In The Hands of a Specialist

Read I Peter 5:7

Climbing the mountain of life may seem to be an impossibility, but when you face an impossibility, you must leave it in the hands of a specialist. Refuse to calculate. Refuse to doubt. Refuse to work it out by yourself. Refuse to worry.
Instead, say, “Lord, I’m walking in something that I can’t handle. Because your are willing and able, please take it out of my hands. It is impossible for me, but it is as nothing with you.” Persevering up the side of the mountain in spite of any adversities calls for that kind of confidence in Him.
Now, our problem is that we hold onto our problems. If your Swiss watch stops working, hopefully you don’t sit at home with a screwdriver working on it yourself. You take it to a specialist. If you tried to work on it and then took it to a specialist, they would look at you and wonder what in the world you had done.
Likewise, the Lord usually gets the leftovers. We make all the mistakes and get things tied into a million knots and then dump it in His lap and say, “Here, Lord, do something.”
In our journey of life, we do not have the luxury to make a bunch of mistakes before we cry for help from Him. We must, right from the start, let Him know that we do not possess the talents, finances, or desires to do what He wants. Then we must allow Him to make up for that which we do not have. We must remember that God desires all of us to be successful in this pathway to glory. Every step up the mountain must be ordered by God, with His strength and with His spirit leading the way.

"The dwarf sees farther than the giant, when he has the giant's shoulders to mount on."
Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Quiet...

Read Psalm 130:5

“…and Father please…
and remember to…
and I need…
and watch over…
and help us with…
…thank you for this quiet time, amen.”

“Child, I missed something.”

“Yes, Father, what did you miss?”

“Where was the ‘quiet’ in this ‘quiet time’?”

“Oh Father, I did it again. I forgot to pause, to rest, to wait, to listen.”

“Understandable Child, you do have a lot on your mind.”

“Father, You’re smirking!”

“Ah, but it’s a love-filled smirk! Remember to add quiet to your quiet time Child. Quietness creates a pause that re-aligns your values with My own. Quietness realigns your faith and refreshes your peace. Quietness frees you from the forceful currents of business and magnetizes your soul to eternity. But most of all, quietness gently ushers you closer to Me—which is exactly where I long for you to remain.”

As I was writing this, my wife stated that she needed some quiet time at the end of a long day. Quiet time did not mean closing her up with our 5 and a half-year and three month old sons in a room and hoping they decided not to be active for a few minutes. Quiet time was when there were no interruptions, no loud noises and definitely no little boys running around her ankles. All too often when we enter our prayer time, we think of all kinds of things that we want to ask God, and things that demand our attention ravage our brains and we fail to stop and just let God talk. Take some time every day to see what God is trying to speak into your spirit and you will be amazed at what God has to say.

Letter from a Friend

When I was a child, there was a certain excitement about 4 p.m. everyday. What was it? The mailman came. I looked earnestly to see if my Highlights magazine, or my Disney book club had shown up. I was thinking about that when I read this letter from someone very important. It went something like this.
“Dearly Beloved, How are you? I just had to send you this letter to tell you how much I love you and care about you. I saw you yesterday as you were walking with your friends. I waited all day, hoping you would walk and talk with me too.
As evening drew near, I gave you a sunset to close your day, and a cool breeze to give you rest. Then I waited, but you never came. It hurt me, but I still love you because I am your friend. I saw you fall asleep last night, and I longed to caress your face, and ruffle your hair, so, I shined a little moonlight upon your pillow and your face ... Again, I waited, wanting to rush down so we could talk. I have so many gifts for you. You woke up late this morning and rushed off for the day. My tears were in the rain. Today you looked so sad; so alone. It makes my heart ache because I understand how you can hurt so much. My friends let me down too and hurt me many times. I still love you very much.
I try to tell you when you walk by the still waters. I whisper it in the green pastures where the leaves and trees breathe color into your view. I shout it to you in the echoes of the mountains, the roar of the rushing streams, and give the birds love songs to sing. I clothe you with warm sunshine and spread sweet aromas into the air. My love for you is deeper than the oceans and bigger than the widest mountain and higher than the sky. My love goes beyond the greatest want or need you could ever have. We will spend eternity together in heaven. I know, though, how hard it is on earth. I really know, because I was there too, and I want to help you. Just give me a call, night or day, and ask me -- talk to me. It is your decision ... I have chosen you, and because of this, I will wait. I truly love you.”

