Living Like Your In The 4th Quarter

"So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom." - Psalm 90:12

I joke with my wife when I stop watching a game - football - golf - whatever the sport might be by telling her "I predict that someone will win and someone will lose." Another fact is that all football games are won at the end of the 4th quarter - or in some cases, overtime. A fact you can stick in your pocket - in 2024 only 7 of the 111 games played in the NFL went to overtime.

But a 4th quarter may not be as long as we think. It's 15 minutes in football - and 12 minutes in basketball. Most games are won and lost in the last quarter. Sometimes in the last seconds of the game. Sometimes when the odds said that the losing team was too far behind. Then, sometimes, a miracle happens.

For me and my bride, we are turning 75 this year. I liken that to the 4th quarter of life. 75% - well you get the idea. Actually only God knows how much time we have.

We must be careful we don't have the attitude of the the man who decided to build bigger barns - 

"Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?" - Luke 12:16-20

We should live every day like it will be our last. Everyday we should give the day to the Lord saying, "not my will but your will be done Lord." 

If you lived like that - I mean really lived like that - how would your life change. We are not promised tomorrow. 

"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” - James 4:13-15

How does that truth change your perspective or does it? I said that we were living in the 4th quarter of our lives - but tomorrow the Lord may call the game for us. 

Don Moen wrote a song called "When It's All Been Said And Done"

"When it's all been said and done There is just one thing that matters Did I do my best to live for truth? Did I live my life for You (Lord)?

When it's all been said and done. All my treasures will mean nothing. Only what I've done for love's reward. Will stand the test of time"

We should all live like we are in the 4th quarter and there is only time enough for one more play on the clock. The players are exhausted by the end of the game. It takes grit and determination to finish well. Same for us. My hope is that when it has all been said and done I can say .... 

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." - 2 Timothy 4:7

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

Let Them See Jesus

"And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. .... to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, ... that no one should be shaken by these afflictions ... May the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. " - 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7, 3:3,12-13

Do you watch the news much? Martie and I have struggled with whether we should continue. The preponderance of the news is about what bad people have done or what tragedy has befallen them - very little - maybe at the very end - one snippet about something good. We used to say in the Army that one "you messed up" can erase 10 "you did well". What is wrong in the world carries a lot of weight and seems to be what the people want to know about. Or at least that is mostly what they are being told about.

My guess is, though, that most people really crave good news. Some words of hope. Mankind does not seem to be doing a good job of fixing the problems that have persisted, generation to generation. The technology has changed but the underlying source of the problem has not. We live in a fallen - corrupted world. It will not get better until Jesus returns. Sounds pretty dismal doesn't it.

But there is hope - there is good news. Through faith in Jesus, mankind can find love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) If you are a Christian, and I assume you are if you are reading this, then you can be a light in a world without hope. Living by faith - people can get a glimpse of Jesus through your life. Not just by what you say but by what you do.

"sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear" - 1 Peter 3:15

It is more than telling people that Jesus saves - although that is an eternal truth and worth telling. But it about living a transformed life - being the fragrance of Christ - 

"For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." - 2 Corinthians 2:15

That does not happen by trying harder but by "faithing" harder. Living a surrendered life by faith.

Then you will let them see Jesus.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

Not Everyone Is Cheering For You

"This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus." - 2 Timothy 1:15-18

I deo not think that I would be understating it to say that I have met more resistance from other professing to be Christians than from those declaring that they were not. Apparently Paul experienced something similar from Christians in Asia. Not a lot of details, but it is a reminder of the realities of ministry.

Christian leaders have a responsibility to "protect the flock" from outside threats. But there are times when the threats are from within. Why is that? Because Christians carry their new life around in jars of clay. What can start as a genuine call of God can turn into an expression of the old nature. How do you know? The Word gives us a reference to use.

