What About The Never Changers

Jesus did not commit Himself to them…, for He knew what was in man. —John 2:24-25 

Many of the things in life that inflict the greatest injury, grief, or pain, stem from the fact that we suffer from illusions. … if we love someone, but do not love God, we demand total perfection and righteousness from that person … we are demanding of a human being something which he or she cannot possibly give. … Our Lord trusted no one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or bitter. Our Lord’s confidence in God, and in what God’s grace could do for anyone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any person. If our trust is placed in human beings, we will end up despairing of everyone. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

Has anyone ever disappointed you? How does that make you feel?  Do you lose hope for them? Have you lost hope for them? Have you given up on them?  It is really pretty easy to do.  I think most people have a category that they put others in called “They are never going to change.”  In a way, we are correct.  They will never change on their own, like us, they need help.  

Not our help. God’s help.  Perhaps not help from us, but from God through us. Just like He changed you and me … who were never going to change either. Now the tricky part is that some think that if I think differently about that person, I must accept, embrace the things they do and the life they live.  Not so! But, at the same time, when you cast them off as “unchangeable” you have judged them and condemned them to Hell.  Because of what they have done to you or someone else, perhaps that is your hope for them.  I know people in my life that I have done this to.  (This is very convicting as I type these words.)  Listen, God is in the business of saving us from Hell and transforming us to the image of His Son through faith.  Remember the parable of the unforgiving servant?  (Matthew 18:21-35) Think about these verses in terms of the people in your life that you have relegated to “They are never going to change”.

For God so loved the world - John 3:16

That is pretty inclusive .. doesn’t leave anyone out including the ones that we think will never change.

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

God did not demand that we do something that we were incapable of doing, and yet He did not, could not, would not embrace us until we placed our faith in His Son.

 

The second greatest commandment is to love people (Matthew 22:39). So don’t give up on those “Never Changers”, pray for them.  Forgive them.  You can’t you say? Of course you can’t, you need God’s help to do that.  What you are trying do in the flesh you can only do in the Spirit.  It is a supernatural act, forgiveness is.  We need to see others just like Jesus did.  Even while on the Cross, Jesus asked the Father to forgive the very people that rejected Him and killed Him.  There is no way that we can love people like that on our own.  

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. - 1 John 4:18-20

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 The World Distract You

Look to Me, and be saved… —Isaiah 45:22

Do we expect God to come to us with His blessings and save us? He says, “Look to Me, and be saved….” The greatest difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and His blessings are what make it so difficult. Troubles almost always make us look to God, but His blessings tend to divert our attention elsewhere. The basic lesson of the Sermon on the Mount is to narrow all your interests until your mind, heart, and body are focused on Jesus Christ. “Look to Me….”  We will find what we are looking for if we will concentrate on Him. Build your hope on Him. No matter how many things seem to be pressing in on you, be determined to push them aside and look to Him. “Look to Me….” - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

There are many things – distractions in this life that would draw our attention, trust and devotion away from God.  It requires a deliberate effort on our part to keep our focus.  I was thinking about a batter in a baseball game. People are yelling at the batter .. opponents and fans trying to distract him so he will miss the ball and be called out. They want to keep him from accomplishing his purpose which is – of course – to hit the ball and score a run.  Life is like that for a Christian.  The world is constantly vying for our attention. The world is calling out, stop looking to God and trust yourself .. make your own way .. achieve righteousness through your own effort and not by faith and devotion to God.  

It’s natural for us to be distracted by the things of this world.  To trust ourselves.  To make our own way.  But …. If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation .. old things are passed away .. all things are becoming new … (2 Corinthians 5:17) We are being shaped into the image of Christ.  (Romans 8:29) Just like the baseball player, we must fix our eyes on the “ball” – our faith in Jesus.  

