Choosing To Go Along To Get Along Is The Pathway To Sin

 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. -  1 Corinthians 6:8-10

Mankind's tendency, since the Garden, has been to go its own way - to redefine what God has said in favor of conforming to the consensus of the culture. The idea that you can love the sinner but hate what the sinner does is counterintuitive to the reasoning of natural man or woman. Their thinking is that if you hate the sin then, by definition, you must hate the sinner. They are inseparable. Throwing the proverbial baby out with the bath water. And so that makes you, the sin hater, a bad person. "And you call yourself a Christian!"

The Lord God says: As surely as I live, I do not want any who are wicked to die. I want them to stop doing evil and live. - Ezekiel 33:11

People have a habit of categorizing sin but in 1 Corinthians 6, Paul spoke to sin in general. If you are practicing any one of those things then you will not inherit the kingdom of God. The idea that my sin is not so bad compared to that sinner - doesn't hold water. James did not leave any room for that reasoning.

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. - James 2:10

Having said that, since our culture is celebrating Pride month in June, I will use the sin of homosexuality as an example but I could use any sin to make the point.  I emphasize that it is but one of the 10 things that the unrighteous are declared to be guilty of in 1 Corinthians 6 and one of a myriad that someone might commit. But it serves as example with respect to the manner in which the secular culture responds to any sin that it decides is not a sin or wrong. And I also want to emphasize that there are many kind hearted, loving people who are sinners. Sin is a spiritual condition that can only be resolved through faith and repentance - a spiritual solution. People who sin are not necessarily evil or mean spirited with respect to how they relate to other people. 

Not everyone in our country, Christian or not, embraces homosexuality as being a normal lifestyle. My point is you don't have to be religious to believe homosexuality, or any of the other 9 things Paul mentioned are wrong. But rejecting the Biblical moral code defining what is right and wrong - people are then free to choose their own code so long as they don't impose it on others. In other words - those who are gay may not expect everyone else to be gay - else there would be no "next generation" but, at the same time - in like manner - don't tell them that they should not be gay. So the cultural consensus is that homosexuality is not a sin - it is not wrong.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. - Romans 8:5 

In 1999, President Bill Clinton officially declared in a presidential proclamation that June would be "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month". In 2011, Barack Obama expanded the official Pride Month recognition to include the whole of the LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender] community. Then in 2021, Joe Biden recognized Pride Month after taking office, and vowed to push for LGBT rights in the United States. Just so you know - this is not a Democrat vs Republican rant. These were Democratic presidents, but all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There are none righteous no not one. 

My point is this  - the United States government is embracing the right of people to live a lifestyle and embrace a morality that is contrary to God's design and intent. Although our form of government has Biblical roots in its formation - it is NOT a Christian nation. It is a secular nation. We believe in freedom of religion - which is to say that people also have the right to be free OF religion.

So what about those in our country who recognize Jehovah God as the Creator. Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity, Islam historically have rejected homosexuality and the other sins mentioned as sin. According to Jesus (Matthew 22;21), we must render unto God what is God's and to Caesar what is Caesars - or to our culture what is our cultures - 

But what about when there is a conflict of ideas - as Christians, we must yield, first, to the authority of God. Having said that - there are denominations or what I will call "sub-denominations" that have yielded to the culture and rejected the historical, Biblical view of some sins in favor of embracing the cultural consensus.

Today there is great social pressure to do what people have been doing for millennia. Calling evil good and good evil.

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! - Isaiah 5:20

For many churches they have fallen victim to the enticements of the devil that began in the Garden. 

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;  but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” -  Genesis 3:1-5

Like Eve, if you do not trust the Word of God then you may be tempted to stray from it in favor of our culture's truth. And that is what has happened with gay rights.

How could that be happening? Well, it is the frog in the pot. Day by day. Year by year the water is getting hotter - like the frog - we get comfortable with the culture's truth which started out innocent like a soft breeze on a summer's night and then without us realizing it - it became deadly - a raging storm. Now we find ourselves asking - how did we get here - so far from Biblical truth. The answer one step - one compromise at a time.  

The problem many Christians have is that they look at the sin first and never get to the sinner. Then they confuse loving the sinner with embracing their sin. Do you remember what God did?

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. - John 3:16-17

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8

What I hope is that I have reminded you of the spiritual context of what you see happening in the world. Although I used homosexuality as an example - that is a symptom, it is not the illness.  And that is not likely to change until Jesus returns.

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

Second Guessing God

And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. - 1 Samuel 15:20-23

I am certain that you are familiar with the events that led up to the Lord removing King Saul's anointing and passing it on to David. The verses I opened with are about the second time that Saul went his own way, convinced that he could improve on what God told him to do.  

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. - 1 Samuel 16:7

That verse is reference to the time Samuel was sent to anoint Saul's replacement and Samuel was looking for someone that resembled Saul - Taller than most men and easy on the eyes to look at.  (Hey if it worked once) But Samuel was using man's standards not God's. God looks at the heart of man.

Do you remember what Jesus said the to scribes and Pharisees?

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. - Matthew 23:27

God looks at the heart of man. And He found Saul wanting. It is like you ask someone to do something in particular and when you return they have done something else and are convinced they chose rightly. You ask "Why didn't you do what I asked you to do?" and they reply "Yes, but ....." in an attempt to justify their actions.  Sounds a little like Saul doesn't it?

Why do mere mortals try to out-think God?  Well - the short answer is, it is a matter of the heart. Do you remember the greatest commandment? 

Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment." - Matthew 22:35-38

That describes someone who is totally and primarily devoted to God. So how about you? Do you think that you know better than God? Maybe the Bible makes God's mind clear about some matter, but you think it doesn't apply to you. Or maybe you have a better idea - something God didn't think of. That is what one friend of ours would call "stinkin thinkin". It puts your feet firmly on the path to sin. In fact when you decided it in your heart - that was the point that sin happened. The act of sin is merely carrying out what has already happened in your heart.

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

Serving God Requires Faith Plus The Power Of God

He said to them, "This kind [of unclean spirit] can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." —Mark 9:29

 ““His disciples asked Him privately, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ ” (Mark 9:28). The answer lies in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We can remain powerless forever, as the disciples were in this situation, by trying to do God’s work without concentrating on His power, and by following instead the ideas that we draw from our own nature. We actually slander and dishonor God by our very eagerness to serve Him without knowing Him. When you are brought face to face with a difficult situation and nothing happens externally, you can still know that freedom and release will be given because of your continued concentration on Jesus Christ. Your duty in service and ministry is to see that there is nothing between Jesus and yourself. Is there anything between you and Jesus even now? Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13)“ - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

You cannot do anything for God that is acceptable to God unless it is done by faith in God.  Oh, you can do things in His name, but it really amounts to work accomplished by your own effort.  Ephesians 2:8,9 says we are saved by grace through faith not of works lest any man boast that somehow he had saved himself by his own effort.  And so it is when you step out for God.  There is nothing I can do that pleases God in terms of effort, what God wants from me is a broken and contrite heart and a willingness to pick up my cross and follow Jesus.  But God I am so smart. But Who gave you your intelligence?  When you serve God you must lay a spiritual foundation.  If you say “yes” God will take you places that would crush your spirit and cause you to feint in the intensity of the circumstances. Whether it be a lion’s dens, a fiery furnace, or ministering to a difficult person in a difficult situation, God is sufficient to meet your needs. (Philippians 4:19) “… my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” 

Have you ever wondered what the difference was between a Christian giving someone a drink of water and a non-Christian doing the same thing?  The person receiving the water has their thirst quenched either way.  Sometimes we are guilty of thinking that only Christians can do “good” things.  Not true.  But there is something supernatural going on when a Christian serves others.  Jesus told the woman at the well that He had living water to give her.  He could offer water to her soul … and so can you.  You must have the Spirit of God in you to do that.  