"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like" - Galatians 5:19-21

I could share a number of examples from my own experiences, but I will limit it to one. We were serving in a disaster area. It is very stressful in those places - not just on the locals affected by the disaster, but for the people who have come alongside to help them. You have to work at keeping your focus on your mission and your strength from God. Martie and I had left everything behind, believing that God had called us to service. It was not long that I was being accused of a number of things that were contrary to representing Jesus by a particular person in the group. The volunteers were dumfounded as they knew that the accusations were blatantly untrue as they were witnesses. I was beside myself. My reputation and character were being impugned. So, I talked to some mature, impartial Christians about the problem seeking their advice. They first discounted what was being said as false, and then told me to do and say nothing. To let God vindicate me.

I must say, that is not what I was thinking about doing. The temptation was to stand up for myself. Confront the person - mano y mano. The "old man" wanted to rise up and settle things. But my spirit was affirmed that the spiritual counsel was the right course of action. I was reminded that Jesus had been silent before his accusers. And I was vindicated although my accuser continued to resent me from that day. That experience became a spiritual marker for us. It was a pivot point. God had already shown us that we were to start a ministry which is now Pathfinder Mission. It was that provocation that resulted in our yielding to God stepping into His call. 

We learned that love is the motivation for praying for those who despitefully use you. That you must choose love and trust in God when you are in the midst of a trial and not trust in yourself.

"But I [Jesus] say  unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" - Matthew 5:44

That is an act of faith and not of will. You don't do it because you "have to" you do it because you "want to". That happened about 17 years ago - but I still remember the spiritual lessons learned. I had forgiven the person back then. I still remember the incident, obviously. I tell people that you forgive but not forget. The way that you know you have forgiven is that no emotion rises up in your heart when you do remember - only love - grace and mercy.

Had I not experienced the hardship, I would not have learned a great spiritual truth. I better understand why James wrote what he did. 

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." - James 1:2-5

Godly wisdom is knowledge plus experience wrapped in obedience and tied with a faith bow. 

Not everyone you meet or even serve with will be cheering for you, but God has your back.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

Is Your Life Goal to Burn Out Or Rust Out

"And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good." - 2 Thessalonians 3:13

I often tell people that I plan to burn out and not rust out with respect to my serving the Lord and others. The American dream is work hard and then retire from work and focus on yourself. There is nothing inherently wrong with resting or pursuing your hobbies or checking off whatever you have written on your bucket list. 

I do think it is a mistake to imagine that you have no eternal value in your later years in life. I must say that I am frustrated a bit with the local church in that its activities are organized around age. Once you hit 50 you are about to crest the hill of being useful in the church. Sound exaggerated? Perhaps, but really not that far from the truth. Oh, people are respectful enough, but they can be patronizing as well.  

The challenge is for the older folks to not fold up their tents and call it a day. Do you know how old Abraham was when Issac was born? 100. Sara was 99. No, I am not suggesting that our goal should be to start another family when we get our first social security check. But I am suggesting that God can and will use people, no matter their age if they are willing to walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

I just shared a story with a friend about something that happened while we were serving in Haiti. I was asked to build an orphanage and have it ready in a very short period of time. My response to the request was that God would have to provide - make a way for it to happen - if that was going to happen. One day, about three weeks before the date we had to be ready I was talking to a Haitian pastor at the work site. He asked when I would be done and I told him what my deadline was. He laughed and said, "Nothing happens quickly in Haiti." My response to him was "Pastor, if you remember, Sara laughed." He got my point. It is my same point to you. Don't limit God. Oh - the orphans walked through the gate on the day that had been set. I could not have orchestrated that - only God could.

"But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." - Matthew 19:26

God never asks us to do anything that we can do on our own. And then He gets the glory, and we have a testimony to the world.

So don't hang up your spurs quite yet my friend. There is a lot more ridin' to be done. (Thought I would throw in a little Texas talk!)

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

The Primacy Of Our Spiritual Life

"With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Why do you do what you do? Why do you treat people the way you treat them? Well - Paul wrote that "every deed" should be prompted by faith. In other words there is nothing that we do that should be birthed from our old nature. No words said. No attitudes held. No actions taken that do not have their root in our spiritual natures. 

