Four Pieces of Toast

       I never thought about being poor when I was a child. I always had what I needed and got a lot of the things I wanted, so figured I was as well off as most other people. Life in the 40’s was always a struggle and most people were struggling just trying to make ends meet. When I went to school, I would start off the day with a cup of coffee and 4 pieces of toast.  I don’t recall eating any eggs or bacon in the morning and we didn’t have cereal in the house. That was just the way it was.   At least, we seem to always have bread and coffee. Some would say we were poor. Maybe so, but again, we had what we needed.  Dad was a good mechanic, electrician, plumber and whatever else we needed in those days.  He changed the brakes on the car, fixed the pump in the dark on a cold winter night, built a house and later a greenhouse, a garage and chicken coop and he made do with what he had.  He also never threw away anything but kept it in a coffee can somewhere.  The Psalmist has also stated that he was poor. Psalm 86:1 says, “Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy.”

The meaning of the “poor” conditions that the Psalmist is talking about is perhaps a bit different than material things. When I think of being poor and needy in regard to spiritual things, I am reminded about the knowledge and wisdom that we need to live this life the way God wants us to live. We know it isn’t a bed of roses and there are some thorns now and then as we travel the road of life. The Psalmist is here asking the Lord to listen to him as he explains that he is a poor and needy individual. That pretty well sums up our condition. We are poor and needy.  The difficulty in today’s world is that we may have a lot of money in the bank but we still are poor as we don’t realize it.  Our poverty is pretty well witnessed in our spiritual lives.    The rich and famous often come down to the end and realize that there is something missing in their lives.  They have missed that which is the most important.  They miss the Bible and the lessons that it teaches.  We need the Word of God to get us through everything that the world is going to throw our way. So, we can say to God, like the Psalmist,  that we are also poor and needy. When you think about it, every man, woman, boy and girl is poor and needy. You may have diamond rings, a Lincoln, a big house and all the trimmings and can still be poor and needy. That which you lack can only be supplied by God. So, praise God that He is indeed the supplier of the needs of the poor and needy person.

Convictions

      We like to think that we have convictions about certain things in this life and that we would never violate them under any circumstances.  It was about four o’clock in the morning on December 13, 1990 and I was having extreme shoulder pain which turned out later to be a heart attack.  I got my wife out of bed and we headed to the ER at Camden Clark Memorial Hospital in Parkersburg, West Virginia.  I pulled up to a red light, looked both ways and went through the red light.  It disturbed Diane that I had just gone through a red light but nothing was coming and I was hurting.  My conviction about never going through a red light under any circumstances suddenly turned out to be a preference.   There are differences between convictions and preferences.  Convictions don’t change while preferences may change often.    Daniel 1:8 says, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”  The word “purposed” occurs over 500 times in the Bible and is translated a number of different ways. One of the first times the word occurs is in Genesis 2:8 where God “put” the man in the garden.  Daniel had a mindset that was going to display certain characteristics that had been formed in his young life.  One of those characteristics was loyalty to God and faithfulness to God’s Word.  Daniel knew the laws of the Old Testament and what foods were right and which foods were wrong to eat.  He had stated that he did not desire to eat the king’s food but would rather have a good course of vegetables instead.  It was going to be a contest as to which diet would be the better one.  God blessed Daniel and his friends and they came out on top so would be getting the course of diet that they requested rather than the delicacies of the king.  It was going to be a life of trials for Daniel and his friends as they continually were faithful to God rather than to King Nebuchadnezzar.  Daniel did not just prefer vegetables, He was committed to not violating the dietary rules of the Hebrew people because they were from God’s mouth and not his own.  There are perhaps many times when we think we have convictions about certain things but then find out that they are nothing more than  preferences.  God certainly has given us many instructions in His Word and all of them should be “convictions” rather than just preferences but they don’t always turn out that way. Convictions can come about after a preference becomes challenged in our society.  You and I may have preferences about our Christian lives but there may come a time when you have to decide that your desired lifestyle is a conviction and not just a preference.  Daniel knew that his lifestyle was going to be challenged and when it came he chose God’s way over the ways of the king in whose country he found himself.  How will you decide when the time comes?  Praise  God for His direction in our lives.

Believe in God

       I was recently watching a TV show where the dialogue went, “Do you believe in God?”  The reply was, “Sometimes.”  the dialogue was not meant to be a comedy scene, but a rather serious discussion between two people.  The obvious conclusion was that the two people are not believers at all but merely two people trying to make sense of the things that are happening in their lives.  While the dialogue was merely that of an entertainment broadcast, it does reflect the mindset of many people in the world today.  They seem to want to believe in God but do not have any proof that He exists and so then just write Him off as a figment of their imagination.  There was a comic strip in the 80’s called “BC” where the lives of “cave people” were discussed.  In one strip, the main character asked for evidence that there was a God.  The following panels showed great wonders of the world, sunsets, the heavens, meteors and finally, after having observed all of these wonderful things, the character proclaims, “Well, I guess there is no God.”  He had seen the answers but had refused them because he didn’t get what he wanted or had hoped for to convince him that there was a God. Job 38:1-2 says, “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,   ‘Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?’”

