Listen up...The Word of Christ Demands Compelling Giving

I wonder how many people within our churches or just outside the door of our churches are living almost homeless or go days without much to eat right under the arms of "Believers" who have enough to feed an army? Hundreds you don't even know about have to decide on a weekly basis whether to buy food to eat or pay their electric bill. Most take old clothes from friends, but most in the church would never know. Many of these folks are strong Christians with deep faiths, but are unemployed, unemployable, or have had catastrophic events happen that has destroyed their financial well being. Others are non-believers who are begging to be noticed by those calling themselves Christians however are never noticed.



In Luke 16:19-31 we find the compelling parable from Christ on how we are to react to the poor. You know Lazarus was brought daily and laid right outside the door of the Rich Man in order to just receive a little crumb possibly, but the rich man didn't take care of Lazarus at all. To make matters even worse for the poor man wild dogs that roamed the streets came and licked his sores, these same dogs that have eaten the disease ridden flesh of other dead animals possibly. Since he was laid at the door indicates he couldn't walk, so he couldn't care for himself most likely. We know based on this parable by Jesus the rich man had no real saving faith in his life since he was found without compassion for Lazarus...the rich man went to hell.




Evidence of Christ in our lives is taking care of the poor around us whether they are in rags or not. Rather than judging the livelihood of the people around you and thinking you are so much better, why not reach out and try to help them. It doesn't hurt to pay a bill for them, buy them "NEW" clothes, or pay their rent from time to time. It doesn't hurt to take them food from time to time or on a weekly basis until things turn around for them. God provides for some with more in order to take care of those with less. WARNING: Don't get all puffed up thinking because you have plenty God loves you more than those with less or that He is punishing the impoverished. You are missing His point altogether if this is how you react to your abundance. Chances are very good He intends to do far greater things in the lives of those with less than those with so much. He is a sovereign providential God who always cares for His creation. Our abundance was not given to us in order to indulge our self on things we don't need, but was actually given to us in order to take care of someone else here or around the world or a ministry who takes the gospel into all the world. So many think God is blessing them with riches so they can indulge themselves on some non-essential for life....wrong! Many think God has blessed them with abundance because they have done so many good things for Him...wrong again! We cannot ever earn the favor of Almighty God! By His provision for those He loves His grace abounds at times in the form of financial wealth or good health for some in order to supply the needs of others...for whatever reason or purposes He has this is His plan not ours.




I challenge everyone who dares to call themselves a Christian to be on the lookout around them and provide for the poor, those struggling, those who are sick, & share the gospel with those who don't know Christ. We may have to get out from behind our four walls of our mansions and ask someone how we can help them, because they are proud and possibly will not come up and ask us for anything. Most of those struggling I know hate to take a dime from someone else or food or clothing, but for the sake of their family they take a deep breath and say "thank you". I am challenged with this same message...although I don't make enough to pay the bills each month at times, I am sure I have more than enough at times that I could share with someone in more need than me...this is where my faith is challenged the most. Do I trust God with the extra I might have this month in order to help someone else with it and trust that He will supply all my needs next month?



I leave you with a few points to think about:



Based on the parable of the Rich Man & Lazarus if we continue to indulge ourselves while those struggling around are forgotten yet we look their way and say "God bless you" without another thought you can bet this life you currently live on earth will be your heaven and your eternity is in hell with the other folks who claimed Christ with their mouth but didn't have Christ in their life. God has always reacted to the poor with compassion by raising up compassionate people. However, in contrast, God is not favorable to those who neglect the poor within their sight and He responds with condemnation towards them. The truth of who is lord over our lives is in the evidence of how we live daily.



Looking at Christ Words and hearing them what is your reaction to them? Will you repent of the sin of neglecting the poor by hearing the Word of God humbly and go in obedience to His Word and act quickly? Whether God calls you to help those around the world or those in your own community, do it in obedience to the gospel.



Listen to me carefully for a quick moment. Most of this message is to those calling themselves Believers. As a true Believer in Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior, guilt over the poor is not our motivation. If you are motivated to care for the poor out of guilt because you have much you have missed the point. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ which should be our motivation to tend to the poor, the struggling, the sick. The gospel is our motivation in life period. I know this kind of thinking stinks for most people, but for those few who might be listening, for those who's hearts are open to the Word of God today, go and spread the gospel to all who will listen and if they are hungry...feed them...if they need clothes...put clothes on them...if they need medical attention...get them a doctor...if they desire to work...give them a job (even the church can do this in order to help their fellow members). By all means take care of both the immediate need they have as well as their eternal needs. When in hell it is too late to ask for God's mercy as the rich man pleaded for...if you want people to know you are a true Christian then live like it according the Word of God not according to the American Dream!



(Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone! Salvation is not by works of any kind, but the evidence of our salvation can be seen through our works which are Christ driven not man driven)

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Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats? Repost of C.H. Spurgeon

Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
(1834-1892)

An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it during the past few years. It has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them.

From speaking out as the Puritans did, the church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.

My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the church. If it is a Christian work, why did not Christ speak of it? "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). That is clear enough. So it would have been if He had added, "and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel." No such words, however, are to be found. It did not seem to occur to him.

Then again, "He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers .., for the work of the ministry" (Eph. 4:11-12). Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people or because they refused? The concert has no martyr roll.

Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all his apostles. What was the attitude of the church to the world? Ye are the salt" (Matt. 5:13), not the sugar candy---something the world will spit out not swallow. Short and sharp was the utterance, "Let the dead bury their dead" (Matt. 8:22) He was in awful earnestness.

Had Christ introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into his mission, he would have been more popular when they went back, because of the searching nature of His teaching. I do not hear him say, "Run after these people Peter and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow, something short and attractive with little preaching. We will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it. Be quick Peter, we must get the people somehow." Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them.

In vain will the Epistles be searched to find any trace of this gospel of amusement! Their message is, "Come out, keep out, keep clean out!" Anything approaching fooling is conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other weapon.

After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the church had a prayer meeting but they did not pray, "Lord grant unto thy servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are." If they ceased not from preaching Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6). That is the only difference! Lord, clear the church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her, and bring us back to apostolic methods.

Lastly, the mission of amusement fails to effect the end desired. It works havoc among young converts. Let the careless and scoffers, who thank God because the church met them halfway, speak and testify. Let the heavy laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment has been God's link in the chain of the conversion, stand up! There are none to answer. The mission of amusement produces no converts. The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.

-Charles H. Spurgeon

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Three Martyred in the Philippines in January 2010!

