I had failed to read all of the instructions on the page.  Instructions are important and need to be followed exactly or there can be some other results encountered.

     The early church before Pentecost was given some instructions just before the Lord Jesus Christ ascended.  They were to start out in Jerusalem but thn they needed to go out from Jerusalem with the message of salvation to Judea,Samaria and the uttermost part  of the earth.  They didn’t do it but were staying in the city of Jerusalem.  I sometimes make the comment, “If you don’t do Acts 1:8, you will get Acts 8:1.  God had His way of getting the gospel out of Jerusalem and it began with persecution.  There was a man named “Saul” who we know later became known as “Paul” who was persecuting the church to the point that the believers were being scattered “abroad” as a result.  God, in His plan, even with grace and mercy, moved the church forward by implementing persecution in their lives.  The gospel was going out even though the apostles were still in Jerusalem.  Then, they also began to move as Philip moved to Samaria to begin an evangelistic ministry  that was reaping many souls for the Kingdom of God.  There is a lesson for believers today in this passage and it is basically, “Do what God wants you  to do.”  If you decide to delay or not plan on doing what He says, He may do something in your life that you may not like.  In His working in your situation, you may not like His methods, but the result will be there that God desires for your life.  If you are holding on to  possessions that restrict your ministry, you may find God removing them and He has a large inventory of methods to do just that.  So, just do what God wants in the first place and you may avoid His rod of correction.  Praise God for His plan  for our lives.  It is always the best course of action.

      

Cut The Mustard

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

      Have you ever felt that you just didn't measure up to what was expected of you? or that you just didn't "cut the mustard?"  I believe that it was the author, O'Henry that first used the phrase, "to cut the mustard."  No one really knows why he chose mustard over ketchup or tangy mayo for that matter.  The expression has been around for about a hundred years or more and we use it to describe whether a person or an article measures up to what is expected of it.  If the object didn't work, then it was said to not "cut the mustard."  There are times in my life and probably in the lives of many others, where you feel that you just don't cut the mustard.  I can be playing in the clarinet, saxophone or even the recorder  and come across a particularly difficult run on the instrument  and easily say that I didn't cut the mustard.  Yes, there are many areas in our lives where we don't cut the mustard.  Then again, there is a thought, in fact, a principle that comes out of the Book of Philippians that gives us all some encouragement.  Philippians 4:11-13 says, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."   The final 10 words of that section reminds us that we can certainly do all things through Christ.  Now, God is not going to let you do something that is contrary to His law.  If you jump off the top of a building and yell at the top of your voice, "I can fly," you will be in for a rude awakening in a matter of seconds when you hit the ground.  No matter how hard you might try, you are not going to overcome God's natural laws and fly just because you desire to do so.  The context of this passage reminds us that the Philippians had found themselves to be in a difficult time in their lives because they had given much for Paul's ministry even to the point of being in a hard place themselves.  Now, Paul reminds them that he has been in want and he has been in a time of no needs.  He then remarks that he has learned to be content in whatever condition he finds himself.  That is the lesson for us.  I can get through this day, through the Lord Jesus Christ.  I can be content today because of the Lord Jesus Christ.  When I feel weakness in myself, then I realize the strength that comes through the Lord Jesus Christ.  So, yes, I can do all things through Christ...I can do them because He strengthens me.  Praise God for His working in my life today.

