I have been on a C. S. Lewis binge lately, reading several of his books...here are some excerpts that really hit home from Mere Christianity.

• Pg. 71 - "That is why Christians are told not to judge. We see only the results which a man's choices make out of his raw material. But God does not judge him on the raw material at all, but on what he has done with it."
• Pg. 72 - "I would much rather say that every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature."
• .Pg. 150 - "On the other hand, surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in the cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats; it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am."

In the first quote, I find it interesting that we make judgments on partial information. What a surprise! In most instances, we have no idea what has been given to someone or what they have done with it so far. Only God knows, and only God can properly judge. The second quote reminds me that I must be careful in the little decisions that I make every day for they have an impact in my life as the weight of them accumulates. The third quote sheds light on spiritual warfare. Each "small" victory or defeat is part of the entire battle and the Commander In Chief is the only One that really sees the entire battle. The final quote confirms that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. We can fool others and ourselves quite easily, but God is the One that controls the light switch and He is the only one that can exterminate the rats. Failures are excellent reminders that there are still rodents that need to be dealt with in the hidden places of our heart and mind. Let's ask God to turn on the light and help us grow!

Fifteen years ago today Hope Family Fellowship was officially birthed...the vision had been ruminating around in my spirit for years, but December 5, 1993 was the launch day. After an intense spiritual battle, Hope FF became a reality. God moved in marvelous ways to provide a place to meet and a family to lead worship, thus confirming the direction we had received. Many of my peers in the ministry simply said that a church like Hope could never work. “You must have programs, entertainment for the children, and follow the typical methods if you hope to make it long term,” I was told. My response was, “Well, we are going to try anyway!”

One of the ladies that attended the early services insightfully questioned, “I wonder if you will be able to keep this vision ten or fifteen years?” I must admit that I too wondered! There were many days when we simply wanted to give up. Dusting off my résumé on Mondays became part of my weekly ritual! Families would come and go, proclaiming, “you have been our best pastor, and we love your vision...but we feel lead to go elsewhere.” Older young people would leave to go to youth groups or to join other churches where their friends attended. People would criticize the worship complaining, “It’s too boring” or “it’s too contemporary.” “We want more hymns,” or “we hate all the hymns.” “It has a beat,” or “it doesn’t have enough of a beat.” And, I sometimes offended folks by touching on such taboo areas as modesty and music in my gentle preaching style ☺ ...but we didn’t quit.

Of course, there have been the victories as well..faithful friends have helped carry the burden of ministry in prayer, service, and financial support. Many have stayed, put down roots, and helped Hope become a great church family! Many are attempting to implement the vision in their homes and these efforts greatly encourage our hearts. And, fifteen years later we are still keeping the vision, staying the original course set all those years ago.

Somewhere along the line we learned that we were a “Family-Integrated” church. It was nice to finally figure out what we were! We wanted a church where families could worship together, and husbands and wives could grow together. We desired to have a place where singles and older children could invest in the generation following. A church home where young and old could love and serve each other. We didn’t want to dissect the family, but provide a place for unity, support, and growth. We wanted to be different than our culture, rather than imitate it. Hope is not a perfect church, but we are headed down a path that I believe is close to the Biblical example.

On our 15th birthday, I want to say thank you to each one of you that has played a role in making Hope Family Fellowship a wonderful place to be part of...a great family! We are looking forward to the next 15 years to see what the Lord has planned!

What will next year bring? Maybe this is the year to reach out. Possibly 2004 is the year to begin some type of ministry or outreach. If you sing, perhaps you can gather a few others and start ministering to those forgotten ones in a nursing home. Perchance if you love to share the Word you could go with them and hold a Bible Study. Maybe this is the year to reach out to your neighbors; perhaps by baking or doing some type of work project for an elderly couple in your area. How about 3-4 families helping a family whose husband is in Iraq with home maintenance? Maybe this is the year to invite someone over to your house and begin to be a friend to those you do not know or know well. Maybe a Bible study or prayer group is in order. Perhaps this year you could begin attending a home fellowship or even consider leading one. Maybe this is the year to begin to attend on Wednesday evenings and grow in your understanding of the Scripture. Ministry opportunities are endless when we simply look around for those to serve. Maybe you are not ready to reach out to others, but this is the year to begin to have a regular time of devotions and prayer. This could be the year to begin that prayer journal you have always wanted to keep. This year could be the one when old habits are broken and new godly ones are established. 2004 is ahead of us and is completely new without any mistakes or failures. What is accomplished next year will depend largely on what decisions you begin to make now. Seek the Lord and He will lead you in His path of righteousness and rest. 2004 will be great!

Well, 2000 is history. What an amazing year it was! From its shaky beginning with threats of destruction from Y2K to the mess of the strangest election in history, it has been quite a ride. Who knows what next year will be like? Perhaps milder or perhaps even more volatile, time will tell for sure. One thing that was not shaken was the Kingdom of God. God is still on the throne and His plan and purposes continue to march on to their conclusion. Reading through the Bible every year gives a good overview of life and history. No matter what may befall us the end of the Book of Revelation will still come. A new heaven and a new earth will arrive right on God's schedule. Tears will be wiped away and life eternal awaits all of us, some to life with God and some to death away from Him. Read the end of the Book - we win!

I love A. W. Tozer and his writing style. I heard a man on the radio say the other day, "Î wish that I could just write one sentence like that sometime in my life before I die". The man who said it was Alistair Begg who is not exactly a slouch in his communication skills! But I understand his feeling...

From a devotion entitled "The Perils of Too Much Liberty" -

• "I think the difficulty lies with our failure to distinguish freedom from liberty, which are indeed sisters but not identical twins. Freedom is liberty within bounds: liberty to obey holy laws, liberty to keep the commandments of Christ, to serve mankind, to develop to the full all the latent possibilities within our redeemed natures. True Christian liberty never sets us free to indulge our lusts or to follow our fallen impulses."
• "Unqualified freedom in any area of human life is deadly. In government it is anarchy, in domestic life free love, and in religion antinomianism (no law). The freest cells in the body are cancer cells, but they kill the organism where they grow."
• The ideal Christian is one who knows he is free to do as he will and wills to be a servant. This is the path that Christ took; blessed is the man who follows Him.

I understand that we are perfectly free in Christ to make a wide range of decisions that are outside of the direct commands in Scripture. But there are principles that should come into consideration when we ponder these decisions, such as:

1. Am I causing someone to stumble by actions or lack of them?
2. Am I thinking of others as better than myself?
3. Is what I am doing being led by the Holy Spirit?
4. Is what I am doing demonstrating one of the fruit of the Spirit, like self-control for example?
5. Am I using this liberty to gratify my flesh, lusts, or as an excuse for carnal, worldly behavior?
6. Am I violating any part of Scripture by using my freedom in this way?
7. Am I damaging my testimony for Christ in any way by this choice?

Over the last three decades I have encountered many that boldly proclaim their freedom to do whatever they desire, yet relatively few that seek to limit themselves for the sake of others. I believe we are completely free to die for Christ's will, to esteem others as more important than ourselves, and to crucify ourselves daily, this is true liberty.

C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity concludes one of his chapters with the following thought provoking section:

“God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else- something it never entered your head to conceive –comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing; it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realized it before or not.”

When the Day of the Lord finally arrives those that are still alive, will all fall down...some in worship, others in dread. Those that cling to a false hope of confessing and repenting right before this happens are holding to an illusion. When the heavens begin to disappear and the rocks begin to rain down, repentance will be far from the terrified mind. As the curtain of heaven is torn back and Jesus steps (or rides) through, every eye will see Him and there will be time for nothing but love or panic. While there are many views as to the details and timing, little disagreement is left about the consequences of the Return. We need to be those that repent quickly and are ready to fall down in worship not horror. Today is the day of salvation… The final D-Day approaches!

Below is another excellent thought from No Place for Truth or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology by David Wells.

The self is a canvas too narrow, too cramped, to contain the largeness of Christian truth. Where the self circumscribes the significance of Christian faith, good and evil are reduced to a sense of well-being or its absence, God’s place in the world is reduced to the domain of private consciousness, his external acts of redemption are trimmed to fit the experience of personal salvation, his providence in the world diminishes to whatever is necessary to ensure one’s having a good day, his Word becomes intuition, and conviction fades into evanescent (fleeting) opinion. Theology becomes the therapy, and all the telltale symptoms of the therapeutic model of faith begin to surface. The biblical interest in righteousness is replaced by a search for happiness, holiness by wholeness, truth by feeling, ethics by feeling good about one’s self. The world shrinks to the range of personal circumstances; the community of faith shrinks to a circle of personal friends. The past recedes. The Church recedes. The world recedes. All that remains is self.

As many in the Faith continue to seek to understand self, embrace self, support self, and love self, instead of crucify self, strange doctrine and immature lives follow. Christianity is far greater than self. We begin by our self as we choose to embrace the cross of Christ, then we will live the rest of our days on earth in the Body of Christ. It is not all about me or for that matter, you. It is all about Jesus Christ and His Kingdom and His work and His glory! My happiness or possessions, or understanding of personal good and evil are in many ways irrelevant. As the early martyrs died to give birth to the Church, what would have happened if they had loved their self and refused to follow their Lord? This infatuation with self is a dangerous movement that has crept into the mindset of the Church. The Church is about Jesus and Him crucified, raised from the dead, and returning soon as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It is hard to keep my eyes on the sky when they are always turned in to my self. At the root of many sins and relational problems in marriage and family are the love of, and pursuit of self, instead of love and pursuit of God and His purposes.

Here is a second quote that makes me pause as well from Mr. Wells...

And when people are no longer compelled by God’s truth, they can be compelled by anything, the more so if it has the sheen of excitement or the lure of the novel or the illicit about it. The heretics of old, one suspects, would be sick with envy if they knew of the easy pickings that can now be had in the Church.

I pray we remain or become students of the Word of God so that we are not "easy pickings" to deception and the exaltation of self. Have you embraced your cross today?

The first Sunday in 2001 is upon us. This is a new year full of promise and expectation. What will it bring? While in the world we may expect tribulation, fear, and despair, in Christ we can look forward to growth, love, and joy. Yes, there will be hardships and difficulties of varying degree in 2001, but that at does not change God's love for me. Changes will come in 2001 (sounds sort of poetical doesn't it?) Change is not necessarily bad. In fact, change can often be very good. Being changed from one degree of glory to another degree of glory is very good, but it is still change. The old must be put off so the new can be embraced. Old habits and faults give way to new disciplines and grace. Hardships and difficulties are good when they drive us to Christ and help burn off the chaff in our lives. God often removes jobs, friends, houses, and many other security items in our lives to draw us closer to Him. God desires that we would walk with Him daily, no even closer than that, minute by minute, or breath by breath. God will not share His glory with anyone else He will not share His bride with anyone else, so, God removes the competition. God desires that we would be totally His and He loves us so much He will remove whatever obstacle that may hinder that desire. While we may not be able to see clearly what hinders our walk with God, He does not have that problem God makes changes in our lives often and in varying degrees so that we can walk closer to Him. May 2001 be a great year to get closer to our heavenly Father.

We are saved by grace. People argue over whether we were selected, or elected, or if we have a free will or not, and I will let others decide that issue. Many have been debating that subject for the last four hundred years or so and I imagine they will continue for a few more. However, we were saved by grace. After salvation grace is still given. Grace to serve, grace to give, grace to forgive and a thousand other areas in which God pours out His grace. In the mix of this life, somehow God gives us grace to use our wills to obey Him and fulfill His purposes. I do not always understand how it all works, but I know Who does! We use our will to love others, worship, die to ourselves, and God gives us the grace to accomplish these acts of our will. Sounds confusing, but it is a mystery of God. God gives us a free will to die to our self and live for others and if we are willing, He will give us the grace to accomplish it! Worship is an act of our will. I will worship you Lord with all of my heart ... I choose to worship you in spite of every hindrance. I will lay down my life for others. I will serve when my flesh does not want to. I will pray, tithe, put away evil, flee from immorality, obey the law, submit to authority, and the list of my choices is endless. All of these require a decision of my will. What is amazing is that as soon as I decide to follow what is right grace is released to do it! God gives me the grace to do what is right but that grace is usually not released until I choose to do what is right. Maybe this is part of what is meant by that "work out your salvation" reference ... I am saved by grace and then I spend the rest of my life receiving more grace to do what my heavenly Father desires as I yield to Him.