When thinking about my Christian faith I am often faced with the fact that faith in Jesus Christ is not a popular thing in the world. Hostility is increasing daily over Christianity by many different groups, but the largest group is Muslims.

In January 2010, a group of an estimated 15 or more heavily armed Muslim men attacked a couple of farmhouses while the families slept. In one house at around 9:40 pm in the evening these hardcore haters of Christianity opened fire and three of the four people were killed and one wounded.

Hector, Norberto, and Lyneth lost their lives in the name of Christ. These Muslim extremist who do not fit the profile which many world leaders would like for us to believe about the Muslim faith as being peaceful are just the opposite. Their desire is for all Christians to perish off the face of the earth. They want the livestock and property of Christians around them and will kill to get it.

This is only one of hundreds of incidents like this which cost a fellow believer their life. Here in the land of the free and home of the brave are we willing to share the gospel of Christ with those around us even if it places our lives under the threat of torture, imprisonment or even death? Think about this as you ponder your faith today. How far are you willing to go? Many of us may not really know how we would react in a similar situation, but we do need to count the cost of being a follower of Jesus Christ.

No matter what transpires in our lives here in the United States of America, we can rest on the true words of Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

To see the full story at VOM and videos, go to the Persecuted

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Salvation found in Christ!

"Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. Unless one places their loyal trust in Jesus Christ that He in fact did die for our sins, was buried and did come back to life eternal three days later…unless one believes Jesus was and is who He said He was and is, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus told about the narrow path leading to the small gate. The small gate is Him and the narrow path leading to Him is the only way to heaven. Reference in Matthew.

The full and complete gospel is this:

-Starting with Adam, we have been a depraved people separated from God in need of salvation otherwise we all have been doomed from that time until today as a ruthlessly sinful people. As Scriptures tell us, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Furthermore, it is appointed that each person die once. After this is the judgement of God.

-God made a way though for our sins to be atoned for and forgiven through His Son Jesus Christ by voluntarily going to the cross for us and dying. This was determined by the grace of God. Grace is simply this…unmerited favor of God.

-However, the good news does not end there. Jesus did not stay dead. God brought Him back to perfect life in three days. He conquered death for us by rising from the grave. We celebrate this each year called Easter.

-The best news is that Jesus Christ sets at the right hand of the Father reigning as our Lord and King. He is there as the filter by which God the Father sees us. He cannot look upon sin, but Jesus made it possible for God to look at each of those He elected to be saved.

What does this mean for you? If you place your undivided loyal trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior today, your eternity with God starts at that moment. We are immediately justified by Christ actions on the cross. The rest of our earthly life is our sanctification. But God will make sure His people endure to the end.

Realize this, not one of us will ever be good enough to enter the kingdom of heaven apart from Jesus Christ as our mediator between the Father and us. So, if you want help with this you can stop right where you are and place your trust in Christ today.

You must first admit before God you have been a sinner, that you cannot on your own merits gain salvation. Tell God with His intervention in your life you will forever change the sinful direction you are going now called repenting of our sins. Then tell Jesus you are trusting in Him today to save you and your are making Him the Lord of your life forever more. Thank Him for the salvation you just received. This must be done from a heart that is serious. It is not mouthing a prayer, it is not walking an isle to the front of a church, and it is not living a good life. Salvation is placing your true authentic trust in Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior. From this authentic life, you will ultimately desire to be holy and bring God glory with your life. Yes, we will make mistakes along the way, but our underlying desire is to please and obey God.

I would encourage you if you have trusted in Christ, to seek out a good Bible teaching and preaching church, read your Bible daily, and pray often.

Amen and congratulations to those who have given their life to God."

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Don't Wait!

When we put off forgiving others it is never a good thing. The regrets just mount up like piles of mud on our heart. A verse of Scripture crossed my path this morning and a wonderful little story to signify the purpose not to let your forgiveness be filed away for some other day.

Jesus reminded the people, "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." -Mark 11:25 (TEV)

It was a cold winters evening when an older man in his seventies suffered a serious heart attack while shoveling snow from his sidewalk. He was immediately admitted to the local hospital. He was then treated at once in the emergency room to stabilize him and placed in the ICU room for observation.

Once the man gained his "where-abouts" he motioned for the nurse to come to his side. The nurse quietly asked, "Is there anything I can get for you?"

The man replied, "Can you call my daughter to simply let her know what has happened? She is the only family I have left in this world"

The nurse said she would and went to her desk to make the call.

As the nurse made the call the daughter answered the phone. Once hearing the news the daughter, Donna, became very upset at the news. The daughter nearly shouting into the phone while crying told the nurse, "You must not let him die. Dad and I had an argument over a year ago and I have not spoken to him since. My last words to him were "I hate you!" and I stormed out of his life. For nearly 15 months I have wanted to go back to him and beg his forgiveness, but just put it off. Please, don't let him die until I can get there to see him. I'll be there in about thirty minutes."

As the nurse hung up the phone and walked towards the patients room she notice the alarm going off in his room and staff from everywhere running into the man's room. He had gone into a full cardiac arrest. For nearly twenty minutes solid they tried everything from jump starting his heart to adrenaline in his veins, but nothing would revive him. The old man died just minutes before his daughter could arrive to see him.

As the nurse was cleaning up the area around the man's bed, she noticed the daughter outside talking to the doctor. She was visibly upset. The nurse went to speak with her to help console her. She could see the pain and anguish on the daughters face. A since of failure and hopelessness was welling up inside the daughter, Donna.

Donna began to explain how she never hated her daddy, but always wanted to be approved by him. She did not want to go another day without his forgiveness for their argument months before, but just never got around to going to see him. Now, it was too late. But she insisted on going in to him one last time.

The nurse thinking why put yourself through more anguish lead the daughter into the room. Donna walked on over to his side and buried her face into the sheets of the bed sobbing and crying loudly as she convulsed on the bedside.

The nurse trying not to watch this exhibition of anguish and sorrow noticed a piece of paper and pencil on the night table next to the bed. She made her way around to where it was and picked up the paper to read it. As she read it, tears began to roll down her own face and she handed it to the daughter to read. It was a quick and scribbled little note that read:

"My Dearest Donna, I do forgive you. I pray you will forgive me. I know that you love me. I love you too. -Daddy"

The story for these two ends here. The tragedy of guilt and shame of what could have been comes to mind here as we ponder the thought of forgiveness earlier in this father and daughter relationship. The simple answer to this story is "Don't wait!".