Count Your Blessings

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     It sometimes amazes me what you get when you ask someone for it.  I remember asking for my Red Ryder B B Gun and i remember asking for my bicycle.  I didn't think I was going to get either one of them at the time I asked, but I did.  I got a lot more than I asked for with the bicycle.  I just wanted one with fenders so I didn't get my back wet everytime I went through a mud puddle.  In John 16, Jesus is getting ready to leave the scene and is giving some special instructions to the disciples.  When they wanted something, they were going to have to ask for it and it was going to be an entirely different situation than what they were used to.  Jesus was physically going to be away from them.  John 16:23-24 says, "And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.  Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."  This was going to a matter of prayer.  Jesus had already taught them how to pray and we have the example in the Lord's Prayer as we see it in Matthew 6.  We also see examples of prayer in the life of Jesus during His three years of public ministry.  Now, the lessons were going to be put to good use.  The disciples were going to have to exercise prayer in their lives.  What a lesson for us.  Prayer has become a vital part of our lives here on this earth.  Dictionaries define prayer in regard to religion.  It is a practice whereby a person contacts God.  The Bible mentions prayer, to pray, praying or prayed, over 500 times.  We used to say that if God said something once, it was important.  Well, God has mentioned prayer over 500 times.  I guess you could say that it is also very, very important.  While there are many lessons in regard to prayer, let us just think of one.  The above verses remind us that we need to ask God for the things that are necessary in our lives.  If we do, we have the assurance that He will answer.  Jesus had reminded the disciples that up to that point, they had done little asking but that they were going to be asking a lot.  He had given them the examples, the teaching and the instruction, but now, it was going to become very practical for them all. Acts 2:42 says, "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."  After the experience of Pentecost and Peter's first sermon, the apostles remembered to be involved in prayer.  Do you bring your requests before God?  We often hear the words, "Ye have not, because ye ask not."  That is often the case especially with believers in these days.  When needs arise in your life, don't hesitate to bring them before God, and when you do, remember to leave them there with Him.  You will be surprised at what God will do.  Praise God today for answered prayers  and Remember to "Count Your Blessings."

Confidence

 Greetings to  you  all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

       In what do you have confidence these days?  I can think back and remember several things in which I had confidence, but it turned out to be foolish confidence, to say the least.  I have mentioned before, the time that our son and I walked across the ice, having confidence that it would hold us up.  Well, it didn’t, and we both got wet.  But there was another time that I had confidence in something rather foolish.  I was trying to build a raft on a pond about 3 miles from my house and so piled a number of boards on the handle bars of my bicycle.  I had confidence that I would be able to ride down the road and down “Gooseberry Hill” with a load of lumber on the handlebars.  I made it halfway down “Gooseberry Hill” when the front wheel began to wobble and I suddenly found myself crashing into the ditch with the load of lumber flying everywhere.  I had everything pictured in my mind and had confidence that it would work.  It didn’t. 

      We sometimes think that we can have confidence in the government, politicians, police, teachers or others in authority over us only to find out that there can sometimes be problems. The truth is, there are not many things in this life in which we can express total confidence.  There is, however, One that will never fail.  Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”  In this case, Paul mentions the fact that we can have confidence in God that He will complete a work that He has started in us.  Paul was writing to the church at Philippi and they were relatively young in the faith.  He reminded them that even in the difficulties that were going to come upon them, they could have confidence in God.  He had begun a good work in them and He would see it through.  The same thing is true of us today.  We might be either young or old physically and we might be young or old spiritually.  That is to say, we are all still growing day by day.  God has begun this work in us and we can be confident that He will complete it.  So, even though you might feel as if God has left you on your own, realize that He is still working in your life.  Praise God today that He has not left us on our own but is completing the work that He has started.

The Church

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Acts 2:46-47 says, “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,  Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”

     I am often asked “From what church did you come?”  There are those who want to know what your denomination is.  I usually reply that I am “Baptist” but declare myself to be “independent” Baptist.  I have also been asked if I am Calvinist or Arminian to which I replied, “I try to be Biblical.”  The one who had asked me that question then said, “That is a cop out.”  He assumed that I was just  dodging the question.  I was asked four questions in rapid succession during my ordination examination to which the pastor then said, “jGood, you are a four point Catholic.”  I have also been referred to as “Bapticostal” due to some of my excitement.  When you look around, you soon see that there are many different denominations, even different kinds of Baptist.  In 2005, I counted 144 different Baptist churches in the Roanoke Valley.  