There are organizations involved in disaster relief that have the reputation for being “spiritual” but, in fact merely have a religious veneer. They will not allow Christians to share their faith in their desire to be “ecumenically correct” and not offend people of other beliefs or no belief at all.  Disasters are not an opportunity to take advantage of people’s vulnerability. But they do give opportunity for the Church to rise up and be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within them. (1 Peter 3:15)  There are no spiritual strings attached to our serving others, but there is spiritual power behind it.  God uses circumstances to speak to the lost.  Sometimes He whispers and sometimes He SHOUTS!  In any case we must be ready to shine the light of Jesus whatever the situation and circumstance.

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

Keeping in Step with God

You shall not go out with haste, . . . for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard —Isaiah 52:12

Very often, I quote Oswald Chambers as a focal point for the Devotion, but today I am using his scripture reference.  I wrote this while I am in Alabama for a few weeks in 2012.  The year was just about to close so a new one could begin.  For the previous few days I had been feeling the weight of what the Lord had us doing in Haiti.  I suspect it is a similar feeling to how Peter felt when he realized that he was walking on water and was no longer in the boat.  He was instantly in trouble but then he refocused on Jesus.  . Have you ever had that problem?

But when he [Peter] saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”  And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. - Matthew 14:30-32

The message in both Isaiah and Matthew is that God is with you and me .. we have nothing to fear. Just need to keep in step with Him.  Trust Him and not ourselves.  Be willing to go where it doesn’t make sense to go and watch God do something great.

Stay in step with God is my encouragement to you today.  I pray your life will be a living testimony to God’s love, grace, mercy, and sufficiency.

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

Losing Your Spiritual Edge - When The Lord Is A Faded Memory

Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. - Psalm 78:35

Genesis 18 brings out the delight of true friendship with God, as compared with simply feeling His presence occasionally in prayer. This friendship means being so intimately in touch with God that you never even need to ask Him to show you His will. It is evidence of a level of intimacy which confirms that you are nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith. When you have a right-standing relationship with God, you have a life of freedom, liberty, and delight; you are God’s will. And all of your commonsense decisions are actually His will for you, unless you sense a feeling of restraint brought on by a check in your spirit. You are free to make decisions in the light of a perfect and delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will lovingly produce that sense of restraint. Once he does, you must stop immediately. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost From His Highest

When you see the picture of a friend on Facebook or receive a phone call or have a chance meeting with them, do you feel joy in your heart?  Or perhaps something happens that reminds you of some pleasant experience. Do you feel the same joy at the thought of the Lord? There is a song by Hillsong, “When I Think About The Lord”

“When I Think about the Lord, How He saved me, how He raised me, How He filled me, with the Holy Ghost. How He healed me, to the uttermost.

When I Think about the Lord, How He picked me up and turned me around, How He placed my feet on solid ground.

It makes me wanna shout, Hallelujah, Thank you JESUS, LORD, your worthy, of all the glory, and all the honor, And all the praise...”

Does thinking about the Lord make you want to shout?  Or do you really not think about the Lord that much during the day, perhaps only when someone else brings Him up?  Maybe on Sunday.   I have had a good number of friends, too many, over the years who have fallen by the wayside in my mind and heart.  They were good friends, but I neglected to stay connected with them and our lives took different paths, to the point that they are only an occasional memory, if I think of them at all.  Sad, but true.  

Oh Christian, don’t lose your spiritual edge.  Don’t let who you are in Christ and whose you are with the Father and how you are because of the Spirit become some unemotional facts in your life - distant thoughts.  Your faith should and must be what motivates you, what gets you up in the morning. It should make you want to shout, Hallelujah.  If it doesn’t, as a preacher friend used to say, “Friend, your wick is wet!” Can I get a “Hallelujah, thank you Jesus” from somebody?

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

God Brings The Increase - Understanding Our Role In Someone's Salvation

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:8-10

If I asked any Christian if they agreed with Ephesians 2:8-10 they would most likely say - "Of Course".

If I asked those same people if when they shared their faith did they do their best to convince the hearer of the truth of their words. Most would likely say - "Yes". In fact, there are a number of "sure fire" ways of sharing the Gospel that have been used over the years. 4 Spiritual Laws - Evangelism Explosion - The FAITH method, to name a few. But those methods do not save people.

If I reminded those same Christians of Jesus' great commission in Matthew 28

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. - Matthew 28:18-20

They would agree that Jesus told us to Go. We are to share our faith, baptize new Believers and teach them Biblical truth.

So I would ask - So then we are to share our faith with the lost? They would answer "Of Course" 

Then I would ask - when it comes to the lost understanding the Gospel message what do you think Paul meant when he wrote

For Christ did not send me [Paul] to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. - 1 Corinthians 1:17-19

The Gospel - the message of the Cross - is foolishness to the lost and there is no way that I can convince them that it is wisdom and truth.

The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14

The fact is that truth of the Gospel is hidden from the lost - it must be spiritually discerned and the lost are spiritually dead.

If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. - 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

 It is God who brings about understanding - salvation - new birth - not me.

He [Jesus] said to them [the disciples] , “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. - Matthew 16:15-17

And then I would tell those Christians that our role in making disciples was to share the Gospel - . Planting seed - like Paul not argue people into heaven.

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. - 1 Corinthians 3:6

In the parable, the ground is the heart of the lost person hearing the Gospel. We can't see the heart of man - but God can. And so we are to be like Paul and Apollos.

Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” - Mark 4:3-8

Our responsibility is to go and tell - to cast the seed not to persuade.

How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, - Isaiah 52:7

My mom planted seed in my heart for 7 years to no avail. And then one Sunday a pastor watered that seed and God brought the increase. I knew the words I had heard them many times  - I saw changed lives in my family - but that did not rend my heart to salvation. None of us know the part that we play on the journey someone may take on the path to salvation. And not all will be saved. We can't save anybody but we can tell everybody.