Your friend,
Jesus

Galatians 4:8-31

In the passage above, the Apostle Paul is not dealing with sin, but with the relationship between the natural and the spiritual. The natural must be turned into the spiritual through sacrifice, otherwise a tremendous chasm is created in the actual life. Why should God ordain the natural to be sacrificed? God did not. It is not God’s order, but it has become His will. God’s desire was that the natural would be transformed by obedience, but sin made it necessary for sacrifice to take place.
If we do not sacrifice the natural to the spiritual, it will mock that which God is attempting to produce in each life, and corporately in the body of Christ. This is always the result of an undisciplined spiritual nature. We go wrong because we stubbornly refuse to lay everything on the altar.
It is upon the altar that a transformation will begin to take place. It is at the beginning of our journey toward His will that we must decide what we will bring with us to sacrifice. All of our natural belongings are useless in walking after the spiritual. The only way to walk in His path is to live a life based upon that which is spiritual.
The altar of Christ was the cross. He made the ultimate sacrifice in order to provide an avenue for you and your family to enter into a spiritual dimension of relationship with Him. It is through that dimension that we begin to see a picture of life that we were unable to see before we were transformed.
Christ’s desire was to prepare a way that would lead us back to the communion that Adam had with God before sin entered the world. When we are willing to sacrifice our natural resources and abilities to Him, He opens up the windows of the spiritual and reconnects the sweet avenues of communion with us.
What things in your life are based simply upon carnal, natural thinking? What are you prepared to place upon the altar for transformation? This journey is more than just money, it is about aligning your family with the spirit of God.

"All Christian power springs from communion with God and from the indwelling of divine grace."

James H. Aughey

Where is Your Time?

Read Luke 10:40-42

Take look at your clock. Do you notice something unique about the time? The second hand never stops (unless your battery is dead). Time. Where do we find the time to accomplish everything we need to accomplish, let alone what we want to accomplish? It never stops - the vicious cycle of doing things within time. Running errands, cleaning the house, picking up the kids, putting in extra time on your project at work, studying for another big test. You just keep going and going with no end in sight.
It can even become a pattern in your spiritual life. Helping with prayer meeting, keeping the nursery, teaching Sunday school, visiting the sick, calling last week’s visitors. It goes on and on and on until you’re spending all this time working for the Lord but you’re not spending time on what He desires from you most, your fellowship. The disciple described as the one Jesus loved, John, wanted to share the good news of Christ so others would come to know Him and fellowship with Him. He knew what the most needful thing in his life was, intimacy with Jesus.
Oftentimes, we become so busy for God, that we become too busy for God. God wants us to find a place of rest in Him. To know Him more intimately, we must spend time with Him. Out of this closer relationship, our love for Him grows and we desire to serve Him more. It is at the time of my surrender to schedules and clocks that God usually throws something new into my spirit. The Bible gives us a picture of the heartbeat of God when it says, “He came to seek and save that which was lost.” People are never lost. If God sees the sparrow and knows the number of hairs upon the head, surely he knows where every individual happens to reside. What was lost in Eden was fellowship between God and man. We are cursed with time because of the sin in Eden, and from then until now God is seeking that time, or fellowship, that was lost. Is it time for you manually to unplug the clock or remove the batteries and let time stand still for a little while in the presence of true Love?

“Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.”
Dion Boucicault

How to Influence Others

Read Daniel 1:1-17

It is often said, “Actions speak louder than words.” Every believer is responsible for exerting a godly influence. Through our example and testimony, we are to lead people to a better understanding of Jesus Christ and the way to follow Him.
From what we know of the prophet Daniel’s life, he was a man who used his influence wisely. His consistent godly actions impacted his friends as well as four kings and their kingdoms. Daniel possessed a strong conviction that every word of Scripture was true. He consequently declined to eat food from the king’s table because Exodus 34:15 forbade consuming anything offered to idols (this was a common practice in Babylon). Daniel’s commitment to God outweighed any fear of reprisal for turning down royal provisions. The Lord honored Daniel’s conviction by ensuring that he found favor among powerful men. God also gave Daniel and his friends wisdom and knowledge that would serve them well as royal officials—positions that guaranteed godly influence would spread throughout the kingdom.
It is interesting to note that we often think that the way to gain influence or “get ahead” is to attempt the action and attitude that allowed someone else to gain what we are looking for. However, it is when we gain the proper perspective on our convictions that God is able to open doors of influence that we would never be able to open. We are not often likely to have opportunity to influence kings, but our example can have impact in a workplace or neighborhood, or even across generations. As was true of Daniel, a godly influence is rooted in the Bible. We must believe the book is God’s inerrant Word. If our convictions are not based on scriptural principles, the pattern of our life cannot be consistent, and we will chase after preferences instead of standing upon doctrine. Therefore, a commitment to stand on the bedrock of God’s Word is not negotiable.

“What man in his right mind would conspire his own hurt? Men are beside themselves when they transgress against their convictions.”
William Penn

The Giving of Thanks

Read I Thessalonians 5:16-18, Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 92:1-2

The death of a child. The abuse of a loved one. The report of cancer. The betrayal of a friend, the closest friend. A rebellious child. The searing pains of life that leave us marred and overflowing with depression. The phone call relaying the message that a loved one is not returning from war. What emotions well up? Anger. Resentment. Fury. Self-pity. Despair. Hopelessness. Thankfulness?
Many divine commands seem perfectly reasonable—for example, no adultery, no idols, and no murder. However, the Lord also gave some instructions that ostensibly make little sense. One of those commands is the seemingly impossible task of giving thanks in everything. The Scriptures clearly teach that giving thanks is meant to be a way of life, not just a seasonal event. The problem is that we often do not feel appreciative, particularly when facing painful circumstances or tests of our faith. In fact, expressing gratitude for bad news seems irrational. Our limited claim to rationality, however, cannot compete with God's greater knowledge of what is best for His children. Just like the natural parent realizes that the struggle a child has to learn their “ABC’s” will one day allow that child to read, God knows that sometimes the struggle and disappointments of life prepare us for future blessing. As a result, we live a successful Christian life only by choosing to thank Him for everything He sends or allows across our path.
What the Lord knows is that gratitude powerfully impacts the believer. Tribulation can leave us feeling isolated, but thanking God for His ongoing care or provision reminds us of His constant presence. Equipped with the knowledge that He is in control, we can submit our will to His. Though our circumstances remain the same, our attitude is divinely changed through trust. In God's perfect time, the divine plan is revealed, and we can tell Him with sincere hearts, "Lord, thank You!"

“Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Impressions

Read I Peter 3:8-10

Growing up in Minnesota is what every little boy should experience. People often think of Minnesota as cold tundra when in all actuality, it simply has four distinct seasons. My favorite season was winter. I loved the snow and the ice. This got me thinking about something I had never thought about before. Snow. Beautiful white blankets of snow.
As I began to think about snow, I realized that blankets of snow have the fascinating ability of keeping entirely accurate records of everything that touches them. An 80-pound dog or an 8-ounce bird both leave their unique marks on the snow’s fragile surface. I remember the first time I took my son out into the snow. My wife had him all wrapped up in his snowsuit (he could barely move), but I remember the marks that he made in the snow. No one is exempt from making a mark when there is new fallen snow.
People are much like freshly fallen snow. As we interact with each person, we leave impressions in each other’s souls. As we walk together, we leave footprints in each other’s paths. As family or friends, we leave traces of ourselves in each other’s minds and hearts. What traces do we leave in others’ minds? Do we leave traces that encourage self-doubt, or traces that nurture God-confidence? What prints do we leave in others’ paths? Prints that cause stumbling or prints that guide truthfully? What impressions do we leave in others’ souls? Are they impressions that widen wounds or impressions that heal?
When God finds our fingerprints in each others’ lives, does He smile or cry? The snow’s record is accurate, but temporary. Snow doesn’t last long (especially in Missouri); several inches will slowly surrender to rising temperatures. There the analogy between the snow and the person ends because—for better or for worse—our marks in other's lives are not so easily erased. Traces, prints, impressions…may our touch in others’ lives reflect well on our precious Jesus.