     There are not 144 different denominations, but 144 different churches that have the name “Baptist” in their name.  Some are large and many are small. Some were begun because of a split in a larger church over some issue, often times it is something trivial, but divisive nonetheless to the point that a new church was started.  The word “Church” or “Churches” occurs some 116 times   in the New Testament and the basic meaning was a “called out gathering.”  Usually, in the New Testament, it  referred to the believers  in the Lord Jesus Christ in a particular location such as Philippi, Ephesus, Rome, Corinth or other cities. In modern days, we have come to the conclusion that their are local  churches that are composed of people who “profess” to be believers, but that is not always so.  We also define the “universal” church as being comprised of true believers from Pentecost to the rapture.  There is a difference between possession Christ and professing Christ.  Some of my fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord  live in places like Paris, London,  Lima, Moscow, Berlin and perhaps from every corner of the globe.  My Mother-in-law gave us  a guest book and it is good to look at it from time to time and to read the  names of people who have stayed  in our home and to notice their home address from Spain, Indonesia, Burma, Thailand, Ireland, England and so forth.  We all share a common bond and that is our love and devotion to the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.  We all look for Him to soon return to take His church home and to the spot where He has prepared our dwelling places.   Praise God today  for His calling out of believers that make up His Church.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

     

I Wish I Had Been There.

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Acts 1:9-11 says, “ And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.  And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;   Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”

     “I wish I had been there to see that .”  I sometimes think about events that take place and secretly wish I had been there when it had taken place.  Being in the presence of important people never did too much for me.  The private lives of  people, common and famous, are about the same to me.  The rich and famous have the same temptations and choices to make that I do.  Their houses may be bigger and be decorated differently but it is still just a place in which to live. I’ve seen the Aurora Borealis and stood in amazement as the colors bounced in the night sky.  I have been proud to stand on the deck of an American Naval vessel and felt the pride of being a representative of one of the strongest and best nations in the world.   Just hink, however, how would feel to be standing in the small crowd on the Mount of Olives forty days after the resurrection.

     I wish I had been there to see that event.  I may dream of flying through the air but to stand there listening to the Son of God speak  and then to see Him rise from the ground and to go up into the clouds would have been an amazing event.  That  is an understatement to say the least.  It must have caught the small group by surprise as they stood there watching Him ascend into heaven perhaps waiting for something dramatic to take place.  Their attention had to be turned to the two angels  who asked them the obvious question, “Why do you stand there gazing up into heaven?”  He will be coming back just as He left.  We of course have the promise from His own lips in John 14 that He will be returning.  This is one of the greatest moments, but certainly not the only one, such as being in the upper room after the resurrection with locked doors and suddenly the Lord is standing there .  No knock at the dor.  He was just there in their midst.  I wish I had been there too or eve at the Red Sea when it parted and to walk between two walls of water on dry ground, or to see water flowing from a rock or to see Elijah taken up into heaven in a whirlwind, or Mount  Carmel and the altar of rocks being eaten up by the fire of God as He accepted the sacrifice that had been placed on it.  Miracles still occur and I was there in Chattanooga, Tennessee when I was born again in 1972.  I was thee when it  happened and haven’t been the same ever since.  Praise God that He is still working in our lives.

Temptation

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

      There is a saying that goes, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." It kind of describes the feeling of being able to go on after we have failed in one thing or another. Failure does happen. Usually, when it does, we find ourselves pretty low or down in the dumps. We should have done better. But, we didn't and then we suffered a bit of a fall which usually dampens your spirit. We also feel that no one has gone through this type of thing; that it is peculiar to us. That isn't true. Notice the following verse of Scripture. First Corinthians 10:13 says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." First of all there is not any temptation that is purely unique to you. You are not the first person to have to go through this temptation. Someone, somewhere has done it before. So, don't think that something that is going on in your life is only happening to you and will never be the same in someone else's life. Someone can say, "Been there, done that." Secondly, there is always a way of escape. The problem is that we often refuse to take the way out when it comes right in front of us. We either enjoy what is going on and desire to remain where we are or we think that we can handle it and seek to provide our own way when we think it is appropriate. If we refuse God's way of escape, then we are left on our own. But, what happens when you submit to the temptation? I suppose that never happens in your life but it does happen in some lives. That is where we need to realize that "Today is the first day of the rest of our lives." Things can change. We can make it with the Lord's help. When sin does occur then it becomes necessary to plead the promise of First John 1:9. We need to confess our sin before Him and He will restore us to the fellowship that we once had. So, there are really two thoughts here. First, your temptations are common to everyone. Don't think you are unique. Secondly, when we do sin, then we need to come to God in confession and He will restore us. So, how are you doing today? Are you making it all right? Is there a special temptation that is knocking on your door? Then, turn to the Lord. Look for His way of escape and then take it. Praise Him for providing for our every need.