While attending my annual four-day prayer summit, I was again struck by the diversity and difficulty in the Body of Christ. While there are many differences in style of worship, teaching, and even fellowship, there are many things that remain the same. Many of the brothers have children in rebellion and wives that are close to being destroyed. One brother was broken to the point of despair because his wife just filed for divorce and his church had just collapsed. Several were weeping over rebellious children who have thrown off the religion of their parents. Pain and heartache was immense. As we wept with these men I felt again the urgency of keeping on with our vision of making sure our Christianity works at home because our labors will be in vain if we fail there. We may have a great church full of successful program but if we lose our wife or children, have we really been successful? Many of these men have large works yet they would trade them in a heartbeat to have their wife or children back. I am not opposed to large works or successful ministries, but we must not sacrifice our families on the altar of ministry (or work, play, or whatever else desires to steal them.) Christianity must work at home before we export it.

Another Old Sermon Thought...Taken from: "Fredrick W. Robertson 1816-1853 God's greatness and man's greatness -"

"At present, with hearts cleaving to earth, and tossed by a thousand gusts of unholy passion, we can only form a dim conception relatively of what holiness implies. None but the pure can understand purity. The chief knowledge that we have of God's holiness comes from our acquaintance with unholiness. We know what impurity is - God is not that. We know what injustice is - God is not that. We know what restlessness, guilt, and passion are. Deceitfulness, pride, waywardness - all these we know. God is none of these. And this is our chief acquaintance with His Character. We know what God is not."

Often negatives are used to explain a positive. Darkness is the absence of light. Kindness is not being mean, sharing is not being selfish, and as stated above, we gain knowledge of God by looking at what He is not. He is not hate but love. He is not deceitful, but He is truth. He is not given to change, but immutable. God is not a man. We look at ourselves and we know that God is not one of us. God is described as "transcendent". This means that He is totally "other" than man. Sometimes as we contemplate what we do know about God it inspires us spiritually, moves us emotionally, and motivates us to action, either restrictive or proactive. As we drink deeply of what we can know of God, our lives should change as we ask Him to reform us. When we see the unlovely in ourselves or when we know we are not being Christ-like, we ask God to change us; to make us look more like Christ. Often the motivation for this heart cry is seeing how far we are from what we know Him to be. We need to turn our eyes upon Jesus and ask God to conform us.

It seems like things very rarely work out like we plan. Life seldom follows a straight and easy path. The road always seems to be full of curves and dips and even some potholes. Road construction and the ever-present orange barrels line our lives. Detour signs and men in bright jackets with "slow" signs are always popping up. Wouldn't life be just great if we could just go straight and at the speed we wanted? Well, maybe not. I enjoy mountains and valleys and often detours and unplanned turns provide some interesting distractions to the everyday. Straight roads are fine for awhile but they can get very boring. Where would our life be without the detours and the surprises that God brings into them? Would we really look forward to the future if we knew exactly what was ahead? What if we really did get our own way in everything? No, sometimes God allows detours and roadblocks because He knows that something much better is down a different road than the one we would have chosen. Let's slow down, enjoy the view, and quite honking!

"He who is off the course, the more swiftly he runs is the more distant from the goal: and therefore, the more unhappy. It is better to limp in the way then run out of the way." - John Calvin. I read this quote last week and have been thinking about it daily. Often times it seems like we are really making good progress and other times like we are completely off course. Some days we feel so close to God and others like He is millions of miles away and has a "do not disturb" sign hung up on the throne room door. It is good to check daily which direction we are heading. Are we running towards the goal that Christ has set before us or away from it? If we are running away from what the Lord has for us, no matter how fast we run, we are still going the wrong way and will not make progress. If we are heading in the right direction, even if we feel we are carrying a thousand-pound weight and can barely move, we are still better off than making great progress in the wrong direction. Speed is not the issue, direction is. Growing a little every day is better than not growing at all. Moving an inch in the right direction is better than a mile in the wrong one. Which way are we headed is the correct question, not how fast am I going.

Samuel Lee (1627-1691) was a Congregational Puritan minister in New England and this excerpt was taken from a sermon entitled, “What Means May Be Used towards the Conversion of Our Carnal Relations?”

"Crush vipers in the egg. Exercise your rods upon the serpents’ head when they first creep out of their holes, being chill and feeble in the beginning of the spring. 'I will early destroy all the wicked of the land', says David (Psa 101:8). You must set about this work early in life and stop every evil and disagreeable word at the first hearing. Watch the beginnings, the first bubblings of corruption in them. A man may pull off a tender bud with ease; but if he let it grow to a branch, it will cost him some pains."

“Watch the beginnings” is what jumped out to me...in addition to the first sentence and the fact that I like to crush vipers...no offense intended to my snake loving friends, I am speaking metaphorically here...however, it really doesn’t bother me all that much to run over snakes, but I digress…..

How we begin will often determine where we end. Perhaps better stated, what we allow in the beginning may take over in the end. Having done my share of wrestling with trees, weeds, and ivy, the sooner caught the easier they are to defeat and remove. Sin is like that. The sooner we crush it, the easier it is to defeat. The longer it is allowed to grow and flourish the more work that must be exerted to remove it from our life. Never allowing pornography in our life is far easier than attempting to defeat it later on. The same can be said of any besetting sin. If I resist wicked thoughts in the beginning, they are far easier to defeat than sinful actions performed later on. Crush it early before it takes root...watch the beginnings!

The above sermon dealt primarily with raising children and the point was to help them defeat sin before it defeats them. It is far easier to train a toddler than to restrain an untrained teen...pull the roots of sin out early before they become a hard to remove, strangling vine...we only have a limited time with each child before they depart from our homes...may we use it wisely…

One of the easiest ways to fall into sin is through drifting. We simply let our relationship with God drop in the busyness of life. We miss a church service or two, let our quiet time of prayer and Bible study lapse, and before we know it, a month has passed and we feel out of touch with God. There are seasons of course when we cannot be as diligent as we wish, but what I am referring to is a pattern in our life. God seems distant, our prayer life is stagnant, and we wonder how we arrived at this place. There is no easy way out of this situation, but there is help for those that desire it!

First, we must recognize that we have an enemy that loves to deceive us, distract us, and desires to destroy us. If he cannot take us down through a frontal assault, he will attempt to get us into apathy and drifting. Both techniques are successful. Once we realize that we do not war after the flesh, and that our weapons are not fleshly, we can get back into the battle!

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 - For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

Our enemy loves to create "strongholds". This word means, "an argument or reasoning". Since our enemy is a liar and only speaks what is untrue, deception and lies are his primary weapon against the believer. Once we believe these lies, we allow the devil to build a "fortress or castle" called a stronghold in our mind. If we attempt to battle this with "fleshly" weapons, we will lose the conflict. Flesh weapons include human reasoning, will power, majority opinion, etc. The Scripture states that our weapons are not fleshly but have divine power to destroy the lies of the enemy! The stronghold is in our mind and the weapons we use must renew our mind!

Romans 12:2 - Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

How do we fight the enemy? What weapons do we have against him? Our primary weapon against the lies of the devil is Truth. We need to be saturated with the truth. When we accept the battle on our enemy’s terms, we will lose. When we attempt to defeat him with reasoning, will power, and human opinion, we are already defeated; we just do not realize it yet. Where do we find this weapon? How do we use it?

John 17:17 - Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth

Psalm 117:11 - I have stored up Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You

Jesus also said that, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life". If we hope to tear down the fortress of lies and deception, we must use the weapon of truth! When we couple this weapon with prayer (Sword of the Spirit – Ephesians 6:17), we can win the battle! We must abide in Christ and let His Word abide in us - John 15:7 - If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

We must reestablish our time of Bible reading/study (truth) to combat the lies that are bombarding us. How long has it been since we read the Scripture? Reading Ephesians takes about as much effort as reading one or two columns of newsprint or a couple of magazine pages. If we forget that we are in a battle, we will lose it. The only way to combat deception, sin, and apathy is by becoming proactive. We must begin again to read and pray God’s Word. We must take up the weapons of our warfare! God has given us what we need to stand victorious against our foe; will we do it? If God seems distant right now, perhaps it has been awhile since you talked to Him and read His love letter to you in the Scripture.

Begin again today. Start with Ephesians, sprinkle in a Psalm or two, perhaps a dash of Proverbs, a pinch of Gospel...fight drift! Take up your Weapons and let us get back into the battle! Let us make today, "Tear down a stronghold day!"

Life -unfolds a day at a time and is to be enjoyed and embraced the same way. It seems we spend so much time looking to the future hoping to travel, retire or some other longed for activity that we can't really enjoy today. Or, we spend way too much time regretting our yesterdays that today is choked out with regrets. "I wish I would have taken that other job" or "Did I marry the right person?" or "Why did I ever do _____ ?" or "I wish that would have never happened." We can spend so much time reliving the past that we fail to live in the present. We can not change what has happened in the past and we really don't have too much control over what will happen in the future. We should stop and simply enjoy today. We will never be in the exact same situation as we are today. The moment we are in right now can not be repeated, it too will soon slip into the past. The apostle Paul told us to forget the things that are behind and press on to the things that are ahead. Jesus told us to not worry about the future but take each day as it comes. We must not let our past failures or even our successes rob us of our joy today. We must not let the future rob us of today. We really only live now not in the past or the future. Don't forget to slow down a little bit and enjoy each day that you have. Laugh more and love more today. Don't put off to the future what should be enjoyed today. Yesterdays are gone and tomorrows may never come, each one of us simply has today - don't waste it.

My end-time theology is fairly easy to understand. While not overly deep, I think it is fairly straight forward. Every writer of the NT, that addressed the issued, believed they were living in the last days and that the Day of the Lord was at hand. My theology is that we are closer now, then when they wrote those statements almost 2000 years ago! While I do not spend a great deal of time developing elaborate theories on who the anti-christ may be, or when the seven bowls will be poured out, (for the record, I am not saying it is wrong to develop these theories) I do believe we are living in the last days - at least our last days. The Lord indeed may come at any time or He simply may call us home whenever He so desires. I believe He does hold the keys to life and death. Because of the age we live in, we can follow world events unlike any generation that has preceded us. We have the ability to see photos or video or almost any destruction around the globe in an instant. Each earthquake or disaster is readily available either on the TV or Internet. The recent earthquake and tsunami that devastated the coastlines of Asia are examples of what I mean. While watching some of the utter destruction and sheer power of the waves, I was reminded of some of the verses in the Book of Revelation. One-third of the earth will be burned up, and there will be earthquakes and plagues, and death and destruction etc. There is much I do not understand about Revelation and the prophetic literature of Scripture, but one thing I do understand, it is God that holds the power. Even our secular news media made statements about the whole earth being shaken. God has promised that He would shake once more all that could be shaken. From this "little" shake around India, look what happened. What will the end times look like, if this is a little shaking? I'm not sure, but the point is, God has His plan, His purpose, and His people. We need to be about His business doing His will. The end will come when God is finished. We must be ready.

Expectations are a very interesting emotion. I guess they could be a thought process but I think emotion is a better way of looking at them. One thing about expectations is that life very rarely lines up with them! When we are young, we always look forward to adulthood with great expectation. Then when we arrive at adulthood we see our expectations were not what we expected. We seem to do this with all of life; marriage, stages of life, children, work, play, and even our relationship with God. Rather than enjoying each moment as it comes, we usually are frustrated with disappointment because of dashed expectations. The reality we live in does not match the fantasy of our expectations and we are let down. We spend large quantities of time in frustration over our dreams not being fulfilled and we miss the miracles all around us. We are robbed of the present by being angry or disappointed over the dream not being fulfilled. God has given us everything we need to live a wonderful, fulfilling life and we often waste it by complaining over what should have been or could have been. Let us just try to enjoy each moment.

This excerpt from a sermon entitled, “Facing the Giant,” by C. David Matthews, struck pretty close to home:

“Perhaps it is my high opinion of myself, but I often have the audacity to think that my experience of facing a giant is unprecedented. My response is to isolate myself in this situation and to try to cope with the giant alone. I am highly susceptible to an exaggerated sense of self-sufficiency. I think I should be able to handle all of my problems by myself. This thinking is not only foolish, it can be fatal.”