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

Resist The Temptation To Be Satisfied With Less Than God's Best

May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless… —1 Thessalonians 5:23

Do we believe that God can fortify and protect our thought processes far beyond where we can go? “…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). If this verse means cleansing only on our conscious level, may God have mercy on us. The man who has been dulled by sin will say that he is not even conscious of it. But the cleansing from sin we experience will reach to the heights and depths of our spirit if we will “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7). The same Spirit that fed the life of Jesus Christ will feed the life of our spirit. It is only when we are protected by God with the miraculous sacredness of the Holy Spirit that our spirit, soul, and body can be preserved in pure uprightness until the coming of Jesus-no longer condemned in God’s sight. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

 As I have written these devotions, I noticed a thread that runs through them .. It is the same thread that runs through the Bible.  God has called us to a life of faith and holiness.  We cannot achieve that life on our own.  And even when we are born again, even though we are “awakened” to the reality of spiritual Truth, we continue to struggle with living a life of faith and holiness.  

We make excuses for our failings, unfortunately often resolving ourselves to some lower level of faith and holiness that God never intended for us. Finding satisfaction in a sort of self-defined compromise between our proclivity to continue to sin and our faith and redemption.  When you talk to other Christians, even those that you might consider “more spiritual than most”, you should never think that they are immune to that struggle.  None of us are like Jesus, but one day all of us will be.  So should we be content with our not being like Him yet?  God forbid.  We are on a spiritual journey.  We must keep our eyes fixed on Him, and press on.  And so my friend, let me encourage you to press on in your faith with confidence that 

He who began a good work in your will be faithful to complete it. - 1 Philippians 1:6 

"I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am" ― John Newton

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. -  Philippians 3:13-14

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

How To Live The Sanctified Life

May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely… —1 Thessalonians 5:23

When we pray, asking God to sanctify us, are we prepared to measure up to what that really means?  Are we prepared to pay the cost of sanctification? The cost will be a deep restriction of all our earthly concerns, and an extensive cultivation of all our godly concerns. Sanctification means to be intensely focused on God’s point of view. It means to secure and to keep all the strength of our body, soul, and spirit for God’s purpose alone. Are we really prepared for God to perform in us everything for which He separated us? Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us. Are we really prepared for what that will cost? It will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God. Jesus prayed that we might be one with Him, just as He is one with the Father (see John 17:21-23). The resounding evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is the unmistakable family likeness to Jesus Christ, and the freedom from everything which is not like Him.”  Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

There are two parts of sanctification.  The first is at the point of salvation, when you are sanctified – “set apart – declared holy  ”  by the work of the Spirit and your faith in Jesus. Both aspects of sanctification require your submission to God.  The first was the point where you confessed Jesus as Lord and believed in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.  The second is a daily progression of yielding your will to God’s will. Becoming one with Jesus.  

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. - Romans 12:2

Choosing obedience to the Father’s will and rejecting the will of your flesh – your old nature.  Satan would have you focus on your failures and not your faith. Convince you that you will never overcome the demons that haunt your life.  That you will never be the person that you know you should be – that you want to be.  The truth of the matter is that you can’t be that person by trying more – but by trying less.  You were first sanctified by faith, not by works.  You are called to live by faith and not by sight (or works). Sanctification is a supernatural phenomenon.  You yield your life and the Spirit does the work.  You could not be righteous through self-effort before you were born again and you cannot be more righteous through self-effort now.  

“Purify My Heart” Maranatha Music

Purify my heart Touch me with Your cleansing fire Take me to the cross Your holiness is my desire

Breathe Your life in me Kindle a love That flows from Your throne Oh purify my heart Purify my heart

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

Don't Let Your Past Hold You Back

You shall not go out with haste,…for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. —Isaiah 52:12

God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace tends to be lessened by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ. Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.”  Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

The remembering our past failures (sins) has two edges.  On the one hand, they remind us that we have a sin nature, that we live in a sin-sick fallen world and that nature has been a powerful influence in our lives.  We have proven and been confronted with the truth of the Word … that all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and there there is none righteous (Romans 3:10) - not even = especially not us.  

Our past failures remind us that we do not deserve God’s favor.  But on the other hand, we also know that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”  (Romans 5:8).  We know that we have been redeemed.  

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law (from the judgement of God) by becoming a curse for us. - Galatians 3:13

 That does not mean ours sins are somehow, “OK”, but it does mean that we are forgiven. By the power and presence of God we can overcome our past - no matter how painful or hurtful it might have been. It does mean that we have hope.  It does mean that we have help.  It does mean that we have a certain future.  Don’t let your past hold you back.  You are a child of the King.  Focus on your future and rejoice!  

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

Have You Ever Told The Lord "Now Is Not A Good Time"?

When you were under the fig tree, I saw you. —John 1:48

 We presume that we would be ready for battle if confronted with a great crisis, but it is not the crisis that builds something within us— it simply reveals what we are made of already. Do you find yourself saying, “If God calls me to battle, of course I will rise to the occasion”? Yet you won’t rise to the occasion unless you have done so on God’s training ground. If you are not doing the task that is closest to you now, which God has engineered into your life, when the crisis comes, instead of being fit for battle, you will be revealed as being unfit. Crises always reveal a person’s true character. Are you saying, “But I can’t be expected to live a sanctified life in my present circumstances; I have no time for prayer or Bible study right now; besides, my opportunity for battle hasn’t come yet, but when it does, of course I will be ready”? No, you will not. If you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions, when you get involved in God’s work, you will not only be useless yourself but also a hindrance to those around you. - Oswald Chambers - My Utmost For His Highest 

I just got off of the phone with a friend and partner in the Gospel discussing this very thing.  Most Christians have a notion of what they would do “if” they heard the call of God to do something beyond themselves. But, when they do, they respond in a different way than they imagined. 

Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.” - Matthew 8:19-22

When Jesus called them, the affairs of the world rushed in presenting reasons why “now” was not a good time. Can you imagine?  Telling God that now is not a good time … questioning God’s wisdom.  Oh, wait, that is not something new is it?  Remember the question “Did God really say?”  (Genesis 3:1) When the Spirit speaks, you must expect Satan to make a counter offer. The next best thing to not being a Christian, from Satan’s perspective, is a Christian who is disobedient to the voice of God.

My friend has been called to serve in a very difficult place, in the U.S.  He has been serving there for a number of years with little fruit. But, spiritual fruit is beginning to emerge.  He has asked several organizations and individuals to join him.  Initially they were interested, but, I have surmised, after they counted the personal cost, they said “now is not a good time.”  Not everyone my friend has talked to was motivated by the Spirit, but I am certain some were.  Most of us struggle with living the “normal-natural” life in the context of our faith.  When God wants to stretch us, we are not prepared.  And so we resist the call.  Have you said “no” to God because it was not convenient.  Because it would disrupt your financial plans. Your idea of living the “blessed” life would be turned on its head.  What you had been planning and working for and “sacrificing” for was now at risk because God was speaking.  And so, to the one you thank for salvation, for your life in Christ, you say “now is not a good time, call me back later.”

And He [Jesus] was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”  -  (Luke 9:23) 

Are you ready? Are you really?   

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

A Tribute To A Fallen Friend

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. – or I might add his country. John 15:13

I just had my annual Dermatology visit at the VA. As I left their office, the person at the front desk told me to enjoy my cookout. That got me thinking about the reason behind the 3 day Memorial Day weekend.  Originally the reason was not so we could have a cookout with family and friends, although that is what it has become. Just like the original intent of Christmas was not so people could get presents. 