 

Waterbrooks and Thirst

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Psalm 42:1-3 says, “ As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.  My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?  My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?”

     I have a team of nurses and doctors that now come to me in the VA’s program, “Home based care.”  One of the doctors is a psychologist who will ask me during every visit  if I want to speed up my death or have thoughts of harming myself or others.  He once asked me if I had thought about death and I said, “Sure.  I’ve read the last chapter of the Bible.”  He usually makes some humanist remark after that  and the other day spoke about  the resolve of one of the Beetles who was deeply involved in hinduism and reincarnation.  Of course, Hinduism is a far cry from Christianity.  We, as believers, have One God, the Hindu has over three million  false deities who do absolutely nothing. 

     While I am far  from perfect in this life, my heart is like that  of the deer and it's searching for water.  Christ is  the source of our strength in this life and the   One Who has the promise of life after death.  We always had a huge water tank ready with fresh water from a windmill  pump for the animals when they would come into the barnyard after spending many hours in the fields munching on grass or hay.  By the time they arrived at the tank, they were thirsty and would drink their fill of water before moving away.  They just  didn’t come up t o the tank once a year or once in seven days, but everyday it was the same thing.   The Christian, on the other hand, often feels like once or twice a year is sufficient to come and worship God.  Ot hers often think that once or twice a week is sufficient but it should not be so in the life of a believer in the One True God.    The Psalmist exhorts us to like the thirsty hart , or deer, who longs to come to the brook fro fresh water.  For me, it is a “win-win” situation .” To die is gain.”  as said the Apostle Paul .  While we are on this earth, in this body, we have thins to do and we will keep busy until that day comes, but the hope that is ever before us is to be in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, face to face and certainly not to come back as a butterfly, a cow, or a mouse. So, we are rather particular when it comes to salvation for the Lord Himself said there  was only one way and He is it.  Only the Lord Jesus Christ  can satisfy the thirst  for salva tion.  Praise God for sending His Son to die for our sins that we might have eternal life.

Confession

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Psalm 51:1-4 says, “ To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.   Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.”

      I have mentioned the three avenues for sin in the life of the believer as being, “The lust of the eyes, The lust of he flesh and the pride of life.  I have mentioned it more than once in these devotions and in many classes here and there.  You would think that I would have learned the lesson myself by now.  However, when sin occur s and it occurs often, i can trace it  back to one of the three avenues.  It is one of the attributes of living in this body which is getting older and falling apart.  The believer is in good company when it  comes to sin as it seems most believers struggle with the same problem.

     King David was considered to be a man of God and after God’s own heart .  The king however, got himself in a heap of trouble one day when he was not where he was supposed to be and lounging around instead on the rooftop just watching the scenery.  Now, what do you suppose came into his mind when he saw a beautiful woman taking a bath on her roof top?  All three avenues of sin were triggered and since the king gets what he wants, he wanted what he saw to satisfy his flesh.  We know the story and it is one that seems to be repeated often.  We also know how David tried to cover it up  by bringing her husband home from the war  and trying to get him t o go into his own house but he would not do it while his companions were fighting the war.  David then had Uriah killed by placing him on the front line and instructing the army to pull back, t hat is, everyone except Uriah who then found himself alone in front of the enemy.  David thought he had taken care of t he problem until Nathan the prophet came up with a little story that pinned David to the wall.  As a result, David writes Psalm 51 and teaches us a lesson on what to do when you sin.  He had taken another man’s wife and then murdered her husband in order to cover up his own sin.  We notice right away that  David acknowledges his sin against  God.   Bathsheba and Uriah were victims .  The worst matter was the sin against God and as a result the “sword” would not depart  from his house of King David.  This is a terrible narrative but it is one that teaches us that  the main problem of sin is that it is against God.  Confession and repentance are necessary and we see this in the above passage.  Couple this thought with First  John 1:9 where we find God’s forgiveness for sins committed each and every day.  Praise God today for His forgiveness so keep your list of sins short and up to date.