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  - Hebrews 12:1-2

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 Consequence Of Not Keeping My Flesh In Check

"He will glorify Me… "—John 16:14

A person that is born again and committed to following Jesus has a devotion to Jesus and therefore to the Father, that is evidenced in how they live and how they treat others.  But there is one aspect that is invisible to the people around them and only visible to God.  That is the condition of their heart.  A heart wholly devoted to the Father.  It is possible to attend church, put on your happy face, listen to sermons, and sing worship songs and not be devoted to following Jesus. 

 “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” – Matthew 15:8-9

 “ …having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” – 2 Timothy 3:5-7

Many people are convinced that “doing” is the same as “being”.  They practice the Christian religion, embrace the teachings but lack the devotion to the Cornerstone of the Church.  They may go to the altar every Sunday morning and still be spiritually ignorant and far from God.  They lack understanding and they lack commitment to their faith … that is , if they have saving faith.  The demons know who Jesus is, but they don’t serve Him.  They have another master. For many Christians, their hearts that were once alive toward God have become hardened toward spiritual things in favor of those things that satisfy the flesh.  They go through the motions .. say the right things .. but serve themselves and not the risen Lord.  Sound harsh? The truth often does because truth brings conviction and conviction brings discomfort and that forces us to make a decision.  Will I respond to the Truth or will I ignore it and choose to continue on the vain journey I am pursuing.

What am I saying? Friends, we need to be on our guard or before we know it .. those people .. will become “we the people”.  I must examine myself and my devotion every day. I have to keep my flesh in check. 

The only way that we can glorify the Father is by being spiritually “right” and devoted to His will in every aspect of our lives.  You must be careful that you do not relegate your spirituality to Sunday morning.  We are Christians 24x7 into eternity.

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

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

Telling Others All Is Well When It Isn't

We make it our aim…to be well pleasing to Him. —2 Corinthians 5:9

We make it our aim….” It requires a conscious decision and effort to keep our primary goal constantly in front of us. It means holding ourselves to the highest priority year in and year out; not making our first priority to win souls, or to establish churches, or to have revivals, but seeking only “to be well pleasing to Him.” It is not a lack of spiritual experience that leads to failure, but a lack of working to keep our eyes focused and on the right goal. At least once a week examine yourself before God to see if your life is measuring up to the standard He has for you. Paul spoke of the importance of controlling his own body so that it would not take him in the wrong direction. My worth to God publicly is measured by what I really am in my private life. Is my primary goal in life to please Him and to be acceptable to Him, or is it something less, no matter how lofty it may sound? - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

Living by faith and walking in the light does not just happen. It requires commitment and discipline.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.  Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” -  Philippians 2:12-15

This new life requires effort of the heart… to submit to the Lord requires us to lay down on the altar.  Working out our salvation is not self-effort .. trying harder to be “good” …. it’s submission. So many people are satisfied with working on having a good-Christian appearance and miss the joy and peace that comes from living in obedience to the will of God.  

I know too many people that are struggling with life and refuse to trust God.  (perhaps you do too) If you ask them, they will tell you that “all is well”, but all is not well, they just want it to be in spite of their struggle and perhaps living in disobedience. Desperation of circumstances can subvert your faith and divert your walk.  Unless you are willing to trust and obey.  I wish I could do that for others, but I can’t, I can only watch their struggle and hope they look to God for answers instead of trust in their own designs that have consistently failed them in the past.  And perhaps I just might be an encouragement to them.

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 

Called - Purposed And Empowered By God

Then said I [Jeremiah]:“Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord. Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. - Jeremiah 1:6-9

I had no idea when I prayed next to my wife to put my faith and trust in Jesus, that he would turn my life upside down. My wife's as well. I thought the direction of my life was pretty well determined. I had a master's degree in Engineering, a successful career in the Army, a wonderful family a sound marriage.  And then, one day the Lord said that He wanted me to serve Him and not my country. Like Jeremiah, I was not sure that I would be able to what the Lord had in mind. Can you imagine, me, a mere man formed from dust questioning the mind, purpose, and plan of God. But I did. Like Jeremiah - God provided the wherewithal to do what He had bid me to do. For someone who is supposed to be so smart - proved to be ignorant of God's power. 