Memorial day is a day to remember those who have lost their lives in armed conflicts while serving in the US military. It has been many years since there was a substantial loss of life during a war. In the Vietnam War which ended on 1975 there were 58,220 deaths. American service men and women who were serving their country – even to the point of losing their lives. Contrast that with Desert Storm – 1990-1991 where 300 military lost their lives.

But, with Memorial day  approaching , I was reminded of my best friend from Grade school and high school – Donald Lukens.  This is a tribute to him. And perhaps insight into the personal side of Memorial Day.

Don and I knew each other from first grade. We spent hours roaming the woods in the area around our homes in West Peoria, Illinois. I can remember as young boys we has a special call to let the other one know we were on the way.  It was a kind is shrill clicking noise that only we knew. Don’s dad worked for Cummins Diesel. His dad got transferred during Don’s Junior year and they moved to Moline Illinois. I never saw Don again, Back then there were no smart phones, texting, or social media apps to keep up with friends. 

As it turned out, we both joined the Army about the same time. I enlisted as a radio operator and Don enlisted and was “high school to flight school” as we called it. He became a Warrant Officer - helicopter pilot. We were both in Vietnam the same time in 1970. Neither of us knew the other one was there. Don was in the 1st Cavalry and I was with Military Assistance Command (MAC-V) advisors to the South Vietnamese military.

I returned home in November 1970 and mustered out of the Army. It was then that my folks told me that Don had been killed in Vietnam.  Many years later my baby sister got a rubbing off of the “traveling” Vietnam Memorial of Don’s name on the “Wall”. I started doing some research when I received the picture and that is what I want to share in this tribute. I was able to get some information through the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association.

I want to share some details – things that civilians would not ever read about someone who fell in battle- so please read on.  I want Don to be more than one number in  a Statistic that won’t be remembered 5 minutes later. He was a hero. 

May 25, 1970

Don was killed In Action from an incident while performing the duty of [Co-Pilot] in a UH-1 Huey.

Don was 20 years old.

He was assigned to Bravo Troop /7th Battalion/1st CAV

His tour in Vietnam started  March 30, 1970. I arrived in country on 15 September 1969 and left 1 November 1970.

This following information is from a pilot who served with Don in Vietnam

He was relatively new [55 days in country the day he died].  Don Lukens was flying right seat in the Dutchmasters C&C aircraft. Captain Sauer was the CO of B Troop and was the Mission Commander and Aircraft commander. Don Lukens was likely on the controls, as Sauer would have been directing the mission and working the radios. The helicopter Don was flying received fire from somewhere on the Mountain they were orbiting over. 

Only one 51 [not a typo] caliber round hit the aircraft but that round hit the sliding armor plate of the right front pilot seat, penetrated the plate and hit Don in the chest cavity. The C&C reported being hit but saw no tracers or source of the fire. The Mountain is 2,300 feet high with heavy vegetation and was well known to be honeycombed with caves used by the Viet Cong. We called in an Air Force air strike in the general area where we believed the fire to have come from. Air Force bombers came in and pounded the position.  I remember Don as a tall quiet fellow. He was rather lanky and we dubbed him "Goose"! The slick (UH-1) platoon seemed to have a nickname for almost everyone.  The person posted the flight duty roster on the board in the TOC [Tactical Operations Center]and then went by Dons' room to tell him he would be flying with Cpt Sauer in C&C. Don had been studying the Bible. It was small and looked like the New Testament that the Gideon's distribute. He seemed a little uneasy about me finding him reading the Bible. I told him not to be concerned as I also read it regularly in my private time. I remember one other thing regarding Donald "Goose" Lukens. He got an Air Medal with V device [for Valor] for flying with Roger Marcum on 18 May 1970. - End of testimony

In a big way – Don is the reason that I went to flight school to become a helicopter pilot years later when I was a lieutenant.

Over the years, I had wondered about Don’s salvation and was encouraged to read about his reading the Bible in the barracks. But that story is for another time.

Please celebrate the Memorial Day weekend for the right reason – and remember Don – Goose – Lukens and so many others for their service and sacrifice. 

Be Careful Where You Walk – Stand – Sit

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. – Psalm 1:1-3

I have a picture hanging right above my computer monitor.  It is a picture of a man having a conversation with Jesus.  Under the picture is the quote from Psalm 1:1.  I want that picture in my view everyday when I begin my day – keeping my focus on God and my faith. It is so easy for us to put the world in front of us – let it occupy our thinking and our doing. Walking – standing – sitting.  That is the progression of embracing the carnal life.  It is possible to be around the ungodly, sinners, the scornful without becoming like them.  The problem is that when we are not strong in our faith – keeping God in full view – we, one step at a time, – find ourselves lingering and eventually finding a seat amongst them.

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. - James 1:14-16

There is a book written by Watchman Nee “Sit, Walk, Stand” based upon Ephesians but reflective of Psalm 1. “The Christian life consists of sitting with Christ, walking by him and standing in him. We begin our spiritual life by resting in the finished work of the Lord Jesus. That rest is the source of our strength or a consistent and unfaltering walk in the world.” (Watchman Nee, Sit Walk Stand, 1957)

Do you love the Word of God? Reading it is like have a conversation with the Lord. 

… do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law [the Bible] shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. – Joshua 1:7-9

Let me emphasize a word used in the verses in Joshua – “Shall.”  The use of the term ‘Shall’ in contracts, [think of God’s covenant with us as being a contract] reflects the seriousness of the obligation or duty in that it is like a command, mandatory or imperative. In contrast to the word – “Will.” Will is used in contracts to refer to a future event or action. It does not impose an obligation or duty. My point is that your devotion to the Word of God is not a suggestion – it is a command – mandatory – Imperative. Why is it so important to the Christian life – your life?  “You shall meditate on the Word.” Versus “I will try to read the Bible more.” The word of God is critical to our spiritual well-being.  I will leave you with two verses to think about and pray about.

Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You – Psalm 119:11

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

I quoted our pastor's comment on those verses, but they bear repeating.

Doctrine is about what’s [right], Reproof is about what’s [not right], Correction is about how to [get right], Instruction in righteousness is about how to [stay right] - Pastor Charles Redmond

I know that you all are familiar with the Gospels – but the Word of God can be new each time we read it. The question I always ask myself is “What eternal truth does the Lord want me to be reminded of today?”

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

You Were Not Saved To Go To Church – But To Be The Church

On this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.  — Matthew 16:18 

Several years ago, Martie and I were back in Alabama getting our house ready to sell and I saw a neighbor and he was asking me how our ministry in Texas was going.  He is a Christian so our conversation had a spiritual tone. I am always alert to indications that someone is born again because it allows me to speak in a different context with an expectation that they will have spiritual understanding.  I told him that we were selling our house and would be in Texas for the foreseeable future.  Meaning until the Lord moved us on.  

Allow me to pause there. Martie and I are fully committed to following God. When He says "Go" we go. On reflection it is in a way like Jesus not knowing when He will return - only the Father knows - but when the Father tells the Son to return - the Son will Go. Submitting the the will of the Father. We have sold more than one house because the Lord said Go and we are ready to do it again if He speaks. 