The Uniform

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     John 17:20-21 says, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;   That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” 

     Uniforms make you stand out from the crowd .  I wore a uniform for nine years while in the U. S. Navy.  In the summer, it was a white uniform and in the winter, it was a blue uniform.  It had all of the markings of a uniform of the United States Navy.  We had some opportunities to be in foreign countries.  Before we were allowed to go on shore, the Captain of the ship would give a short lecture to the crew to be careful while ashore as we were going to be obvious representatives of our government and we were not to make any international incidents.  Our  actions were expected to be acceptable as members of our country.

     The believer has no uniform to mark them as a Christian.  Some try to make it known by some outside object such as a cross or a Bible but we well know that isn’t the item that shows the world that we are believers.  Francis Shaffer wrote a book titled, “The Mark of the Christian.”  The main scripture for the book was the passage above.  “...all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee…”  The result of this unity will reflect  to the world that the Father sent the Son.  Notice the words, “...that  thou hast sent me.”  That  is a heavy responsibility when  you think about it.  The church in the first century was turning the world upside down with the message of the Gospel.  Peter’s first and second sermons  resulted in 8,000 new believers.  Something was obviously different between the church during the time of Peter and John   and the church of today.  What has caused the difference?  Some people blame Constantine  for causing the problem when he made Christianity the state religion of Rome.  The downward slide began in almost every aspect of the cultures of the world including art, music, literature and education.  The church of today is so close to the world that it is seemingly difficult to see any difference.  Bickering and fighting along with wrong doctrine does not show the world that the Father sent the Son, but rather gives people an excuse as to why they don’t want to attend church.  The common replay when asked to go to a church is, “The church is fulll of hypocrites.”  Our “Captain”, the Lord Himself has given us the instructions of how we are to live the Christian life but have made our lives more like the life of the unbeliever instead.  Paul said in Second Corinthians that we are “ambassadors” and in Philippians that we have our citizenship in heaven.  May we be reminded of this as we seek to live  out our lives as believers in a world that needs to see more good examples of Christian living.  Praise God for the charge that He has given to us all.

Fools and Their Folly

 Greetings to  you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

      Psalm 53:1 says, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.”

     How much faith do you have in regard to the truthfulness of the Word of God?  I heard Mark Lowry say that he doesn’t have enough faith to be an atheist.  I would have to agree with that for my life as it would take more faith to accept that the universe came into existence by chance than to accept God’s account of creation.  We had a professor at the college  I attended who would begin each year with a small sack which contained all of the parts of a wind up watch.  They were all disconnected and placed in the bag years ago and each year, the professor would begin by shaking the bag and making a statement that not one part  has ever come together.  Not one screw or spring or gear ever got into the right spot.

     The word “fool” occurs some 69 times in the Bible and has the definition of a person who is senseless.  Nothing that the fool does, makes any sense.   We have a world that contains many “fools” as there are many people who assume that there is no God and that the universe was formed over billions of years by chance and evolution as if one part ever came together to form a human being or even an individual tree.  My wife and I once spit in little bottles and had them sent off to a place for DNA analysis  and mine came back showing a relative I never knew about but the story came out later about that person.  I have family members in another state.  Psalm 139 tells us that we are wonderfully made and that God knew us even before we were born.  We have unique features that show our individuality.  I am equally amazed at flowers and in particularly, the Iris with so many colors and yet so similar in design with the petals and beards and other parts.  To the fool, it is nothing but a result of evolution and so they have no future hope in the claims of the Bible. For a multitude of people, the first  eleven chapters of Genesis is just a fable.  How you accept those eleven chapters will be a guide as to  how you accept all other Scripture.  It is far easier for me to accept God’s record of creation than it is to accept the approach of the humanist.  My acceptance of  the Genesis account of creation will also lead to my acceptance of heaven, hell, salvation, condemnation, hope, peace, love, righteousness, imputation and every attribute of God and it is all guaranteed by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Praise God today for that resurrection as it helps us to be ready for that which is to come.