The sermon focused on the battle between David and Goliath. David was not sufficient to face this giant alone and he did not. David went “in the name of the Lord!” I am also sure that David had the support and prayers of all those watching this battle. What stirred in me as I read this paragraph was that I am often guilty of attempting to keep all my burdens inside to the exclusion of my family, friends, and even God. I think I should be able to handle anything that comes my way. The truth is we need God, and others to assist in our personal struggles. We all need prayer support, advice, and sometimes even physical help like meals or some other type of assistance. God designed His Church to be a living, interacting Body. Eyes, hands, feet, and the rest of the parts of the Body need each other to function, and to present a whole picture to a fractured world.

The second thing I think about when I read the paragraph is that I am often tempted to believe that what I am facing is unique. While we may not want to admit thoughts like these, “My difficulties or hardships are the worse ones ever! No one has ever had to face what I am facing,” I confess there are times when they do pass through my mind. I realize of course, that there are many who have faced giants far bigger and more dangerous than any I have encountered, but sometimes that is hard to remember in the fray. Part of the support we can offer one another are the sharing of our victories and our defeats. Everyone faces giants. Mine is not the first or last one that will rage and challenge. Others have fought and defeated my giant’s relatives and I need to hear those stories! In the “Name of the Lord” all giants will fall. We are not alone and we are not self-sufficient. Perhaps our giant’s slaying will eventually lead to a story to help some other warrior.

Whatever the name of our giant, he has been fought before. Fear, doubt, worry, financial hardship, lust, anger, selfishness, aging, and a host of other giants roam our lives seeking to defeat us. We need to battle them in the Name of the Lord and by the strength received from others...The truth is we need God and each other very much to stand in the battle!

It is amazing to me how fickle my emotions are. Little things can cause extreme discouragement. Life can be going on just great and then the smallest comment is made or something just does not go the way I think it should, and wham, I am down in the dumps. A hurtful word or insensitive action can simply ruin hours of a perfectly good day. Of course, that makes me wonder how many perfectly good days I have ruined for countless folks with my big mouth or insensitive actions. However, that is not the point, at least in this comment... The point is how to not react but to look to Christ in every moment of my life. When I take my eyes off the Lord and place them on me, I will always be down. When I can look at Jesus and rest in His will then peace comes. If I can embrace the cross and die to self-daily I will not allow others weakness or faults to derail me. If I will abide in the shadow of the Almighty, even my emotions can be redeemed and I can have those rivers of life flowing out of me ... in spite of what I feel or what others may say or do.

Fredrick W. Robertson 1816-1853 God’s greatness and man’s greatness -

"But if you look simply to the question of resemblance to God, then look to the man who makes it a habit to select that one in life to do good to or that one in a room to speak with, whom others pass by because there is nothing either of intellect or power or mane to recommend him, but only humbleness. That man has stamped upon his heart more of heavenly similitude by condescension that the man who has made it his business to win the world’s great ones, even for the sake of truth."

"We learn the guilt of two things of which this world is full - vanity and pride. There is a distinction between these two. But the distinction consists in this; the vain man looks for the admiration of others; the proud man requires nothing but his own." And, "If a man looks for greatness outside of God, it matters little whether he seeks it in his own applause or in that of others."

These sentences caught my attention because they ring of such seldom spoken truth. In the first paragraph we consider the question - How do we interact with or spend time with those who are of "no account" by public opinion or the world; those who seem to be "un cool" or "somewhat strange" in fashion, word, personality, or appearance? This world system tries to convince us to look and act a certain way in order to be popular or accepted. If we wear a certain brand clothing, drive a particular type car, dress in a particular style we are in - if we buck those social norms, we are out. Of course "in and out" where, or with whom, probably should be asked...It is a very fleeting standing being "in"...from those of old enough to remember leisure suites and bell bottoms, we learned that styles come and go very quickly; only slightly faster than being "in or out"!

In a previous season of my life, I interacted with many, many pastors. I was the right-hand man to an influential pastor in the city and often sat with him at large pastor gatherings...as we sat there it was always interesting to me to observe who would come up to the man next to me and how they would act. This man would receive royal treatment, and while he was worthy of respect, hero worship was not in order. What always caught my attention was how many "little" pastors would be passed over in order to get a photo op with this man. A man who labored for decades in his small church was not worthy of time or attention by those who shoved him out of the way to get near the successful man. I believe much insight could be gathered from simply observing this behavior. What was being valued was success and being around success, not respect for the men who appeared not to be as successful. Only eternity will determine who was actually successful...but many good pastors were snubbed by those who wanted to be seen, accepted, and admired by those who were "in". And, I can’t help but think that those who were passed over had a tremendous amount of insight that could have been used, if simply sought out.

The second paragraph also caught my attention. Where do I get my self-worth from? Is it from the applause of men? Is it tied to how well I perform? How many toys I have or how much money I accumulate? If greatness can be achieved outside of God then it is surely temporal, for only God, and what comes from Him, will stand the test of time. Pride and vanity are both weaknesses and while different, are connected. Vanity requires praise from others and is seriously injured when the praise and admiration is not given. Pride does not require others, but can meet the need for vanity from within. Both however, are trying to get self-worth, standing, and acceptance from the wrong source. Man can not make us secure, only God can. Pride and vanity come in many forms, but the root is the same…self-centered, not God-centered.

The bottom line is that yet again, our thinking needs to be challenged...how do we treat others? What do we think about ourselves? Where does our value and self-worth come from? Are there people we have ignored because they do not measure up? Are there people that we not invited into our circle because they are different? Are we so full of ourselves that we either don’t need anyone else, or are afraid of everyone else’s opinion of us? These are some tough questions that take serious introspection to answer...but God has the answers for those who dare to ask!

Below is an excerpt from a new book I am writing entitled, Courage to Flee. The book is my attempt to help folks in the battle to overcome lust and sexual immorality...it is in the editing and finishing up stages right now and will run around 100 pages give or take...this section is taken from the first chapter entitled, "The Slippery Slope of Compromise".

I heard a young, successful pastor proclaim to a large audience after an older pastor committed adultery, "I would never do such a thing", and a chill went up my spine. The arrogance of this statement was astounding and I pray for this young man off and on that he will live up to his boasting. There are certain things that we should have a healthy fear of and moral failure is one of them. To think we are immune or unable to fall is naive at best and extremely dangerous at worst. Of all the sins listed in the Scripture this type is the only one that we are told to run from.

1 Corinthians 6:18 - Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

Flee is defined, "to seek safety in flight",or "to run away", and "to escape". What this means in simple language is that we need to run for cover whenever we even sense a hint of sexual immorality arising in our lives. Long before someone ends up in a motel room or back seat of a car, they had many opportunities to run away. Addictions do not begin when they are avoided at the start. Addictions begin by repeated feedings. There is a time to raise our shield of faith and boldly proclaim, "I will not move". Yet again, there is a time to know that we cannot win if we stay and therefore we must run! The Scripture tells us to run for our lives in the face of sexual immorality and a wise person will heed this warning.

Well, the election is over, our guy either won or lost...about half of the country is either ecstatic or depressed depending on their point of view and we wonder what we do now. Here is my list...

1. Give thanks in everything for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.
2. Consider it pure joy when (not if) we encounter various trials.
3. Embrace God’s discipline for He loves us enough to correct us.
4. Hide the Word of God in our hearts so we will not sin.
5. If things do get really bad over the next four years, we need the Word of God to sustain us, hide more of it in my heart.
6. Refocus my thinking and activities on what is eternal not temporal.
7. Realize that our life is a vapor and will soon be over, only what is done for Christ will last.
8. Re-listen to last week’s message about God’s sovereignty.
9. Reach out in love, service, and share the life-changing power of the Gospel, beginning at home.
10. Invest in relationships and the furtherance of God’s Kingdom while praying for those in authority (even if I don’t like them!).
11. Get my financial house in order; give, retire debt, get on a budget.
12. Realize that God was not surprised by the outcome even if we were.

There you have it, my list of 12 things to do now that the voting is finished...and if you did not get enough of politics this year, remember that the election for 2012 begins today!

"Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness...I dare not trust in anything, but wholly lean on Jesus name! On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all else is shifting sand...all else is shifting sand!"

May we build wisely...

What a beautiful dawning awaited me one morning outside. Crisp, fresh, new, with abundant color in the sky, just waiting to be enjoyed. The previous night the sky was dark and cloudy with a hint of rain or snow, and then the next day - beautiful. Each day presents itself with out any sin or damage in it. What we do with it from the moment we awake determines the day. Our walk with God is very similar. We can be caught in the depths of sin one night and be fresh and clean the next morning (or instant). The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. Freedom from sin is a gift that can not be bought because it is priceless. We will still live with the results of our sin (death) but the forgiveness is ours to enjoy for eternity. Go to the Lord for He longs to forgive you and love you.

What a wonderful time of the year to give thanks to our God! As we reflect back on the previous year, there is much to be grateful for - even if it might be hard to think of anything right off the top of you head, think deeper! If you are reading this you can give thanks for your eyes, your brain, your health, your presence in church, your heart, your breath, well, you get the idea. If you ate this week you can give thanks for the food you had. If you have any money at all, give thanks to the Source of your provision. If you have a job, be grateful. If you are married give thanks for your spouse, for there is no one else you should be married to. If you are single give thanks for the opportunity to serve Christ without distraction. If you are young, what a blessing to have a home to grow up in - if you are old, give thanks for living as long as you have. The point is each of the above items listed are lacking in someone else's life. If you have any of them, then you certainly have a lot to give thanks for! Everyone has something to give thanks to God for if we simply look deeper than the surface. Our God is a wonderful Lord worthy of praise!

Resting in God's sovereignty is the only way I can embrace each new day. God is in charge and He is able to work His will and good purposes. God will establish His kingdom, He will place leaders into positions that He desires, and He can handle any and all problems that come my way. With the elections looming on the horizon, I tend to get emotionally involved with the process. God gently reminds me that He is the one who establishes those in authority and He can change their heart just like directing water. I do not have to worry but I must pray and trust in my God. God is big enough to take any mistake, disaster, fault, oversight, or any other thing and make something wonderful out of it. I will rest in that fact!

We can trust God. We very rarely will understand everything that we want to, but we can understand that God is trustworthy and He loves us. No matter what may come into our lives, God is trustworthy. The enemy will lie to us and tell us that we are alone, or that God does not really care, but it is a lie. Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God- Problems, hurts, fears, doubts, health difficulties, results of poor decisions, lies, and a host of other attacks will come, but God is trustworthy. God never fails. God never sleeps. God, and God alone, will take everything that comes our way and use it for good. God is able to even take our mistakes and make something wonderful out of them. The old saying goes "disappointments are often His-appointments." We will grow in peace and joy when we learn to have one of our first responses to be not my will, but Thy will be done. When we learn to look for our Master's hand in every problem or seeming defeat, we will soon have peace and joy. God loves us so much that He will never leave us alone. God will bring much in to our lives so we will change and grow up into the fullness He desires for us.

One of my favorite little books is entitled, A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards. Mr. Edwards does now hold some strange doctrines, but this book was written in 1960 before he went weird. This little gem of a book is inspiring, and I attempt to read it every so often. The book is short and a very quick read written sort of as a play. The drama deals with the life of David, Saul, and Absalom. Chew on this section for a bit...

Remember: God sometimes gives power to men for unseen reasons. A man can be living in the grossest of sin and the outward gift will still be working perfectly. The gifts of God, once given, cannot be recalled. Even in the presence of sin, Furthermore, some men, living just such lives, are the Lord's anointed...in the Lord's eyes. Saul was living proof of this fact.

The gifts cannot be revoked. Terrifying, isn't it?

If you are young and have never seen such things, you may be certain that sometime in the next 40 years you will see. Highly gifted and very powerful men...reputed to be leaders in the Kingdom of God, do some very dark and ugly deeds.

What does the world need: Gifted men, outwardly empowered? Or broken men, inwardly transformed?

Keep in mind that some of the men who have been given the very power of God have raised armies, defeated the enemy, brought forth mighty works of God, preached and prophesied with unparalleled power and eloquence...

And thrown spears,

And hated other men,

And attacked other men,

And plotted to kill,

And prophesied naked,

And even consulted witches.

God raises up and God tears down. Go uses imperfect and even wicked people to accomplish His purposes. God used Saul to help mature David, and Saul was borderline insane. Whom is God using in your life to help you grow? Hard to judge by externals who are and who is not God's appointed ruler...God knows, but He does not always tell.