“The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.”
Thomas Carlyle

Bow Low to Soar High

Philippians 2:10 “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth;”

Most people think I’m a fairly large guy (stop laughing!). There are not many things that I fear, but there is one that I am almost deathly afraid of, heights. I get queasy and dizzy when I get to about four feet in the air. I figure if God wanted me to walk on air, or fly, He would have given me wings. Since He did not, I prefer to stay on the ground.
There is an area in life that I desire to dwell as high as I can: in relationship with Jesus Christ. The higher He takes me, the more blessed I become. There would be nothing greater in all of this earth than to consistently, if not constantly, walk in the clouds of glory with my Master.
As glorious as that sounds, I learned a long time ago that the only way that I could ever float in the clouds was to lie on the ground. The highest place that we can reach in this life is to be bowed low at the feet of Jesus. There is no mountain I can climb, no airplane I can travel in where I would be any higher than prostrate before Him. He loves it when I am ready to soar like the eagle.
The scripture lets us in on a little secret. “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)
The picture that is being cast is of the servants of old. They would walk into the realm of their master and bow low before their royalty awaiting orders. It is not a picture of someone napping in the recliner!
As we bow low before the Master awaiting His directives, He places His hands under us and delivers the strength to soar with the eagle. So, the next time you would like to attain new heights, may I suggest you bend your knee?

"You can do more than pray, after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed."
John Bunyan

IT TAKES TWO

I Corinthians 3:9 “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, [ye are] God's building.”

There is something about the teeter totter that is intriguing. You cannot ride it alone. The only way to fully experience the teeter totter is to have someone else on the other end balancing you out.
When it came time for Moses to strike the rock in the desert to get water for the thirsty Israelites, his part was very small, just strike the rock. Moses was on a teeter totter with God, and Moses’ responsibility was simple. Anyone in Israel could have done it. The main thing was who was on the other end of the teeter totter. God was creating, in the heart of the earth, a bountiful river of water to quench the thirst of His people.
The interesting thing about this teeter totter was that in order for their thirst to be met, they had to work together: Moses before the people and God in the hidden depths of the earth. God and Moses were at that moment, fellow workers.
There are always two agents in any fruitful work, willing workers and a faithful God. The human aspect is to do whatever God has asked us to do, strike the rock. God’s work is to make the water flow.
Do you think that Moses was weighed down with anxiety that day as he approached that rock, thinking that he might fail? I doubt it. After all, he just needed to hit a rock. He only had to follow the instruction of the Lord. God had promised to do the rest. Moses had seen God work mighty miracles in the past, so he knew that what God said would come to pass.
Are you anxious about the task that God has given to you today? Do you believe that everything depends upon you? Just strike the rock. Just push down on the ground and hang on to the teeter totter as you begin to soar. God is working in secret to pour out rivers of water for everyone. Just do your part and let Him do the rest.

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."
Helen Adams Keller

The Will of Sacrifice

Luke 22:42 “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”

“I am ready to be offered.” This is a transaction of will, not of sentiment. Tell God that you are ready to be offered and then let things fall where they may. There is no strain of complaint in your heart, irregardless of what God chooses. God puts you through a crisis in private where no one else may be able to help. On the outside, life may seem to be unchanged, while the difference comes within the will. Go through the crisis of your will and when it comes to the top, the amount of sacrifice will seem irrelevant. If you do not transact with God in the matter of the will, you will end up living in a self-induced pity party.
The altar carries with it fire—burning and purification for one purpose only: the destruction of every affinity that has not been started by God and every attachment that is not of God. You do not destroy it, God does. You place the sacrifice upon the altar and then do not have self pity when the fire starts. When you have this fire burning in you, there is no oppression or depression. When crisis then enters your life, you realize that things cannot touch you like they once did.
To walk in elevated heights with God, one must decide what to put on the altar. God may lead you to a certain item or attitude in you life that you are asked to sacrifice, but it is ultimately up to you to lay it down. God will not operate in your will until you have turned it completely over to Him because He is a gentleman and will not force you to do what you do not desire.
The fire must consume your will. Fire does not operate in the level of emotion because emotions change, but in the will there must not be any gray areas.
The challenge is to allow Him to consume you, and then form you into His image.

