It's Time To Pray

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

     Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of his grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

     I find that my daily schedule is now far less than it was in the past. Years ago, I longed for the day when I would be able to sit back and relax in retirement but it isn’t what I thought it was going to be.  My wife and I have become part of the five percent of people that end up in a facility such as this assisted living one due to some hospitalization issues and Diane’s dementia.  I quickly found that my only way of getting out was for a doctor’s visit and the VA now has a home based primary care which means that the primary care people come to me.  At least , I get some time to talk to someone other than the residents and the bath lady.   I found that I now had time to write the devotion every day instead of the five days I did it for 20 years.  I also found that I now have enough time to pray longer and for more things than before.

      I have always been thankful for the above passage of Scripture as it gives all of us a promise that we can now approach the throne of grace to find help in time of need.  I often think, “Who isn’t needy in the world today?”  My home health nurse sent me a text recently saying, “I hate to bother you with this, but I have a prayer request.”  Sometimes, my nurses think that it is an imposition to lay another burden on me but that’s what I do.  It  is not only for me but for every believer to spend time in prayer for the needs of others.  I have been involved in several weekend prayer vigils where someone was praying around the clock for a couple of days.  We would all have thirty minutes and during those times of prayer I found that I would be done praying in about ten minutes and then struggle for the rest of the time to come up with something to pray for.  That is not the case now.  Most of all, we need to pray for the salvation of all those around us and not just once but to have a burden for their eternal destiny.  Some may have the attitude of saying, “Turn or burn.”  They might  feel that is enough.  They warned them and now it is up to them.  The ball is in their court.  I have found that I keep praying for an individual because I sometimes think they just tell me what I want to hear in order to keep me from pestering them about it.   Even after salvation, there are the needs of life which include disease, surgeries, jobs, family issues and death.  Prayer is our line of communication with God the Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.  Praise God today that you can go to Him any time, anywhere. 

A Penny For Your Thoughts

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

     Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” 

     My Father told me this little proverb, “Put your mind in gear before you put your mouth in motion.”  In other words,  “Think, before you speak.”  I have also heard someone say, “A penny for your thoughts.”  My usual reply was, “Nothing, really.”  Of course, I can’t recall too many times in my life when my mind has been totally free from thinking about something.  Many times, I don't want to reply to the “thought” question because I don’t want people to know what I am thinking.  We often have the idea that our thoughts are things which are private and no one deserves to know what I am thinking.  

     The above passage reminds us of the power of the Word of God, the Bible.  The words of the Scripture are so powerful that they can discern the true thoughts of each and every person on earth.  You become aware of this great power when you read a passage and come under conviction because you are not doing what it says.  The more you read, the more you become condemned by what  you read. It   is our inability to be aware of the conviction of the Spirit.  .  If we brush it off, we get used to doing that and find that the Word becomes less convincing  as time goes by.   

     God knows what we are thinking at all times and there is not even one fleeting moment that He does not know about.  He knows of all the decisions that we make about other people.  He knows each condemnation that we pronounce on others because of the way they look or act.  God knows when we would like to do something negative but hold back because we fee; that  would be inappropriate.  There are few people that would then stop reading the Bible, but instead would just stop applying it to their lives.  We have become used to doing that very thing and somehow feel that it will be accomplished later on in our life, but it rarely does.  They soon become forgotten.  We need to all pray before we read a passage and ask God to point out something in our life that needs to be changed and then to follow through on that request.  aIf there is a doubt as to how to remember all of these challenges, write them down.  Every passage is profitable for our lives as Second Timothy 3:16 says.  All Scripture is God breathed and profitable for doctrine, for reproof , for correction and for instruction.  If that verse is true, and ofcourse it is, then find an application from every portion that we may change our thought life.  It is a long process but we should be wearied by the task but rather enjoy it as our thoughts and intents of the heart become more Godly and less worldly.  Praise God today forf His Word.

Mighty Things are Coming

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

     Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”  

      Now and then I will say, “Now I have seen everything.”  I usually say that when something totally out of place occurs.  One good place to go to observe these things is Walmart on a Friday or Saturday evening.  Another spot I had was the mall in Roanoke on a weekend evening.  I would sit on a bench and just watch people and to observe different colors of hair and styles and people wearing torn jeans that they bought that way, and body piercing of all types.  They have rings in noses, ears, tongues, lips, studs everywhere and sometimes tattoos all over their body covering most of their skin.  I sometimes would smile inside and say to myself, “Now, I have seen everything.