     Job was man of God but had some issues as to why he was going through the calamities that had befallen him.  After all of the discourses of Job and his three friends, God finally answers him in the beginning of chapter thirty-eight.  God’s words to Job could fit the response to many of the people in the world today.  “Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?” 

We know that God then continued to relate to Job things that Job should have known or thought of but didn’t.  The Book of Job at this point, becomes a science book as it relates things that only God could have done from the intricate designs of the snow flake to the giant animals or the matters of the universe.  We often look at a beautiful sunset and declare that it is the result of the Master Artist, God HImself.  We observe the healing of a person and declare how God has worked in that healing.  At the same time, we wonder what is going on in the world or why God isn’t answering our prayers or basically just doing things we way we would want them done in the time frame that we would want it to be accomplished.  It is those times that many people don’t believe in God.  Let us consider the compilation of sixty-six books by 40 authors with the same unique theme and continuity over a period of several thousand years.  You all have your own copy of this unique book and it alone testifies about the existence and working of God in our lives each and every day.  Job was being accused of “words that darkens counsel without knowledge.  It is indeed a shame that we find ourselves in the same situation.  You should believe in God because you got up, breathed, ate food, moved about the house, traveled to the store, met people, talked and had enjoyed the company of people in your life, lived through another day and went to sleep at night.  Without God, none of it would have taken place.  Even, and more so in death, you believe in God because He is going to get you to your final resting place for all eternity.  We should never say, “I believe in God sometime,” but rather, I believe in God all the time, twenty-four seven, three hundred sixty-five days of the year, all the years of my life.  Praise God for His working in our lives, all the time.

Stammering Lips

      As a child, I stuttered.  It was really bad and I dreaded the times that I would have to speak before the class at school or to recite some poem that we had to learn by heart.  Certain words were terrible with me such as the word, “radish.”  My Aunt Hattie knew about my problem as did the rest of the family but she took it on herself to at least make me say the word “radish.”  She pronounced it slowly and loud and it kept getting louder and slower as I tried to blurt out the “ra, ra ra, ra….”  I just couldn’t do it.  The stuttering plagued me in my life also while with A. T. and T. Co. and one of the difficult things for me to say was my last name, which was required many times while working on telephone circuits for putting information on work tickets.   My stuttering decreased when I decided to go into the ministry.  It seems like an impossible thing to take place, but it did.  I was able to preach and to teach the Word of God and my verbal stumbling was considerably less.  Some words would still give me trouble, but I knew how to control them and to sometimes replace them with other words.  I pretty much do not stutter anymore but I find that I now have trouble with typing the correct letters for the words I wish to put down on paper.  I have been relying on my spell checker to catch the obvious mistakes, but they often slip by.  You are probably saying that you know all of the mistakes that I make and how you have to correct them in your mind.  Exodus 4:10-11 says, “And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.  And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?”

Moses had trouble with speech also, or at least that is the excuse that he tried to give to God as to why he was not suited  for the task of leading the Israelites out of Egypt.  It is safe to assume that Moses didn’t want the job and was looking for anything possible that might disqualify him from doing it.  God, however, had chosen him and there was no excuse that Moses could come up with that God did not already have the solution.  We know that Moses ended up doing what God had commanded him to do.  The lesson for us is that whatever God calls us to do, He will equip us with what we need in order to do it.  When we think of clarity of speech we can come to the quick conclusion that God never stutters nor does He falter in His words.  After all, He is God.  What should amaze us is the famous grouping of words that says, “Thus saith the LORD.”  This little grouping of four words occurs some 413 times in the Old Testament. 

I hope you are as amazed about this phrase as I am.  What follows on each occasion is the fact that God says something.  It should excite us to know that God says anything but we have it recorded 413 times in the Bible.  You pretty much get to know a person by what they say and do.  I have a little email that I receive during the week that includes quotes by famous Christian leaders.  Some are quoted more than others because of what they said and how famous they are.  Spurgeon is quoted a lot and so is John MacArthur.  The prophets were saying that “these are not my words, but the words of God.”  “If you have a problem with what He said, take it up with Him.”  In the end, we can thank and praise God for His words to us and the fact that He never falters in His speech to us.