"Self-denial is the quality of which Jesus Christ set us the example."
Ary Scheffer

The Race of Life

Ecclesiastes 9:11 “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race [is] not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”

The crowd is hushed. Silence thunders in the air. Tension is so thick it feels as if the very breath of life is being sucked out of you. You stand at the starting line and you begin to shake yourself loose and stretch every muscle you can think of in order to give yourself the best chance at victory. You walk up to the blocks and set your feet in place. You bend over and put one hand on the ground followed by the other. Every muscle is on the edge of the breaking point waiting to spring into action at the sound of the gun going off. Your eyes are so intense that it burns a hole in the finish line where you plan to cross. All of a sudden, the gun explodes in your ear and all the pent up adrenaline kicks in. You begin to exert every amount of energy that your body can exert. Your focus is without distraction and you’re running to reach the prize.
It is so often the case when someone first begins to follow Jesus. We treat this walk with Him like a sprint race where we need to exert as much energy as possible in the shortest amount of time. This race of life that we run is not a sprint. Too many people have started strong and faded, sometimes quickly, from the rest. Others seemed to start slow, and they have now passed the others up because they continued to consistently run.
Someone that is built for a short race oftentimes cannot sustain for the marathon. It takes totally different mindsets and training. The short racer builds his muscles to explode at the sound of a gun while the long distance runner paces himself so as to finish.
We are in a marathon and our goal should be to finish strong. The coming of the Lord is nigh upon us, and we would do ourselves well by making sure that we have the stamina burned into our minds and our training habits to sustain until the shout of the finish line rings in our ears. Remember, it is not to the swiftest, but to those that endure.

"Not in the achievement, but in the endurance of the human soul, does it show its divine grandeur and its alliance with the infinite God."
Edwin Hubbell Chapin

Calmed by the Hand of God

Revelation 1:10 “I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,”

The scary thing about the traveling up a mountain is that there are times when you feel isolated from everybody and everything in the world. I have read where this is especially true the closer you get to the top. People begin to fall back and when you are just about to the summit, you may feel all alone. It is at these times that we must develop an attitude of trust in God.
One of the most often repeated phrases in scripture is “wait on the Lord”. Waiting on Him “grows you up.” It keeps your eyes off you and focused on Him. It gives you staying power.
In the book of Revelation, John was alone on Patmos. He could have spent his time pacing that barren little beach, feeling bitter about what “they” did to him, and looking out over the horizon every minute for a rescuer. He didn’t.
Instead, he was calmed by the hand of God into a position of trust and receptivity, and John received the most fabulous revelation of Jesus Christ and His future that any man has ever received. As a result he was able to write one of the greatest books in the Bible.
Where on the mountain of life do you stand today? Are you still climbing, or do you feel the isolation of the heights? If isolation is setting in, celebrate!!! You are just about to step onto the peak. Are you feeling caught and trapped and all alone? Settle down. Look up. Allow God to decide on how He will act and then prepare for victory to come.
You will never know what God has in store for you on the summit if you do not pray through the times of isolation that God allows to come into your life. Remember, just before the dawn is the darkest part of the night.

"Doubly happy, however, is the man whom lofty mountain tops are within reach, for the lights that shine there illumine all that lies below."
John Muir

Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ:”

My Uncle and Aunt own a dog to whom my uncle has taught some tricks. It is interesting to watch what transpires between owner and best friend (especially when he swore he would never have a dog!!). One of the tricks that he does is to hold a treat at the end of his nose and wait for the word from my Uncle to grab it off the end of his nose and eat it.
What does that have to do with us today? Good question. There are times in life that we are waiting to jump at a project, a ministry, a job opportunity or some other event in our life. We must be patient and wait for permission to jump. Oftentimes we desire for things to happen so quickly that we fail to wait for God’s time. We venture out into the great unknown wondering the whole time if He would approve. Being so consumed in that thing we are involved in, we fail to open our ears and listen for His direction.
Have you ever wondered why some ventures failed? Usually, the problem was not that it was a bad idea, but it was bad timing. We have to wait for the Master to speak the word for us to jump, and then we must jump with all of our might.
The opposite is quite true, as well. There are people all over the world that desire to accomplish a feat for God, but they are paralyzed by the fear of stepping into the unknown. They have their ministry, or project, all planned out, often to the minutest of detail. Sometimes the only thing that some need to spring into action is permission. Permission from God. Permission from a leader or family member. I wonder how many things have never been done because, one, someone has never received permission from the right source, and two, when permission was granted they delayed their jump into the middle of their success.
It needs to be our prayer that we recognize when permission is granted and then jump as quickly as possible trusting that God will lead you to the desired destination.