Our God can do anything! His will and purposes will not be stopped by man, the devil, or our failures. God is bigger than any obstacle that may come our way. God has not run out of money, time, or grace. He will work whatever He deems necessary to complete the good work He began in each of us. It does not matter whether we have prosperity or want, comfort or hardship, health or sickness, good moods or bad, our God will not fail to do what He said He would do. Any thought that comes against this truth is a lie from Satan to discourage us and to defeat us. God is the Author of our faith and He will be the finisher of that faith. To believe less of God is insulting to Him and to His grace and power. God can change any circumstance you are facing in a heartbeat if that would further His plans. Our goal, duty, and passion must be to follow Him and seek His will in everything; to learn to obey Him as quickly as we understand what He is saying. In other words, to learn to be content in any and all situations.

Some mornings you wake up singing, others groggy or even grouchy. Often as we awake, so goes the day. Some days you awake singing the great hymns - "A mighty fortress is our God a bulwark never failing... ". Or perhaps the great choruses - "Shine Jesus Shine fill this land with the Father's glory... Today I awoke singing another classic and I'm not sure what it means - "Sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a tiny ship, that started from this tropic port aboard this tiny ship.." (For those of you who do not recognize this classic, it's Gilligan's Island!) Perhaps it was the pizza last night.... As I thought about the way we awaken, and what is on our minds when we do, I fell into the assurance that man's emotions at best are fickle. If my day depends on how I wake up, or even on what will happen during the day, it can be really weird! My thoughts turned again to how glad I am that I'm not a victim. "Things" just don't happen to me. God is in control of everything. Every event, good or bad passes through His permission. I can rest in the fact that God will use everything in my life, past, present, and future, to bring me ever closer to the goal - being Christ-like. No matter how I wake up singing or crying this fact will never change. God is on the throne and He rules in the events that shape all of our lives. He alone is worthy of our praise and attention even if you feel like your headed for a shipwreck!

I mentioned last night during the Wednesday evening service that I love to read old sermons...here is an excerpt of what I am reading right now...written in 1900 by Joseph Parker of England...entitled "God's Terribleness and Gentleness".

"God is not to be described in parts; He is to be comprehended in the unity of His character. A child describing the lightning might say, 'It is beautiful, so bright, and swifter than any flying bird, and so quiet that I could not hear it as it passed through the air.' That description would be true.

A tree might say, 'It is awful. It tore off branches that had been growing for a hundred years; it rent me in twain (two) down to the very root, and no summer can every recover me - I am left here to die.' This also would be true.

So it is with Almighty God; He is terrible in power, making nothing of all that man counts strong, yet He will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax."

Isn't that a wonderful thought! "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" - Hebrews 10:31 - Sometimes in our emphasis of God as a merciful, loving Father we forget that He is also described as awesome, fearsome, magnificent, full of power, wonder, holds the lighting in His hand, etc. Our God is our loving Heavenly Father and He is also the Warrior and Judge of the Universe. Some day all wrongs will be set right, all sin will be finally dealt with, all people of all places will kneel before the throne of the King and declare that He is Lord!

The sermon above ends with this thought, "Rest on God, His arm, not your own, must be your strength, Fear God, and no other fear will ever trouble you."

I thought you might enjoy these thoughts.

Have you ever noticed how comfortable the bed is right before your alarm goes off? Sometimes you toss and turn all night and feel like you didn't sleep at all and finally the bed is just perfect as you crack that one eye straining to see the clock. Sometimes I wish I could capture that "just before the alarm goes off" feeling of peace and comfort and bottle it! But, somehow against overwhelming odds we still manage to break out of our sheets and face the new day. And as that new day ends we again realize that our God was, and is, and will always be faithful. He did not allow us more than we were able to handle. He did continue to conform us into the image of His wonderful Son. He did lead us, and guide us, and bring us into good pastures. God leads every one of us through a thousand decisions each day and His will is being worked out in all of our lives. As the day draws to a close again I can have that "just before the alarm" feeling knowing Who it is that holds my future. I can rest in the eternal fact that God loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life. God has spoken and He will not change. He will do what He said He would do for me. God said it will be good and He would bring me into His will and eternal kingdom. God said I will be safe with Him and I am.

Christmas is a wonderful time to pause and reflect on all the wonderful gifts our heavenly Father has given to us. Life itself is a precious gift that we often take for granted. It is not until we face a life and death crisis that we fully appreciate this gift called life. Freedom is another wonderful gift. We can gather and worship God without fear of being arrested and taken away to prison. While our country is not perfect it is still the best one in the world for religious freedom. Prayer is still one of the best gifts ever received. Instant communication with the one and only Person who can actually do something about our situation. Instant forgiveness for sins from a High Priest who understands and relates to us. Worship is a wonderful gift as we get to join in with the heavenly realm and enjoy the presence of God. Family is a gift that many would love to have. Others would love to have just a few more minutes with a deceased loved one. Most would love to recapture some time with their grown children. Besides the nuclear family, we are part of a worldwide family. Believers can feel right at home with other believers even on the other side of the world. We are part of a family of millions and therefore never need to be alone. And first of all the free gift of salvation must not be overlooked. God loved us so much He sent His only Son to redeem us from the curse of sin and death. What a gift! Even if we do not have much money or our Christmas tree looks like something Charlie Brown would have set up, we have much to be grateful for. We have many gifts to rejoice in!

I am always amazed by God's faithfulness. That does not sound right. I shouldn't be amazed, I should be reassured and pleased with God's faithfulness. So, I am so reassured by God's faithfulness. God always brings the correct solution, provision, and answer to any and every need just in the proper way. God is not late or does not have any shortages. His grace is sufficient for every need and every situation. If you are like me, I want His grace days or weeks in advance of the need. I would like to have a checking account where I could have, say, 10,000 units of grace in reserve and simply know that they are there. Then, when a trial comes along I know that I have all those units of grace on hand. However, God does not work like that! God graciously gives us what we need when we need it and very rarely before hand. Why does He do that? Probably so we will trust in Him and not just His provision or answers. God allows problems and needs to draw us to Him, not His provision. As a parent I want my children to love me, not what I do for them. The relationship is with me, not my money or credit card. I will provide to the best of my ability, but the relationship is with me, not the provision. God wants His children to love Him, not what He does for them. I love the grace that God provides, but I desire to love God more than His grace and provision. May I grow to the place to say, "though He slay me, yet will I love Him".

"The great saints of past eras did not know they were great saints. If someone had told them, they would not have believed it, but those around them knew that Jesus was living in them." This thought taken from A. W. Tozer is a wonderful truth. The focus should not be on how others think of us, of gaining or preserving our reputation, but on serving each person we have contact with. Jesus lives within us and the goal is to let His life come out through us to all we meet. Seeking greatness or praise of man is a vain exercise at best, and sin at worst. God's view and opinion is what truly matters, not the fleeting praise of fallen man. If we live our lives thinking about, serving, and loving all we meet, we will end up in the center of God's will. If we obey the Lord each and every day to the best of our ability we will do well. God will determine the fruit and the value of our work, and His evaluation will be accurate and appropriate. The great men and women of the past often were not even appreciated until after their death. It takes time for the true value of someone's life to unfold. We quite often make judgments before the correct time, and most times, we are very wrong. Let us make effort to live as Christ would and our lives will have eternal value.

As the election passes into history (at least we hope so) it seems that God has made His choice known. The president elect asked for the nation to pray for him and this country. I hope we will do so. Winning is just the doorway and the beginning. Now the task becomes governing. I hope that each of us will remember our leaders to pray for them that they will make godly decisions and that they will humble themselves and turn to the Lord. I can not pretend to know what lies in store for us in the years ahead. However, I can rest in the fact that I know who holds the future. What can overcome us: sickness, death, fear, poverty, homelessness, demons, or any other created thing? No in all these things God still is ruling on His throne and He will accomplish His will and purposes. God will use even the hardships and tragedies in our life to further His Kingdom. We can trust Him and look to Him for His deliverance and protection. No matter how fierce the storm, God is bigger. Often, we even find out that God is the one who authored the storms in our lives anyway. Why, because He is mean or bored? No, God has a plan and He knows exactly what He is doing. No matter what may befall us, God is still on His throne and He loves us very much. We must pray for out leaders that they will come to this conclusion also, and learn to seek first His kingdom and His will.

Well, here we are in church on the Sunday after Y2K. I am amazed at the mixture of feelings that have been expressed. Some are disappointed that disaster did not occur. Others are relieved, but still holding their breath because, after all, this is a leap year and the bug still may bite...To still others this was a non-event all along. As I sit and ponder about it I still reflect back to Jesus' comments about worrying in Matthew 7. As the old saying goes, "the problem with worrying is you have to go through everything twice." At the root of much of the hype was fear and unbelief God can take care of His people and will, even if this involves hardship. God did not promise us a pain-free life, but that He would be with us. He did not promise us financial prosperity, but sufficiency. When we start to make decisions based on fear we can almost always be sure we are headed the wrong direction. Hoarding and self-preservation are not calling cards of New Testament living. I guess now would be a good time to pick up all the extra supplies that will soon be flooding the market, like wood stoves, dried food, large water containers, guns, etc... Sorry, I could not resist a little jest...My point is this, this will not be the last event like this in our life time and we need to learn that God is on the throne and we do not have to worry because He is big enough to take care of His children. I promise it will not work out how we think it should, but it will work out how He thinks it should and we will be thankful when everything is over, because He is always right!

"God knows what godliness is, for He has created it. He sustains it. He is pledged to perfect it, and His delight is in it. What matters it whether you are understood by your fellow men or not, so long as you are understood by God? If that secret prayer of yours is known to Him, seek not to have it known to anyone besides. If your conscientious motive be discerned in heaven, mind not though it be denounced on earth. If your designs - the great principles that sway you - are such as you dare plead in the great Day of Judgment, you need not stop to plead them before a jesting, jeering generation. Be godly, and fear not. And, if you be misrepresented, remember that should your character be dead and buried among men, there will be "a resurrection of reputations" as well as bodies. "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Mat. 13:43). Therefore be not afraid to possess this peculiar character, for though it is misunderstood on earth, it is well understood in heaven." Charles Spurgeon - What an excellent thought! We cannot defend our own reputations, but God will defend us some day and we will be known as we are known! God's view is what counts. People are fickled in their judgments and opinions, loving you one day and hurting you the next, but God does not change and His view is the one that really matters, for He is always correct. While many may criticize on earth, if heaven is smiling, then we can be at rest!

While we do not always know the will of God specifically, we do know His will generally. Pray without ceasing, rejoice always, in everything give thanks, love our brothers, family, neighbors, and even enemies, be generous, serve one another, embrace the cross daily, die to self and live for others, esteem others as better than our self, don't worry or be full of fear, let our conversations be seasoned with kindness, read, study, and pray the Word often, intercede for others, learn to control our tongues and thought life, wait of the Lord so our strength can be renewed, grow in grace and the fruit of the Spirit, and the list could go on for many more pages. We do not always know the specific plans that God has for us, but we certainly know what we can work on and pray for, until He chooses to reveal His unique plans for us!

Many of you have heard me make reference to a horse story that I read in a Max Lucado book... I couldn't put my hands on the exact story so I did a search (GoodSearch) and found the story in a slightly different format...I love the truth contained in this story about not jumping to conclusions about the final result of anything... we simply do not see the big or entire picture at any given moment...often those things we think are horrible are in reality a blessing...only God has the full pictureÎíÎõenjoy the story!