At the core of our faith is love. We love God first and others next - finding the power to love them is born out of our love of God. Seems simple doesn't it. That gives some context to what John wrote.

We love Him because He first loved us.  If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?  And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also." - 1 John 4:19-21

If every deed and thought is to be prompted by love, then what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth is brought into context.

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Take a moment to consider your interactions with people - face to face - on the phone - even on social media. What kind of grade would you give yourself if you used 1 Corinthians 13 as the measuring stick? My point - Who we are by faith in Christ is who we should be to everyone we interact with. The Word of God is not a guide - it is a directive. 

"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" - Micah 6:8

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

Being Holy In An Unholy World

…unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. —Matthew 5:20

“The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in his motives, having been made good by the supernatural grace of God. … The purity that God demands is impossible unless I can be remade within, and that is exactly what Jesus has undertaken to do through His redemption… The great wonder of Jesus Christ’s salvation is that He changes our heredity. He does not change human nature— He changes its source, and thereby its motives as well.”  Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest 

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." - Isaiah 6:5

When Isaiah was in the presence of the Lord, he was suddenly and painfully aware of his sinful nature. That awareness was inescapable.  His very nature was laid bare before God.  There was nothing He could do to make it right or to hide it.  It was necessary for God to intervene on Isaiah’s behalf. 

“Then flew one of the Seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” - Isaiah 6:6-7

In the same way God intervened on our behalf on the day of our rebirth through Jesus. The question that came to my mind this morning is this. After so many days, months or years have passed, are we still aware of our dependence upon the Father’s intervention in our lives? That we are a people of unclean lips and cannot stand in the presence of a holy God on our own merit.  Or have we “adjusted” to our new life and really don’t see our sins as being significant. As far as we are concerned, we are maintain our sin life at an acceptable level.  The truth of the matter is displayed in the way we live our lives. We must all be on our guard. We might even have a casual attitude towards God and Jesus. I have heard some refer to the Creator of the universe as "the man upstairs" and Jesus Christ as "JC". Oh that we were like Isaiah.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Well ……. Do you?   

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

But What About Him

"Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.” Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?" - John 21:20-23

Have you ever been resentful about other people. Perhaps you felt that you were not getting your fair share of whatever was at a premium. Opportunity - love and affection - recognition. I was thinking about my brothers. If something was going to happen to me, typically that was not to my advantage, I wanted to know about the impact on my brothers. Maybe we got into a scrap over something, as brothers will do from time to time. I was the oldest and so I was held most accountable. But still, I wondered - but what about them?

Jesus had been talking to Peter about Peter's future. Jesus had just asked Peter 3 times if Peter loved Jesus. I am not a Greek scholar, but I was told once that the first time Peter replied that he loved Jesus like a friend, then a brother, and finally as Lord. Recall Peter had denied Jesus three times before His crucifixion. Frankly I don't know if the number three ties those events together, but I have heard some say it does. I will leave that to your study if you are so inclined.

So Jesus had just told Peter that later in life Peter's life would be very difficult. Peter turned and saw John and asked, "Well what about John?" Jesus' reply was, "What is that to you?" Almost like sibling rivalry. I remember the Smothers Brothers where Tommy would say to his brother, "Mom always liked you best!" For most of us that is more fear than fact. As far as Jesus was concerned, there was no favoritism - only the will of God. 

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." - Matthew 5:44-45

Are you ready to rest in that. Or is your love for God conditional? His love for you is not.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

The Mystery And The Struggle

"This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." - Ephesians 3:6

The Jews had long believed that as the Chosen Nation, if anyone who was not Jewish wanted to have a relationship with the Creator God, Jehovah - then they must embrace the Jewish faith and abandon their heritage, beliefs and practices. In fact, the disciples struggled with the idea that Gentiles might share in the Promise through faith in Jesus. Some required that the Gentile Christians practice the Jewish traditions even to the point of physical circumcision. It was Paul - a former Pharisee that showed them the error in their thinking. He even confronted Peter in the matter. Still Paul would go first to the Jew and then to the Gentile on his journeys. He wrote to the Church in Galatia ....