I suppose my experience was somewhat like Peter, Andrew, James and John. They were a bit older than Jeremiah. A little more set in their ways. They had families dependent upon their vocation as fishermen.  Then Jesus showed up.

And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.  And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. - Matthew 4:18-23

Actually the decision to follow God's leading was much less of a struggle that I would have imagined. What I was doing - what I had achieved had "lost its shine" in my mind and heart. When I told my wife that I thought the Lord was telling me to lay my career in the Army and a certain income and retirement down, she said that she agreed that I should. So I did. And the Lord has proven himself to be faithful to provide for us - even in some financially impossible situations. Like Paul - 

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith - Philippians 3:7-9

As Jeremiah said 

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.- Jeremiah 9:23-24

So what is it that the Lord is saying or has said to you? He does not always call you to leave your nets, but He calls all of us to, at the very least, abandon our hearts' devotion to those nets.

God will never call you to do something or go somewhere that you can do on your own. You will always need Him to do what He tells you or where He takes you. Not so that you might find personal glory in it but that He might be glorified through your obedience.

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 

Loving God More Must Be More Than A Want

…being justified freely by His grace… —Romans 3:24

We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. - Oswald Chambers - My Utmost For His Highest

As Christians we live our lives on this earth with a tension between the spiritual and the natural.  The preaching of the earthly health and wealth gospel … God wants you to be rich and healthy … is the carnal Christian's attempt to resolve that tension.  The idea is that God will give you money .. which He tells you not to love … and health .. which He tells you that you will face affliction and hardship of many kinds … and so … you can really be independent of God .. all of your earthly needs will be met … do you see the heresy in this?  God wants us to give up our dependence upon earthly comforts and assurances and trust Him, alone.  There is a difference between depending on something and having it. When Job lost everything, the assumption was that he had done something wrong .. why?  Because he lost his earthly possessions. What was the truth .. there was something spiritual at work that superseded the natural.  The same is true in our lives.  The thing is, you must be willing to submit to that … to yield your devotion and dependence upon the natural and trust God's provision.  What do you hunger for?  I see people struggling after disasters and war and poverty, while Americans are trying to figure out if they should go ahead and buy that $2000 iPhone and get rid of their $700 iPhone.  The Church in the United States is the “frog in the pot” with respect to materialism.  We don’t know that we are being cooked … instead, we think the water temperature is just right.

Some time ago I was watching the Black Friday phenomenon  .. which it seems Black Friday has crept into Black Thursday.  While I was trying to find money to help people recover from Hurricane Harvey and people were spending money – hand over fist – to satisfy their lust for more – because they certainly didn’t need it – not really.  With respect to the rest of the world, I think it is safe to say that 99% of what we buy is to satisfy our wants.  Our needs were met a long time ago.   We are trying to get masks to people who have none and can't afford them - and people with the means are wondering what color and style they should buy.  Something that will go with their outfit. (Psalm 37:4) "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart"  The emphasis here is on our focus on God and His changing what we desire to conform to what He desires.

 “You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:2-4

Ugh! That does not leave a lot of wiggle room does it. I guess I should quote Jesus to bring this to a close. 

And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear - Matthew 13:14-16

.....  And I would add .. He who feels conviction – let him repent.”  

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 

Do You Really Want To Be Like Jesus?

When they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples. —Mark 4:34

Jesus doesn’t take us aside and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we are able to understand them. The lives of others are examples for us, but God requires us to examine our own souls. It is slow work— so slow that it takes God all of time and eternity to make a man or woman conform to His purpose. We can only be used by God after we allow Him to show us the deep, hidden areas of our own character. Jesus will reveal to us everything we have held within ourselves before His grace began to work. We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves. That is always the last bit of pride to go. The only One who understands us is God. The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride. He will allow us to experience heartbreak or the disappointment we feel when our intellectual pride is wounded. He will reveal numerous misplaced affections or desires— things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone. Many things are shown to us, often without effect. But when God gets us alone over them, they will be clear. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