"Forgiveness is man's deepest need..." -Horace Bushnell

The ability to forgive is a gift from God and He intends we use our gifts everyday.

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Grace out of nowhere!

"The grace of God is His unmerited love for His people proven through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ."

Ever thought much about the grace that brought you to the cross and delivered you into eternal salvation through Jesus Christ? I never thought much about the details, just always understood it was God's grace which is simply God's unmerited favor towards those who will Believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Well, this brings me to a little story I wanted to share.

A little over one hundred and fifty years ago in a rather large community of England a huge prospering church had started three smaller mission churches on the outskirts of town. These churches happened to be in the slums and more poor areas of the community. However, often they would gather at the mother church for one large communion service. People from every church would gather at one location to observe the sacraments of communion.

At the alter area where a communion rail was set up you would have former thieves, burglars, rapist, murderers, bankers, lawyers, doctors, housewives, etc all lined up observing communion together. On one particular special service event a young pastor observed two people taking communion side by side at the rail.

He knew the background behind both men. Neither of these men seemed to realize they were even next to each other at the communion rail. However, the pastor certainly did. You see the one on the left was a Supreme Court Judge out of England. Next to him was a former hardened criminal described further as a thief. This judge had sentenced this thief to several years in prison years before. Now, they are both at the same table, kneeling before the same God in communion.

The story goes on to tell us the burglar or thief once out of prison was converted to Christianity shortly after that. His life change was proven in the years of Christian work and the fact he had left the old life of being a thief behind.

After this particular service, the judge and the pastor were walking home together when the judge ask the pastor if he knew who was kneeling at the communion rail beside him on his right.

The pastor was stunned at the question, because he had assumed the judge hadn't noticed. "Yes I did", said the pastor, "but I didn't think you had noticed."

The two walked along in silence for several more minutes when the judge spoke, "What a miracle grace is."

The pastor replied with a simple, "Yes, what a wonderful grace."

The judge assuming the pastor did not understand his meaning asked, "But to whom do you refer?"

"Well, of course to the conversion of the thief!", the pastor confidently replied.

The judge quickly came back with, "I am not referring to the thief, I am speaking of myself."

The pastor stopped walking and with squinted eyes said, "You're thinking of yourself? I certainly don't understand what you are talking about."

The judge gently begin to explain, "Yes, I am referring to myself in this matter of grace. You see, it didn't cost the thief very much to get converted when he was released from prison. I am not downplaying his conversion, I am speaking of the amount of grace upon the thief. I mean, the thief had nothing but a history of burglary, stealing, thieving, and so on. He could only respond to Christ with a big YES when Jesus came calling him. He had nothing within himself to fall back on to keep him from it. But look at me and my life on the other hand. I was born into a family who were Believers, they brought me up in the church, they taught me from early on in my childhood to be truthful, not steal, to be an upstanding person in the community. I mean I went to Oxford University and received all these wonderful degrees eventually becoming a judge. So, pastor, I want you to understand that nothing but grace could save a person like me. Only the grace of God could make me admit I needed a Savior. Only grace could penetrate such a snobby heart to see that I was just as bad a sinner as any person I had put behind bars. Pastor, it took more grace to bring me to salvation than the thief I was kneeling beside at the communion service today."

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."

Interesting view of the grace of God isn't it. Do you understand what it took to bring you to salvation? I feel much like the judge. To bring an upstanding person to the throne of grace is such an odd thing, but yet it is still unmerited favor with God. I don't deserve His grace or His salvation anymore than anyone else does. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

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It's Who You Know!

I ran across a great little story I wanted to share today.

"During the Civil War, a young soldier walking over a battle field came across a dear friend who had been shot. His life was rapidly draining from him. The concerned soldier straightened his shatted limb, washed the blood from his fallen comrade's face, and made him as comfortable as possible under the most difficult of circumstances. He then said he would stay by his friends side as long as life was still in him. At this moment he asked his fallen friend is there was anything he could do for him.

"Yes," replied the dying soldier, "if you have a piece of paper, I will dictate a note to my father and I think I can still sign it. My father is a prominent judge in the North and if you take this note message to him at any time he will help you."

The note simply read, "Dear Father, I am dying on the battlefield; one of my best friends is helping me and has done his best for me. If he ever comes to you, be kind to him for your son Charlie's sake." With rapidly stiffening fingers, Charlie signed his name.

After the war, the young soldier in a worn out uniform sought out the prominent judge. The servants at the house first refused to admit him because he looked like many of the other war veteran tramps coming by the judge's home for free handouts.

He made a ruckus and insisted he see the judge at once. Finally, the judge hearing the commotion out front of the house, came out and read the note. At first, he was convinced it was another beggar's trickery and appeal. But the judge studied the signature and even in its scribbled state he was still able to recognize it as his own son's signature.

The judge embraced the veteran soldier, led him into his home and said, with tears coursing down his cheeks, "You can have anything that my money can buy and everything my influence can secure."

What brought about the sudden change in the judge's attitude? It was the signature of his son, Charlie, affixed to the bottom of that note. It was the father-son relationship that made all the difference.

There is an old saying in our world, "It's not what you know, but who you know that counts!"

This same principle holds true in the spiritual world as well. All the knowledge in the world will not help you as you approach your heavenly Father, but your personal relationship with Jesus Christ, His Son, will open to you all kinds of possibilities! It's not too late to make right the relationship with the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who will in turn provide you an access to the throne room of heaven before His Father!

J. Hudson Taylor once said, "All God's giants have been weak men who did great things for Him, because they reckoned on His being with them!"

At the moment we know the Son, we instantly are known by the Father too. In John 16:23 Jesus says, "In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name."

It is who you know that counts eternally.

*Story adapted from the book "Moments for Fathers" by Robert Strand

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We are declared new & we are being made new...daily!

"God is in the process of transforming us into the same image of His Son Jesus Christ...this process is also known as "Sanctificaiton". "What joy the gospel gives me! I can approach the throne of God with confidence-not because I've done a good job at my spiritual duties, but because I'm clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ." -CJ MaHaney

So, stop spinning plates as the monks do & renounce our self-righteousness behavior...boast in the achievement & work of our substitute & Savior Jesus Christ. We shouldnt be trying to smuggle a holy character into the free grace of God.

To clarify a couple of things that are confusing to most people including me:

Justification is being declared righteous. This is our position before God permanently ours at the time we are converted. Justificaiton is immediate and complete at conversion because of the Person Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross and resurrection. We cannot be more justified before our holy God in the future.