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28

To the Church in Colossi he wrote ....

"You have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all." - Colossians 3:9-11

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

All means all - it doesn't matter the race or religious leaning - we all need a Savior. Just like Jesus told Nicodemus - even Nicodemus needed to be born again by the Spirit. God does not favor one race or nation above others, although He may, from time to time, use a nation or race to accomplish His eternal plans.

"So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed." - Ephesians 4:17-19

Peter struggled with wanting to go back to the practices of the Jewish faith - to what he had been raised in. Paul, writing to the Church in Ephesus, was encouraging them to not return to the secular life that they had been saved from. There is a song that goes, "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Take my heart Lord. Take and seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above."

It is a struggle that we all face and will continue to struggle until we face Jesus. That is why we must be reminded of the dangers and the temptations to live as we once did.  What we read in the Bible are not stories about past generations but about every generation.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

The World Needs To See Jesus

"Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority." - John 14:8-10

So the disciples wanted Jesus to usher them into the presence of God the Father. They wanted to see God. Jesus response - If they had seen Him (and they obviously had) then they had seen the Father. That reminds me of John 17.

"My [Jesus] prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." - John 17:20-23

So if you have seen Jesus then you have seen the Father. Likewise, if people have seen you then they should see Jesus and, in turn, they will see the Father. And then - the world will know that the Father sent the Son and, in turn, the Son has sent us. I suppose the question is - who do people see when they see you and me? I personally find that very convicting.

As I typed this out a painful memory came back to me. A negative example, if you will. When I was probably a freshman in high school, I had done something - don't know what - not even then - and my mom said to me - "Don't do that, you remind me of your father!" My folks were divorced when I was 2 years old. A strong message - don't act like your dad. At the time neither she nor I were Christians - but thank you Jesus, that all changed some years later. Do we remind people of the world or of heaven? The natural or the spiritual? Do our lives preach hopelessness or hopefulness?

I am not talking about putting on our spiritual game face. Giving the appearance of being a Christian. I am talking about being the fragrance of Christ in all that we do and say, all the time - everyday - under any provocation to act otherwise. 

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." - 2 Corinthians 2:14-15

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

Merely A Reflection In The Mirror

"Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." - James 1:22-24

I took the following excerpt from a recent Yahoo News post. "Thursday’s bipartisan National Prayer Breakfast, where President Donald Trump affirmed he now “much more strongly” believes in God, went off the rails once lawmakers closed their Bibles and opened their social media accounts."

The idea for a National Prayer Breakfast first came from a Methodist minister in the1930's, but today religious leaders of many faiths attend, including [a number] Christian denominations, Islam and Judaism. In another article, a politician was quoted as saying "Christian prayer has no place in the Capitol." One of the pillars of this country is the idea of freedom of religion. From a secular perspective that makes sense - that people of other faiths might live in harmony with all people having no fear of isolation or persecution. However, for people of any particular faith, few if any believe that there is more than one true religion - that being theirs. 

Certainly, our country was founded largely by those of the Christian faith, but the country has evolved. With respect to faith, race and culture the United States is not the "melting pot" that I was taught about in grade school in the 1950's. It is stratified and by its nature weak at the seams. 

As Christians we must have a spiritual understanding of the natural world we live in. We have a dual citizenship. One on this planet and one in Heaven. (Philippians 3:19-21) Our primary allegiance is to the Creator God and secondarily to our country. Until Jesus returns there will always be a tension between the Body of Christ and the world in which we live - to include all other faiths. So what should we do? Do what Jesus did. But I might add, they still crucified Him.

OK, so much for my social commentary. 