The Big Picture

             While working with American Telephone and Telegraph Company, I had the responsibility of driving a “company” car. You just couldn't step behind the wheel and drive off but had to have passed a company driving course. Not only that, you had to review that course every six months in order to keep you certification. One of the themes of the course was, “Get the big picture.” It meant that while driving down the road you had to be aware of everything that is going on around you as far as you could see both front and rear views of your vehicle. You looked for kids playing ball or other pedestrians, for wheels turned outward from a parking spot, how close the car is behind you and you had to check your review mirror at least every ten seconds or more. Along with the theme, the idea was always to have an escape route should something take place in front of you. The opposite is true with trying to manipulate a horse and carriage where the horse deliberately has blinders on to keep from being excited by the local squirrel. Genesis 3:15 says, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” 

           We often focus on specific scriptures and how they will apply to our lives in a very specific way. That is good, but there is also the “Big Picture” that God has for the world and its occupants or in other words, “us.” I once thought about the most basic reason for the Bible and came up with the fact that it can be summed up in four words: Man's problem, God's solution.” It is true that this involves much in life in a very practical and real way but man had a problem due to the fall in Genesis and God had the solution to that fall. The plan was going to be worked out. We can observe the plan through the Old Testament as we see the blood line going from Genesis 3 up and until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything was pointing to Him from the sacrifice of animals for the clothing for Adam and Eve, the sacrificial offerings and feasts and the prophecies. The Big Picture can be observed in all sixty six books of the Bible and we see the continuity of the Scriptures as they bring us the information of God's working out this plan. We then, can come to the conclusion that we have a problem and God has the solution. He has the solution for our eternal salvation and he has the solution for the grief and depression that may plague us in our lives here on earth. That fact that God has control over the Big Picture reminds us that God has control over us also. I have mentioned before that I don't believe in coincidence. Everything in our lives is under God's control and nothing is going to happen that is a surprise to Him. He is just that great! Praise God today that He knows your heart and every burden that is in it. He knows and He is working.

Ambassadors

            Washington, D. C. Has a number of residences which have been classified as "embassies" of foreign governments. They fly the flag of their own country outside of the building and it is a theoretical extension of their country. They can pretty well do what they want in their own building without causing too much of a ruckus. After we arrived in Spain, one of things on our immediate agenda was to travel down to the United States Embassy located in Madrid. We took our passports and headed down to the area and after showing our passports, were allowed to enter this piece of "America" located in the middle of Madrid, Spain. I began to speak to the people there in broken, very broken, I might say, Spanish. The man to whom I was speaking, interrupted me and said, "You can speak English here." I had forgotten that I was theoretically in the United States even though we were 6 thousand miles away from Virginia. In each embassy, there is a person who has the title of being the "Ambassador" who represents the United States in a foreign country. That principle is seen in the New Testament as the Apostle Paul speaks of a special opportunity that has been bestowed upon each and every Christian. Second Corinthians 5:20 says, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 

           Paul says in this passage that we are "ambassadors." It is a special title that has been granted to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and with this title comes certain privileges and responsibilities. Paul further explained in Philippians that we are citizens of heaven and therefore, this is not our home as such. Our home is already in a different place from which we currently living while here on this earth. As one song writer put it, "this earth is not my home, we are just passing through..." Ambassadors are also ones who have a responsibility to represent their country in what they do and say to others. The word that is used in this passage also appears in the Book of Ephesians where Paul says he was an ambassador in chains. We find that to be an ambassador is usually a very special privilege and one that is granted by the president, king, or premier of a country. It is a very special privilege and the title here on this earth is one that specifies that we are a representative of our home government. The same is true here. You and I are representatives of our "home country" which is not the state in which we are currently living or the country where we now reside, but heaven itself and we are under the authority of our Lord and Master, our King and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. When you think about it, that is a very special honor but one that has been given to all of us who believe on Him as our Lord and Savior. It should provoke us to ask ourselves "how are we representing Christ today?" Praise God today for opportunity that He has given to us to represent Him in the world today.

Important measurements

            We all seem to like measuring things. One thing we like to measure is snow. When we have a storm, people take the yard stick out and plant it in the ground just to see how much snow we had. I know of some people who have fallen down the steps from the house to the patio while walking out just to measure the snow. We als have to know our height and weight every times we fill out a form and we also need to know the year in which we were born. Some computer forms have a place to scroll down to find the year in which you were born. In my case, I have to hit the button four to five times to get to "1938." Many forms will require you to put down how old you are. When we were children, we couldn't wait to get to be a teenager. Then, as a teenager, we couldn't wait until we became 18 and thereby legal to do many different things. Then, as we got older, we suddenly found that the "birthdays" seem to come much quicker than when we were children and we may find ourselves actually forgetting how old we really are. One book once started out with a statement of an older gentleman who said. "I guess I am 92 or maybe it is 93, I really can't remember." We often find ourselves wondering just how old we really are. Of course, there is no difference, it just seems that the days pass by more quickly the older you get. There is, however, one birthday that we often forget. Most of the people in the world's system are not interested in this birthday. John 3:3-7 says, "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." 

           Jesus was referring to a second birth that was different from our physical birth. He must have considered it to be extremely important as He said it was a primary requirement in order to get into heaven. It boils down to this. You need to have 2 births and then 1 death. If not, you will have 1 birth and 2 deaths. Just as the fact of being born again is mentioned in the Scriptures, so is the fact that a person will experience the second death if they have not experienced the new birth. This fact, while alarming to some, or at least it should be, is also a blessing in that the person who has been "born again" knows that he or she is a member of the kingdom of God. Need something to praise God for today? Then, just think on the blessings of being born again. Praise God for the new birth. Second Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."