Apples and Oranges

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,   

      It is true that there are many things in this life that can be compared. Other things, however can't. We sometimes use the phrase, "It is like comparing apples to oranges." That simply means that the two items to be compared are so different that you wouldn't be able to draw any real conclusions if you did compare them. The Apostle Paul was comparing two things in the following verse. Romans 8:18 says, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." The two things being compared in this verse are the sufferings of this life and the glory that is coming later on. One of them far out weighs the other. Paul indicates that our present sufferings are really insignificant when compared to the glory that is going to come later. That may seem hard to believe for some who are really having a bad day. You may have found yourself in such a day, perhaps even today. While we are in the midst of suffering, they seem to be overpowering and squashing us down to the point that we feel as if we will never get up to get a breath. Sufferings are never pleasant. This is why this verse seems to be such a comfort. It speaks of sufferings, yes, but it contrasts them with the glory that is to follow. From all indications, the glory is going to far surpass all of our sufferings. The glory is going to be so great that your sufferings will be forgotten in an instant. We often give gifts to our family members during their birthdays. We usually give something big and then a number of very small things. We save the big gift for last, sometimes even hiding it so the person will not know it is coming. Once, however, it is received, the joy of that particular gift far outweighs the other gifts. New socks are forgotten as a new bicycle appears. In this sense, sufferings are not worthy to be counted in comparison to glory. The Book of Revelation gives us a glimpse of glory. It is a glimpse that offers us just a peak at what is to come. We can observe some of the sights and sounds of heaven. We get a quick picture of the Holy City. As we have seen all of these pictures from the future, we realize that the glory to come is going to be great. It is going to be far greater than we ever imagined. So, what does that do for us in the here and now? It says, "Hang in there. Your sufferings are nothing compared to the rewards that are coming. Be patient and endure the warfare, the pain and the suffering, the illness and the grief. Peter wrote much about this in his first epistle. In fact, you could call his epistle, "Suffering leads to Glory." Praise God today for what He has in store for you.

Blessings

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Matthew 5:42-43 says, “ Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”

     I was recently prepared to speak on First Peter 5 but a lady came in late and requested a song, “Count Your  Blessings.”  I had already sung that hymn and had sung for about 15 minutes and was getting ready to speak when she requested it.  So, I sang it again and noticed as I was singing that many blessings were listed right there in the song.  I ended up speaking on the items mentioned in the four verses of the song.  Sometimes our plans get changed, even at the last moment.

     The word “blessing and bless” occur 172 times in the Bible with Genesis leading the count wit h 52 times and the Old Testament and with Revelation having 8 times in the New Testament.  Little did I know  that I would be needing  the lesson of the “blessings of God” myself before the day would be done.  As many of you know, Diane is suffering from dementia and OCD.  Some of the people have more of a problem with that   and as a result she was asked to leave the dining room without any food and to return to her room.  I was extremely irritated by that action as it has occurred frequently on the weekends.  An action taken against my wife is an action against me also.  My anger calmed down from its initial level and soon the blessings that had come from the song were again in my  mind.  Another course of action needs to be taken which involves the above passage of Scripture.  The following words, “do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”  I can’t  say what the feelings are of the person that is involved in  the issue but I am concerned about my own feelings  towards the individual involved.  Our attitude towards them should be to do good to them that are not liking the way we are.  So, we should be blessing  those that are having a problem accepting dementia and OCD and to pray for our own attitudes toward them which is a lesson that I need to learn and perhaps some others also.  Praise God that He is s till working on us and through us.