It is said that there was once a gentleman in the Middle East. His only possession that really amounted to anything for him, his wife and son, who lived in a little hovel, was a gorgeous Arabian mare. The mare was absolute perfection.
The neighbors always came by and said how lucky he was to have this one beautiful mare. He said he didn't know whether it was good or bad, he just knew he had this lovely mare.
Well, one night she broke out of the corral and when he got up the next morning, he discovered that she was gone. All the neighbors came by and said how terrible, how bad it was that the mare was gone. He said he didn't know whether it was good or bad, all he knew was that the mare was gone.
One morning about a week and a half later, she came back and had seven beautiful Arab stallions with her. She brought those in the corral with her. They were all smitten with her, so they went in the corral too. Now all the neighbors came by and said what wonderful luck he had. They said, "You have these seven beautiful stallions along with your mare back.
He said, "I don't know whether it's "good" or "bad", all I know is I got mare back and seven stallions with her."
So while they looked them over, the son decided to break these stallions so they could be ridden and they could sell them. One of the stallions threw him and broke his leg. So he was laid up with a broken leg. They didn't have those little pins they use now so you could get up and go. He was laid up with a splint.
The neighbors came by and said, "That's bad, your son has a broken leg."
He said, "I don't know whether it's good or bad, I just know my son has a broken leg.
About this time the king sent his men through the area and took all able-bodied young men to send them on one of his war ventures. The son couldn't go because he had a broken leg. The neighbor's sons all had to go.
The neighbors came over and said how lucky the man was because his son didn't have to go because he had a broken leg. He said, "I don't know whether it's good or bad, I just know my son has a broken leg and didn't have to go with the Army.
The Point: "We can go on with this as long as you want to go." "The point is that you don't know what's "good" and you don't know what's "bad"; and the quicker you get that through your head, the better off you'll be.
You can always report "what is"; and you don't know whether it's good or bad. You know it "is". But you don't know what's good and bad because you don't know the outcome down the road--two days, two months, two or twenty years from now!

"So we talk a lot about the deeper life and spiritual victory and becoming dead to ourselves - but we stay very busy rescuing ourselves from the cross. That part of ourselves that we rescue from the cross may be a very little part of us, but it is likely to be the seat of our spiritual troubles and our defeats." This quote from A. W. Tozer has settled in my spirit this week as I was reading some of his sermons. This fiery, no nonsense preacher speaks my kind of language. Think about this one for a week or so - "We disguise the poverty of our Spirit. If we should suddenly be revealed to those around us on the outside as Almighty God sees us within out souls, we would become the most embarrassed people in the world. If that should happen, we would be revealed as people barely able to stand, people in rags, some too dirty to be decent, some with great open sores. Some would be revealed in such condition that they would be turned out of Skid Row. Do we think that we are actually keeping our spiritual poverty a secret that God doesn't know us better than we know ourselves? But we will not tell Him, and we disguise our poverty of spirit and hide our inward state in order to preserve our reputation." Ouch! True growth and help comes when we acknowledge that we are bankrupt before God and we desperately need Him! The good new is God wants to, and will change us!!

Here is another thought to dwell on for a bit from an old sermon: The God of Comfort - Henry Ward Beecher 1869

"We are not to take our conceptions of God from human systems, for these systems have been built up out of mere selections from the Word of God. But God's Word is a vast forest. And just as a man can build either a hut or a common mansion or a palatial residence out of the timber that is growing in the forest, so out of the Word of God man can build a poor theology, a rich theology, or a glorious one, according as he is skillful in this selections."

We need to be skilled in the Word of God. We become so by spending time there. If we only graze on the Word once and awhile and only eat at the same spot over and over, we will not have the whole counsel of God. While we all have our favorite passages, we need the entire Word to have a healthy diet. We must grapple with the whole Scripture, not just certain passages. As stated above, we can build a hut or a palace based on how well we partake of the vast forest of God's Word. Many have anemic theology because they limit their study to 1 Corinthians 13 or Psalm 23. The God of love is also the God of judgment. We are God's children, but it is still a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. We have the light of God, but it can and will be removed if we hide it or refuse to repent. In order to have a "glorious theology" we must feast often (more than Sunday AM) in the entire counsel of God. We must become Bereans who search the Scripture to make sure these things are true. It is easy, and a trick of our foe, to focus on our pet doctrines and to miss the glorious banquet set before us in God's Word. We can live on a bland diet, but why would you want to?

As I continue to put the finishing touches on my PhD dissertation, I thought you might enjoy some of my remarks in the conclusion section. For those who home educate your children, these might encourage you...I did not include the footnotes for ease of reading and have not performed a final edit...The title of my work is: “The Role of Parents and the Church in Imparting Faith into the Next Generation.” My committee of Profs is made up of two former Christian Educators that also were heavily involved in youth work so it should be interesting to see their response to my take on things...which basically states that the parents are responsible for this task, and that the Church should help them, not compete with or replace them.

Brian D. Ray, Ph.D. recently published a study that analyzed over 7,000 adults that were home educated. Compared to the current failure ratio ranging between 70% - 90% that the Evangelical Church is experiencing in imparting their faith into the next generation, the findings of this study are startling. Ray interviewed the adults and asked them a series of questions to which they could agree or disagree on a sliding scale. One question in particular highlights my point, “94% strongly agreed or agreed to the statement, “My religious beliefs are basically the same as those of my parents.” While the Evangelical Church is struggling to impart their faith into the next generation in huge numbers, this segment of the population is succeeding quite well. Ray’s conclusion presented in his study is also interesting:

The findings of this study indicate that adults who were home educated are clearly engaged in their local communities and civic activity and will likely do so with a personal philosophy that is very similar to that of their parents and an attitude toward life that are different from the philosophy and attitude they might have learned in a state-run or private institutional school.

Of course, research and interviews cannot conclusively prove that the parental interaction is the key to the retention of faith generationally, but it certainly does cause one to pause and think about the results. Ray in an earlier research project consisting of over 5,000 home-educated students, made this claim:

“More importantly, however, the lives of the home educated in decades to come and the heritage that they bequeath to their children may inscribe a sweeping, indelible, and immeasurable mark on the history of 21st-century America.”

This may be an overly optimistic claim, however if the home education movement continues to maintain a 90% success rate in the impartation of the parent’s faith into the next generation, perhaps it is not.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you. who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials." I Peter 1:3-6. Praise God that there is a future hope that will make all of this life make sense some day! God's great mercy is new every morning and we have an eternal hope to look forward to. Praise Ms Name!!!

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) >From God’s Omniscience preached June 15, 1856

"In regard to our congregations, the old orator might soon see his prayer answered, 'Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears,' for when the gospel is preached, we lend our ears to everybody. We are accustomed to hear for our neighbors and not for ourselves. Now, I have no objection to your lending anything else you like, but I have a strong objection to your lending your ears. I would be glad if you kept them at home for a minute or two, for I want to make you hear for yourselves this truth, 'Thou God seest me.'"

As only Spurgeon could say it," listen up!" Sometimes the truth is that when we hear a good sermon we wish ____________ could have heard it. The speaker is talking about pride and we think of several who really need this teaching! We hear a radio show on marriage, giving, modesty, or being gracious to others and our minds instantly think of others who would really be challenged if they heard this word! Spurgeon’s point is pretty clear...when we hear something that we think someone else needs, perhaps we are that someone else! One tool of our enemy is to have us agree with a point in the sermon, but not apply it to ourselves. You can almost smell the sulfuric breath whispered into your mind, "Boy, so-and-so really needs to hear this so they can repent." "Maybe I should send this to sister saint, who desperately needs this truth." "Brother ______really missed a good one today." Perhaps we should not be "lending our ears" so often, but keeping them on our own head. Just maybe the message heard was for our benefit and for us to prayerfully consider...of course, there are times to share a message with others...but we need to make sure we have heard it first before we pass it along...God might have allowed us to hear it for our benefit as well as for others...

G. Campbell Morgan is often referred to as “the greatest Biblical expositor known in the pulpits of both England and America.” While I am sure there are those who would take exception to this claim, his sermons continue to provide great fodder for thought...consider this example from a sermon entitled, The Purpose of the Advent:

“The very simplicity of it is its audacity. The word may not be well chosen, and yet I take it of set purpose. If you want to know how audacious and daring a thing it is, put it into the lips of any other teacher the world has ever produced. Looking into the face of one man, who was voicing, though he little knew it, the great anguish of the human heart, the great hunger of the human soul, Christ said, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father,” and in that declaration He claimed absolute identity with God.”

Joseph Smith, Buddha, or Mohammed, never made such a claim, but Jesus did. Paraphrasing C. S. Lewis, He either was God or He was insane. To claim to be God is not normal. In fact, to state that “if you have seen me you have seen the other,” is not common either. Even in the case of identical twins, there are typically differences in thought patterns, personality traits, and even physical features. I seriously doubt that anyone in their right mind would say, “We are completely identical.” However, that is exactly what Jesus said about Himself and God almighty. Jesus alone has made the claim, and the truth is He either is God, or He is an imposter, liar, and verifiably insane.

As our world attempts to blur the religions we must not lose sight of this claim by our Founder. All religions do not serve the same God with the only difference being the name. All religions are not equal, and the outcome of all of the belief systems is not the same. Jesus claimed to be the only way to the Father. Jesus claimed that believing in Him was the only way to eternal life. Jesus claimed to carve a narrow path, an exclusive path. Simply put, Jesus was, and remains intolerant of all other belief systems. There is only one way, and it is in the footsteps of Jesus. As Morgan stated, it is a simplistic statement, but on it all the truth of the Scripture hang...Jesus and the Father are equal. Jesus is the Son of God, Lord of creation, and Judge of the universe. Try putting that sentence in the mouth of any other character from history and see how it sounds...

With two deaths this last week I am again reminded of how short life can be. We are not given any guarantees about how long we will have on this planet. We may live to be 100 or we may graduate to heaven next week. We know who holds the keys to life and death so we do not need to be afraid. If a sparrow does not fall to the ground without our God's permission then we certainly have nothing to worry about in this issue. The point is we must use the time we do have. Being angry or allowing ourselves to be trapped in sin is a waste of time because we do not know how much time we have left. Allowing bitterness to eat away at us or to ruin our relationships is another waste of precious time. Worry, doubts, fear, or the past also can steal our time as well as our joy. Confess our sins to God and those hurt by them. Ask for forgiveness from those who are entitled to it. Love your family and make sure to give lots of hugs today. We do not know how many more days we may have left, let's not waste any of them

In our Sunday night meeting last week, I was sharing with the young people about how to make decisions about issues that are not clearly addressed in the Scripture. I thought it might be good to give you all the "cliff notes" as well...We discussed five main points and two sub points.

1. Does my decision violate the Scripture in any way?
2. What do my authorities have to say about this decision?
3. Will my decision cause anyone to stumble in any way?
4. Do I have the peace of Christ acting as an umpire in my heart on this decision?
5. Have I received godly counsel from people who are close to God?

If we still do not know what to do then:

6. Col. 3:17 - Can I give thanks to my Heavenly Father while doing this activity?
7. Run the decision through the Phil. 4:8 filter.

While I am not a real big fan of formulas, if we follow these steps, we have a pretty good shot at making a wise decision. I thought this might be helpful to us older folks as well.

I am currently reading another book by David Wells, entitled, God in the Wasteland – The Reality of Truth in a World of Fading Dreams. 1995 (You gotta love these titles!)

Anyway, his quote below is quite insightful:

“We have turned to a God that we can use, rather than to a God we must obey; we have turned to a God who will fulfill our needs, rather than to a God before whom we must surrender our rights to ourselves. He is a God for us, for our satisfaction – not because we have learned to think of Him in this way through Christ, but because we have learned to think of him this way through the marketplace. In the marketplace, everything is for us, for our pleasure, for our satisfaction, and we have come to assume that it must be so in the church as well. And so we transform the God of mercy into a God who is at our mercy.”

Wells’ premise is that the Church has lost its edge by renouncing sound theology and accepting modern, capitalistic thinking in everything spiritually related. The Church has been severely impacted by our society, rather than the reverse. This lack of theological desire and understanding has changed our foundational view of God and the Church, so instead of seeking God in search of how to obey His commands, we now seek Him for our personal fulfillment. We shop for God like we do a new car or piece of clothing. “I will take a bit of the mercy, grace, and of course joy, but please hold the waiting, struggles, and persecution.” “I prefer this, but none of that. I like the new, shiny, and modern version...don’t really care too much for that old stuff like creeds and doctrine. I prefer the new wave of feel good religion that enhances my self image...don’t care much for that rugged cross...I prefer the silky, satin feel of personal enhancement and leisure...” etc.etc.etc.The truth is we must learn to go to God as Lord and Master. We were not born again into a democracy or a capitalistic system, but a divine Monarchy. We need to learn to bow at His throne in humility, receive the grace provided, and seek to fulfill His wishes; not to present our shopping list of demands for our personal happiness. We are drafted into His army, and the Commander in Chief of the universe has a plan. Our job, as good soldiers, is to learn and obey it. I enjoy the ease and comfortable life as much as anyone...however, when we are saved, we enter into war...and true warfare leaves little time for relaxation...