Sanctification is the process after our salvation which is us being made righteous...this is until we go to be with Him in heaven. We are daily being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. It is our practices which continue while living here on earth. Remember, Justificaiton is the declaration, and Sanctificaiton is the process. We can become more Sanctified each day but not more Justified. The motivation for our Sanctification is based a grace filled obedience to God.

Finally, Justificaiton is objective because of Christ's work for us on our behalf. Sanctification is subjective because it is Christ continual work in us throughout life.

A brand new Believer in Jesus Christ is equally justified as any great saint in the past who lived for Christ fifty years or more...they are on equal ground. Because in the sight of God we are either completely justified or completely condemned...depends on our trust in Jesus Christ or not.

to read exerpts from my newly published book "A Pilgrimage Through the Wilderness" goto The Pilgrimage Book

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The Way is Narrow into the Kingdom!

"Jesus also tells the listeners John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth
and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He
is the ONLY way to the Father in heaven. This goes against
everything a secular humanistic people are brought up to believe. How
can this be? “I thought all I needed to do was walk an isle in a
church, repeat a little prayer after the preacher and boom, I am
in the family”.... for more go to Pilgrimage-Wilderness.

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Post from A Pilgrimage Through the Wilderness by Scott Bailey

"Confession time is in order here. I still have times when life just
piles on top of me more than I can handle. It weighs me down to my
knees to the point of crying out before God. There is no way I can see
God if..." to read the rest go to A Pilgrimage Through the Wilderness" by author Scott Bailey

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A New Year & A New Desire!

A new year has begun. It snuck in last night in the darkness with innocence and striving to be better than the last one. Thinking over the past year's struggles and lessons served as confirmation that man's free will cannot remove us from sinning. Only God can direct our results to make the right choices. When we find ourselves in sin, it is a reflection of our human inability to make the right choices. We cannot "will" ourselves not to sin only God over time changes the inner the desires of the Believer's heart towards holiness & us making the right choices. I am afraid this comes through painful growing wilderness journeys.

Refer to Romans 7:15-20 Paul struggled with the desire to do what was right yet ended up in sin. I can jump right in the middle of that one...it plagues me daily. Example Paul used: the 10Th commandment (by the way commandments are not suggestions). Thou shall not covet...Paul's desire was not to covet, yet he ended up coveting anyway. Paul found that just based on his own will-power or free-will not to covet would not keep him from coveting...when he desired (in Christ) not to covet & allowed the Spirit of God to rule in his life's desires, this is when he did not sin by coveting. Paul discovered our desires do drive our choices, but it is the God given desires which make for right choices, not the other way around.

Contemplating over the desires of the heart we need to ask ourselves "is the good I want to do really because it is something the Holy Spirit is prompting me to do, or is it for self-righteous reasons?" Make sure the reasons for our desires are pure and godly in order to find ourselves making the right choices. Over the year to come we can improve on making right choices, but it will require a daily diet of God's Word & drinking a constant solution of prayer, but the main ingredient in our daily meal is the "will of God" being powerfully active in our lives. As our desires direct our choices, we need to make sure the results reflect a true godly desire to do what is right laced with holiness and God glorifying aroma.

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Who is God?

The question of who God is comes up often. I was asked to write an article about the subject for a writers site I am a member of which caused me to think how I could describe who God is within such a brief span of time. Fact is, I can't do that. However, people cannot see Him and most do not really know Him and any visual I can bring out on paper to help someone experience the slightest glimpse of our God is worth the attempt. Over the past several years I have developed a personal and in-depth relationship with my heavenly Father. It is from this thirty two year relationship I draw this small amount of commentary on who I believe God to be.

First, let's look at the visible signs of who God is. We can see in His creation through nature God is the master painter and poet. The colors, the landscape, the variations of plants, animals, clouds, sky, and water are all a testimony to who God is. He is the creator of all things large and small. God is the sustainer of all things large and small. The Bible tells us God feeds the birds of the air, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” So, we can see just in one tiny aspect of nature a Creator who cares for His creation and sustains His creation.

Have you stood at a distance looking up at majestic mountains before? Some with snow caps, rocky ledges, and trees scattered about their slopes. Other mountains seem to be covered by low flying clouds or the image of smoke veiling their majestic peaks. Only a God who creates all things could possibly make something so beautiful. From a prayer of Moses we find this, “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth or ever You had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.” Here according to Moses, God has been God since before the formations of the earth. God created the heavens and the earth as Scripture tells us.

I remember picking up a very small rock one time to find on the bottom settled into the rock a tiny creature fossilized into the rock. The creature that made up this fossil was once alive, breathing, moving about the earth. Humanly speaking, I could only visualize what my finite mind could imagine this creature looked like and how it moved about only a few thousand years ago. I have no real way of knowing if what my mind would let me see was actually fact or not. However, God was the Creator of this tiny being and He saw it as it was moving about and breathing brand new on the earth. The fact is God gave that tiny creature its very breath and heartbeat to live by. God also, knew the very last breath it took and how it died. God in His vastness observed every living creature on this earth and knows were all of them from thousands of years ago are buried. Our God who reigns supreme over all the earth is also in the tiniest details of our life.

Since we have established Him as creator let’s look at something He created in His own image. This should, also, help us to understand who God is. In Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; both male and female He created them.” We find two interesting documentations of truth here. First, God is speaking in terms of “Us” making man in “our” image. Wow! The implications are huge in this fact of Scripture. This is not saying more than one God existed. What it is stating clearly is God comes in more than one part. We find the first concept of the Holy Trinity in these verses as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In plain English, the Father is speaking to His Son about the creation. Secondly, we find humanity is not an animal or a plant. God here has given man dominion over all the animals and mammals. God, our supreme authority, has endowed us humans with authority as well. We are to view God's likeness through the example of the Son, Jesus Christ, as He walked and lived here on the earth.

This brings me to a main point of who God is. However, let me make something clear at this point. No human being can contain the depths or the heights as to who God really is within any volume of papers. God is beyond huge and there is no end to His depths. So, this is a small attempt to give the reader a mere glimpse at who God is. Now, Jesus taught His disciples if you have seen Him then you have seen the Father and vice versa. Many teach today a distorted view of Jesus. The portrayal of Jesus in most people's eyes is a man without deity, without authority from God, and just one of us on a spiritual journey while leading others to do the same. I want to assure you Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was not merely just one of us. Sure He came to earth through the birth canal of His mother Mary. She conceived Jesus by a miraculous conception only to be understood by God Himself. However, Jesus was still full deity, fully God with our human skin wrapped around Him.