For those whom he [God the Father] foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.   - Romans 8:29 

Have you ever given any thought to what being conformed … molded .. changed … means?  Well, first you know it is a spiritual change, right?  Second … you know that the process is going to be contrary to your flesh. God will show you things through the Spirit that you may not want to see or admit, even to yourself.  (One of the Spirit’s missions is to convict the world of sin.  The Spirit plus the Word of God are the “one-two” punch in the sanctification process.  The knock-out punch is my surrendering my will)

You know that there are certain aspects of your old nature that you want to hide or cling to.  Adam and Eve tried to hide themselves in the Garden… you know how that worked out for them. The only ones you can hide your sin from, for a season, is man.  The Word says (Numbers 32:23) “Your sin will find you out.”  God knows everything .. that is why we confess our sins (1 John 1:9) .. confess means to “agree with” not to reveal. The goal of this transformation – conforming process is not to make you miserable, but to bless you .. to make you better.  The pain or difficulty you experience is from the battle between the flesh and Spirit. My encouragement to you is the same as Paul’s to the Romans. 

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. -  Romans 12:1-2  

God won’t make you do that.  You must surrender your will.  Will 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 

What To Do When God Gives You Opportunity

Preach the word!  Be ready in season and out of season.  Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching. - 2 Timothy 4:2

You never know when God is going to give you the opportunity.  Be ready.  As it happened I was reading Ecclesiastes chapter 3 one morning.  There is a time or season for everything.

I took Martie's car in for a service that morning.  It was going to be a wait so they offered to drop me off at a store or restaurant and then they would pick me up.  The young man who drove was talking with me - idle banter - when he asked me what I did.  I told him I was a missionary and he said that he was from Salt Lake City and new a number of missionaries.  Although I did not ask, I assumed he was Mormon.  We chatted a bit about the life God has called Martie and me to.  As it happened, he also picked me up.  Our conversation led to discussing how to love your wife and how to deal with conflicts - differences of opinion.  I pointed him to scripture.  Before I got out of the car, he asked me if I was doing OK, if I was having trouble.  I told him that when you are in the center of God's will, you are always doing OK.  God provides. I gave him my card and encouraged him to look us up on the Web.  Planting seeds.

It doesn't end there.  It took a while longer on the car service so they asked if they could take me home and they will come back to get me when the car is done.  New driver.  We talked about our being from Alabama and why.  About how hot it was and I added that we were used to it having lived in Haiti for 4 years.  He asked if the Haitians were open to the Gospel.  That surprised me.  So I talked to him about Christians in Haiti and the openness to the Gospel there.  That morphed into a conversation about the small church he attends and the fact that they don't do much with missions.  I talked to him about Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts.  I encouraged him that his little church should be faithful in Jerusalem and trust that God will bring the increase and ministry direction.

All of this just because Martie's car needed a service.  My point to you is be ready .. but more ... be willing.  You never know when and where God will give you opportunity to speak life into someone.  Maybe 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 

God Is Speaking Are You Listening

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!  The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. - Psalms 46:10-11

But most of us show incredible disrespect to God because we don’t even hear Him. He might as well never have spoken to us.  The goal of my spiritual life is such close identification with Jesus Christ that I will always hear God and know that God always hears me …. If I have not developed and nurtured this devotion of hearing, I can only hear God’s voice at certain times. At other times I become deaf to Him because my attention is to other things— things which I think I must do. This is not living the life of a child of God. Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

Have you ever said something in a conversation only to have someone say “That is just what I said!”  But you didn’t hear it.  Or maybe the thought that you had was not yours at all but the words the other person had just spoken.  Whatever the case, the person is normally just a little put out because that tells them, in no uncertain terms, you are not listening to what they say. 

That is how it is with us and God.  It is not that God is not speaking .. the problem is that we are not listening.  Our attention is on the cares of this world .. we are so focused on the issues of life that we cannot hear what God is saying to us. 

Hearing God requires focus … looking intently on Him. God is not your enemy, He is your advocate.  As you live your life every day, the Lord is with you.  He is your strength.  He knows what is best for you.  Our natural desire is to trust in our own judgment and not listen to His voice …  

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left. - Isaiah 30:21

God speaks through His Word, through nature, He is always speaking  …. But we must listen …. 

But whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty (the Bible), and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. - James 1:25

This will not necessarily make you problems go away … the men that were inspired to write the words in the Bible all struggled in life … the proof of God’s presence is not the absence of trouble … 

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. -  John 16:33

But He has overcome the world … He is at your side … you can have peace in the midst of the storm you are in now.  Put your hope in God … listen to Him .. and then walk in the way He shows 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 Avoid Spiritual Apathy, Atrophy, and Impotence - Pray

…praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit… —Ephesians 6:18

As we continue on in our intercession for others, we may find that our obedience to God in interceding is going to cost those for whom we intercede more than we ever thought. It is impossible for us to have living and vital intercession unless we are perfectly and completely sure of God. Identification with God is the key to intercession… God gives us discernment in the lives of others to call us to intercession for them, never so that we may find fault with them. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

Do you see someone who has faults? I am not referring to the one you see when you look in a mirror. Sure you do. It is inescapable.  (Romans 3:23) “All have sinned” (Romans 3:10) “There are none righteous” That pretty much covers everyone.  So you are going to see the works of the flesh every day .. (Galatians 5:19-21) “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.”  That list just about covers it. Those things you see in others that upset you, make you to not want to be around them, to be angry about what they have done or are doing.  Perhaps what you should do is pray for them.  Most of us don’t for a three reasons, I can think of.  One, we think they should be punished for their behavior and should not be allowed to get away with it, and maybe they should be. Two, we don’t think they are deserving of God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness (ours too), and they are not but then again neither are we.  Three,  we have a pretty much non-existent prayer life and don’t pray for ourselves, unless we are in trouble, let alone people who are doing things we don’t like. 

But God did not say pray if you feel like. No, we are to pray because it is our responsibility and critical to the health and growth of our personal spiritual life.  For most of us, we treat prayer as an option.  Sunday morning and perhaps at dinner time.  That’s it.  Prayer is not a spiritual gift for some.  It is a responsibility for all Christians.  If becoming a Christian is the most significant thing that has happened in your life, and it should be, then communicating with the Father should be important to you as a child of God.  If it’s not, well “Houston we have a problem!”  Prayerlessness is a symptom of spiritual apathy and spiritual apathy always lead to spiritual atrophy which always leads to spiritual impotence.  You need to pray .. you can’t afford not to!

Here is a simple way … a friend shared this with me years ago.  First make certain that your heart is clean - clear up any unconfessed sons with God. (1 John 1:9) Use your fingers and thumb as a guide.  Start with your thumb, it represents your family, index finger those who point you to Jesus  - Spiritual leaders. Middle finger, those in authority over you – government, work, etc. Ring finger, others – those you care about and maybe don’t care about.  Pinky finger – yourself – last and least.  Try it.  Why not make it a habit?

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 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 write these devotions, I see 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 as some sort of self-defined compromise.  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 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.  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 know I'm not what I could be ..I'm not who I want to be, but I know I'm not who I used to be.” (Author unknown)   

 

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 

Take Me Back Lord Where I First Believed

God is saying to His people, “You are not in love with Me now, but I remember a time when you were.” He says, “I remember . . . the love of your betrothal . . .” (Jeremiah 2:2). Am I as filled to overflowing with love for Jesus Christ as I was in the beginning, when I went out of my way to prove my devotion to Him? Does He ever find me pondering the time when I cared only for Him? Is that where I am now, or have I chosen man’s wisdom over true love for Him? Am I so in love with Him that I take no thought for where He might lead me? Or am I watching to see how much respect I get as I measure how much service I should give Him? - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest 

Andrae Crouch wrote the song “Take Me Back”  It is about someone who has let the fire go out in their relationship with Jesus.
 