After a several minutes of sharing what God has been doing through us and to us, he commented about “going to church” alluding to the fact that we both sensed the presence of God’s Spirit during our conversation.  I told him that we are not saved to got to church but are saved to be the church. That caused me to remember Jesus words about establishing His church. To elaborate on that point I need to share the context of Matthew 16:18

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, andon this rock [the truth that I am the Christ] I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. [Because I am the Christ] I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. – Matthew 16:15-20

[The brackets indicate that I have inserted clarification to the verse]

The Church and the Body of Christ are synonymous with those who have been born again by the Spirit. The church that you attend on Sunday morning is not the Church – big “C”.  It is a place where the Church gathers for corporate worship and equipping of the Saints.

And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love.– Ephesians 4:11-16

The Church is the Church not because of Peter but because of Jesus, Who is the Christ.  Peter and the other disciples were gifted to do what they did by the Spirit of God in the same what that your pastor is gifted.  The same way that Billy Graham was gifted for his role in the Church as an evangelist and the same way that you have been gifted for your place in the Body of Christ.  The Christian singer and song writer, Keith Green,  said “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to McDonalds makes you a hamburger!”

And when you do go to church, and you should not forsake that Biblical mandate of assembling with other Christians, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus to whom the Church belongs and not on the people around you or the music that is used to facilitate worship. Be the Church wherever you go and you will discover another truth.

For where two or three gather in my [Jesus] name, there am I with them. – Matthew 18:20

You don't have to be in a church building for that to happen but you should when are gathered in the church building.

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

Seeing The World As It Really Is

[I, Paul] … do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. – Ephesians 1:18-23

What I see happening in our country and around the world today is certainly troubling - disconcerting. Pandemics, wars and rumors of wars and social unrest seem to rage.  But then I was reminded of Paul’s prayer in Ephesians. That the Christians would have spiritual eyes to see and with a clarity of vision, a heart to understand.  Paul went on to remind us that …

we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:12

The real issue is not COVID 19 or Ebola or the social unrest or a war in Iran or Ukraine or Cuba. It is an awakening to the fact that the God has called us out of, but kept us in, a world that that is driven by sin.  Why would we expect good to reign in a world dominated by the effects of sin.  In recent days, we have been shocked back into reality. God has been saying, shouting even, “OPEN YOUR EYES CHILDREN!”  We have become blind – insensitive to sin. Sin that the fallen world accepts as normal and good, even. And if you disagree, then you are labeled as evil yourself. But why would we care if we are rejected for embracing the Truth, unless we prefer acceptance by the world over embracing the truth and the Father – the Source of all truth. 

Shining a light in someone’s face in a dark room, hurts their eyes. It makes them uncomfortable.  They may even shout, “Turn that light off!” On the one hand the world wants harmony among people, - all we are saying is give peace a chance! But it is not just racial harmony – it is acceptance of all people no matter what their life choices are – nothing to do with gender or race. The world wants to redefine what gender is.  The world wants to redefine when a human becomes a human. The Church is a thorn in the world’s side. Or at least it should be.  The Church should be a reminder to the world that the harmony they seek can be found, but only in the context of God’s truth and salvation through Christ. That is if the Church is indeed being the Church. The problem is that in many respects the Church is indistinguishable from the world it is supposed to be a witness to.

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’? – Genesis 3:1

We are tempted to question the Word of God. We know what God said, but did He really mean it? Isn’t it open to interpretation? An interpretation that will accommodate what we want to do. Desires that are born out of our sinful nature. Something we can put a spiritual coat of paint on and argue that it is part of God’s truth and revelation in these advanced times.  The truth is that the times have not changed. Sin has not changed. How we live, how we look, technology all that changes with the generations – but sin does not. And neither does God.  The Church – Christians need to wake up and take a look around. It is sin that is raging. It is the light of Christ that needs to be shining even brighter. Loving God and loving each other. If you ask a Christian to repent of not caring about the plight of other Christians in this country – you may well be told that they do care – but the care is as effective as seeing a starving child on a commercial on TV and feeling sorry for them.  Believing that feeling sorry for them is enough – it’s not.  But believing the lie, you will not speak up for them.

“Bear one another’s burdens and fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2

That verse applies to more than your circle of friends or the people in your family or local church.  God has given us a bigger group of “one-anothers” than that.  If a person’s heart has been sealed by the Spirit of God through faith in Jesus, then they are your Brother or Sister. It does not matter what color of skin they have, how much money they have, where they live, what language they speak – they are family! Open your eyes – yield your heart.  I know a guy that whenever I see him he says “God loves you and so do I.” I hear the words, but wonder about the sincerity.  We have a lot of “coined phrases” – Christian-speak, that we use when speaking with others – but words don’t go very far – God bless you – I’ll pray for you – I love you.  Well how about adding this one – “I will lay down my life for you!” That one you might not be willing to say so readily. But you should.

“So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Feed My lambs.’” – John 21:15

If you really love God, He wants you to show Him – not just talk about it. Talk is cheap. Sacrifice is expensive.

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” – John 15:13

And if you are wondering – “Who are my friends?”, you have not been paying attention.

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 Words We Say

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. – 2 Corinthians 5:17-18

There are very few people, apart from family, that knew me before I was born again.  I was pretty normal in the natural-man sense of the word.  Living life just like everyone else was – well at least anyone who lived life like me. But there was a day in September 1976 that turned my life upside down. The things that seemed to control me – one by one fell away. I was not transfigured – but I was and am still being to this day, transformed. I was not the old Charley. I used alcohol excessively like so many other vets I knew to compensate. PTSD was not the “buzz word” it is today. I could barely speak without using expletives – profanity. But almost it seems in an instant – those things were no longer part of my life.  The things I stopped doing, were what the Word says not to do.  The Spirit in me and the Word of God was, and still is, having its affect. 

I was having a conversation with some other Christians the other day when one of the guys blurted out some profanity.  That always gets my attention.  I suppose because it was so much a part of the “old” me.  I hear it everyday as I live in this world, but I don’t expect to hear it come our of the mouths of Christians. There are certain words that seem to fall in the category of “that is the way men speak” or perhaps – “There is nothing really wrong with those words.”  The thing is, it is my spirit that is checked when I hear them come out of the mouths of other Christians.  Now you may be thinking, “So what is the big deal – they are just words.” Please allow me to give you some Biblical perspective. 

A good man [read Christ follower] out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks  – Luke 6:45

Words matter. We are salt and light – speaking life  - ambassadors for Christ – representatives of the King. Why would we think it is OK to represent the world instead – and encourage others to do it as well? Well the answer to that question is – “No body likes to sin alone!” Ask Adam and Eve about that.

But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude [likeness] of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? – James 3:8-11

Does this seem like a trivial thing to you? Well, it may seem that way but looking at a person of the opposite sex lustfully may seem trivial – but Jesus said you are guilt of adultery if the temptation settles into your heart. The Word says “Don’t do it.” The world says, “It’s not so bad – there are a lot worse things than profanity.” This is what James said about it. 