Jesus walked on this earth teaching grace, love for our neighbors, taking care of the poor and hungry, but most importantly He taught first we must repent of our sins and follow Him. Jesus spoke often about repentance, sin, hell, and the kingdom of God. We find here God is serious about sin. He wants sin out of our lives as far as having control over us. As part of our Christian life, God wants us to exemplify in our life the love of God for His people. We do this by feeding the poor, clothing them, and loving on them while sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ at the same time. Food, clothing, and shelter is not the gospel nor will it get these people to heaven, however, it is a doorway by which you have the opportunity to share the gospel with them and glorify God by your testimony to them. The gospel is we are a sinfully depraved humanity in need of a Savior otherwise we are doomed to an eternity in hell. God is a righteous judge, but He loves His people so much He provided His Son as a sacrifice for our sins in order for us to be reunited in relationship to Him in a way He no longer would have to turn His back on our sinfulness. Jesus became for us the mediator between humanity and God the Father. By placing our trust in Jesus Christ as our perfect Savior and mighty Lord, and believing that Jesus Christ did come back to life on the third day as Scripture tells us, we are then saved from eternal damnation in hell and have the full power to be obedient to God. We are at that moment a son of the living God. God adopts us at the moment we place a total loyal trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Do you still wonder who God is? Well, without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ you will never have a good understanding of who God is. By knowing Jesus, the Son of God, over time you will start to understand just how vast God is. You will understand that for a Believer suffering is a part of life yet God directs every aspect of the suffering. Nothing in all His creation is out of His reach. God is a loving God, true! God is, also, a just, holy, and righteous God too. He hates sin and hates sin in His people’s life. God hates sin so much, He was willing to sacrifice His only begotten Son in order for those who believe His Son can have eternal life. In John 3:16 we observe both the wrath and judgment of God while at the same time we discover the grace, mercy and love of God.

In a one sentence statement to help someone begin to think about who God is: “God is loving, our creator, gracious, Almighty judge, perfectly righteous, completely holy, Sovereign over all things and events, full of mercy, our protector, supreme healer, omnipresent, Infinite, Immense, good, Immanent, and so much more”. As I said before, I cannot within the pages of any book explain who God really is. This is a very brief glance at who God is. The understanding of our finite glimpse at God comes only when our Infinite God has accepted us in a relationship with Him.

Colossians 3:1-4 "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."

To know God is to know the Son, Jesus Christ. Trust in the Son today and begin a tremendous relation with the Father you will never regret in all eternity.

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What child is this?

Christmas is a great time of the year to bring the central focus of our spiritual lives back in focus towards the One we owe every single breath we take. Jesus Christ was gloriously and majestically seated in heaven before this span of time came into existence. However, His creation was fallen, sinful, drastically depraved to the core. Murder, adultery, paganism, atheistic, idolatry, cursing, drunkenness, vileness, cruelty, wickedness, and more was the astonishing, but Sovereign result of such a perfect beginning.

God the Son, knew He must enter into the world He created someday, step into our corrupt skin and decaying bodies in order to live out a life of perfection, making war on sin, die a horrific brutal vile death on two splintered wooden planks called a cross, willingly accept the rusty bone crushing spikes into His hands and feet, and in the end defeat the cold dark musty smell of death in a deep cold dark rocky grave in order to save His lost family from a rapidly disastrous world.

Some two thousand years ago a Jewish baby was born in Bethlehem on a dark night in the late summer or early fall. His mother only a young lady of about 13 years old having never been with a man gave birth to this child. To her amazement in later years her baby boy named Jesus would actually be the Christ, the long awaited and predicted Messiah.

You have to wonder if in Mary's mind throughout her life with Jesus if she ever really understood the magnitude this baby boy would play in the coming history of the world. Yes, an angel of the Lord did tell her what was coming, but at 13 could Mary realy grasp Who this Messiah would be or what His life would really be like. She had never known a Messiah. Most likely her closest encounter with the Messiah was read to her by her mother or father. However, she had a simple faith in her God enabling her to trust the fact her pregnancy was everything miraculous and was nothing of her own will or doing. She did not ask to be the one to bare the Christ child. However, she handled the situation with much grace and trust while dealing with some fear and trembling along the way.

Today, just a little over two thousand years since the birth of our Savior into this world, we celebrate His birth each year. Every year seems a bit more commercial from the year before. I am ashamed to say, but the church does not do much to fight this commercial battle only perpetuating it further by in some form or fashion instituting a mythical character called Santa into the Christmas story. It is all about the stuff, people, getting and giving, good health, great parties, elegant decorations, seeing lights, and more. Nothing wrong in any of those when kept in the proper perspective, however, the world has chosen these things to be the focus of the Christmas holiday season rather the entrance of our Savior into the world.

I do think far too many of us both in the church and outside the church keep Jesus lying in the hay packed manger with aHis swaddling clothes on, cooing at His mother. Something to bring attention to is the fact Jesus was a baby for only a short while like any of us. He grew up into a strong vital young man with a purpose only He and His heavenly Father knew. For three and half years He had a strong following of twelve close associates and crowds of people only a few evangelist today could dream of. But once Jesus started delivering His real messages, the twelve close followers and associates began to get nervous, with one figuring out he was not following the future ruler he signed up for, and the large crowds started diminishing. The message He began to deliver was the fact the kingdom of God was near and they must repent of their sinfulness, asking God for forgiveness of their sins, and committing their total and complete trust in Him as their Savior, the Messiah, God the Son. This message tore these people into a restless bunch which many in the crowd being Jewish leaders began to plot His death after these messages.

Today, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, keep the focus on the fact He is at the right hand of His Father in heaven, robed in glorious splendor, taking His rightful place on His throne. He is not in a manger surrounded by sheep anymore nor was the focus, in my humble opinion, suppose to be on the manger scene. He is not riding on a donkey with his mother Mary anymore. Jesus is not wrapped in swaddling clothes, He is not walking the countryside anymore...He is preparing a place for each of His "beloved" to live with Him for all eternity. Jesus Christ is the victor of a life which started in a manger, but ended up on His throne.

As the day draws to an end think of Christmas as the beginning of our eternal blessing found in the Savior we celebrate on this day. For the most part all the world stops in celebration of Christmas. Whether they acknowledge Jesus or not, they still uphold the holiday in some form or fashion. No other so called 'savior' can boast of this in all of history. Jesus Christ is the long awaited Messiah, the Son of the living God, God in the flesh. Celebrate Him today in spirit and awe...remember He is the KING of KINGS and LORD of LORDS!

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A root canal without pain-killers, ouch!

In the wilderness, spiritually speaking, we find ourselves in a deep hurt most of the time. To be gutted out, cleaned out, and scraped out, will not be a pleasant experience. However, it is necessary to prepare you for what God is about to do next in your life. I would compare this process to a root canal without pain-killers. The "no pain-no gain" motto of past years concerning the need for people to work-out physically speaks volumes and still rings true in the spiritual work-out of life too. It is painful in order to gain the insights God has for us. The pain, hurt and dejection makes us stop and listen. Without it we would not be transformed into what God is sculpting us to be. It is in this broken state where God stops our progress and shows us what the end result will be if we continue down the path we are currently on. He takes the sin in our life and crushes us under the weight of it in order to have something worthwhile to work with. He rebuilds us at this moment from the ground up to be a holy and righteous vessel in Christ for His greater use.

We need to stop the natural human instinct of avoiding pain, brokenness and quick fixes and allow this crushing process to take its course in our lives. I did not say this would be easy, but once you settle your mind to the fact God is working on something in your life, it can make it somewhat more bearable. It is this brokenness before God that could actually save your life in the future.

Make plans now for long periods of time in the Word of God and in prayer to God. Spend the first moments of your prayer time listening quietly, listening intently to God. When you are compelled to speak, make sure the focus is on God and not on yourself. Our tendency is to focus our prayers on wants, needs, hurts, and selfish desires. However, the challenge is to get beyond ourselves and focus on God, His holiness, His honor, His glory, and to desire Him like you have never desired Him before. The challenge for each of us is to be completely satisfied in God alone, even when our life is at its lowest mark.

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"Follow Me!"

Matthew 8:18-22 & Luke 9:57-62

This conversation starts out somewhat honestly with “I will follow you…” I am sure Jesus replies with something like this, “Oh, really!” Jesus states to him, “You understand that the foxes have a place to live, birds have a nest to live in, but I, the Son of Man, does not even own a pillow to lay my head on at night?” We find no further conversation between Jesus and this eager man wanting to be a follower. What was the man eager to follow? Could it have been to be part of a revolution to over throw the government? Could it be that he had a vision of being in the top cabinet of this new government? Whatever the heart issue was, Jesus put it to the test immediately. Jesus knew whether this man could make it on the journey and this particular person may have been weak in the area of traveling rough. He knew the fellow would not last on the journey not knowing where he would sleep or what he would eat, so Jesus addresses the issue upfront.

Then we have the next person, who interestingly, Jesus calls out to him to follow Him. Imagine for a moment you are walking along a road beside a person you suspect is the Messiah, the Christ, but you are not sure yet. You are simply walking along silently listening as your heart is developing a love for this man. You can’t explain it to yourself much less anyone else, but you long deep within your heart to give your life to Him and follow Him wherever He goes. I can only envision this man being that way. So, Jesus looks over to him and says, “Follow Me.” This was not a question. This was a direct statement from the Lord to him, “Follow Me.” I can just see this man take a huge gulp in his throat before answering back. I am sure the palms of his hands were starting to sweat some. However, not exactly ready to commit just yet, he comes back to Jesus with “Let me first go back and bury my father.” I can only imagine some of the disciple’s mouths flung open wide. You can almost hear them muttering between them, “You have got to be kidding. Jesus just told you to follow Him and you want to go back and wait for your daddy to die so you can bury him? What a loser.” Well, that is my rendition of what the disciple could have said in today’s language. Anyway, the man’s father was most likely not dead yet or really that close to being dead. Jesus’ call to him to follow was not an open ended call for whenever he got ready to come. Jesus was asking him to drop what he was doing that day, commit in his mind and soul to follow Jesus and proclaim the gospel to the world.

Amazingly, in this case Jesus did not quickly move on to the next subject. He comes back with a further statement. “Let the dead bury the dead. You go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” I believe it is possible this man became a true follower of Christ that day. You see, Jesus called out to this man not this man calling out to Jesus. Furthermore, Jesus did not let the man off the hook easily either by telling him “Ok, you go back to your family and once your dad dies and is buried then catch up with us and you can be a part of our club.” No, Jesus tells him immediately to let the people who are spiritually dead bury the physically dead. Jesus further says, “You go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Jesus never asked him one question. He only gave this man direct commands.

The final “would be” follower blurts out loudly I am sure after watching everyone else, “I will follow You, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family.” I call this guy “Mr. I will, but…” I am sure we can all fill in the blanks after the “but…” God has often called us out to do something for Him and all we can say is “Yeah, but…” It is human nature to want to do anything eagerly on our terms. However, God does not call us on our terms. He calls us out to follow after Him on His terms. This man here wanted to go back or look back to his family. He was not ready to follow after Jesus that day. This is not to say he didn’t follow after Christ, but the example would indicate he didn’t.

Jesus simply replied once peering into the mind and soul of this man knowing he could not follow Him with a heart so attached to his family. Jesus touches the very issue of this man’s heart and most likely many others in the crowd probably by this time gathering around. At this point in time everywhere Jesus went and started speaking people would soon gather. So, I imagine a crowd has gathered to hear Jesus. They might have even thought a miraculous healing could take place too, who knows. In this case, Jesus directly addresses the heart issue with this reply, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” I want to say to you right here, that was an “ouch” moment. This statement Jesus comes back to this man with must have hurt deeply. This was not a little light laughing moment. I imagine complete silence in the crowd. So quiet you could hear a small worm chewing on a leaf fifty yards away. This is dead silence. We don’t find a response from the man at all recorded. I am sure the man recognized he was not really ready to commit to follow after Jesus, but being swept up in the emotion of the moment thought he needed to blurt out his desire to follow Jesus, but not thinking about what “following” really meant. Jesus was not looking for those wanting to do a two week mission trip each year in order to get there good deed in for the year. He was looking for those willing to fight the spiritual battles ahead of them. Jesus was looking for obedient men He could train and pour His life into. Jesus was looking for those chosen by His Father to come and follow Him into full time ministry.

We find ourselves at this moment dealing with three responses. Only one man was truly called by Jesus to follow after Him in this lesson. We don’t conclusively know if any of the three really followed Him at all. We do know this, Jesus calls each of us if we are hearing His Word’s this day, to follow after him. Jesus calls us to stop the consuming infatuation with this world, with all the stuff and activities society tells us we must do in order to be good citizens, but has nothing to do with furthering the kingdom of God.