Pride vs. Humility

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     First Peter 5:5-9 says, “ Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

     Humility is one of those traits that once you think you have it, you don’t have it any longer.  Being involved in music for much of my life often resulted in “praise” from people for the particular ministry of music.  It was usually easy to accept what people would say in regard to the song and came to the point that I would respond with “Praise the Lord.”  It  would be easy to just say, “Thank you.” and go on from there, but that would not be the case.  No thanks would be from me for without God, there would be no ministry of music or any ot her thing for  that matter.   It may be regarded as an oxymoron when we become proud of our humility.  One man, a graduate of Duke Divinity School, had one of the longest  name plates on his door as it included the words, “Right Reverend, so and so with his degrees listed.  

     The above passage relates to us how important it is that we humble ourselves which is hard to do when you think about it.  We are reminded that  Satan is going around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  It may even happen to you or me quite easily.  One of the three avenues of sin is the pride of life where Satan used it in the Garden of Eden and also in the temptation of Christ and the Apostle John writes in connection with it in First  John 2.  It is clear that it is one of the  main avenues of sin in the world today.  As the passage goes on to say, It is God that exalts a person and not we ourselves.  So, just  when we think we are humble, we find that we have become proud of our humility and therefore are no longer humble, thus the oxymoron is seen.  This is why it is so important to incorporate Second Corinthians 10:5 into our lives by bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.  Praise God today for His working in our lives.

Buffets

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

      Many people speak today about going out to a buffet.  There seems to be plenty of them around town.  You can go there and fill up your plate until it is overflowing, eat that, and then go back for more if you so desire.   I don’t  go to many buffets these days  as it  is not  worth the money for me.   We have adapted another saying in connection with the word "buffet."  Now, we say, "My plate is full."  Or, "you don't know how many things are already on my plate."  The indication is that a person has a "to do" list that is longer than the time that he or she has in the day to get it all done.  So, we say that our plate is full.  In the long run, we began to get concerned about what is going to happen tomorrow and the next day.  I find myself in that situation quite often.  Matthew 6:33-34 says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."   In these verses, we see that Jesus points out that our first concern would be seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness in all things.  Second, we should not be concerned about the things of tomorrow.  Notice that Jesus stated that tomorrow will take care of itself.  We find that we can just keep doing the things that we have to do rather than worrying about all of the things we have to do.  However full our plate is we can still only get done those things on which we are working.  The things that we "worry" about never get done.  They will always be there because we are simply worrying about them and not working on them.  The main thought for today is that we should be working on the things for today, one thing at a time, keeping on the track and not to find ourselves thinking about all of the things that we will have to do tomorrow.  Is God working in your life?  Are His promises valid for you?  Of course they are so you don't really need to be concerned.  Let Him fill your plate with the things that He has for you and then just keep working on them one thing at a time.  Praise Him today as you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

The Verdict

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Matthew 7:18-20  says, “ A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

     I recently watched a court trial of a man who was accused of murdering his wife and son.  The evidence was given and the jury deliberated for forty-five minutes to come up with a “guilty” verdict  resulting in  two life sentences to prison.  The evidence given in a trial is considered and then the jury decides if it is enough to convince the accused person of the crimes listed by the prosecutor.

     Josh McDowell wrote a book, “Evidence that demands a Verdict” in the early 1970’s.  It set forth the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ  and it  was hoped that the reader would be able to decide if the evidence supported the claims the Lord Jesus Christ.  In the end, you had to decide if Christ was “a liar”, “a lunatick,” or the “Son of God” and therefore  God Himself.  In this case, we are the jury and must  make a decision in regard to the evidence.  The final conclusion, which has to be based upon the resurrection of Christ from the grave, is that  He is indeed Who He said He was and is. The evidence demands a verdict and the only one that is logical is that He indeed is the Son of God and that the gospel is true and the promises of God are guaranteed by that same resurrection.  In speaking  of evidence, we need to ask ourselves a question .  If we were arrested for  being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convince us?  The above passage is one that  speaks about obvious evidence in regard to trees.  An apple tree produces apples and an orange tree produced oranges and a pear tree produces pears.    I may not be able  to tell a tree by it’s bark or its blossoms, but i can tell a tree by the fruit it produces.  Unfortunately, this same passage goes on to show that there will be a lot of religious people  at the judgment who never knew Christ and Christ will tell them, “Depart  from Me.  I never  knew you.”    There are some pastors who estimate that in reality, a small percentage of people in their congregation are actually saved.  We will not know ourselves this side of heaven, who is and who isn’t saved, but we can see the works that people produce.   Is there enough evidence to convict me of being a Christian.   “Trust and Obey, for  there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to Trust  and  Obey.  Praise God for His Word.