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.  – James 2:10

That does not leave any wiggle room.  Sin is not OK, no matter how trivial it might seem. No matter how acceptable it might be among even your Christian friends. Remember, people don’t like to sin alone – it other professing Christians are doing it, it is easy to feel justified in doing it yourself. Also remember that Jesus died for ALL sin - not just the big ones. I am reminded of the classic “Mom” question in response to me saying “All my friends are doing it”. “If your friends jumped off of a bridge, would you jump off too?”

Well …. Would you?  Have 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

To Serve God You Need His Preparation and Power

…when Moses was grown…he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. —Exodus 2:11

 Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit he started to right their wrongs. After he launched his first strike for God and for what was right, God allowed Moses to be driven into empty discouragement, sending him into the desert to feed sheep for forty years. At the end of that time, God appeared to Moses and said to him, “ ‘…bring My people…out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go…?’ ” (Exodus 3:10-11). In the beginning Moses had realized that he was the one to deliver the people, but he had to be trained and disciplined by God first. He was right in his individual perspective, but he was not the person for the work until he had learned true fellowship and oneness with God. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest 

There is a pattern that I have seen on the lives of those God has called. You can see it clearly in the Bible. God calls, He prepares and then He sends.  Many people have the problem of skipping over the preparation part.  They know what God said and they do it.  In Moses' case, on his own, he killed an Egyptian.  That forced him to flee and it was during that time, that God prepared Moses for his mission.  In my own life, near the end of hurricane Katrina work in Mississippi, people were telling us that we needed to go to Haiti, largely because of the earthquake. In fact, some said we should go immediately.  As it turned out, we ended up going back to Alabama where we served with another ministry that worked with orphans.  We did that for almost a year. 

Then God connected us to a ministry in Haiti that proved to be the place that God had been preparing us for.  Not only did we use the gifts and relationships that we developed in Mississippi, but during that year we also developed a heart for orphans which proved to be key to our work in Haiti. 

The point .. don’t get ahead of God. You cannot do something God has called you to do apart from God’s preparation and power.  It is an impossible task.  God never asks you to do anything that you can do on your own.  Any gains you might make will be for your glory and not His.  You must be willing to wait on God.  During that time, you will be challenged in your faith and confidence. But be patient.  God has a purpose and a plan.  

Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.” - Isaiah 40:31

Teach me Lord, teach me Lord to wait! 

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

What Dims Your Light - Defeating The Distractions Of Life

I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. —Acts 26:19

 If we lose “the heavenly vision” God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to “the heavenly vision” is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

Have you noticed how cell phones have captured the attention of almost everyone?  Everywhere you look you can see people staring at their phones.  Texting.  Checking social media.  Apparently oblivious to their surroundings or who they are with.  Sometimes, like when they are driving, it can be hazardous, like the woman that almost collided with me as she attempted to change  lanes while texting.  Other times they are sitting at a table in a restaurant .. not talking to each other … texting .. maybe even to each other.  It’s a problem.  It’s rude.  It’s disruptive.  But, at the same time, its occurrence is on the rise like a digital pandemic.  

That is how it is when we lose our focus on “the heavenly vision”.  The things of this world captivate our attention. Our flesh entices us to focus on other things.  Like the cell phone, drawing our attention away from the true context of our lives.  If you are born again, you are not like the rest of the world.  You should not be living like the rest of the world.  You should not be doing what the rest of the world does. Stop staring at your cell phone!  

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. - 1 John 2:15-17

The distractions of this world will dim the light of Christ in your life.  

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. - Hebrews 12:1-3

You can’t run the race if you are wrapped up - entangled - in the things of this world. What is it that is dimming your light?  

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

To Be Absent From The Body

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. - 2 Corinthians 5:1-7

A man approached me at church a couple of weeks ago to say hello. I knew him, not well, but we had spoken a few times. He said that he was prompted by the Spirit to say hello. We talked for a few minutes before the service began. Our conversation, though brief, drifted to our wives and their physical ailments. That is when the Spirit brought the Word to my mind.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. - 2 Corinthians 4:16

He looked a little surprised when I shared it – but I followed that with the encouragement that even though our bodies will all fail us – our spiritual selves are eternal. I had recently met with my cardiologist after extensive testing just to see where I was cardiac health wise. He looked at me and said, with a smile, “Well – you have another 20 to 25 years” To which I replied – that will make me 100 when I am called to heaven!

The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27

it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

God does not tell us how, when or where just that, unless Jesus returns before that – one day we will all die a mortal death.

When I was in the Army I often said the reason they send young men to war is that they believe death will happen to someone else. So they are willing to take risks. I personally participated in 2 wars and the thought of being injured or killed was not something I ever thought about.

But the older we get the more we become aware of our own mortality. We find that we have more doctors than we have friends. We talk less about our sports alignments and more about our physical ailments.

Everyone reading this post – for that matter, all those whose hearts are beating today may and most probably will die before Jesus comes back – and so we and every generation that follows must be ready. But, one day the Father will say to the Son – Go! My view is that if I die before Jesus returns then that just means I get raptured early.

I read in the on-line news that Catherine O'Hara - the mom in the movie "Home Alone" died of a pulmonary embolism. It got my attention because I had two embolisms at once - one in each lung in 2003. I was 53. The doctor told me that he had never seen someone survive embolisms of the size that passed through my heart. I told him the explanation is that Lord must have something for me yet to do. That was 2 years before Martie and I were called to the mission field which we are still on.

Environmentalists are concerned about preserving the earth for future generations .. actually that is not a bad thing .. but it is not the best thing. This world, like these jars of clay that we know as our earthly bodies, will pass away one day.  We need to be good stewards of God’s creation, certainly. But, the more important thing is that there is an eternity beyond this earthly life … and the bigger question is where will the future generations spend eternity.  Not everyone will be saved .. but some will .. that is because we have been given a free will … free to reject God and His gift of grace through Jesus and His sacrifice. 

Our purpose is to live in obedience to the Word of God by the power of the Spirit AND submission of our will to the Father through faith in Jesus for as long as we live. AND – to share the Good News with those around us.  We do that through both words and deeds.  

My mom shared her faith with more people than I can count. She was a woman of the Word. A shining star of faith.  And yet – when my step dad, who was my spiritual father, passed she struggled. She did not doubt that he was in heaven – but she missed him so. One day, about 6 years after his passing, she asked me if I thought he remembered her. I thought – this woman knows the answer better than I  and then I thought about the father whose son was demon possessed in Mark 9. Jesus said “If you believe” to which the man replied “I believe but help me with my unbelief” That is where my mom was at that moment.

Shortly after that I wrote a poem for her calling it “Eternal Love – in God’s Hands” and shared it with my mom. Some years later I converted the poem to a song.

I am certain that most who read this will have had someone they love pass from this life. Listen, God is saying to all of us, “Have faith and be at peace.”

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

 

We Are Not Meant To Understand Everything

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. -  Deuteronomy 29:29

Have you ever read something in the Bible that was not clear to you or seemed to be missing information that would be key for you to fully understand? People have been struggling with that for centuries. Like God has hidden the truth in the Word and it is up to us to ferret it out. Or not. But what if there are some things that are not revealed to us by God's intent.

