Folding a Roadmap

       Directions are important especially when one is traveling down a strange road.  My parents had a Sinclair gas station for a couple of years and we had a number of maps that were free to our customers, especially of the neighboring states of Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and our home state of Indiana.  My Father once told me that the test for a chauffeur was determined in the fact of his being able to refold a map into its original fold.  I practiced it a lot but still never got it exactly right every time.  Those maps, however, were very accurate and could get you to even the smallest town.  Why, even Rolling Prairie, Indiana was on that map.  Following maps will get you to you desired destination.  In many ways, the Bible is a spiritual road map.  Jesus said that He was the way and many times He made the following statement to different people.  John 1:43 says, " The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me." 
       The Lord Jesus Christ was their spiritual leader and if His disciples were going to learn His ways, then they needed to follow Him.  We often follow physical maps because we trust them to be accurate.  We can trust the Lord Jesus Christ in every way with our life on the course to heaven.  You don't have to make a course change just because you think it would be faster or better.  We trust the map.  In the same way, in the spiritual sense, we desire to spend eternity in heaven with God and so we follow the leader, Who is the Lord Jesus Christ.  Just as Christ said to Philip and Matthew, "Follow me."    We also follow Him.  Well, He isn't around here physically and so how do we follow Him.  We follow the map that He has given us.  Oh, there will be those who mock and criticize and claim they have a better way, but we seek to follow the Master Cartographer, the Lord Jesus Christ.  In so doing, we will arrive at the desired destination.  So, open your Bibles today and become accustomed of all the benefits of following His way.  The American Automobile Association publishes a list of things to do on your journey and places to see.  Well, the Holy Bible also gives us information for things to be doing on our journey to heaven.  I was just thinking of the 39 different imperatives in Ephesians 4 through 6 as a starter.  Praise God today for His wonderful "Roadmap" to heaven.

The Blessings

    Bribery seems to work well with your children.  There have been a number of times where I was bribed to be good.  My Mother never seemed to use that method with me.  Maybe because it was that we never had any cookies or cakes to use as a bribe.  I do recall some people, I won't say whom, who said that if I didn't eat my carrots I would not get any cake.  That, I assume, would be classified as a bribe.  We sometimes speak of dangling a carrot in front of a horse in order to get it to move.  That also would be considered to be a bribe in some sense.  God has given us a number of things in Psalm 37 that offer rewards as a result of doing something in our lives.  they are not always easy to do but God has given us some special rewards for doing them.  Psalm 37:3-8 says, "Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.   Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.   Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.   And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.   Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.  Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil."
       The passage for today is a tad longer than most but has a series of things that when we do those things, we have a corresponding result.  The first one mentioned is to trust in the Lord and then we shall dwell in the land and be fed.   The second one is to delight in the LORD and and He shall give us the desires of our heart.  The list goes on and includs Committing ourselves to the Lord and then to rest in the Lord.   Trusting, Committing, Delighting and Resting and finally, Ceasing from anger.  Wow, what a list but everyone of them has a special blessing after it.  Personally, I have always enjoyed the one that says if we delight in the LORD, He will give us the desires of our heart.  I used to think that might include a new car or a new house, or even a new suit of clothes but what is meant is that he gives us new desires.  Once you become a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you begin to have new desires.  You should find that you now have a desire to read God's Word more and to pray more and to desire that men and women become saved and to grow in the LORD.  These are all "new desires."  This list is a mere instruction that reminds us that if we find ourselves doing them, we will have certain blessings that follow.  So, trust, delight, commit, and rest in the LORD.  Praise God that He provides wonderful blessings in our lives.

Awesome Places

          We have read the story that occurs in the Bible about Moses and the burning bush and how God declared the area as "Holy Ground" and that Moses must take off his shoes.  Where is the place where you have been that was awesome to you?  If you have ever stood in the "Oval Office" perhaps you felt that type of respect for the place and for that which it stood.  I have stood in some places where I didn't belong but was there either by a tour or a job.  These are places where you just say "Yes sir" and not much else.  When you are called into such an office you want to make a good impression and not cause any trouble and certainly don't knock something over.  I recall one time our youth constructed a model of the Tabernacle in the fellowship area of our church.  Curtains were held up and the areas of the holy place and the Holy of Holies was constructed complete with model furniture which included a model of the Ark of the Covenant.  One morning, I ventured down into the fellowship hall to see the model.  As I opened the curtain to view the plain model of the Holy of Holies, I felt a chill go up my spine.  Sure, it was just a model but what it represented was far greater that that.   Hebrews 10:19 says, "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,"  
      The writer of Hebrews mentions our going into the holiest by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.   Just think!  You have that capability, you have permission that by the blood of Christ, you can walk humbly into the holiest of places.  Hebrews 4:16 is another verse that mentions going into a very special area which is the throne of grace.  Again, our permission is due to the fact of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We know that the Scriptures remind us that God met the priests at the mercy seat of the Ark in the Holy of Holies.  Jesus is our Ark.  What an honor we have as believers to humbly come before God in such a way, and to think that we don't have to wait for one day a year to do it.  We can come any time we want to meet with God solely due to the work of His Son on the cross of Calvary.  So, when you utter that short prayer today, remember where you are and in Whose presence you are standing.  Praise God  for His work on our behalf.