When you really commit to follow Christ, you could find yourself homeless, friendless, without a family, without a job, or even your neck stretched out before an executioner. To follow after Christ requires us to not be so involved in the activities of this life we stop proclaiming the gospel of Christ and stop living a holy life. We are called to be “aliens” to this world, a very strange people. The one Jesus called to follow Him was struggling with his earthly duty above the calling to follow Christ proclaiming the gospel. Jesus does not expect us to stop being a human and taking care of our duties here, but He expects us to do it secondarily to serving Him by spreading the gospel every chance we get. We must be heavenly minded to the point some people might think we are of no earthly good. The calling on our life is to the bottom of the soul not just the surface of it.

Finally, once fully committed to the cause of spreading the gospel daily, never look back on your former life with any regrets of leaving it behind. Lot’s wife is a perfect example here of someone commanded not to look back as the city was destroyed, but her attachment to this world, the world she loved was far greater than her love and commitment to God. It is doubtful she had any attachment to God, but He did give her an option to which she failed and was consumed immediately into a pillar of salt as Scripture tells us.

The call from Christ is open to all. Repent of your sins, turn from the wickedness and wrongful life you have lead up to this point away from Christ and place your complete and total trust in Jesus Christ and follow hard after Him. Don’t look back, don’t worry so much about your future, God has everything already planned out and He is in full sovereign control. Once you have placed your lives in the hands of Christ put your hand to the plow without any regret and go forward without allowing your heart to look back.

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What Are You Hiding in the Corners of Your Closet?

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” -Psalm 19:14

Some of the darkest areas of any house are in the closets, especially, a corner of the closet underneath the stairs. The kids love to play in the closet underneath the stairs. It is a secret place, dark, even cozy for some, a place to hide or get away from it all and a place to hide our most precious valuables.

In our spiritual life, think about the darkest corners of your life. What closet is it that holds the ugly smelly skeletons of our life we want no one to know about? I mean, most of us walk through life and especially, our prayer life with a closet or two that we do not want God to go into. We allow him in every other area of our life to clean up and make holy, but these dark, dusty, smelly corners of a particular closet we say…”God don’t go in that area, it belongs to me and I will take care of the corners of that closet.” Of course we do not verbally say that, but if we are really honest, that is exactly what our hearts and minds are saying to God each time we pray, “O Father, holy is Your name.”

We are talking with our heavenly Father, calling Him “Holy or Hallowed” yet we hold back certain areas of our life from Him when we pray. Think for a moment about certain areas that you really have not handed over to God for Him to make holy in your life. It could be a career move, your sex life (hey it is so good now, please don’t try to make my sex life holy that might be weird), money, serving in church, your “things”, your children, your friends and so on. You can name a hundred other areas that could be withheld from the holiness of God making us all hypocrites when we pray “O Father, holy is Your name.”

To pray, “O Father, holy is Your name” is really saying in all honesty, “May the whole of my life be a source of delight to You and may it be an honor to the name which I bear, which is Your name.” The quote above from Psalm 19:14 from David sums this up nicely. It is saying “may we be pleasing to God when we pray, because we have opened up every closet, pulled out every stinking skeleton from those closet’s to be laid out before a holy God, every oozing sin carcass left to rot in the far dark corners of that closet underneath our stairs”. As we go before such a holy Father, we must come to Him leaving nothing behind, holding nothing back, and not hiding anything in any closet. Coming to God and calling Him “holy” is allowing Him to examine every single aspect of your being. Let Him into the tiniest corners of your heart and mind in order to clean it all up. You are allowing Him to create within you a clean and holy life. Is this a perfect life? Absolutely not! However, we are to strive to be a holy vessel before a loving and holy God.

Until we really mean “O Father, holy is Your name” from a stand point of total commitment, total honesty, complete openness…we cannot and will not have any real contact with God, any real touch of the power of His Majesty, any genuine sincere experience of His glorious fragrance and wonder of Him at work in our life. We must place it all out before Him and desire the holiness of God in complete devotion to Him by allowing Him access to all of our lives not just parts of it. This is a cry of helpless trust in God. The focus is off ourselves and placed on a holy God as it should be.

Stand still at this moment in your daily prayer life. Be quiet for a moment after saying “O Father, holy is Your name”. Allow God this moment without rushing to get the prayer over and done with as someone would do a chore. Your prayer time should not be a chore…it should be an honor to even speak to such a holy God and further, to call Him “Father”. This is a moment that we are placing God first in our lives…we are not presenting our problems, our desires first…we are honoring Him first by bowing before Him in holiness.

When we pray with an attitude of total submission to our heavenly Father, we will come to understand that God will enter the darkest corners of our life, the places the stink from our sin is so bad we do not even want to go there and clean it up and our Lord, our heavenly holy Father will clean those areas out and make us a holy vessel He can now use. We could pray something like this:

“Father, there is no area of my life that I hide from You. Search me; illuminate the darkest corners of my life. Reveal to me the flaws and sin in my relationships, my social life, my sex life, my thought life, my business life, my school life, my recreation and vacation time, my ________ (you name the others).

This is getting brutally honest about our sin and our desire before God that we want to be holy, too. In 1 John 1:7, John tell us, “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.” Well, to walk in the light means that we are willing to walk honestly and openly before God, so that the light of His truth can illuminate or light us up and clean the darkest of the dark corners of our lives.

So, when you pray next time, think about this small beginning in your prayer time. Open up to God by being honest. Let Him into those darkest parts of your heart and mind. Let Him clean those up for you. I think we will all see tremendous changes in our prayer lives and our daily lives we live for Him.

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What is behind that ugly scaffolding?

“Deep in unfathomable mines

Of never-failing skill

He treasures up His bright designs,

And works His sovereign will.”

-Cowper


Back in the mid 1980’s the United States underwent the straining task of rehabilitating the Statue of Liberty. It had been around 100 years since much had been done to the statue. Private donations were sought after years before and finally they had the money to get it started. In 1984 the largest free-standing scaffold ever assembled at over 300 feet in the air over Liberty Island was assembled. This metal scaffolding boxed the nearly 100 hundred year old statue in. The scaffolding was ugly of course to anyone looking at the statue from the outside, but what a tremendous work was being done on the other side of it. The crew that worked on the statue cleaned her copper skin, repaired holes and tears in her body. On July 4, 1984 the original torch had to be removed and replaced with a new one, because the old one was beyond repair. A major overhaul was underway.