      

Thoughts

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Second Corinthians 10:5 says, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

     I recently went to the eye doctor for a three month examination and he asked me if there were any differences in my vision.  I said that  every now and then, I would see a peacock tail of red circles with a background of blue.  It  is mostly in a dark area of the TV or on the rug, which is a dark color.  I have a dead spot on the right eye due to macular degeneration and I guess it is primarily in that eye.  The doctor said that the brain will substitute something at times which really isn’t there.  The imagination can produce things that are not really there.

     The word for imaginations in the above passage is “logismos” and is connected to “thoughts.”   It  is only used in t two places in the New Testament.  Here in Second Corinthians and in Romans 2:15 where it is translated as “thoughts.”  We often use the term “logic” to refer to a pattern of thinking where if one thing is true, then the another thing might be also true.  We say, “It just seems logical.”  We can think, “if that person doesn’t like me then there must be others who don’t like me also.”  Or, “if such and such took place, then the logical outcome will be bad.”  The problem is the latter part of the verse where we fail to bring our thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ.  Imaginations can produce all kinds of negative thoughts  based on one’s false assumptions.  We can look at a person’s frown and immediately assume that  they are frowning at us based upon a wrong assumption.  I once grimaced in pain while getting out of a car after hitting my knee on the edge of the car door, and a woman next  door assumed that I was frowning at her, resulting  in her being irritated with me until  the matter was explained.  What  we imagine rarely comes to pass as our imaginations will often exceed reality.  We find ourselves making mountains out of mole hills.  I often refer to the verse in Philippians 4:8 which 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.”  I often find that  my mouth often gets me into trouble when i speak something without thinking first.  For that reason, I used to have this verse printed out and placed  where I could see it after every message as a reminder to bring my thoughts together in Christ  before I say anything.  Praise God today that  He knows our thoughts and the very intents of our hearts.

Why Am I Here?

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Acts 8:4-8 says, “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.  Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.  And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.  For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.  And there was great joy in that city.”

     I have to admit that there have been times in my life when I wondered why certain things took place.  I may have ended up in a different location than planned.  When I joined the Navy, I was programmed to go to Norman, Oklahoma to go to a Navy  school for the rate of “Guided Missleman.”  I ended up going  to Washington, D.C. to become a Navy musician.  Instead of going West, I went East.  

     God always has a way of moving people from one course or destination to another one that may be just the opposite of what  we may think or have planned.  The above passage is part of the story  of Philip  as he had an evangelistic meeting going on in Samaria.  As the passage tells the narrative,  great joy was found in that city.  One may think that  Samaria was the place for Philip as the ministry was really going well and people were believing in the Lord Jesus Christ but God had a different plan for Philip.  He obeyed the Spirit’s call and left Samaria to head South to Gaza to meet up with a lone man in a chariot.  He eventually found the man, went up t o him and soon the man was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ         and the gospel was headed to Ethiopia and the court of Candace the queen.   We often do not see the “big picture” of God’s plan and what might seem to be foolish to us is just the opposite to God.  Philip may not have even known why he was sent to Gaza.  What  is important for us is to be obedient to God’s direction and in whatever circumstance we find ourselves, to be obedient in the proclamation of the Gospel message.  We often say that “hindsight  is better than foresight.”  Again, it is because we don’t see the whole picture.  You may find yourself in a different town  than expected or even in a hospital or even in prison but God has His reasons.   Chuck Colson, the author of “Born Again”  ended up in jail for the Watergate involvement but  the ministry to prisoners was needed and God used Chuck to reach many people with the Gospel.  Without Watergate, I probably would never have heard of Chuck Colson.  Be constantly ready to share God’s Word wherever and whenever God directs.  Praise God for His constant  guidance.