In reading another David Well’s book, Losing Our Virtue, Why the Church Must Recover Its Moral Vision, he made an interesting statement about God being “the great reverser of what we think is normal.” Well’s comments were focused on Mary being chosen to bear the Savior, and how out of step this is with the normal way of thinking. Mary was a poor, simple, inconsequential, and most likely teen-aged girl. However, she is remembered favorably today by almost everyone. How many of us remember some of those from her day that were influential, like Livia (who married Augustus Caesar) or Octavia (whom Mark Anthony divorced in order to marry Cleopatra), and Antonia (who was poisoned by her emperor grandson, Caligula)? These women were known, worshipped, and lived their life on a grand stage during their lifetime, but are mostly forgotten today except as answers in an extreme Trivia Pursuit game. Mary was unknown, unheralded, and mostly ignored in her day. Which one is considered blessed, and still well known, as well as talked about in our day, over 2000 years later?

God chooses the foolish things (and often people) to confound the wise and the things that most people think are worthless, to place eternal value upon. Sometimes, as we walk through our daily routines, it is difficult to keep these thoughts in the forefront of our minds. What difference does it really make if I invest in my family, marriage, or work? Who cares, and who will remember? God does, and He cares. We will not know in our lifetime how our history will be remembered. We will not know (if the Lord tarries) if folks will remember us for two years after our death or two hundred years. What we must do is obey our Lord, invest in the next generation, and leave our history to those who follow in our steps. The bottom line question is am I doing what God has asked me to do...If I answer yes, then God is pleased, and man may or may not remember us after we leave this life...but God knows us...and what He thinks is what really matters.

Rev. Dr. John Claypool, in a sermon entitled, "Next Time" relays a story about a man going to an old counselor that is very insightful.

"Think about it", said the old counselor. "If only points to that segment of human experience that cannot be altered. Whatever else you may say about the past, it is frozen. You may feel very deeply about it, but you do not have the power to go back and undo it or redo it. Therefore, energy spent lamenting the past is energy that is largely wasted. Next time, however, points to that sector of experience that is still open, still fluid. It is out there yet to be shaped. If we can apply the lessons that we have learned from the past, to the service of the future, then what is to be can become genuinely different. There is a tremendous difference between processing your memories with an if only kind of lament and handling them with a next time kind of hopefulness.”

Many of us have met bitter people. Perhaps we even struggle a bit with some on our own. All of the reasons for the anger, bitterness, hurt and wounds are most likely justified in some fashion or another. Since time travel is only for books and movies, we can not change the bad things that have happened to us. Nor can we relive the good times that have transpired. What we can do is learn from them. As the wise counselor stated, "If only" is a waste of time and energy. "Next time" certainly is wiser and more productive.

Another couple of sentences from this sermon deserve our reading - "God is more interested in your future than your past. He is more concerned for what you can yet become that what you used to be."

God takes us as we are and changes us gradually into what He desires. The process is total and complete. This transformation takes a lifetime and will be finished when we step into eternity, but the goal is nice to know! Part of the process of changing us is to help us learn from our past failures, sins, and sufferings, so we can avoid them in the future. And, we are to help others who have suffered as we did to receive the comfort we have been given. The past has a purpose - to train us for the future. May we not be bound by what we have experienced, but may we become wiser because of it.

Something to chew on a bit from the past...Fredrick W. Robertson 1816-1853 God's greatness and man's greatness

"But my brethren, we kneel in our closets in shame for what we are, and we tell our God that the lowest place is too good for us. Then we go into the world, and if we meet with slight or disrespect, or if our opinion is ignored, or if another is preferred before us, there is all the anguish of a galled and jealous spirit."

I have to confess that this has happened to me ...I'm humble before God and full of myself before man. I ask God to help me walk in humility and then complain when He answers that prayer through circumstances or people! My flesh rises up when I am overlooked, under appreciated, ignored or treated as I really deserve. It is often very easy to see pride in others but be oblivious to the arrogance we carry. After all, how could others not value my opinions as much as I do? My views are always balanced, well thought out, and correct, aren't they? How could any mature, thinking person really prefer someone else's view when mine is the correct one? While we may never really say such things in another's hearing, have we thought them in God's? Perhaps it would be better for us (me) to carry our attitude before God in the closet, into the world before man...

As spring breaks out into full bloom, I am again reminded that there are seasons to everything. Solomon, who was the second wisest person ever to walk on this earth, understood this well. As he lived out his life, the highs and lows of it, he comes to the conclusion that there is a time for everything. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 spells it out pretty clearly - "there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven; a time to be born and a time to die", etc. All the examples he uses encompass seasons of our lives. There will be great times and there will be down times. There will be mountaintop experiences and there will strolls in the valley of the shadow of death. While we do not always see it, the same experiences will happen to just about everybody. As long as we walk on this planet there, will be good times and hard times. There will be up times and down times; seasons of joy and seasons of sorrow; times of victory and times of defeat. There is a time for youth and there is a time for maturity. Keeping a godly perspective is always the goal. The only way I have found to ride this roller coaster of life is with both hands firmly attached to the feet of Jesus. Bowing at His throne and trying to keep my eyes on Him give a perspective I simply can not get when the events of life are rushing in so fast. When I take my eyes off of His Lordship I start to move to despair, panic, and heartbrokenness. When the lies of life come crushing in I must go the Rock that does not move. His Word is true and all that does not line up with that Truth is a lie. When I begin to believe the lies that I am experiencing more than the truth that I read, then trouble begins. Our lives are one of faith and not circumstances. For me the goal and key to walking in truth, is to believe the Word not my sight. This is a constant battle. But the battle is well worth fighting and it begins by kneeling and reading the Truth daily.

"Imagine considering every moment as a potential time of communion with God. By the time your life is over, you will have spent six months at stoplights, eight months opening junk mail, a year and a half looking for lost stuff (double that number in my case), and a whopping five years standing in various lines. Why don't you give these moments to God?" Max Lucado wrote these comments in a book I'm reading called "Just Like Jesus." God still is speaking to me about prayer and what power there is in it. I attended a pastor's prayer meeting this last week and watch an incredible video. God has been visiting various cities around the world with a tremendous outpouring of His presence. While all are different all have a common thread - intercessory prayer. God stirs the hearts of people to cry out to Him for their city. When God answers the prayer of His united people revival breaks out, crime goes down, bars close, politicians repent, abortion declines, and schools improve. God's answer to all of our social woes is prayer and His presence. What a novel idea! Let us pray for His presence in KC.

One of the most wicked schemes the devil throws at Christians is to do the right action at the wrong time. A classic example is "letting go" of our children. Kicking out the little bird, letting them learn how to fly, exposing them to the world so they can learn how to resist sin, etc. are all ties the enemy gives us. While the goal of parenting is not to keep your children in their room the rest of their lives, many parents and children have suffered great grief by letting go too early. Children should clearly demonstrate maturity and the ability to make good decisions before they are sent out. We demand that our children know how to drive before we send out with our car, why shouldn't we demand that they know how to act maturely before we send them out into the world? Letting go of our children is the proper goal of parenting, when, is always the issue. Thee devil wants us to let them go way before they are ready and then he has a field day with their souls when they are out from our protection. Resist it.

I have been reading a book by C. H. Spurgeon entitled "Lectures to My Students." This series of lectures was given in the 1800's by one of the greatest pastors who ever lived. Spurgeon is probably the most read and quoted writer outside of the Bible. Known as the "prince of preachers" his works are on most pastors' shelves in their library. I have eleven volumes myself. Spurgeon is writing to men who are his students in his College for Pastors that he had founded. The material is convicting and challenging. The call to the ministry is a high one and the responsibility to stand in the pulpit is a great honor. Spurgeon's standards for personal prayer, devotion, public prayer, and ministry of the Word are great indeed. While I have always had a healthy fear of the Lord for what I have said from the pulpit, that has been increased many fold after reading some of this book. My prayer life has been challenged and in fact, probably every aspect of my walk with God! I share this to encourage you to keep on growing and walking with God. We can all improve in our relationship with our Father. There is no time coast in our battle; we must keep on going forward. Another interesting fact about Spurgeon is that he suffered with major depression bouts his entire life! It does not depend on the strength of man, but the strength of our God! AMEN! Our God is able and faithful!

"In No Place for Truth or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology" by David F. Wells, there is an interesting comparison made between what a typical person less than 75-100 years ago would encounter in their experience and what we would today. The book was written in 1993 and not much has occurred to alter this in the last fifteen years...except the pace has quickened!

"The balance between what is familiar and what is new has been drastically changed. They had little that was new; we have little that has persisted. This is true of things, relationships, and values. That was a tranquil world. To be sure, they had their tragedies and sorrows, but they did not have the world’s sorrow, from country after country, spilling nightly into their living rooms. They were permanent residents. We are nomads, perpetual immigrants, condemned to move from place to place in our own country until finally, if the sinews do not crack, we are allowed to pass into the forgetfulness of retirement. Their needs were simple and related to survival; our needs are complex because our horizons are multiple and our possessions must serve many functions besides those related to survival. They were attached to a place, even if they had to move from the towns of their birth and settle elsewhere, and they had a sense of time; we have neither. Their world was permanent because they knew God to be unchanging; ours is impermanent and God seems largely to have disappeared. Perhaps when our Wenham (a small town in Massachusetts) townswoman became depressed she would have gone into the church to pray; her counterpart today would probably go to the mall to shop. Therein lies the difference between these two worlds, worlds that are so close in time but so far apart in mentality."

Having just finished an extremely busy week I can relate to this contrast and could wish that I lived 100 years ago...We can become so overloaded with news, information, and activity that we lose all sense of what is important and what is trivial. I am grateful for the conveniences we have today, even though I often take them for granted, but sometimes the stress and pace of life can be overwhelming. Some days it is difficult to keep the focus where it belongs...God first, spouse second, children third, work fourth, etc. Paul instructed a group of believers to - "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you" (1 Thessalonians 4:11)...I will try this week to obey this verse!

"Aren't you worried about overprotecting your children?" "Won't your children grow up and resent you for keeping them home so much?" "How will your children ever learn to relate to the real world when they finally leave your apron strings?" These questions, and hundreds just like them, are asked of most of you often. I know, because they were asked of us often as well. The answers are as follows: no, no, and they will relate just fine. How do I know? My own children, and many others who we have seen, have turned out just fine and have not had to go through all the sin that I had to. I believe parents are waaaaaaaay tooooooooo permissive with their children and almost all of them could tighten up without any danger of being over protective. Our children never went to the mall alone or rode around in cars, or ran the neighborhood, or went to numerous parties, or a hundred other social events without us. "Weren't they deprived of needed social interaction?" No, they just missed a bunch of nonsense and sin opportunities! Now, one is married, the other has traveled several times to the other side of the world, and the third is climbing mountains all over the states. We did not have them to keep them home, but we did not have them for others to raise either. Children need to be released, but only after they are fully trained and have demonstrated the maturity to handle the freedom. If they are not responsible at home in the simple matters, why do we think they will be responsible outside the home? If they don't respect our authority, why will they respect anyone else's? If we can barely trust them when we see them what are they doing when we can't see them? Freedom and responsibility are earned, it is not a right that is granted because you are born. God designed the home to be the training and proving ground for children. We do not need them to experience all manner of sin to understand that sin is wrong. Experience may be the best teacher, but it was never intended to be the best way to learn.

William S. Plumer (1802-1880) in his sermon entitled, “What is Repentance?” explains the difference between repentance and simply feeling sorry for getting caught:

“He who truly repents is chiefly sorry for his sins; he whose repentance is spurious (non genuine) is chiefly concerned for their consequences. The former chiefly regrets that he has done evil, the latter that he has incurred evil. One sorely laments that he deserves punishment, the other that he must suffer punishment. One approves of the Law that condemns him; the other thinks he is harshly treated and that the Law is rigorous. To the sincere penitent, sin appears exceeding sinful. To him who sorrows after a worldly sort, sin in some form appears pleasant. He regrets that it is forbidden. One says it is an evil and bitter thing to sin against God, even if no punishment followed; the other sees little evil in transgression if there were no painful consequences sure to follow. If there were no hell, the one would still wish to be delivered from sin; if there were no retribution, the other would sin with increased greediness, The true penitent is chiefly averse to sin as it is an offence against God.”