I Wish I Had Been There

       "I wish I had been there."  We may have said those words when something important happened, or when something happened that seemed to be impossible, yet it happened.  There have been a couple of times in my life where I said those words the next day because I missed seeing something spectacular.    Acts 1:8-9 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.  And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight."   
     The disciples had already seen things that we might consider to be impossible.  they had seen Jesus walking on the water.  They had seen Jesus feeding crowds of more than 5,000 people with just a few loaves and a couple of fish.  They had seen Lazarus come bouncing out of a tomb when he was raised from the dead.  This scene in Acts 1, however has to be one of the most spectacular things ever.  Perhaps you can take a moment and picture yourself in the crowd on the Mount of Olives that day as Jesus utters His final instructions to the disciples...,then the impossible happens.  He slowly rises up into the sky and finally into the clouds and you stand there waiting for Him to fall back to earth, but nothing takes place.  Gravity has been beaten.  There was no rocket blast or ropes pulling Him upward.  He just defied gravity and left earth to return into heaven.  Someday, however, He will return just as He promised.  Yes, I wish I had been there to have seen that event.  We have the satisfaction however to be able to read about it.  We can read about the ascension into heaven and the miracles of calming a storm or feeding thousands, raising the dead, healing those who were lame, or blind, or deaf.  We can read about the promises that Jesus made that involves you and me.  We can read about the payment for our sin.  We can read about some of the details about heaven itself.  All we have to do is to open the Bible and read of the events that took place.  We know that it is true, because it happened to our Lord Jesus Christ.  Praise God today for the written account that He has given to us.  May we be faithful in reading it today and everyday.

The Best Tool in your Box

       What is the most used tool in your tool box?  My Father always had a small screwdriver in his pocket.  It had a little clip on it and stayed in place next to a ball point pen.  For me, the most important tool was a Swiss Army Knife.   While working as a custodian of an elementary school, I had a small box of tools that I would need on the job but found that I could get almost everything accomplished with that small Swiss Army knife on my belt.  Tools are important to help you get things accomplished that need to be done.  The most important tool these days in my life is a little different.  It is a copy of God's Word, the Bible.   Second Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:   That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."  
       The four areas that are mentioned in this verse pretty well sums up all of our life.  God's Word keeps us going every day through the problems of life.  It gives us guidance wherever we need it.   It can also correct us and get us back on track when we go astray.  I have a fairly big library with books in one room of the house and a large collection in my "annex" which is in the basement.  The prominent book and by far the most important of all the books is the one that is titled, "Holy Bible."    Some books will be used to look at a certain verse or to get an idea on one man's opinion here and there.  The Bible however is that Book which is the Guide in all areas of my life. I wish I could say that I follow its guidance explicitly in my life but that isn't the case.  That's why I so often need the "correction" that it gives me when I do go astray and need to be prodded back onto the correct path.  Now, this verse mentioned above is one that reminds us that every verse, every word is important in the Scriptures.  Martin Luther called John 3:16 the Golden Text of the Bible and almost everyone knows that verse or has heard about it.  At the same time, however, every verse is important in both testaments.  The Bible is my guide  for my spiritual life and my physical life,  and is better than the Swiss Army Knife was when I was a custodian.  So what's the best tool in your tool box?  What's the best Guide in your life?  Praise God today that He gave us the Bible to guide us.

Finished Projects

        Every now and then we begin a project.  We start and it moves forward and then begins to slow down.  If we are not careful, we will lose interest in it and it stops completely.  You may have a list of unfinished projects where you started to do something and then it pushed aside.  We might use the phrase, "Oh, its on the back burner."  Things on the back burner are often left there for years.  I have one project that I started about 5 years ago that comes to the front burner every now and then.  It is a written copy of my life or as we might say, "an autobiography."  Since I am no where close to being famous, who would care about my life story.  My excuse is that it is just a record of my life for my family.  We will see if it ever gets finished.  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:"   
       Fortunately for us, God always finishes what He starts.  Genesis 1 through 11 is a good example of that.  We often think about the big things that God has done especially when we are looking up into a starry sky or at the Grand Canyon.  On a personal note, however, one of the things God is working on is a special project  for each and everyone of us.  The Apostle Paul emphasized this in the above verse how that God is constantly working on us.  Every day that goes by includes another chapter in your life.  It would seem to us that 80 years  is a long time, but to God it is merely a drop in the bucket, or even less than that.  When we look at the things in which we have been involved we don't see the big picture.  God, on the other hand, knows what we were, what we are and what He has in store for us in the future.  We might know that God is working on us and some days there is more accomplished than on others.  Paul says however, that we can be "confident" of this very fact that He will get the project done in His timing.   So, keep looking to the Master Builder as He writes another chapter in your life today.  God knows every stitch in the fabric of your life and He knows every shaping of your lump of clay.  Praise God today that He is still working on your own project.  As some have said, "Please Be Patient With Me, For God Is Not Finished With Me Yet."

Murmur and Complain

        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 recently brought out by a pastor 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.  May we all learn how to praise God and His working  even better than our murmuring.   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.