     While we are free to observe obvious poor taste in our culture, we haven’t seen everything yet. We just wonder if things can get any more absurd than they already are.  God, however, has a lot more in store for us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  It is a timeless message from God. While it had specific dealing with Jeremiah and the situation he was in, it is also a statement that is applicable to us.  We may think that we have seen it all but we haven’t seen anything yet that will surpass what God has in store for us.  We are often amazed at the photos taken by the telescope in space  as it sends back images that make us stand in awe of their magnitude and beauty.  Can anything be any greater?  Just wait until you see a city shaped like a cube, 1500 miles high, 1500 miles wide and long.  Just  wait until you see the throne of God.  Just wait until you see your savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Just  wait until you see a people gathered where there is no sin adn where we will praise God with our voices that will finally be perfect with eyes and ears that have no boundaries.  Yes, there are many things that God has in store for us that we have  no idea how great they are.  I sometimes wonder how my fingerprint can be different than any other person that ever lived, is living, or will live.  I wonder at the DNA of every person in the world past, present and future, as to how it can be different and how every tree can have different DNA also.  God is that great and far greater.  So, as He said in Jeremiah 33:3,”Call unto me…”  We hear talk by newscasters on how terrible the recent storms have been and how they will probably be getting worse. Again, we can say, you haven't seen anything yet.  We marvel at hail the size of grapefruit but there is a hail storm coming where the stones are the weight of a talent.  That could be up to sixty pounds.  That a lot of ice falling from the sky.  We are appalled at the death rate of hundreds of people in a storm but you haven’t seen anything yet.  There will come a time when the death rated may be a third of the population of the earth in one might blow.  God will get the attention of the people of the world and there will come a time when every knee shall bow before the Lord Jesus Christ.  When you think you have seen everything, just remember, God has more to come!  Praise God today for His power and might!

In Like Manner

 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.”

     Every now and then you may experience what I would call a “wow” moment.  Something unusual takes place.  I recall that when we came back from Canada, we took time to stop at Niagara Falls and that was a “wow” moment  for me.  Another time we stopped at Hawks Nest  in West Virginia and I was reading the map near a large window, then turned to look out the window and the view was breathtaking.  Yes, it was another Wow moment.

     Forty days after the resurrection, the disciples were with Jesus on the Mount of Olives and were receiving some final instructions.  Then, there was the greatest of “wow” moments when the Lord Jesus Christ began to rise.    It was the ascension of the Lord Jesus christ back to heaven.  What happens next is equally  a “wow” moment as the angels give some logical instructions to the disciples.  It is a promise that is also mentioned throughout the New Testament and was also mentioned in John 14:1-6.  The Lord Jesus christ, would be coming back the same way, in the clouds. The Apostle Paul clarifies some things in First Thessalonians four when he tells the Thessalonians how it is going to happen.  Paul goes on to the end of that fourth chapter and says, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”  They sure are a comfort.  The world is going to stand in awe when this takes place.  We are living in a world where the signs are prevalent that the end is near.  The characteristics of Second Timothy 3:1-5 are clearly seen not only in our own country, but around the world.  The Antichrist could already be walking on the face of the earth as the world gets ready  amid the economic crisis, storms that break all kinds of records and the hearts of all mankind seem to be against God and against the church, the Bride of Christ.  It is interesting to also notice that the final instruction, in Acts 1:8 was for the disciples to go out with t he message of the Gospel, the dea th, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ  to a world that needs to hear it before it is too late.  As believers, we know that there are but two choices, heaven or hell for all eternity.  There is no Hollywood  place where the dead go from earth to heaven and fulfill a quest  nor is there sitting on a cloud playing a harp.  Praise God that He has made it clear about the second coming of His Son,   the Lord Jesus christ,  Be ready!

Music, Music, Music

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

     Ephesians 5:19 says, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;”

     I  probably have already mentioned that I like to sing.  My voice is getting a little rougher as age seems to take its toll on most of my members including my “voice box.”  That, however, doesn’t stop me from sending forth a tune as I go about my business no matter where I am at.  When I go to the VA, I wear my “School of Music” hat and when someone makes a comment about my singing, I just point to the hat.  Occasionally, my daughter, who is pushing my wheelchair, will comment, “Dad!  You are getting a little loud.”  I must be the only one that sings there, as a comment was made about someone hearing music, and it was me on the floor above the podiatry office and the nurse said, “Oh, that’s Mr. Freeland.”  Music is good.

     The above passage is one of my favorites, naturally, because it speaks about singing and list the three categories that appear in most hymn books.  We have put many of the Psalms to music, especially the 23rd Psalm   The hymn, “Under His Wings” mus have been inspired by Psalm 91.  The next area or category is “hymns.”  To me, these are the hymns that speak directly to God in worship such as “How Great  Thou Art” and “Holy, Holy, Holy.”  They are usually the first group of hymns in your hymnal and usually are around fifty to a hundred different hymns.  The rest of the hymns are really “spiritual songs.” which will have  a personal pronoun in them  :``It is Well With MY soul” is one where Spafford tells about his relationship with God even after losing most of his family in the sinking of the ship they were on.  “I heard an  old, old story,”  from “Victory in Jesus.”  “Rock of Ages, cleft for me” is another example.  You will find that  most of the hymns are really “spiritual songs” just as the verse indicates.  Fanny Crosby wrote over  3,000 hymns, or at least the words that was then set to music, such as “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is MINE.”    There is a lot of theology in the old hymns and it is good to listen to them as you go about your job or to have the music on in your home.   As you learn some of the history of the spiritual songs, you see how God was working in the songwriter's life and how He is still working in our own lives.  God used David to sooth King Saul by playing the lyre.  Jehoshaphat used the choir in the advancing army of Israel.  Singers were used in the worship in the Temple.  In Revelation we will hear a new song as it says in Revelation 5:9-9  “And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; “  Praise God for Heavenly music.