"If heaven send no supplies,
The fairest blossom of the garden dies."
Sir William Browne

Trusting the Word

Read John 1:1-18

Many things stir my emotions: worship, silence, a kiss from my wife, my son’s belly laugh or the voices of treasured friends from around the country. Most of the time, however, my feelings are awakened by something slightly less than a Hallmark moment: being misunderstood, driving in rush hour traffic, restless nights, and customer assistance numbers that do not let you speak to a human.
Whether pleasant or painful, our emotions are in need of cautious and careful monitoring. Why? Because we live in a world that loudly proclaims, “What feels good is good. What feels bad is bad.” It is in such an environment we can easily mistake feeling for fact. Emotions are not always accurate reflections of reality or of God’s will. They are not always truth’s vocal twin. The perspective for your life based on emotions will be one of many ups and downs, twists and turns and near constant turbulence.
Our safeguard in a world where culture and media seek to benefit by manipulating our emotions is God’s unchanging Word. God’s truth is subject neither to circumstance nor to news broadcasts. His Word is nonperishable, immutable, and eternally free of decay! If we live our life based upon the precepts of what God has already spoken through His Word, whether the sun shines or the clouds hang low, in good times and not so good times, we will, nevertheless, obtain a peace that passes all understanding.
The main reason that we fail in our emotions is because we believe that the Bible is a good book, but we fail to realize that it is the embodiment of God Himself. John lets us in on a little secret right from the beginning of his gospel when he states that the Word became flesh. The reason why we need and have the opportunity to trust His Word, is that we are really trusting Him. What was your last storm that caused you to question everything about God? When did you face dire situations that caused your entire life to turn upside down? Now, how did you feel? No matter how you felt, God and His Word never changed. It is forever established in heaven.

“Feeling is deep and still; and the word that floats on the surface is as the tossing buoy, that betrays where the anchor is hidden.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Can you say B.U.S.Y.??

Satan has called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil angels, he said, “we cannot keep the Christians from going to church. We cannot keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the Truth. We cannot even keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ, and if they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to their churches; let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they cannot gain that relationship with Jesus Christ.”
“This is what I want you angels to do. Distract them from gaining a hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!” The evil angels shouted, “How shall we do this?” Satan responded, “Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds. Tempt them to spend, spend, spend and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days a week, 10-12 hours per day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their families fragment, soon, their home will offer no escape from the pressures of work!”
“Over stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to play the radio or CD player whenever they drive. Keep the TV, VCR, DVD and PC’s going constantly in their homes. And see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ.”
“Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from vacation exhausted, disquieted, and unprepared for the coming week. Don’t let them go out in nature to reflect on God’s wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and other activities instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy! And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions.”
“Go ahead, let them be involved in soul winning; but crowd their lives with so many good causes that they have no time to seek power from Jesus. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause.”
“It will work! It will work!” It was quite a convention. The evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there.
The question is: Has the devil been successful at his scheme in your life?
Does “BUSY” mean: Being Under Satan’s Yoke?

Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.Dion Boucicault

Enduring Tough Times

James 1:3 “Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”

During our climb up the mountain of life, we may experience some difficult times. At times we may lose our breath, pull a muscle or twist an ankle. It is at these times that we must be willing to fight through the pain and the hurt to achieve the goal that is at hand.
If you never thought about it, you might expect that the positive and beautiful memories from the past would be the ones that would increase your faith. I always believed, for example, that one or two really dramatic or miraculous answers to prayer would increase my faith immeasurably. If I had just a few victories that were pleasant I would be able to do anything that God asked me to do. Yet, it hasn’t seemed to work out that way.
Tough times, painful times, of course, do one of two things to you. They either break you or they make you. If you are utterly crushed by them you will do everything within your power to bury them into the far recesses of your memory. If you are able to survive the times when you didn’t think you could take one more step, you will be excited to allow those victories to come to the forefront of your memory.
We have a promise from God that He will not allow any more than we can bear in our journey. So we have to realize that without those tough times we may never end up where God desires. God has placed those times in our lives to mold and form us into His image. Always remember, the struggles on our journey up the mountain of sacrifice will forever pale in light of His journey up the hill of Calvary.