While most of us do not talk this way any longer the truth rings clear to me. Do I really understand that sin is against God first and foremost, and that even if there were no consequences to my actions; I still should not sin against my God? When I go to God in repentance is it because of the consequences I am suffering or because of our damaged relationship? If there were no hell or any pain connected to sinful behavior, would I still be drawn to God instead of my fleshly desires? Do I secretly desire that certain sins didn’t carry punishment? Would I wish to be delivered from temptation if there were no retribution either now or in the future? Oh God show us our hearts…but be gentle…only reveal a little bit at a time so we are not overwhelmed! Teach us how to repent and develop our relationship deeper…

From ...The God of Comfort - Henry Ward Beecher 1869

"Ah! Old hoary student, do you think because you can read Hebrew and Syriac and Arabic and Greek and Latin that you can teach me about God? Ah! Old grammarian, who comes fighting me on doctrines, who marshals sentences with exegesis, sharp both at the point and at the edge, cutting both ways, do you think that because you are so wise in construction, you can teach me of God? He is not found by either. 'That ye, being rooted and grounded in love' which is the only interpreter of the divine nature..."

I love this thought...of course we don't talk this way anymore, but what truth is contained within. One of the traditions of Hope Family Fellowship is that we love each other even when we disagree over non-foundational issues. Many fight and divide over doctrine, worship styles, government preferences, baptism, communion, and a host of other issues. But unity is to be desired and love is to be displayed if we are to present a clear picture of God to a lost and dying world.

The partial text quoted above is taken from Ephesians 3:14-19 - For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (ESV)

Before we ever begin to teach others about God we must be rooted and grounded in who He is. Unless love is our motive, goal and tool, we are not presenting God in the proper fashion. Many of the issues are important that people divide over, but the fruit of division is often bitter and displays a picture of Christ and His Church that is very ugly. How we walk with those who disagree with us is as important as how we walk with those who echo our views.

Baruch is an interesting character we meet in the book of Jeremiah. This man served as Jeremiah’s scribe, go-fer, and companion. It is probably because of Baruch’s efforts that we even have the weeping prophet’s writings recorded for us in Scripture.

In Chapter 45 we get a glimpse into Baruch’s struggles - "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: You said, 'Woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.'

It is clear that Baruch was struggling either physically or emotionally, and God was well aware of his turmoil. We don’t know what type of problems this struggling saint was in sorrow and pain about, but with his nation standing on the brink of destruction, and a steady dose of writing Jeremiah’s prophesies, we know it had to be tough. What is interesting to me is not his pain, but God’s answer to him in verses 4-5:

Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the LORD. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go."

Perhaps Baruch was struggling with jealousy over Jeremiah’s fame...or maybe he simply wanted a bigger house and salary for his efforts. No matter his struggle, what God told him was this is not the time to seek great things for your self. God was unleashing judgment on His people through a foreign army. The nation would be crushed and most people would be either killed or carried away to a strange land. Everything they owned and were used to would be changed forever. It was not time to invest in earthly things...but eternal ones. God did promise Baruch that he would have his life. He did not promise him that he would not have pain, sorrow, lack, persecution, heartache, disease, homelessness, hunger, bondage, etc. etc. “You will live in all the places to which you may go..."

As we stand on the edge of another potentially momentous election what is God saying to you and I? Is this the time to seek great things for ourselves? Our nation is heading for disaster no matter which party wins. Abortion is the law of the land. Sodomy is praised and encouraged in our schools, many churches, and will soon be implemented into national law. Our courts function on precepts and laws other than the Scripture, and this will not change anytime soon. Our financial infrastructure resembles a deck of cards that is teetering. The Church seems inept and powerless to withstand the onslaught of wickedness as She resembles the world far more than the Scripture. Those of us that point out immodesty, sensuality, sin and carnality, are often branded as harsh, judgmental legalists, who are out of touch with people. The Church has embraced the world’s methods and philosophy in many areas, and it seems like there is no turning back...

What is God saying in all of this? Is this the time to seek great things for ourselves? I believe this is a time for introspection, humility, repentance, and asking God for a move of His Holy Spirit, beginning with the Church. The Church will flourish regardless of which system of secular government She resides under. Often capitalism is the most difficult one due to the extreme prosperity we have. All over the globe the Church of Jesus Christ is waking...maybe, just maybe She will arise in America again. Jesus said He would build His Church and the gates of hell will not overcome Her. My security is in Him, not a political party or nation. Jesus is the Head, and He is more than capable of turning His Body around so I am not full of fear, on the contrary, I am looking forward to God’s moving in our country...out of the ashes of God’s judgment, a pure remnant will arise.

I am praying for God’s mercy for our nation and that He would give us godly leaders. However, I am expecting judgment. And, I expect wickedness to increase in order for the light of the Church to burn brighter. We need to get ready...everything that can be shaken, soon will be... We need to be building our lives on the Rock, not the sand of this world’s lies. The Bride needs to arouse herself out of slumber and put on a robe of holiness and shake off the filthy rags of our world system...Oh God, remember mercy in times of judgment! (Habakkuk 3:2)

In light of Dennis’ sermon last week I thought of this old sermon quote recently read...

"When God comes to you wrapped and wreathed in clouds, and in storms, why should we not recognize Him, and say, 'I know you, God; and I will not flee you; though you slay me, I will trust thee?' If a man could see God in his troubles and take sorrow to be the lore of inspiration, the light of interpretation, the sweet discipline of a bitter medicine that brings health, though the taste is not agreeable - if one could so look upon his God, how sorrows would make him strong." The God of Comfort – Henry Ward Beecher 1813-1887

We often do not instantly recognize God’s hand or His work because He brings it in a different fashion than we expected. The losing of a job for example, can inflict loss, pain and disillusionment; however, if we are God’s children, we realize that what we dreaded turns out to be God’s gift! The closing of one avenue often leads to a much better road to travel. How many of us can look back over our lives and see the hand of God much clearer today then when we were faced with "clouds and storms"? How often we may reflect on a broken relationship with someone we had before we met our spouse, and while it was painful to lose the old, we would not replace the current for anything. But as we walked through the pain of the breakup we had no idea that God had prepared something so much better for us. What we tried to hang on to so tightly then, is actually something that we wouldn’t want today. Like the "sweet discipline of bitter medicine that brings health", we need to learn to embrace those things we deem as "bad" and accept from our heavenly Father’s loving hand, all He wills for us. It seems as the years go by I realize that I am not the best judge of what is "good" or "bad". What I often view as loss, God counts as gain. What I view as profitable, God places little worth on. When I am weak, then I am strong...the way to greatness is through servanthood...give to receive, rejoice during trials, embrace, no give thanks for, hardships, disappointments, reveling, betrayal, suffering, discipline…this is not human wisdom or thinking, but God’s plan for our maturing and perfection. I pray that we would be able to "see God in our troubles" always and in all ways.

As I interact with people both young and old, there seems to be a pattern concerning relationships. Most people want to have friends and often feel left out from the "in group" whatever that may be. There seems to be a perception that there is a group of people who are the "cool" ones or the "in" ones and then there is everyone else. This perception shows up in young people and also in adults. Many seem to feel left out or lonely. My advice is fairly simple. Forget the "in" group or "cool" people and look for all the others who also feel left out and include them in your life and you will have an abundance of friends. If you are being snubbed by a few, look around and find the other snubbed folks and reach out to them. If all the "left outs" got together it would solve the problem. The "in" folks can hang with each other and the "left outs" can hang with each other and no one will be lonely. Makes sense to me.....

Walking in a dark world is hard. We have the light of Christ, the illumination of the Scripture, and the bond of fellowship, but the dark is still very dark! Pressures to let down, or give in, assault us daily. Mocking of our choices and standards from others, including other believers, adds to the strain of keeping on the narrow path. But if we overcome we will reap a reward if we do not quit or grow weary. All of these words imply a struggle. To overcome we must have obstacles to get over; to not quit or give up implies a long process, so does growing weary. All of these seem to say that these battles are not going to end any time soon! It seems like this life is a series of battles and struggles interrupted sometimes with short periods of rest and peace! We seem to expect peace and rest all the time, and then we are frustrated when we do not have them. I think this false belief comes from the fact that we forget that we are engaged in warfare and not a camping trip. The darkness is real and dangerous. Our adversary does not rest or give up in fighting us. As the day of our Lord draws near we must cling to our Lord each and every day. Fight to find the time to be renewed for each day's battle...and don't give up or in! Stand and fight in the strength of our Lord!

The Rev Dr. Geoffrey V Guns, pastor of Second Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk Virginia, preached a sermon entitled, “The Purpose of Worship” that really was enjoyable reading. Please consider these excerpts before you come to church next week...

Worship is not intended to be a quiet, regal, dignified event where the Spirit of God is kept locked up in our hearts. Rather, it is a joyful celebration of God’s salvation and deliverance. All of us have some reason to celebrate something that God has done in our lives...

Therefore, when we come to this place on Sunday, it’s not a funeral. It’s not a morbid gathering of morbid people, but a gathering of vibrant, animated, dynamic, lively, spirited, intense and red-hot people who understand that it was God’s grace that woke them up this morning. It was grace that kept them all week long; it was grace that brought them to the house of worship. Worship is for celebrating the goodness and grace of God. It is for celebrating what He has done in the past and what He is doing right now.

Why do we go to church? What do we expect from the service? Is it simply a religious duty that must be performed to appease an angry God? Is it something that we do in order to get spiritual brownie points? What motivates us in our weekly trek to the house of worship? After chewing on those questions a bit perhaps we can turn to what should our motivation be for gathering in the house of God? Several come to my mind quickly; the giving of thanks for God’s gift of salvation, my family, and my brothers and sisters in Christ. Giving thanks for allowing me to be part of God’s plan. For being saved, in the process of sanctification, being righteous by the blood of the spotless Lamb, food, breath, happiness, freedom, clothes, a house, and all manner of stuff to make my life so easy. If we are honest we really don’t have to look too far, or think to hard to find a great number of things to be thankful for! In short, we gather to worship God, prayer for one another, to be instructed, encouraged, and challenged by the Word of God, and to fellowship with our church family.

When next we gather at our worship service we should rejoice over God’s grace and His mercy. Maybe we could sing the songs chosen with a grateful heart remembering some of His gifts to us, giving God the praise He so justly deserves. God is worthy of our adoration, praise, and our best. Our time of worship on Sundays gives us an opportunity to refocus, give thanks, and to enjoy our God. I pray we take advantage of it to the fullest.

What a glorious day it is to be alive even though the world is sinking into a moral mess throwing off all boundaries of right and wrong. There are financial headaches and worldwide disasters on each page of the paper and in each nation of the world. As we seem to be running to the collapse of our society we can live in despair or anticipation. As the darkness gets darker, we who are of the light should be able to shine even brighter! A candle, no matter how small, glows in the deepest darkness. In fact, the darker the better, for then the light is even brighter by comparison. There has never been a better time than now to offer the Good News to a sick and dying society. As we try to live differently than those around us, our lights will shine. As we learn to serve each other and love each other, the darkness will take notice. As we seek to imitate Christ, and not the world, we will stand out and we will be able to give a defense to those who ask. As someone said - "Church, arise, this is your finest hour!" This is not the time for defeat, but victory. Keep up the great and glorious work of Christ beginning in your own homes!

"The pulpit is not a place for trivia. The preacher has thirty minutes in which to help mend broken hearts, change defeated lives, and save lost souls; and he can never accomplish this demanding ministry by distributing homiletical tidbits. In these difficult days, we do not need "clever" pulpiteers who discuss the times; we need dedicated ambassadors who will preach the eternities."Warren Wiersbe - Former pastor of Moody Church in Chicago and author of over 80 books

This little paragraph really hit home when I read it. Some ask, "how can you be such a jokester in person and so serious when you are speaking?" The above is the answer! Often in small talk and such, my mind is not geared to "the eternities". It should be more often I know! However, when we are speaking from the Bible to those who would listen to us, we have an awesome task and responsibility. The Scripture is the very Word of God and must be divided accurately and handled with prayer and thoughtfulness. The actual thoughts, commands, and views of God are contained within and the explanation of them is critical! Who knows if what is communicated will have an eternal impact? Someone may be hearing something that will change their life forever! Many of us can reflect back over our lives and probably point to a powerful sermon or perhaps a Scriptural insight that redirected us on our path. We simply never know when those moments are upon us. As speakers, we need to make sure we are well prepared, studied and ready to be used by God. As listeners, we need to be attentive, take notes, and try to capture what is being spoken to us. God is speaking through His Word...I’m afraid we do not always listen very well! An old preacher put it this way, "There is not an absence of revelation from God; there is an absence of capturing that revelation."