“Take me back, take me back dear Lord -- To the place where I first received you. Take me back, take me back dear Lord where I first believed.
 
I feel that I'm so far from you Lord, But still I hear you calling me. Those simple things that I once knew, their memories keep drawing me.
 
I must confess, Lord I've been blessed but yet my soul's not satisfied. Renew my faith, restore my joy and dry my weeping eyes.”
 
Is your love for God still fresh, like the day you prayed to receive Christ as your Lord? Or, have you become casual in your relationship with Him. Do you still acknowledge His divine nature and His sacrifice and the unbelievable grace and mercy that God poured out on your life with unbridled devotion to Him? Or do you treat your relationship as “no big deal”, you are a Christian .. you love Jesus .. but you are no fanatic.
 
Maybe it is time to rekindle the fire that once burned so brightly in your life.  To remember just how magnificent your salvation is .. and how great our God is.
 
"Take me back, take me back dear Lord -- To the place where I first received you. Take me back, take me back dear Lord where I first believed.”

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 

When You Approach God Is Your Hat In Your Hand?

Clouds and darkness surround Him… —Psalm 97:2

A person who has not been born again by the Spirit of God will tell you that the teachings of Jesus are simple. But when he is baptized by the Holy Spirit, he finds that “clouds and darkness surround Him….” When we come into close contact with the teachings of Jesus Christ we have our first realization of this. The only possible way to have full understanding of the teachings of Jesus is through the light of the Spirit of God shining inside us. If we have never had the experience of taking our casual, religious shoes off our casual, religious feet— getting rid of all the excessive informality with which we approach God— it is questionable whether we have ever stood in His presence. The people who are flippant and disrespectful in their approach to God are those who have never been introduced to Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). …. the way God speaks to us; not by visions and dreams, but by words. When a man gets to God, it is by the most simple way— words. - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

Are you familiar with the idiom “Coming with your hat in your hand”?  It means to approach someone “In a meek or submissive manner. (The removal of one's hat is typically a gesture of respect.)”  Men used to tip their hat  or grab the brim and move it downward as a show of respect.  Standing before God with our hats in in our hands is comparable to Moses removing his sandals because He was standing on holy ground. When we come to worship, we may come just as we are, but we must be careful that we are not prideful in our attitude toward God thinking He can “take it or leave it”.  You are thinking, “I would never do that?”  Well, my fear is that many of us refuse to remove our hats when we stand before God.

Over the past 30 years, there has been a shift in how people dress on Sunday morning.  We no longer wear our “Sunday go to meetin’ clothes”, but whatever we pull out o the closet.  If a man wears a suit and tie to church people think he is going to preach or is in some kind of leadership position.  You know that God judges the heart of man, not his outward appearance.  But very often the outward appearance is a reflection of the heart.  Don’t misunderstand me.  I don’t think Moses had a suit and tie on when God interrupted his life … he had on work clothes.  This is not about clothing.  It’s about reverence.  

In times past, I am certain that many people came to church “all dolled up”, “dressed to the nines” (I love those old sayings) with sin in their heart, looking for recognition by men and not God.  What I am concerned about is that we may have lost our awareness that we have come to worship a Holy God.  When we approach Him, on any day, it must be with an awareness that the only reason we have access to God is because of Jesus and His sacrifice. 

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. - Hebrews 4:13-16

The next time you pray .. read the Word of God .. attend a worship service … maybe even take your next breath … keep this in mind.  He is the potter, we are the clay.  We are saved by grace through faith and not works .. there is nothing we can take credit for.  So take off your hat!

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 

When God Says Go And You Say No

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God. - Acts 5:1-4

So what happened here? I think that Ananias and Sapphira initially responded to the prompting of the Spirit to sell their property. But then something changed. A faith response can seem to be a frivolous act when view through the lens of the world. So if I will you permit me to be liberal in my interpretation of the events - knowing that the Word is silent on the details. I imagine a conversation between them went something like this. 

(Sapphira) "Ananias we got so much money from the sale; I had no idea!"