Just because we don't fully understand does not mean that the Bible is not inerrant - without flaw. It's like you have been given an equation but there are certain variables that have been left out. So is it because God does not intend for you to know or because God wants you to figure it out.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The Bible is spiritual but written in natural languages. But to understand the spiritual significance of those words requires the presence to the Spirit of God - To have the presence of the Spirit of God you must be born again by the Spirit. Those things in the Bible that are revealed to us are profitable for us to understand, as our pastor says, "Doctrine - about what’s [right], Reproof - about what’s [not right], Correction - about how to [get right], Instruction in righteousness - about how to [stay right]". 

I know that you all are familiar with the Gospels – but the Word of God can seem as if it is new each time I read it. The question I ask myself is “What eternal truth does the Lord want me to be reminded of today?” My problem is not that there are things that I don't understand or want to know - but that I have a hard enough time obeying what I do understand and know already.  

But concerning that day and hour [of Jesus return] no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. - Matthew 24:36

Do you think it bothered Jesus that He did not know when He was coming back for the Church?  I don't. I think He was OK with that. Why? Because He was submitted to the will of the Father. Think about this verse in the context of what I am writing about.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. - Proverbs 3:5-8

Wanting to know what God the Father knows started in the Garden if you will recall. 

And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. - Genesis 3:2-6

It is a slippery slope you will find yourself on when you begin to think that God is keeping things from you out of spite or selfishness or even meanness.  That maybe He does not love you as much as He says He does. Oh, be careful my friend. As Paul prayed for the church in Ephesus, I pray this for you ...

[I make] mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places - Ephesians 1:16-20

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 Our New Life In Christ Is A Battle

“Take up the whole armor of God…praying always…”  —Ephesians 6:13,18

“You must learn to wrestle against the things that hinder your communication with God, and wrestle in prayer for other people; but to wrestle with God in prayer is unscriptural. Don’t become a cripple by wrestling with the ways of God, but be someone who wrestles before God with the things of this world, because “we are more than conquerors through Him…” (Romans 8:37). Wrestling before God makes an impact in His kingdom. If you ask me to pray for you, and I am not complete in Christ, my prayer accomplishes nothing. But if I am complete in Christ, my prayer brings victory all the time. Prayer is effective only when there is completeness— “take up the whole armor of God….” –  Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

Do you brush your teeth in the morning?  Seem like an odd way to start a devotion? Brushing your teeth is a discipline. So is getting up to go to work. If you don’t do either one, there are negative consequences.  You value your teeth … and you value your source of income .. so you make yourself do those things.  After a while, they become more routine, but still …. You must choose to do them. That is the same with prayer and obedience.  We must discipline ourselves to do them.  Our natural selves push back – or wrestle with our spiritual selves.  The message is – you are too busy to brush (pray) this morning … you can do that later … or I will just call in sick today … I don’t feel like going to work (doing the will of God) today.  Something I have noticed as I grow older … the speed at which my body atrophies …. How quickly it loses strength .. stamina … tone … is accelerating.  And the difficulty I have getting back to where I was, ugh!  If I slack off in any way, BOOM!  I am sliding down the steep slope of atrophy. 

It’s the same with our spiritual life.  A life without spiritual discipline is a life of spiritual weakness.  The danger is .. you can become used to that condition and start to think that it is normal. Well, it may be common, but it is far from “normal” if you are a Christian. I want to encourage you to get serious about your spiritual condition … God has called you to so much more than being mediocre in your faith walk.  I can encourage you but the Spirit must convict your heart, if you are in need of conviction.  A dear friend said that my devotions were poignant.  Isn’t that an interesting word! Not used much anymore and frankly, although I have heard it and seen it written, I was never really sure of its meaning.  Some synonyms (another sparsely used word) are; affecting, emotional, impactful, impressive, moving, stirring. If what I write does those things then I know I am on the right track. My goal is to encourage and motivate – not to discourage or condemn. Most often what I write firstly brings conviction to me – all we like sheep!

Consider your new life in Christ.  As Christians, like Jesus, we have two natures.  Your spiritual nature should be dominant. Like Jesus, we should seek to do the Father’s will.  Like Jesus, we must stand against temptation with the Word of God. Like Jesus, we must be disciplined to talk to the Father and look to Him.  Like Jesus our lives should bring Glory to God , the Father, through obedience and devotion.  Like Jesus …. Our desire should be to fulfill the purpose the Father has given us. 

Be like Jesus.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. - Matthew 16:24

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

Singing Your Song In The Midst Of The Storm

Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" —John 20:28

Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink’ ” (John 4:7). How many of us are expecting Jesus Christ to quench our thirst when we should be satisfying Him! We should be pouring out our lives, investing our total beings, not drawing on Him to satisfy us. “You shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8). That means lives of pure, uncompromising, and unrestrained devotion to the Lord Jesus, which will be satisfying to Him wherever He may send us. Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself? - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

As I was walking down the hall after getting a cup of coffee – morning motivation – I had the image of a little bird sitting on a wire calling out in the midst of a hurricane.  To what avail does the bird sing?  How can it possibly stand against the storm.  How can it possibly be heard above the wind and rain and thunder.  It can’t, but God can hear it through its obedience in fulfilling its purpose .. the purpose for which it was created.  

It may seem to you that the “cultural” storm that rages about us is too much.  The light that shines from us .. the song we sing .. is drowned out by the force of the storm – our singing will have no affect.  Not so. When the nation of Israel finally reached the river Jordan the first time,  (Numbers 13-14) 10 of the 12 spies saw the “storm” – Giants in the land and a great fear came over the people.  They refused to continue to follow the spiritual leadership of Moses. They would not cross the river. And so they missed a blessing – the very purpose for leaving Egypt.  They did not fulfill their purpose which required trusting in God and not themselves.  So they died in the desert.  They missed God’s best.  True, they were no longer slaves, but  they missed God all the same.

The second time the nation approached the river … the same storm was raging .. and more .. the river was at flood stage … impossible for men .. but possible for God.  When they stepped into the water by faith … the river backed up and they occupied the land. Fulfilling God’s plan.  I was sharing how Pathfinder became Pathfinder with some friends the other day.  Before Martie and I submitted to God’s leading to start this ministry, we talked with my mom about it.  We told her about what God was leading us to do.  About the problems ahead of us.  Our hesitation.  We had not gone to Mississippi with the intention of staying there and certainly not starting a ministry.  She said “Charley, the river Jordan did not back up until they stepped out into the water.” My response was “Got it Mom!”  We had to step out in and by faith.  Put our trust in God.  She asked, “What are you going to call it?” We had not thought that far ahead .. we were still trying to get our socks and shoes off before we stepped in the water!  She said “What about Pathfinder?”  Pathfinder was the name of the youth ministry that my folks had started in Peoria, Illinois. So we decided to go with it .. Pathfinder on Mission.  Pathfinder Mission.  A work of faith.