"I learned from the example of my father that the manner in which one endures what must be endured is more important than the thing that must be endured."
Dean Acheson

Faith Worth Dying For?

Genesis 2:15 “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”

It is the foundational question that we must answer, “What are you living for?” It is exciting reading stories from the underground church. There was a house church in old Russia that met in small groups so as not to arouse the KGB. It was at such a meeting after they began to quietly worship that the door burst open and two soldiers quickly entered with automatic weapons raised.
They lined everybody up against the wall and threatened to kill anyone that did not denounce Christ. If they would denounce Christ they could leave the room and nothing else would be said. Slowly, several began to leave and yet there were a few that stood against the threat of death. After a few minutes the soldiers gave everyone one last chance to leave. A few more people slipped out the door. Those that were left looked down at their children with a look of reassurance. Finally, the soldiers turned and said to those that stayed to raise their hands one more time- and praise the Lord. These soldiers had been converted at an earlier raid. They made this statement to those that remained, “We have learned from experience that unless people are willing to die for their faith, they cannot be fully trusted.”
The only way that you know what you will live for is to examine what you are willing to die for. It is only through the mindset of being willing to die for something that makes it truly worth living for. The reason why America is so awe inspiring is because there were men, women and children willing to die to make it so. What price you are willing to pay determines the value of that which you possess.

“Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.”
- Albert Einstein

Mountain View

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.”

With the exception of being in an airplane, the highest place on earth that I have walked is on Pike’s Peak in Colorado . The view was incredible. You could see for miles, and what you did see was so clean and fresh. The signs of humanity such as, traffic, smog, smoke, dirt, etc., were not evident from the peak.
Wouldn’t you like to walk through life with “rose-colored” glasses? Don’t you want to see all the good in everything around you? If it was possible to see your world through only positive lenses, what price would you pay?
Well, the highest place you can go on this earth is not Pike’s Peak. The highest place you can reach in this life is to be bowed low at the feet of Jesus. Did you catch that? When you bow before Him, you have attained the greatest heights.
It was Mary that Jesus affirmed, and not Martha. Martha was busy attempting to serve Him, while Mary sat at His feet to hear everything that He had to say. Who are you more like? Are you more encumbered with serving or listening?
What does that have to do with what we see around us? When you get that close to Him, everything you see must come through Him. You do not receive those “rose-colored” glasses, but you do receive the “glasses” of Jesus Christ. When you see the criminal, you don’t see his crime, you see his depraved soul, and begin to pray. When you see that rebellious teenager, you don’t see a scoundrel, you see a potential saint. You have the opportunity to look above all the “junk” of the world and begin to see the world the way He does. Have you bowed to receive His heights?

“On every mountain height is rest.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Courage to Live Conviction

Daniel 6:16 “Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast [him] into the den of lions. [Now] the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.”

The hour has come where everything that can be shaken will be shaken. The winds of the last days are blowing strong and the bride is about to be united with her groom, Jesus Christ. It is in these times that the church must take a hold of the convictions that God has produced in our lives. There are some boundaries and habits that I know the Lord gave to me. It is those convictions that carry me when the ship of life is tossed about with every wind of the world. There is no difficulty, no trial or tribulation that can dissuade me of these convictions.
The prophet, Daniel, faced some tough situations. One of the Bible’s most popular stories recounts the man’s decision to pray even though the punishment was a one-way trip to the lion’s den. Those hard circumstances arose from Daniel’s own commitment to his convictions. Daniel could have stopped praying, or at least made his daily prayers less public. However, dishonoring God seemed far worse than death. While his convictions often put him in a vise, the kings he served also rewarded his principled life.
Today, we have the same choice to live by conviction or preference. Would you be willing to spend some time in a lion’s den for your convictions? Are you willing to face the angry teeth of a hungry adversary that desires your demise?
Some days, while trying to live out our convictions, we will feel like Daniel facing the lion’s den. Nevertheless, God provides courage. If we are willing to make right choices, our determination will intersect with His divine bravery at just the right moment. The result is a life full of godly influence that will earn these words from our King: “Well done, good and faithful servant”.

Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct. Thomas Carlyle

Straight And Narrow

Matthew 7:14 “Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

In Kansas City , there is an area that I dreaded to drive, especially at rush hour. The place is called the Grandview Triangle. It is a mess of roads that converge at the same place, and traffic is often unbearable. The triangle has three major freeways, and a major highway all connecting in this area. What a place.
I have found a lot of people that have been stuck in the Grandview Triangles of life. They have converged on a certain point, and they are now stuck in the traffic jams of life. From getting their children to school on time, to picking up Tommy from school and getting him to soccer practice, and at the same time getting Sally to Girl Scouts is physically draining. Add to that traffic, a superior at work riding your back about something seemingly irrelevant, an argument with your spouse before work, and oh, yeah, choir practice is at seven. The only time you have had all day to rest was the five minutes that you spent on the side of the road waiting for that policeman to write your ticket because you were speeding to get everything accomplished on the highway of life.
We have all been there, done that, and made the t-shirt. Life gets so hectic that we often fail to see beyond this life into the life that has been promised to us, if we are born again.
There is some good news. In the midst of all that, there is this one thing: there is no traffic jam on the straight and narrow road. You know, that road that leads to heaven. Just think, shortly, all traffic in life will cease for the glory of your final destination.

We've traveled too far, and our momentum has taken over; we move idly towards eternity, without possibility of reprieve or hope of explanation.Tom Stoppard

Who Are You Following?

Isaiah 45:13 “I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.”

Navigating past the camels and the sheep, the young man found the elder. John was leading his household toward the setting sun, his staff crunching a steady rhythm in the dirt and sand. For several minutes the youth hesitated. John seemed lost in thought, like he was remembering some conversation with a dear friend. Matthew was only a servant, but the master had always taken time to speak with him. Taking a deep breath, the youth asked the burning question in his mind, “Master, I was wondering, didn’t God give you any details?”
“Details? Let me see. He said, ‘Follow’, what more do I need?” as a smile began to form upon his lips.
Matthew was astonished and threw up his hands, “With all due respect master, we need directions. We need to identify our ultimate destination and map out a route.”
“Our ultimate destination is wherever God leads. Our route is clear: obedience,” John said. “It is difficult for you Matthew because you are concerned with where we are going, but I am concerned with who we are following.”
We often times get wrapped up in where we are going instead of who we are following. God will lead us wherever He pleases, but are we willing to follow. It is not important where we go, but who we follow to get there. Our true home is not a place, but it is a person, Jesus Christ.
Today, we do not need to be anxious about how we are going to get there, the cost or any obstacles. We need to look no further than who we are following.

"He who is to be a good ruler must have first been ruled." Aristotle

Gray Hairs: Sign of Maturity

Proverbs 16:31 “The hoary head [is] a crown of glory, [if] it be found in the way of righteousness.”

One of the great fears of many people is that their hair would turn gray. For many, this is a sign that they are getting old. (Well???) Gray hair is also a crown of glory to an individual that is given by God. While gray hair may not be fashionable, it does reflect into the heavenlies that the person who has grayed has been found in righteousness.
Rather than shun the “fashion faux pas” of gray hair, why not try to embrace it as a gift of God. Not only does it shine for all of heaven to see, the darkness in the world sees righteousness and glory when it sees that gray hair.
Today is a special day for me. Without this day I would not be around to write this. Today is my mother’s birthday. While I have forgotten to send a card or gift on this day, she can rest assured that I remembered it for this book and now everybody that reads it will too. She has turned 39, 23 times as of this writing.
My mom is a very unique individual, and time and space does not permit me to tell you of all she is. Let me just say, if this devotional blesses you in any way, she had a lot to do with it. Not only naturally, but also spiritually, she is largely responsible for how I turned out.
Recently she came to visit, and you could tell that there were three generations sitting together with her, myself and my son. While she is one day older today, she will continue to grow through us. Remember, at sometime or another we will all impact someone else. My mother has impacted me. I honor her today that her days may be long upon this earth, and blessed beyond measure. It is my prayer that the heavenlies will see her hoary head.

"All that I am, my mother made me." John Quincy Adams