(Ananias) "Me either! I was thinking that maybe we could use some of that money to pay our debts and maybe have some for our future. We didn't tell Peter what we would sell it for. Surely the money we will give to the Apostles will be more than most will give. Let's just tell them that what we sold it for is the amount we give them!"

(Sapphira) "I agree. We need some of that money for us!"

And you know the rest. So, why did that happen? The Bible gives us some insight.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. - 1 Timothy 6:10

They lost spiritual perspective - took their eyes off of Jesus and focused on the world. Peter rightly said that they could have decided to give some and not all - but they had committed initially - by their choice to give all - and then decided to lie to conceal their sin. But God sees the heart of man.  

I was on staff with the Promise Keepers ministry some - well I guess many - years ago. I recall the wives of the men who attended the conferences along with as many as 60,000 other Christian men telling me that their husbands came back as new men, but after about 2 weeks, like Moses coming off the mountain, the glory faded. (Later I likened it to taking a Promise Keeper pill that would last a year.) The men were faced with the realities of life on this planet. They took their eyes off of Jesus and started focusing on themselves. Their hearts were drawn back to the affairs of this world.

After 5 years, our time serving in Mississippi after Katrina was drawing to a close. Several people - who were geographically separated and unknown to each other, talked to Martie and me about going to Haiti to help after the earthquake. We both came under conviction that the Lord was indeed leading us to serve in Haiti. And so, we made the commitment to go, knowing what the cost would be.

I was talking with a friend - who was religious but not saved - when I told him what we were about to do - he looked me squarely and asked "Are you crazy! Don't go to Haiti!" I responded with, "It's not my idea, it's God's!" Of course, he did not understand our decision in light of the difficulties he knew we would most certainly face.

"The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit." - 1 Corinthians 2:14

The Word says that a person without the Spirit of God is incapable of understanding spiritual truth. For us it was a faith thing. It was a spiritual calling. And our friend was spiritually deaf and blind. 

When you are faced with the leading of God in your walk of faith be on your guard! The cares of the world will want to get in the way. When God speaks you must be ready to go. Your flesh will want you to say "no!". Remember the admonition in First John chapter 2 .... 

"Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever." - 1 John 2:15-17

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 

Spiritual Understanding Requires Spiritual Perspective

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. - Romans 8:28

The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. God by His providence brings you into circumstances that you can’t understand at all, but the Spirit of God understands. God brings you to places, among people, and into certain conditions to accomplish a definite purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in you. All your circumstances are in the hand of God - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

There are no coincidences in the life of a Saint.  God is always at work, all around you.  The question is, “Can you see Him at work?” Even in the mundane – simple things .. God is at work.  Very often we think of Romans 8:28 in terms of bad things happening, and God making something good out of them. 

 Well … that would not be “all” things now would it? Only bad things.  Be on the alert Christian.  There is a reason you meet who you meet, for things to happen the way they happen. God is weaving all of those life events into a beautiful tapestry, for His glory and our good.  

When I meet someone I think “Lord, why did I meet this person?”  And so should you when you meet someone.  The meeting is primarily not for your benefit, but for God’s purposes.  God is amazing, the original multi-tasker.  Having trouble seeing how God can use anything that happens to you?  If you are born again, you are now walking in a new reality … a spiritual reality.  You need to have spiritual perspective and understanding.  

That is not by magic but by maturity.  And so, like Paul, wanting all the Saints to walk in a manner worthy of their calling, I share this encouragement with you ….

And so, from the day we heard, (I) have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God - Colossians 1:8-10 

I can hardly wait to see what God is going to do, how about 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

So What Is So Bad About Money

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. - 1 Timothy 6:10

Do you think of yourself as someone who loves money. Well, if not, how about someone who needs money. Even if you are still at home under the care of your parents, when you wander away from home on some social soirée, for one reason or another.  Most often for simple, inexpensive things since you are still a dependent on someone else for food, health and shelter. But eventually when you venture out on your own, you must bear the weight of the cost of living your life - surviving.

So you learn to see having money as a necessity. At first, you make it a point to live within your means. You don't spend more than you make. If you are careful, you might even have some money left over at the end of the month. All the while you are being bombarded opportunities to buy with things that would be nice to have but not things that you necessarily need to have. Maybe your friends have them - nicer things than you have and you want to be like them. Or perhaps you see something on social media, the internet, or television that catches your interest. If you only had more money.

But wait - you don't have to have all of the money you need to buy the things you want! You can buy things on time. You just need a credit line. Then you can go in to debt and pay over time.  All you have to do is be willing to pay interest. Here is an example.

Say you buy a $30,000 car on credit. You pay $5000 down and pay the rest in equal payments for 5 years at 10 percent interest. You actually pay a total of $43,184 for the car over 5 years. In other words, you pay an additional $13,184 in interest for a car that has been depreciating, losing value, every year. So by year 5, on average, your $30,000 car will have depreciated by 42% of its value or $12,600. So the car that you paid $43,184 for will be worth $17,400. My point is not that you should not have a car - but that we buy thing on time because we want them - or in the case of a car - need them with little regard for the true cost. When you tell someone what you paid for the car you will most likely say $30,000 not $43,184.

Don't get defensive on me. I am not suggesting that you don't need a car. Or that you should not finance some purchases - but that going into debt has been made easy. 

The Average household credit card debt in the US is $11,153 as of the 1st quarter of 2026. Total U.S. credit card debt:  $1.25–$1.32 trillion depending on the reporting agency (Federal Reserve, Experian, NY Fed). Money that people didn't have when they bought whatever it was that they bought.  You can even get your paycheck a few days early from a bank or lending institution - of course there will be a cost. And what is the motivation - the need for instant gratification. I want it and I want it now!

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. - 1 John 2:15-16

And what is the "balm" that helps satisfy the lust of your old nature - it's money - either yours or someone else's. Be on your guard Christian! There are many things in this life that vie for the affection of your heart. Your heart that should be devoted to God alone. Money in and of itself is not evil - it is the lust born from our old nature that draws us away from God.

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. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. - Matthew 22:37-39

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

Do You Love God Or Do You Only Like God

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord… —Isaiah 6:1

“What I need is God’s surgical procedure— His use of external circumstances to bring about internal purification. Your priorities must be God first, God second, and God third, until your life is continually face to face with God and no one else is taken into account whatsoever.” Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

If I were to tell you that You must love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, you would most certainly nod your head in agreement or maybe even shout amen.  Actually Jesus said that.  Read Matthew 22:37-39.  He said that all the law .. the essence of the direction that God has given us .. the foundation of our life with respect to God and man is summed up in two commands … Love God, first and love others next.  

As you well know, that level of relationship is not automatic .. you can’t just flip a switch.  It requires that each of us lay our own life down - daily.  There is an old hymn that goes “All to Jesus I surrender.  All to Him I freely give.  I will ever love and trust Him.  In His presence daily live.”  In John 21 Jesus asked Peter, three times, “Do you love me?”  Recall Peter had already denied Jesus three times before Jesus’ crucifixion.  We need to be careful about our attitude toward Peter – wondering “How could Peter deny his relationship with Jesus so easily?” We should be careful lest we go the “way of Peter”.  

When Peter denied Jesus he feared men more than God. Remember, Peter was on his own at that point.  After Pentecost, Peter was filled with the Spirit of God.  The same Spirit that inhabits every Believer.  What God asks you to do, you cannot do on your own … serving God is spiritual that manifests itself in the natural.  We look at the natural … everyday living … as if it is separate from the spiritual .. it is not.  

Everything we do, think, speak, and desire must be in the context of who God is and our love for Him. God’s expectation for that level of devotion is not reserved for the super-saints or the zealots …. It’s for me and for you.  Regular joe-Christians. You want to know what’s missing in your new life?  At the root, you will find that it’s the level of your love for God. Like it or not!

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

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