In our lives, we can find ourselves in despair and tragedy. We may find ourselves out of work, in a divorce situation, child very sick, a parent with an illness, or whatever trauma event you can fathom. The point is, any of us Believers will find ourselves behind the scaffolding of God’s mighty and sovereign work at some point in our lives and possibly more than once.

In our prayer life, in keeping with another portion of Christ model prayer to us, “Your kingdom come” is the cry to heaven. We all dream and yearn for the day when God will rule in righteousness over this entire earth again…free from sin and torment. Also, this cry out to God that His will be done now, in the middle of our torment, trials, sweat, blood, and tears in this life. Our hope is not just our future home in heaven, but our kingdom hope concerns our trials right now being used as a greater part of God’s sovereign plan.

This kingdom, much of the time, is built by God in total secret. Understand this, that God is much of the time accomplishing most of His plan when it is the least evident to us that He is even doing anything. He puts up the scaffolding of what we can call trials, tragedies, turmoil, suffering, or despair. Then in the midst of that, He starts cleaning us up, “building His empire of love and glory”. We will catch ourselves thinking God is silent in our lives, He has removed Himself from us, He no longer likes us, we cannot sense the warmth of His presence anymore and so on. It is at this juncture of our lives that we can rest assured God is at His greatest work accomplishing the greatest good for us, for others, all the while accomplishing His perfect eternal sovereign plan.

Sir Winston Churchill of England found himself behind a very ugly scaffolding system in the 1930’s. He had served the British military most of his young adult life, served in the parliament for years, and finally found himself at 56 years of age banished from parliament altogether with no influence on his party and no favor left with much of the British people. He went back to his home at Chartwell, built walls, painted, played with his children and grandchildren and occupied his time as best he could keeping up with what was going on around the globe especially in Germany. This was to be his greatest wilderness time and being behind the ugliness of the scaffolding around him was hard to bear. However, it would turn out once the scaffolding was removed to be he and Britain’s finest hour. Churchill emerged in 1940 as the wisest man Britain had ever known with his foresight on Hitler. In late 1940, Churchill was again back in Parliament and ready to take Britain on to victory in WWII.

For most of us, we may never see a time as great as Sir Winston Churchill’s. We may never be known by the millions of people in our country or around the world. But whatever scaffolding God has placed around you, rest assure, God is at work in your life and whatever emerges once the scaffolding has been taken down, will be of His sovereign perfect will…it will be of His perfect plan. You will be made ready to take on whatever God calls you to do.

Remember, the scaffolding is only temporary…it is the secret work in our lives by the Master Builder. Much like on July 4, 1986, when the scaffolding around the Statue of Liberty had been removed, a tremendous piece of work emerged and a great celebration was given…our lives will be much the same way. Our God never leaves His sheep, He never leaves His people or His Church to the wolves…He is always at work in our lives for our greater good and His ultimate glory. Through this we pray, “Your Kingdom come”!

“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” -Psalm 127:1

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It Isn’t Fair!

An old missionary couple was returning to the states from the mission field in Africa. After years of service, they both contemplated their situation. With absolutely no retirement put away since they did not belong to any mission boards, no job prospects, no friends in New York, etc. they just did not know how they would make it. Also, their health was not so good either, so they were beginning to worry.

As they began to pass by the Statue of Liberty a band started to play and a crowd of well wishers begin to cheer as another passenger on this ship was President Teddy Roosevelt. The old missionary told his wife, “Here we have served the Lord faithfully for years and for what? No one even knows we are here, yet the President returns from a hunting exhibition in Africa and everyone greets his return home. It just is not fair.”

The old missionaries wife just comforted him until they arrived at the port. Once at the port the crowd grew larger and louder for the returning President. The old missionary and his wife slipped through the crowd into the city unnoticed. They rented a little flat on the east side of town and began looking for someway to make a living. One night the old missionary snapped. He jumped to his feet and said that he had had enough.

“God is not fair. We have served Him for years, risking our lives without anything to show for it.”

The old missionaries wife told her husband that he should go and tell God about it. So, that is exactly what he did. After an hour or so on his knees struggling in prayer, the old missionary returned and seemed to be different…he was changed to the notice of his wife. He was calm and collected with a smile on his face. His wife ask him if he had told God of His unfairness to them.

“The Lord settled it with me”, he said.

The old missionary said further, “Yes, I did exactly that. I unloaded my entire years of trials, service, and thanklessness to Him. I told Him that no one welcomed us home, no crowds or cheers for serving Him. Once I was finished, it was just like God placed His big hand on my shoulder and said in a soft simple voice ‘But your not home yet!”

God does reward His people, but it is not always rewarded here on this earth. We may not have a fan fare here on this earth, but angels in heaven will rejoice when we finally return home to be with the Lord someday from this earthly mission field. All of our service for Christ has not gone unnoticed to the heavenlies.

Moral of the story here is that we have no claim on God by reason of service. We are not to try and hold God hostage because of some great things we think we have done for Him. Serving Christ is our duty and we have no right to demand anything of God in our prayer time because of some service we have done. Prayer is not about listing our accomplishment before Him, but of pouring out our hearts before Him and listening to His answer, His call. Receving His promises, His comfort, and desiring to praise Him and glorify Him even more. Prayer is a time of growing closer to our God and be instructed by His smooth voice.

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The Rock that will not move!

“The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer.; my God is my Rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my Shield and the horn of my Salvation, my Stronghold.” -Psalm 18:2

-God is my rock that cannot be moved.

-God is my fortress that cannot be penetrated by any human invention.

-God is my deliverer in times when it seems impossible.

-God is a refuge of rest and revival.

-God is a shield that covers me from above my head to my feet that no one can go through, over or around.

-God is my salvation!

-God is the stronghold of strongholds who will not let me go when the winds of the storms of life rage past me.

Who is this God? This God is God Almighty, the Prince of Peace, the Everlasting Father, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ my Savior, the Faithful, the True, and the Lamb of God! This is the God I serve and put my trust in.

“They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers.” -Revelation 17:14

Who is this King of Kings and what will He look like one day?

“…there before me was a white horse, whose rider is Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. he has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven follow Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter,’ He treads the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” -Rev 19:11-16

That describes the Lord I serve. Nothing wimpy, feminine, or sissified about my King. He will return someday as conqueror and ruler over all.

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