The Only Way

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

     Acts 4:12 says, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved “  

     I have been texting a person in England who said at the beginning that they were an atheist.  At one point I mentioned that she needed to know my God.  She informed me that she already knew my God as she had been raised Roman Catholic, her mother had been a Methodist Sunday School Teacher and she, the nurse, said that she had sung in various choirs as a young person and that her mother had gone to a Billy jGraham rally in London.  I said back to her that my God is a tad different than her upbringing.

     It is not that there is a god for the Catholics, a god for the Methodists and a god for the Baptist.  There is, obviously, only one  true God and that is the God of the Bible and has names such as El, Elohim, Jehovah and many other names as we have recently mentioned.  The difference that some have a difficulty accepting is the personal relationship with God.  While I was attending Indiana University for a year, I met a Catholic priest and was taking catechism instruction from him, intending to not only become Roman Catholic, but a priest of the Benedictine order.  After informing my family of my intentions, I was to no longer attend the university as they were not willing to pay my room and board and become a “mackerel snapper” as Catholics were called by the Lutherans in Indiana.  My Dad said, “Pick a branch of the service.  You are going in.”  I enjoyed the tradition, the music, the history of the Roman Catholic and had my crucifix, my missal and prayer books, but no personal relationship with God at all.  I was told that I was to pray to Mary because she would intercede for me with her son.  Thirteen years later I met the son myself and discovered that He loved me so much that He died for my sin.  I didn’t need Mary to intercede nor to pray to the saint of the day.  My Savior was sufficient.  That is the personal relationship that we can all have as a result of knowing the Savior personally.  We can speak to God the Father because our sins have been paid for by the sacrifice on the cross of His Son and there is no  other name in the whole world, whereby we can be saved.  We are reminded of that fact in the passage for today and Jesus Himself said it in John 14:6.  There is only one way to the Father and it is through Jesus Christ.  I never want to be disrespectful to God or say anything offensive to God and I feel that to have access into His throne of grace to find help is an extreme privilege, but I don’t need anyone else to intercede for me as do so many Catholic whether Roman or Greek or Russian.  The Lord Jesus Christ loved us so much that He paid the price for our sins.  He bore our sin that we might bear His righteousness.  Praise God for that very fact.

God's Presence

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

     Second Corinthians 11:25-28 says, “Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;   In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;  In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.  Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.” 

     There have been times when I was outside that a rain storm would come up unexpectedly and guess what?  I got wet.  There were also times when i couldn’t find anything to eat so my Aunt Edna told me about bread, mustard and sugar.  My meatless sandwich was good when i was hungry.  I would look for empty pop bottles and take them to the gas station for two cents.  If I found enough, I could get a R. C. Cola and a Moonpie.  

     When i came to know the LORD in a personal way, that is, became born again, born from above, born of God, things changed but when it rained, i still got wet and when there wasn’t any food around, I got hungry.  Being a believer doesn’t remove my problems but God is with me in the midst of my problems.  My  feeble sufferings don’t even come close to that of the Apostle Paul .  The above list shows just some of the things that he went through and in the end, he could still say that he was content.  I have become used to the things of my country and my lifestyle.  I have adequate shelter and a phone that tells me when it is going to rain and so I don’t tempt  the weather and go out in it when a storm is approaching.  The american way is to stock up on the things you might need, “just in case” something terrible will happen.  I am getting to use that phrase often as our culture demands that we take steps to protect ourselves, just in case…”  I often say that “God has never failed me yet.”  That is a true statement that since the early seventies, God has taken care of all of us in the family even when we thought there was no way of getting things accomplished.  I ran out of money for my college education, but God saw to it that the money would come from where I didn’t expect it to come and I have the degree to prove it.  I was candidating for my first position  in a church and for several months, didn’t have any prospects but I was filling in at our home church since the pastor had a terrible carbuncle on his neck and couldn’t wear a necktie and he wouldn’t preach without one.  As events went on, my last day in the pulpit at that church was my pastor’s first day back in the pulpit.  God had it all under control as we left and headed South to our first position.  We all probably have the same testimony on how God always met our needs because He said He wouled never leave us nor forsake us.  Praise God for His promises.