Here is another snippet from an old sermon I am reading...

"Is it worthwhile to suffer for a sinking cause? Honor, preferment, and grandeur follow in the train of unscrupulous conduct. To be strict in goodness is to be pointed at and shunned. To be no better than one's neighbor is the only way of being at peace." Fredrick W. Robertson 1900 Sermon entitled - "God's greatness and Man's greatness"

Doesn't that seem to describe our day pretty well? Standing up for what is right is considered intolerant or narrow minded. It seems that the ungodly are esteemed and the righteous are disregarded. If we want praise from the world we must bend what the Scripture states. If peace is our goal then we must give in on what we believe. If the entire world is going one way, and we walk against that flow, is it worth it? The answer should be yes! We should live to hear our Master say, "well done good and faithful servant". If we live for the praises of man we will be in the majority, but heading in the wrong direction. We will receive honor, preferment, and grandeur (glory) but it will be from the wrong source! It is far better to be counted among the shunned and mocked and receive our praise from our Heavenly Father. Like the saints of Hebrews 11 of whom the world was not worthy, we should live in such a way as to please our God. Often what is considered a sinking cause by us is the victorious cause of our God! We are to live in such a way as to appeal to the lost, not adapt to the lost. Our goal should be to win the lost, not become just like them. The world maintains a sliding scale and trying to adapt to it will result in constant change and compromise. The Scripture maintains an ever stable standard that does not change based on current public opinion. We must live our lives with our goal to please our Heavenly Father and let the suffering follow because of our obedience. We must however make sure we suffer for doing right...

Have a wonderful week in our Lord!

As I watch the months on the calendar fly by it is interesting to review some issues. Y2K did not destroy the world. A meteor did not hit the earth. Atomic bombs have not yet fallen. The worldwide economic crash has not yet happened. Aliens have not yet invaded planet earth. The UN has not taken over the world yet. The Tri-lateral commission has not yet surfaced with a new-world order. AIDS has not consumed Africa or the world yet. The killer bees are still in Texas heading toward the Midwest. Reports of black helicopters are still out there but the sightings are fewer ... One fact still remains unchanged, God is on Ms throne and His will is being worked out daily. Fear, worry, and doubts, profit little and steal much. When we waste energy on these distractions, we miss much of what God is doing. The devil would have us focus on what may happen, God wants us to focus on what He is doing and what will happen. We are to be people of the Word, and not just the newspaper or Internet. The devil always operates in the realm of fear and distortion. God operates in truth. How much emotional energy was wasted on Y2K or fear of AIDS? What would have happened if that same energy were put into prayer, evangelism, and giving? How many believers are living on canned food or pre-packaged freeze-dried products this year? Fear of what may have happened paralyzed many. God wants us to trust Hun and obey Him without fear or doubt. Whatever may come our way in 2001 it will end up being good because God is on the throne.

One of Hope Family Fellowship's strength is our willingness to agree to disagree with each other. Each person that calls Hope home is different. Some are single, some are married, some young, and some old, some from traditional backgrounds and others from not so traditional ones, but all are trying to follow the Lord. As we learn to love each other in our differences, we will see how really similar we all are. God never called His Church to uniformity, but to unity and there is a big difference. We can be in unity and yet not all be alike, and I count it a real blessing that we are not all alike. One seasoning may taste great, but it is often the variety that adds the zest and flavor to a dish...and the same is true to a group of believers. God has made each one us different and for that I am very grateful.

Samuel Davies (1723-1761) was a Presbyterian minister and the fourth president of Princeton University. He preached during the Great Awakening and really knows how to paint a picture with words...consider this excerpt from a sermon entitled, "The Universal Judgment" in Sermons on Important Subjects, Vol. 2.

This reminds me that if we were to judge ourselves we will not need to be judged (1 Corinthians 11:31) Sometimes we think that we, or someone else, gets away with sin...but there will come a day when all unrepented of sin will be displayed for all to see and not just the eyes of Omniscience. On the other hand, sometimes we feel like no one knows of our efforts towards godliness...God does and He is a rewarder of those that seek Him! May we learn to repent quickly when we finally see our sin, and leave our rewards with the final Judge.

I was officiating at a funeral recently and the deceased father had left a letter to his family that had survived him. As the son read the letter I could not help but think that what was written could be preached from our pulpit on any given Sunday. As if from the grave the father was pleading with his family to take time out of life to love each other and live for each other. Money, power, success, or anything other thing was not worth the price paid to achieve it. Family and time with loved ones was the only thing that really mattered. Life is too short to be bothered with the accumulation of such temporal things. When faced with certain death, the loss of family and intimacy was huge. All other earthly things were unimportant. The Lord allowed this man to have eighteen months to become reacquainted with his family. These last few months created many wonderful memories. May we take the time before we face certain death to learn this lesson. Value our families before it is too late to be able to do so.

I spoke with a man this last week from Arizona. He visited Hope about two years ago and has decided to move here to become part of what God is doing with our fellowship. I am amazed at what God is doing...watching the changes take place over the last couple of years has led me to believe that God is doing something special with all of us. While people come and go quit a bit in the American Church, we have had a couple of real neat stories of people that are moving here from other parts of the country to become part of our fellowship. Our vision is not unique, but it is not normal either. This man called me to make sure we had not changed our vision and that I hadn't quit before he made the move! I assured him that the vision was the same and I was not quitting...Hope is not a perfect church in vision or leadership. Frankly there are many times I feel like I have failed in what God has placed on us to accomplish...but that is my view from a somewhat pessimistic nature J Some folks are actually moving across the country without even having a secure job to be part of us! As normal, some are leaving our fellowship to pursue other visions. We are not the "only church" or "the right one", we are simply one that is trying to do "church" a bit differently. We are trying to keep the priorities that I believe are biblical - God first, family second, job/ministry third, etc. Our approach is not the only one or the right one, but is ours and God seems to be blessing it...give Him praise!

There are two ways to define a term or concept; define what it is, and what it is not. It seems whenever a conversation or sermon turns to "what should we do?" Or "holiness" red flags about legalism arise.

Legalism is usually defined as trying to earn or keep a right standing with God. If I perform, than I am accepted by God, if I fail to do something, than God is either angry with me or does not accept me any longer. By doing or not doing something I therefore earn the right to be accepted by God. This is wrong at the foundational level. We can earn nothing in the sight of a holy God but deserved judgment. We have right standing with God by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ at Calvary . We stand by God’s grace not our works-

Romans 3:20 - "For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin."

Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Next, legalism often becomes a set of standards or rules that if kept; make someone more holy, better, or more mature than others. This is also false at the root level for -

Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

1 John 1:10 - "If we say we have not sinned we make Him a liar, and His word in not in us."

Romans 3:10 - "as it is written: None is righteous, no not one."

All of us have failed in the past; will probably fall short in the present and certainly in the future, therefore trying to keep some set of rules to be holy or better than anyone else is futile. All of us are struggling saints, saved by grace and walking in faith. We may be at different points on the Highway of Holiness, but we are all reaching for the same goal. We are all trying to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling." (Phil. 2:12) In addition, if we are saved, we are all children of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. (Rom. 8:17) Our comparison is not to others, but to our Lord.

So, if legalism is defined as trying to earn the impossible from God, right standing (justification) with Him by some way other than Jesus Christ and Him crucified...what is it not then?

1. Being obedient to God’s specific commands is not legalism:
   1 John 2:3-4 - "And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. Whoever says "I know Him" but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
2. Living a holy life that is set apart unto the Lord’s service is not legalism:
   1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 - "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you."
   1 Peter 1:15 - "but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,"
3. Living a life separated unto Christ and separated from the fads and fashions of the world is not legalism:
   Romans 12:2 - "be not conformed to the pattern of this world"
4. Conforming one’s life to be in harmony with certain standards decided upon by Spirit-led leaders of a local assembly of believers is not legalism.
   Acts 15:28-30 "For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell." So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch , and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.
5. Forgoing my personal rights for the sake of my brother is not legalism:
   Romans 14:21 - "It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble."
   Romans 14:13 - "Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother."

Summary:

Works do not save us, but once we are saved, we will work. The evidence of a changed life on the inside is demonstrated by the behavior on the outside. Even a quick reading of the New Testament will reveal hundreds of passages with specific commands and instruction to the believer specifically geared towards behavior. Standards, restrictions, both self and Biblically imposed are normal for believers and it is not legalism, but obedience. While legalism can be an issue, it seems like carnality should also be a concern. Seeking God and trying to obey His commands will produce far better fruit than trying to justify and demand my freedom to do as I please. We are slaves, bondservants of the Lord Most High - His wishes are the only ones that should truly matter. In our fleeing from legalism, I pray our destination does not end in license. True freedom only comes from bowing to our Lord daily.

"Moments of great spiritual delight do not require much faith; if we never came down from the mount of blessing we might easily come to trust in our own delights rather than in the unshakable character of God." - Tozer. This of course is so true. When we are on the high places with God faith is not an issue. However, when we are in the storm or valley and God is behind a shroud of fog, or He seems to be very distant, then faith is the only issue. Great miracles often do not produce faith, but extreme hardship does. The Children of Israel or the Pharisees should have become great men of faith if miracles could move people, but they didn't. They saw first hand the mighty power of God, yet they refused to believe. The greatest faith is often demonstrated when God seems to not be anywhere around. When God appears to have failed, then faith is at its peak. Martyrs and persecuted saints speak of a faith that reaches beyond the circumstances. Faith takes great delight in what it does not see or feel. Our faith grows best in the soil of hardships and defeats more than in the thin air of victory.

One definition of "wisdom" that I like, and think about often is "seeing and responding to life situations from God's frame of reference". In every situation there is my perspective, my enemies perspective, and God's perspective. Most times my view and that of the devil is quite different from what God has in mind. The devil only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I most of the time am completely self absorbed, and God has His Kingdom in mind. When I give into my self and my normal view, I become self-focused and very often depressed. When I listen to the devil or his host of liars, I become discontent and full of worry, fear, or doubt. But, when I can tune into the perspective of God, and really see what He is up to and how this situation can enhance the Kingdom of God, then I find peace and joy and the power of the Holy Spirit. Only seeing my present situation from God's point of view can my struggles, unfulfilled dream and goals, and even failures begin to make sense. God has a bigger plan than I can see and very often His ways are not my ways and His thoughts are not my thoughts.

Worry is a hard taskmaster. As the old saying goes "the problem with worrying is that you have to go through everything twice." We can expend great amounts of emotional energy thinking and being concerned about events that never happen. Hours can be wasted in concern over matters that do not even take place. We can use our God-given imaginations to visualize all types of problems and difficulties. We focus on the problems and the magnitude of them and not on God and His greatness. Problems and hardships will come soon enough to every believer, so why create them in our minds? If we could transfer the worry into praise, trust and prayer we would save ourselves a large amount of emotional wear and tear. Deep in our hearts we know that God will come through with the provision, solution, answer, and it will eventually be good. If we can just start here instead of finally ending up here we would be much better off!

The world is full of hurting people who desperately need the Lord. As pressures continue to add up and lifestyles explode with problems, our light and witness becomes even greater. You will probably never know how many folks are watching you as you go through your daily life. Your commitment to your spouse and children speaks volumes about your walk with the Lord. In a day and age when commitments mean little, your life stands out like a lighthouse. Be steadfast, unmovable in your commitments to the Lord, and family and then do not be surprised who ends up being drawn to your light!

Sometimes we are tempted to feel like we are wasting our life. Thoughts and questions flood our minds like, "Why do I bother to go to work, change another diaper, or study? What difference does it really make if I obey or not? God does not need me and all my efforts seem wasted anyway." These are lies! In a sermon entitled, "Christ in You, the Hope of Glory" by G. Campbell Morgan, I came across this paragraph:

Hear me, for I speak with great reverence, and yet with all boldness - that Christ is richer for having you. That is the individual application of the magnificent argument of the Ephesians epistle in which Paul tells us plainly that God gains an inheritance in the saints. But what does Christ gain in you? He gains an instrument through which He can flash His light upon some other dark soul. He gains a medium through which He is able to touch with healing other wounded spirits. He gains a channel through which He is able to move out in the grace of healing to other wounded hearts. He gains whatever He comes to possess.

The sermon is based upon Colossians 1:27, "To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."