Each Christian is called to step into the water.  Walk by faith and not by sight. These are dark times spiritually .. but I suspect they are not the darkest times that have ever been .. just the darkest that we have seen. When I flew helicopters in the Army, I sometimes flew at night in the desert.  It was very, very dark.  No visible horizon, meaning you could not see where the sky and earth met.  Hard to keep oriented.  But then someone would light up a chem-stick.  In all the darkness, I could see that little chem stick from far off. One light in the midst of the darkness. Pointing me to my destination.  My encouragement to you … Be the light! Sing your song in the midst of the storm.

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

Almost All Is Just Not Good Enough!

 Jesus…said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor…and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." —Mark 10:21 

 “The rich young ruler had the controlling passion to be perfect. When he saw Jesus Christ, he wanted to be like Him. Our Lord never places anyone’s personal holiness above everything else when He calls a disciple. Jesus’ primary consideration is my absolute annihilation of my right to myself and my identification with Him, which means having a relationship with Him in which there are no other relationships. Luke 14:26 has nothing to do with salvation or sanctification, but deals solely with unconditional identification with Jesus Christ. Very few of us truly know what is meant by the absolute “go” of unconditional identification with, and abandonment and surrender to, Jesus. “One thing you lack….” From Jesus Christ’s perspective, oneness with Him, with nothing between, is the only good thing. “…sell whatever you have….” I must humble myself until I am merely a living person. I must essentially renounce possessions of all kinds, not for salvation (for only one thing saves a person and that is absolute reliance in faith upon Jesus Christ), but to follow Jesus.” - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

Have you made room for God in your heart?  If your heart was a house, have you given God a room in which to abide, albeit a nice room, or have you given him the whole house.  Each of us has at least a room or two that we have reserved for ourselves. Like the little  girl that put a “no boys allowed” sign on her bedroom door. We put a “God not allowed” on some doors.  Rooms that hold things that we love and do not want to give up.  Perhaps the right to do what we think is right.  Or perhaps some behaviors that are clearly contrary to our new nature, but to which we are emotionally dependent upon and find comfort in.  Emotionally and relationally unhealthy things.  Things that usurp the sovereignty of God, that occupy places that actually belong to God. Like the rich young ruler who loved his wealth and possessions, there are things in our lives that prevent us from experiencing the joy, peace and assurance that comes from total surrender to God.

We were talking to a family member the other day.  They were struggling with an issue, one that finds its genesis in poor choices they made. And now they are under the weight and strain from the consequences of those choices.  When Martie encouraged them to read the Psalms to find comfort, you could hear a change in the tone of voice.  There was a distance that had not been there.  It was clear that they were not interested in a spiritual solution.  

They quickly diverted the subject from themselves to other people. Like the woman at the well trying divert her conversation with Jesus because He was getting too close to the “thing” she was clinging to.  It broke my heart to see them turn away from God in the conversation. There are doors to rooms that we don’t want to give God entrance to.  Jesus said “pick up your cross”, “give up everything that competes with your devotion to God”.  The Psalmist wrote “Trust God with your all” Paul said “offer yourself as a living sacrifice.”  I say “Let the doors in your heart swing wide.” The young man did not lack good deeds, he lacked faith in God and devotion to God. Don’t make the same mistake.

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 Simple Truth - It Is Not By Works

So He [God the Father] humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. - Deuteronomy 8:3

The people lost focus on the fact that it was God who was sustaining them. The old saying is "biting the hand that feeds you".  It is the idea that we are our own provider.  As the song goes - "We work hard for the money" Work is the curse from the Garden.

Then to Adam He [God the Father] said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.” - Genesis 3:17-19

So man expects that anything that is worth anything is a result of his work. If a person is going to heaven it is because of their good works. Many religions have that belief at their core. 

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:8-10

It is by faith in Jesus and His work on the cross that we find salvation and eternal life.  

And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. - 1 John 5:11-12

The curse blinds our eyes to the truth that we are saved by grace and not our works. It takes a revelation from God and our willingness to believe for salvation to be ours. Nicodemus was a teacher of the law and believed that obeying all of the laws was the only way to have eternal life - works not faith. Dependence on the natural and not the spiritual. And when he asked Jesus this is what Jesus said.

Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. - John 3:5-8

When we hear the Truth and believe in Jesus we are sealed by the Spirit - born again.

 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. - Ephesians 1:13-14

And that is the simple Truth.

So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts. - Zechariah 4:6

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 Mistake Of Choosing The Good Over The Best

I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. —Philippians 3:12

Never choose to be a worker for God, but once God has placed His call on you, woe be to you if you “turn aside to the right hand or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32). We are not here to work for God because we have chosen to do so, but because God has “laid hold of” us. And once He has done so, we never have this thought, “Well, I’m really not suited for this.” What you are to preach is also determined by God, not by your own natural leanings or desires. Keep your soul steadfastly related to God, and remember that you are called not simply to convey your testimony but also to preach the gospel. Every Christian must testify to the truth of God. There must be unflinching faithfulness to the Word of God, but when you come to personal dealings with others, remember who you are— you are not some special being created in heaven, but a sinner saved by grace.- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

The Bible is pretty clear that God has not called all of us to do the same thing in the kingdom .. in the Body of Christ … some have been given specific responsibilities 

“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. - Ephesians 4:7,11-13

For all Christians we have been given spiritual gifts for the building up of the Body and the proclamation of the Gospel.  When I talk to Christians about what Martie and I do, and have done, I always hasten to add that God has not called everyone to lay down their nets (quit their job, sell their house, live in a camper or travel to a 3rd world country to live and minister) but He has called everyone to service.  We are all called to live in such a manner as to bring Glory to God, to lift Jesus up, and to be a light in a dark world.  

Environmentalists are concerned about preserving the earth for future generations .. that is not a bad thing .. but it is not the best thing. This world, like these jars of clay that we know as our earthly bodies, will pass away one day.  We need to be good stewards of God’s creation, certainly. But, the more important thing is that there is an eternity beyond this earthly life … and the bigger question is where will the future generations spend eternity.  Not everyone will be saved .. but some will .. that is because we have been given a free will … free to reject God and His gift of grace through Jesus and His sacrifice. 

Our purpose is to live in obedience to the Word of God by the power of the Spirit and submission of our will to the Father through faith in Jesus. And – to share the Good News with those around us.  We do that through words and deeds.  Jesus said (Matthew 5:13) “Salt that has lost its savor is good for nothing…” If you are a Christian but are living like the lost people around you … you, the salt and light, have lost your savor or ability to do what God purposed.  What is it in your life that you need to cast aside because it is hindering you from fulfilling your God-ordained purpose?  A worldly habit, an earthly pleasure, a friend who encourages the carnal in you, an ungodly preference that your culture is convinced is good, perhaps not reading the Word, not praying, not associating with other Christians?  Listen – the list of obstacles is long. Whatever it is .. today is the day you should repent of it and turn your face toward the Father who is eager to see you return. Life is filled with opportunities to choose what seems good over what God has said is best. Don't make that mistake. As a pastor friend of ours would say - God can hit straight with a crooked stick.

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