The news post reminded of the verse in James chapter 1. We look in the mirror, turn away, and forget what we just saw. In the same way, we can attend an event - maybe church on Sunday and before we hit the door on our way to our car the Pastor's sermon is a distant memory. The conviction we felt from the Spirit as the Word was preached has faded. And we are back in the "real world". Our minds fixed on our bellies and what we are going to do on a Sunday afternoon. Like those lawmakers who had just left the Prayer Breakfast. Their response to the Prayer Breakfast is like church can be. It was a social - even mandatory event - where their attendance was expected. Yes, kind of like church can be. 

When we look in the mirror, we should see the reflection of Jesus in the saved sinner looking back at us. Not forgetting who were once were and who we are and will be for eternity.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

Living By The Spirit

Death no longer has dominion over Him.…the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God… —Romans 6:9-11

"Eternal life is not a gift from God; eternal life is the gift of God. The energy and the power which was so very evident in Jesus will be exhibited in us by an act of the absolute sovereign grace of God, once we have made that complete and effective decision about sin. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8)— not power as a gift from the Holy Spirit; the power is the Holy Spirit, not something that He gives us. The life that was in Jesus becomes ours because of His Cross, once we make the decision to be identified with Him. If it is difficult to get right with God, it is because we refuse to make this moral decision about sin. Even the weakest saint can experience the power of the deity of the Son of God, when he is willing to “let go.” Then Jesus will have complete and effective dominion in us, and people will take notice that we have been with Him." - Oswald Chambers - My Utmost For His Highest

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”  -  Acts 4:13

The difference in Peter and John was that they had the Spirit of God in them.  Peter had just been with Jesus when Peter denied Jesus.  Peter was operating out of his flesh – his old nature when that happened.  But in Acts, they were speaking with power and wisdom that could not be explained except that these men had been with Jesus.  They reflected Jesus in their words and with the authority by which they spoke.  It is the same with us.  The power of our new life is totally, 100%, dependent upon the power of the Holy Spirit in us.  Imagine that you are driving down the road and someone reached over and turns the ignition key to the off position.  The engine stops .. the power steering is gone .. the car is unresponsive – dead if you will.  Well, that is how it is when we attempt to live the Christian life on our terms … without the Holy Spirit. 

“Do not quench the Spirit" - 1 Thessalonians 5:19

Like turning the key to off, we can disregard the Holy Spirit … trust in ourselves … and fail.  Are you having trouble being the Christian you know you should be?  Most probably it is because you are not walking in the power of your new nature. 

"So I [Paul] say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law." - Galatians 5:16-18

And that, my friend, is the truth!

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone 

Who Is Your Testimony About?

I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ… —Colossians 1:24

"If we simply preach the effects of redemption in the human life instead of the revealed, divine truth regarding Jesus Himself, the result is not new birth in those who listen. The result is a refined religious lifestyle, and the Spirit of God cannot witness to it because such preaching is in a realm other than His. When we say, “What a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!” then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him (see John 12:32).” Oswald Chambers - My Utmost For His Highest

I was talking with a painter and his son one day while rebuilding a house.  The conversation drifted from what had to be done in the house, to more personal matters … who we are, why we are what we are.  I feel strongly that God has these men helping for His purpose.  But as I shared a little about my past and why I was in Texas, the young man smiled and said that what I was doing was a great thing.  And so back to Mr. Chambers.  If all I do is impress those men with my service and fail to communicate whom it is that I serve and why, I have failed in my mission.  Testimonies are good but are hollow and vain without the Gospel at their center.  You can impress people with the “whats” in your life but fail in your mission if you do not tell people “why” you do what you do.  Paul said ....  

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

If people are not drawn to Jesus, but to you, then you have missed the point of your encounter with them.  Be careful that you don’t neglect the Gospel, your primary mission in your new life, in favor of people being impressed with who you are or what you do.  Every bit of that is for the glory of God, not your personal glory.  Don’t be like the some of the Pharisees.  

“Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God." - John 12:42-43

Like a friend would tell me whenever I would say, "Well George, what do you think?" His response - every time - "Jesus Saves"

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone