The Old Rugged Cross

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“Steve from Berkley” was what everyone called him. I’ve written about him before. He has left an indelible mark on my life.

His long stringy hair was oily and gray. His beard was scraggly. We usually met in the dining room, but when I arrived at the nursing home to see him near the end of his life, he was unable to get out of bed.

When I first met him a couple years prior to his death, he was in a federal prison hospital. Thirty some-odd years before, he had robbed a bank. Though behind bars and confined to a wheelchair, his heart had soared in freedom. Freedom of the Spirit. Freedom from sin.

Now, on this visit, he was out of prison on compassionate release, but he was bedridden and near death. When he saw me, his smile grew from one ear to another. He sat up a little and stretched out his hand for a hug.

I don’t remember of what we spoke, not that particular day, but I do know that it was typical of him to brag of God’s grace and mercy. Even near death, Steve from Berkley was full of joy. In fact, his joy, while always full, now seemed to flood the entire nursing home.

I hope and pray that, when my time comes to leave this world, my joy grows by leaps and bounds. In fact, Why wait? — Lord, let the joy that you gave me overflow to those around me.

The Gospel of John seems to have more red font in it than any other. It is chocked full of the words of Christ. Reading through it this morning my heart stuck on three of the countless things that Christ says in chapters 14 and 15… The promises. It is those promises that compelled me to remember Steve from Berkley.

John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

John 15:11″These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Joy, from what I can see in John, is not a decision we make, not a discipline, and not an attitude. It is a gift from Christ all we have to do is receive it.

There is no doubt that death is scary, even for Christians like Steve from Berkley. It is a lone journey; no one may join us.

Yet Christ promises us that we shall never be alone. Always. Even until the ends of the earth, Christ is with us, holding our hands, gently leading us along, sharing His joy.

God Leads His Dear Children Along

In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet,
God leads His dear children along;
Where the water’s cool flow bathes the weary one’s feet,
God leads His dear children along.

1. • Refrain:
     Some through the waters, some through the flood,
     Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
     Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
     In the night season and all the day long.

2. Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,
   God leads His dear children along;
   Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night,
   God leads His dear children along.

3. Though sorrows befall us and Satan oppose,
   God leads His dear children along;
   Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes,
   God leads His dear children along.

4. Away from the mire, and away from the clay,
   God leads His dear children along;
   Away up in glory, eternity’s day,
   God leads His dear children along

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Solomon alludes to the Garden of Eden when speaking of wisdom. He personifies wisdom and compares her to the Tree of Life. He promises that those who eat of the fruit of wisdom will be blessed (or those who hold her fast).

In the Garden, though, were two trees: in addition to the Tree of Life there was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Judging on the names alone, if you were seeking wisdom, is which tree would most likely eat?

The names of both trees are bursting with promise. To eat of the Tree of Life may have meant life eternal. And who could resist the promise of knowledge. Wait, evil? “Forget about it! It’s just superstition.”

Humans are curious creatures. So curious, in fact, that we tend to ignore danger. God, though, attached a warning to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. “On the day you eat of it, you will surely die.”

Today, we face a similar choice. Embrace the love of God and His knowledge and wisdom, and we shall receive life everlasting, or seek the knowledge and kinsmanship of evil and surely die alone and full of regrets. Of course, the temptation presented by the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil never seems evil. Yet, it is.

It is the temptation to seek self. It is the temptation to seek pleasure. It is the temptation to dismiss sin. It is the temptation to embrace the world.

One of the rules for Christian living is to be holy as God is holy. How do we do that? I know I fail daily to live up to God’s standards. So how, then?

We may only over come sin through the wisdom and understanding given to us through the Holy Spirit. That may only be accomplished through loving God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

How do you live holy? Trust in God.

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God would not command us to be holy unless He also gave us the means to do so.

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Having premised these two particulars,

I now proceed to show in what sense we are really to understand the words, that we must be converted and become like little children. The Evangelist tell us, “that the disciples at this time came unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” These disciples had imbibed the common prevailing notion, that the Lord Jesus Christ was to be a temporal prince; they dreamed of nothing but being ministers of state, of sitting on Christ’ right hand in his kingdom, and lording it over God’s people; they thought themselves qualified for state offices, as generally ignorant people are apt to conceive of themselves. Well, say they, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Which of us shall have the chief management of public affairs? A pretty question for a few poor fishermen, who scarcely knew how to drag their nets to shore, much less how to govern a kingdom. Our Lord, therefore, in the 2nd verse, to mortify them, calls a little child, and sets him in the midst of them. This action was as much as if our Lord had said, “Poor creatures! Your imaginations are very towering; you dispute who shall be greatest in the kingdom of heaven; I will make this little child preach to you, or I will preach to you by him. Verily I say unto you, (I who am truth itself, I know in what manner my subjects are to enter into my kingdom; I say unto you, ye are so far from being in a right temper for my kingdom, that) except ye be converted, and become as this little child, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven, (unless ye are, comparatively speaking, as loose to the world, as loose to crowns, scepters, and kingdoms, and earthly things, as this poor little child I have in my hand) ye shall not enter into my kingdom.” So that what our Lord is speaking of, is not the innocency of little children, if you consider the relation they stand in to God, and as they are in themselves, when brought into the world; but what our Lord means is, that as to ambition and lust after the world, we must in this sense become as little children. Is there never a little boy or girl in this congregation? Ask a poor little child, that can just speak, about a crown, scepter, or kingdom, the poor creature has no notion about it: give a little boy or girl a small thing to play with, it will leave the world to other people. Now in this sense we must be converted, and become as little children; that is, we must be as loose to the world, comparatively speaking, as a little child.

Do not mistake me, I am not going to persuade you to shut up your shops, or leave your business; I am not going to persuade you, that if ye will be Christians, ye must turn hermits, and retire out of the world; ye cannot leave your wicked hearts behind you, when you leave the world; for I find when I am alone, my wicked heart has followed me, go where I will. No, the religion of Jesus is a social religion. But though Jesus Christ does not call us to go out of the world, shut up our shops, and leave our children to be provided for by miracles; yet this must be said to the honor Christianity, if we are really converted, we shall be loose from the world.

Though we are engaged in it, and are obliged to work for our children; though we are obliged to follow trades and merchandise, and to be serviceable to the commonwealth, yet if we are real Christians, we shall be loose to the world; though I will not pretend to say that all real Christians have attained to the same degree of spiritual-mindedness. This is the primary meaning of these words, that we must be converted and become as little children; nevertheless, I suppose the words are to be understood in other senses.

When our Lord says, we must be converted and become as little children, I suppose he means also, that we must be sensible of our weakness, comparatively speaking, as a little child. Every one looks upon a little child, as a poor weak creature; as one that ought to go to school and learn some new lesson every day; and as simple and artless; one without guile, having not learned the abominable art, called dissimulation. Now in all these senses, I believe we are to understand the words of the text. ÷ Are little children sensible of their weakness? Must they be led by the hand? Must we take hold of them or they will fall? So, if we are converted, if the grace of God be really in our hearts, my dear friends, however we may have thought of ourselves once, whatever were our former high exalted imaginations; yet we shall now be sensible of our weakness; we shall no more say, “We are rich and increased with goods, and lack nothing;” we shall be inwardly poor; we shall feel “that we are poor, miserable, blind, and naked.” And as a little child gives up its hand to be guided by a parent or a nurse, so those who are truly converted, and are real Christians, will give up the heart, their understandings, their wills, their affections, to be guided by the word, providence, and the Spirit of the Lord. Hence it is, that the Apostle, speaking of the sons of God, says, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are (and to be sure he means they only are) the sons of God.”

And as little children look upon themselves to be ignorant creatures, so those that are converted, do look upon themselves as ignorant too. Hence it is, that John, speaking to Christians, calls them little children; “I have written unto you, little children.” And Christ’s flock is called a little flock, not only because little in number, but also because those who are members of his flock, are indeed little in their own eyes. Hence that great man, that great apostle of the Gentiles, that spiritual father of so many thousands of souls, that man, who in the opinion of Dr. Goodwin, “fits nearest the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, in glory,” that chosen vessel, the Apostle Paul, when he speaks of himself, says, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” Perhaps some of you, when you read these words, will be apt to think that Paul did not speak true, that he did not really feel what he said; because you judge Paul’s heart by your own proud hearts: but the more ye get of the grace of God, and the more ye are partakers of the divine life, the more will ye see your own meanness and vileness, and be less in your own eyes. Hence it is, that Mr. Flavel, in his book called, HUSBANDRY SPIRITUALIZED, compares young Christians to green corn; which before it is ripe, shoots up very high, but there is little solidity in it: whereas, an old Christian is like ripe corn; it doth not lift up its head so much, but then it is more weighty, and fit to be cut down, and put into the farmer’s barn. Young Christians are also like little rivulets; ye know rivulets are shallow, yet make great noise; but an old Christian, he makes not much noise, he goes on sweetly, like a deep river sliding into the ocean.
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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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Genesis takes a hard rap these days, as does much of the Old Testament. Much of it is perceived as mythology and a great deal is considered retelling of older tales. Few in this post-truth world consider Genesis as inspired by God. I do.

Genesis tells us that God created humans in His own image (Genesis 1:26-28). It tells us that we were given dominion over all animals, that we were to have dominion over the world. God created us to be His imagers. In other words, God created man so that we could represent Him, rule for Him, rule with Him, and model His behavior. We were not to be Gods; we were to be like God.

From the fall of mankind to the birth of Christ one rarely sees a human who is like God, for  until Jesus was born, no one had been perfect. That is not to say that no one modeled a bit of His behavior or acted somewhat like God. Abraham was found worthy of fathering God’s children, but was hardly God-like. Isaiah spoke to and for God. Elijah and Elisha performed miraculous deeds through the power of God. David sought the heart of God. Moses, though, may be the only man short of Christ who best imaged God, but even he fell far short of God’s glory.

When Moses stretched out his hands, God moved, and when his hands rested, so did God. Moses was so like God they some readers – unfamiliar with the Bible or unfamiliar with theology – may be left wondering if God worked through Moses or if Mode worked through God.

Now, the term imager may be unfamiliar to many of you. I don’t know who coined the term but Dr. Michael Heiser does a great job explaining it in his book, The Unseen Realm. An imager of God is one who carries out the mission of “divine image-bearing.”

This commission, he continues, is given to men and women. It is what makes us unique from other created beings. There is something about us that makes us like God. It is not an incremental likeness; it was bestowed upon us at creation.

When Man fell in the Garden of Eden, he lost much of what it meant to carry the image of God. He lost all that was good and pure and holy. He lost life eternal. We lost the place of glory of ruling with Him.

Once we accept Jesus as our Savior part of what was lost is restored, in that God lives within our heart and works through us.

Here is an old hymn that many of you may remember.

Oh! to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,

Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart. – Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897.

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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.” – Luke 6:22-23.

The church to which I belong is part of the Holiness Movement, which at one time was dubbed “holy rollers” because of the emotion expressed in worship services. Please don’t get this confused with Pentecostals who practice speaking in tongues. The holiness churches of yesteryear dressed conservatively, worshiped liberally (with shouting, praising, marching, and much weeping). Churches within holiness denominations grew like wildfire a century ago because they were sincere, prayerful, loving, ministered to the poor, and they were bold in their praise of God.

While certainly not true of every church in the holiness movement, pastors would walk the aisles, preach at a shout, point fingers, raise their hands and emphasize the second work of grace, emphasize holy living, and emphasize “praying through.” Those who attended such services could rarely remain quiet. Shouts of “glory, praise be, amen, and hallelujah!” abounded.

Those upon whom the Spirit fell could be seen marching around the sanctuary like the children of Israel around Jericho, weeping at the altar for hours on end, and leaping for joy.

To cast a wide net, I assert that one would be hard pressed to identify a holiness church by the clothing of its congregation, the message of its pastor or the actions of those on attendance on Sunday mornings.

Today, many – though certainly not all – pastors give uplifting inspirational messages that rarely mention the holiness doctrines. Pastors are too sophisticated to walk the aisles and shout. They rarely get emotional. Experts teach them that things are not done that way today. Such behavior, according to the experts, turn people away. Preachers, then become lecturers, motivational speakers, and resist the leading of God.

Those in attendance rarely voice an amen or hallelujah for fear that others will stare and judge.

Yet, Christ tells us in the Beatitudes that if we follow him we will be persecuted. If we are persecuted, He continues, we should leap for joy, because we will be rewarded in heaven.

When was the last time you leaped for joy? I’m not talking about bouncing during a mind-numbing praise song, rather when did you last shout or leap for joy at the delivery of the Gospel.

I am not one to advocate emotions over worship, but Christ tells us to praise Him, so I encourage you to rejoice over all He has done for you. And if the Spirit moves, shout and leap for joy. Let them call us holy rollers.
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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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Beverly Sinclair was a spinster heiress who lived in a mansion of enormous size during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She is the main character in a short story I wrote a few years ago. She was considered eccentric by folks who knew her, a spooky old witch by children, and foolish by most. Foolish because she – who never married and had no close family – lived with her three cats alone in a 42-room palatial home.

What made her eccentric was that the home wasn’t always so big. When she inherited her fortune from her father, the home was a impressive Victorian-style home with five bedrooms, a parlor, kitchen, dining room, basement, and three bathrooms. Over the years, she added two more wings to the home, including a gymnasium, indoor pool, sunroom, library, two additional kitchens, three formal dining rooms, two more parlors, ten more bedrooms and eleven bathrooms. She would build something one year and tear it down the next. She was never happy with the work, and always improving on it.

It was said that old lady Sinclair, as she was known, kept the same general contractor employed her entire life and that she would never hire anyone else to do the work. She hired him first in 1889 and he was still working on the place when she died in 1943.

Long after she died a girl from the local historical society discovered in her journals that Sinclair had been in love with the contractor but had never told him because she was married. He was the reason she had never married. Hiring him to renovate the home was the only way she could see him. Renovations continued until the day she died.

I did not write the story as an analogy of the Christian life, but when I read Colossians 2:6 and thought of the word built this story came to mind. Our walk with Christ is much the same as this story. When Christ saves us he goes to work on us, tearing out the old and building the new, adding a room here and testing down a room there. He loves us too much to allow us to live a dark, putrid life and we love Him enough to let Him enough to keep working.

Colossians 2:6 reads this way:

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith

The word built in that verse is passive, we do not go build ourselves. Christ builds us and perfects us and does not stop working on us until death. Why? He is building and perfecting His body, His home, die He dwells in us, according to Acts 17:24. We are the temple not built by human hands. What then are we to do in this whole process? Allow Him to continue to work in us. Do not quench the Spirit of God (1 Thessalonians 5:19, Ephesians 6:30).

Besides, how can we, mere humans, expect to improve on what God builds?
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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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 1. Christian holiness is not the following of the Ten Commandments. While I truly believe that the Ten Commandments are the basis of good government and holy living, I don’t believe that following those commandments make one holy. Obedience to those commandments may make one morally strong, it will not make one pure. Holiness is not a life full of “Thou Shalts” and “Thou Shalt Nots,” rather such commandments serve to chain us, enslave us.

2. Christian holiness is not about obeying church bylaws. Rules and regulations within the church are fluid, changing from denomination to denomination, from generation to generation. As a boy, I visited a revival service where the evangelist preached that if we had not spoken in tongues today, we had likely lost our salvation. I can list dozens of rules that were once written in church manuals that have now fallen by the wayside. I realize now that what passed for Christian holiness then was nothing more than a struggle to maintain cultural norms in a changing society.

3. Christian holiness is not about church attendance. I understand wanting to be at church at every opportunity. Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday night services once were the norm for a Christian in American culture. But, being in church every time the door is open does not make one holy.

4. Christian holiness is not about serving or tithing. I believe in giving of both my money and my time, but neither of those make one holy. One cannot be holy by what one does. Holiness is not about service, actions, church attendance, tithing, or keeping the rules.

Face it, it is impossible for sinful, fallible humans live a life of Christian holiness. You may as well give up and stop trying.

It is simply impossible for a human to be holy. There is only one who is holy: Jesus Christ. It seems a paradox, but the first step to Christian holiness is the realization that you can never achieve it. The second step is the absolute surrender of your will to Christ. The next step is building a relationship with the one who created you, died for you, and was raised from the dead for you. Only an active, ongoing, daily walk with Christ can lead to holiness. Do you want to live the life of Christ? Then spend every moment that you can in prayer. Do you want others to see Christ through you? Then praise Him with every breath you take. Do you want to know what it means to really be Christ-like? Then devote your life to God’s Word.

Christ says in Luke 10.27 there are only two commandments that matter: “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

Those two commandments will be the focus of this blog.
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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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Yet salvation does have a price. Of course we know that Jesus Himself paid the price, because nothing short of the death, burial, and resurrection of God could pay the price for the sins of the entire world …Because nothing we could do could ever earn our way into heaven.

Yet, Christ speaks of a cost. Think of the story of the Rich Young Ruler as it is found in the synoptic gospels (MT 19:16-30; MK10:17-31; LK18:18-30). The young man asks Jesus what must he do to attain eternal life. Jesus answers that he must keep all of the commandments.

The young man answers that he has done exactly that. Jesus then tells him, “Sell everything you own and give the money to the poor and the come and follow me.” The young man considers the cost and declines, going away sad. Why did he decline? The Bible tells us that he declined because he was very wealthy.

Why did Jesus answer this way? Well many Bible commentaries tell us that Jesus was talking about two different things: eternal life on the one hand and the Kingdom of God in the other. I don’t buy that because Christ does not trifle with one’s soul. If the man had not understood, Christ would have clarified.

Other commentators tell us that the passage is hyperbole. That Jesus didn’t really expect the man to sell everything and give it to the poor to be worthy to follow after Him. He only needed, some claim, to stop loving his material goods more than he loves Jesus. He could’ve, in reality, they say, continue to possess his goods and followed Jesus anyway.

Others tell us that we miss the entire point when Christ tells us that it is impossible with man, but all things are possible with God. And here we get closer to the truth.

Now we know that neither selling everything we own and giving it to the poor nor keeping the commandments is enough to get you into heaven. Nor does Christ tell us that everyone must give all they own to the poor.

Let’s take a look at other passages that speak of the price of salvation. At one point a scribe – a scholar dedicated to accurately copying Scripture – tells Jesus that he will follow Him as His disciple. Christ replies, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

The Bible doesn’t directly state this but implies that the scribe, like the Rich Young Ruler, left disappointed.

Another follower asked to leave Jesus to go to his father’s funeral. Jesus answered, “Let the dead bury the dead.”

That seems harsh, but Jesus never once said it would be easy to follow Him.

And with that last sentence I just lost half my audience. Many of those who remain are saying “What about John 3:16?”

Well let’s take a look at John 3:16 in the larger context of the entire chapter. We have lived so long with the term “born again” that we fail to recognize it’s significance. Sure, Christ says that everyone who believes will be saved, but how many of those who follow the prescriptive ABC of salvation really believe? I fear not many, for few can live up to the expectations of the full context of the discourse in John 3. Take a look at verses 19-21.

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

How many who consider themselves Christians actually change their direction? How many of them repent?

Christ tells us that we must be born again but he also tells us that we must die to self. In Luke 9:23, he says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me”

The cross is not a symbol of hardship, like I heard growing up in church (a man I knew speaking of his life as a single father after his wife abandoned him years ago always ended the discussion with the words, “that’s just my cross to bear”). Not at all. The cross is not a symbol of hardship it is a symbol of death. When Jesus said to take up our cross and follow Him, he added a clause to the beginning: “deny yourselves, take up your cross daily and follow me!”

If we are to be born again we must also die to our own self. Christ does not tolerate a double-minded person; you should be either hot or cold but not lukewarm.

I have had preachers warn me about this message, the message of repentance. They tell me that, were they me, they would be scared of turning away seekers from the altar. I preached at a church three Sundays ago and preached on repentance. Another preacher was in the congregation that morning. He was scheduled to preach the following Sunday. When he did preach, he looked me in the eye from the pulpit and said that it is enough that people accept Jesus, believe in their hearts, and confess their sins. It is up to God to convict them enough to repent. I worry that preachers like him are convincing many sinners they are saved because they said a solitary prayer but never really repent and trust in Christ. Their lives show no fruit of the Spirit.

What does it cost to follow Christ? Just our very self.

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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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NOT everything happens in the world just as God wishes. When people say, “Whatever is, is best,” they cannot really mean what they say, or they mean it with certain conditions and reservations which filch the literal meaning from the words. 

The writer met a friend one day, a minister, returning from a funeral. Even allowing for the sad errand which had occupied his mind, he seemed peculiarly low-spirited. “I have just buried a child,” he said, “and the child’s father is under arrest for manslaughter. Last Saturday evening, it seems, he came home drunk, clambered into the bed where his wife and the little one were asleep, and in his fuddled condition pushed the baby out of bed. It fell and, as it fell, the child’s head struck the fender. In the gray light of the next morning they found the little body cold and dead upon the floor. The police were called, of course, and the father is in prison awaiting his trial. 

“But that wasn’t the whole of it,” my friend went on. “After the interment, one of the mourners, trying to make a little pious talk in the parson’s presence, said, ‘Ah well! It can’t be helped, I suppose. It was the will of God.’ “The will of God?” said my friend bitterly. “That wasn’t the will of God. God could never have wished that that dear child be pushed to death by a drunken brute. It was a horrible travesty of all that God would have wished for the little one.” 

As we parted, I turned the old problem over in my mind again. What happens to the guidance of God when calamity comes? Calamity isn’t always the outcome of obvious sin. It overtakes the saints. Untimely death has nipped the life of the noblest souls, and not death merely, but death through agonizing pain. Disaster, like the rain, falls on the just and the unjust. The horror of it strikes one dumb, and when speech returns, a tempest of questions rises to the lips. Does God guide us? Is there knowledge in the Most High? Does he lead us to the lip of a calamity and leave us to fall in? The problem demands an attempt at an answer because any day might thrust it on our notice again and because it challenges faith. If anguish comes, can doubt be far behind? 

God’s will, we believe, for his children, is the perfection of their characters and their ultimate bliss, but the cast of our inherited nature and the conditions of a sin-spoiled world do not allow an easy path to that great end. God therefore permits the woes of life to press upon us; the consequences of our own sin, and sometimes the sin of others; the consequences of our carelessness and ignorance, and the carelessness and ignorance of others. The loss of the Titanic was due to reckless racing through an ice-field, and the death-roll was lengthened by the fact that she only carried boat accommodation for 1,200 people, though the passengers and crew totaled 2,293. It was a compound of pride and criminal folly. But W. T. Stead was among the passengers, going to America in the interests of world peace and to take part in the “Men and Religion Forward Movement.” He was drowned. 

Yet God meets us in every situation, hears the cry which our bleeding hearts fling to him, and bears with us when, in bitterness, we question his restraint, deny his love, and doubt his existence. Granted a willing and responsive heart in us, he can so turn tragedy to triumph, and loss to gain, that men have even believed that he sent the pain and devised the disaster, so marvelously does he bring good out of evil. Think how closely joy and pain are interwoven in the fabric of our human lives. Our achievements in love measure our capacity for pain. Before I knew my friend or cared for him, his doings were of no account to me. He could pass me in the street with a frozen stare, I did not mind. He did not sympathize with me in my trouble, and I did not miss his sympathy. When success came to me, he sent no congratulations, but it did not make me grave. We were outside each other’s circle and we had no sense of lack. But when I learned to love my friend, I armed him with the power to wound me deeply. I put a weapon in his hand and exposed my heart to its bare point. The more I loved, the more he could wound. If he ignores me now, I am hurt. If he denies his sympathy, I miss it. If he lapses into sin, I share the shame. Love has made me vulnerable, it has exposed me to pain, because pain and love are inextricably interwoven in the only kind of life we know. 

When calamity has us in its grip, even this strong thought is not enough of itself. We look the ugly intruder in the face, feel its power to steal the joy from half our life, and cast our querulous inquiries at God, demanding to know why it had to be. In that hour the safeguarding of our freedom doesn’t seem enough. In our bewilderment we feel that a loving God would find effective discipline some easier way. We look at him through mists of tears and wonder if, in his greatness, he really feels our woe. Then it is that our Lord comes and shows us his feet, his hands, his side, and if there were a tongue in every wound of Jesus, we know what it would say: “/ have suffered!” Then it is that we feel with ‘Emerson how nigh is grandeur to our dust, how near is God to man. He has suffered. He does not simply reign in some far-off splendor, untroubled by our woe. 

“Jesus knows all about our struggles. 
He will guide till the day is done.” 

The whole story of the Passion is rich in its power to bless. We go with Him into Gethsemane and feel, even when our own sorrow is most vivid to our thought, that we have not drunk the cup of bitterness so deep as this. In all the dark mystery of it, the shadows seem never so dark as they do in Gethsemane. The word “agony” is used of our Lord only in the Garden. He was master of himself from the kiss of Judas till he cried with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. But in the garden….agony…the bloody sweat…the pleading prayer. “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” So he prays, “first on his feet: and then on his knees: and then on his face.” He knows it all: deeper, further than any of us. Beside his agony, our own seems to shrink. “And every cross grows light beneath the shadow, Lord, of thine.” 

Then the voices through the trees and the gleaming lanterns. Judas and his leprous kiss. Poor Peter dragging the sword from beneath his garment and taking a blow at the nearest. He meant it for his head but it only got his ear. The shouts, the trampled undergrowth, the scared disciples, and the inquisitive mob. 

But Jesus is master of the situation again. His will is perfectly attuned with the Father’s. He is going right on by way of the cross. Turning on Peter, he ordered the sword back into its sheath and broke their last hopes of spectacular conquest. He would not appeal to force. “Thinkest thou that I cannot beseech my Father, and he shall even now send me more than twelve legions of angels?” But he would not call them. He was taking the long way, but the only possible way, the way of love, and no pain would turn him back. Never had his Father broken the rule of the ages and bludgeoned his way into the unwilling hearts of men. Jesus would not ask him to do it now. There was no discord in these wills so perfectly attuned. He would conquer sin with love. He would make the cross a throne. He would use the shame and pain and humiliation of it to expose the very heart of God, and sin would not triumph : it would be but a dark background revealing, by contrast, the wonder of that love. So he takes the cross, not of compulsion, not by mere submission or resignation, but willingly. 

And when we see him there, we have our greatest aid to understanding how the calamities of life can be wrested to our soul’s use, and the use of others. He takes it willingly. His arms are not merely stretched upon it: they are wound around it. He holds it to him. He does not merely suffer it, he employs it. And so the symbol of shame becomes the focus point of glory. 

In that same willing spirit he desires that we meet, and use, the calamities of life that overtake us. An evil that can be put right must be resisted. The call of a situation that can be corrected is not easy acquiescence but spirited opposition. But those are not the problems we are considering now. There is a finality about bereavement, an amputated limb, an incurable disease, a lost fortune. The real crosses of life have to be borne. Can you bear the cross willingly? That will change it from a weight into wings: it cannot crush you: you rise by it. 

“So by my woes to be Nearer, my God, to thee, 
Nearer to thee!” 

Through the shadows he guides still and converts the loss into gain, working out of our folly and mistakes something which will be worthy of the price pain has paid. 

So we believe. They shall be made, by the wisdom of God, the basis on which he will build blessings. Our sins and our mistakes! Even the saddest of our mistakes : the ones we made when we listened for his guiding voice but did not quite succeed in disentangling it from the voice of self-love. He will build a blessing on it, and in the light of heaven the mysteries will be solved, the gains of our losses made clear, and fullest scope be found for the disciplined abilities we have developed on earth. 

“Then shall I see and hear and know 
All I desired and wished below, 
And every power find sweet employ 
In that eternal world of joy.” 

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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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Grant never sought command over the armed forces Union. He sought only a role commensurate with his West Point training and experience. He was certainly not pro-slavery, but had never taken a stand against it prior to the war. He had – in fact – worked his Missouri farm using slaves that were given to him by his father-in-law. Early in the war, though, he was compelled to take a radical stand. Long before Lincoln freed the slaves, General Grant declared that the nation could remain united only if all men were free. He sought only to lead his troops, but because of his dogged determination and brilliant mind, he soon led the North into new hope and onward toward victory.

Even before Grant defeated Lee, he became a hero. The press followed him everywhere. His likeness appeared on front pages from Washington to Maine. Both Democrats and Republicans talked of nominating him for President in 1864. Congress reinstituted the rank of Lieutenant General to honor him, a rank that was retired after George Washington died. Abraham Lincoln, who had ascertained that Grant abhorred the idea of running for president, concurred with Congress and made Grant General of the Army of the United States. If Grant did not seek greatness, it was certainly thrust upon him.

Though his life is largely forgotten by generations of Americans who can barely describe the Civil War or identify Lincoln, and though his life has been misrepresented in the media, I have to wonder what made him great. Why was Grant a hero and hailed as our country’s savior before he had even set upon the task of vanquishing the Confederate Army in the East?

While one can hardly reduce his appeal to one aspect, the man did possess one quality that stands out in every biography, good or bad, old or new. Even those histories that wrongly portray him as a drunkard mention this one quality as a key to his success. He never gave up.

In the Battle of the Wilderness, in early 1864, Grant – for the first time – faces off in battle against Robert E. Lee. Lee, as brilliant and cunning and determined as Grant, has the advantage of fighting at home. He knows the country, and the terrain. The people of Virginia are Lee’s family and neighbors. They support him. Grant is the invader, far from home, unfamiliar with the country, and faces odds that seem insurmountable. Lesser men than Grant would have fallen back. In fact, other Generals had encountered Lee had previously won victories in the same part of Virginia. Many Union Generals were wary of Lee; all of them respected him. Grant, though, was determined. It was his determination that at him apart from all others and accounted for much of his mass appeal.

Sure, other Union generals were determined, but Grant never faltered, even when the cards were stacked against him. One incident in the Wilderness Campaign illustrates that point. Grants armies were facing off against Lee’s in what is better described as a jungle than a wilderness. Old growth trees, impenetrable undergrowth, unfamiliarity with the lay of the land, fog and smoke were as much an ememy to Union troops as the Confederate soldiers. After initial setbacks, Grant regrouped and began again.

Grant had purposefully been silent, telling Lincoln little about the progress of the battle. One day, though, he discovered a reporter had decided to sneak through the lines to Washington to file a story. Grant called him aside and, in a hushed tone, said, “If you see the President, tell him for me, that whatever happens, there will be no turning back.”

That determined attitude, the short that resolves “No Turning Back,” is one thing missing in the lives of many Christians today. Determination… Discipline… And Faith are all a part of the walk with Christ. If we truly seek the heart and mind of Christ, we must first repent of our sins, trust in Jesus, allow His Spirit to live through us, allow Him to discipline us, and finally determine to follow Him. No turning back.

Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

An old hymn is worth recalling:

I have decided to follow Jesus;

I have decided to follow Jesus;

I have decided to follow Jesus;

No turning back, no turning back.

Tho’ none go with me, still I will follow,

Tho’ none go with me still I will follow,

Tho’ none go with me, still I will follow;

No turning back, no turning back.

My cross I’ll carry, till I see Jesus;

My cross I’ll carry till I see Jesus,

My cross I’ll carry till I see Jesus;

No turning back, no turning back.

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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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While I was thinning corn and preaching to Bud Robinson I could hear my brothers a few hundred yards away as they were plowing cotton. I could hear the rattle of their cultivators, the braying of the mules and the boys driving the teams. But as long as I heard anything that was going on I did not get the blessing. I finally knelt and offered prayer. I tried to consecrate soul, spirit and body. I remember that I stood up and the last thing that I turned loose was my hoe handle. I saw everything I had: my farm, my mules wagons and plows, and the crib of corn, the ricks of hay, and the pen of black hogs, and everything else floating off on the clouds.

I had begun to seek this blessing in 1886 and this was now the second day of June, 1890. There were four years that I had struggled trying to get perfect victory. I had often consecrated all that I had; I would put my mules, cows, hogs, corn and barn, and everything else on the altar and climb up on the pile and ask God to take us all, but that did not bring the victory. Beloved, the blessed old Book says, “Whatsoever touches the altar is made holy,” and I had not touched the altar. There was a stack of hay, and a corn crib, and several big mules between me and the altar, but when I saw everything I had drift away and I was left alone with God in the cornfield it seemed to me I could hear the Lord say, “I will bring everything back and leave it here with you and I will go; or, if everything else goes then I will stay with you.” I said, “Lord, let everything else go.” Then I had that strange, peculiar feeling that God was so close to me that my soul trembled in God’s presence and it seemed that God kindled up a fire in the very bottom of my heart.

The only way that I can describe the feeling is that anger boiled up, and God skimmed it off, and pride boiled up, and God skimmed it off, and jealousy boiled up and God skimmed it off, and envy boiled up and God skimmed it off, until it seemed to me that my heart was perfectly empty. I said, “Lord, there won’t be anything left of me.” God seemed to say, “There will not be much left, but what little there is will be clean.”

When my heart was emptied, then it seemed that a river of peace broke loose in the clouds. It was as sweet as honey and the honeycomb. It flowed into my empty heart until a few minutes later my heart was full and overflowing and the waves of heaven became so great and grand and glorious that it seemed to me that I would die if God did not stay His hand. How little we know about the fullness of God and the greatness of God’s power. Not half an hour before God cleansed me and filled me I had told the Lord that I wanted Him to come with all the power that He had and sanctify me. Then I had told the Lord that very morning that I had read in His Book that if I would bring all the tithes into the storehouse and prove Him He would open the windows of heaven and pour me out a blessing that there would not be room enough to receive it. Out of a hungry heart I had said, “O Lord, you cannot satisfy me with the windows of heaven; you will have to open the doors of heaven to pour out a blessing big enough to satisfy my hungry heart and soul;” but beloved, I did not know how large God’s windows were and how small my heart was. God had never used that language but one time before and at that time God opened windows, of heaven and poured out a flood on the earth. If God’s windows are so large that He can pour out a flood through them, then you can see at a glance that God’s windows are large enough, to pour out a blessing into the heart of one of His believing children to the extent that he cannot receive but little of it. As the waves of heaven rolled over my soul I finally got down on the ground and stretched out and as wave after wave of glory rolled over me, told the Lord that if He didn’t hold up a bit there would be a dead man in the cornfield.
From that day to this I have been convinced that God can kill a man with His glory just as quick as He could kill him with lightning. On one occasion Moses said to the Lord, “Show me thy glory,” and the Lord said, “You cannot see my face and live.” That proves to me that to behold the glory of God would be to look upon His face and no man in the flesh could behold God’s face and His glory and live. Therefore, in order to keep company with God, we will have to be glorified and this mortal will have to put on immortality.
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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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We are continuing our conversation on sin and freedom from sin, on Christian Holiness Daily…

The Morning After (1974 – ABC TV from the novel by Jack B. Weiner, adapted for TV by the legendary Richard Matheson) was an amazing movie, and the first one that presented alcoholism as a real problem, and not simply a comic prop. It is still shown today in rehab centers worldwide. It starred Dick Van Dyke as an alcoholic who could not admit he had a problem. Van Dyke, for those of you too young to remember, was everyone’s favorite TV husband, dad, chimney sweep, and funnyman. When he made The Morning After, no one could accept him – this wholesome TV comic – as an alcoholic. When it became known that he took the role because he closely identified with the character, no one could believe it. I, myself, was devastated, for I had admired the actor tremendously (rather, I admired the characters for which he was known).

The movie portrayed Van Dyke as a businessman who repeatedly drank to excess, picked himself up, promised to never repeat his actions, promised to live on the straight and narrow, and once again falls into the same routine. Get drunk. Hurt those you love. Sober up. Apologize. Stay on the straight and narrow for a few days. Get drunk again. Over and over and over again. From the outside, he looked okay, but those who knew him, saw his problem, and realized that every time he failed, he fell a little harder and a little farther into a black hole from which – someday – he would eventually never return.

Alcoholism, like sexual addiction, gluttony, and a myriad of other sins is just a vicious circle. Alcoholics feel like they are a slave to the drink; they cannot – of their own power – resist the temptation. Jesus characterizes sin well when he says, “Those who practice sin are slaves to it.” Likewise, those who are slaves to sin can do nothing but practice it. According to Jesus, in John 8:34, everyone  who practices sin is a slave to sin. As one who struggled for decades with the same old sins, the same old temptations, the same old struggles, and as one who has rarely won a battle against temptation, I know what it is to be a slave to sin. It is like being bound hand and foot and chained to a chair, to be at the mercy of a diabolical master. It is like one of those movies where a maniacal bad guy threatens to kill the good guy’s family unless he does “exactly as I say.” Living as a slave to sin is watching your perfect Van Dyke-esque life shattering all around you and you can do nothing to stop it.

Only Christ can free us from the sin that imprisons us.

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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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We are talking this week about bondage to sin and freedom from sin through the Holy Spirit on Christian Holiness Daily.

Of course, I did not suffocate. While the cell was stifling, I had an adequate supply of oxygen. I try not to think about such things when I look back on life, and, at the same time, I don’t want to forget them.

That cell, and the year that I spent locked up after that day, represent to me a life in bondage to sin. There was no humanly way to break free from that cell, just like there was no humanly way to break free from the sins that placed me inside it.

Yet, that year, while locked up, I discovered incredible freedom. I surrendered my life to Christ, learned to pray, and determined to pray continuously. I learned to love God so much that temptation withered away, unable to grow in the bright light of the Son.

Only years later, while sick with cancer, I experienced very much the same thing. It is when we are at our weakest that we are strongest because it is then that Christ fills us with the power of His perfect love.

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:17 that the Lord is the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. If we ask Him to fill us with His Spirit, then we will be free from sin. Free indeed.

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Christian Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:9

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;

In what way are we to be peculiar? If you sell out to Jesus Christ, make Him Lord of your life, allow Him to fill you with His spirit and inhabit your very being, and make you holy, consecrated, and pure, you will be a peculiar person in this wicked world.

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 –

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial[b]? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will live with them

and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

and they will be my people.”

17 Therefore,

“Come out from them

and be separate,

says the Lord.

Touch no unclean thing,

and I will receive you.”

18 And,

“I will be a Father to you,

and you will be my sons and daughters,

says the Lord Almighty.”

Are you a peculiar person? Are you a child of God? Have you made Jesus Christ you Lord and asked Him to fill you with His Spirit?

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The Mission Field begins 2’ outside the church door.

Just as we compartmentalize our lives into the sacred and the secular, we have relegated missions to missionaries. Maybe we entertain one missionary a year. Maybe we talk about missions in our Sunday service twice a year. Maybe we have a WMS program three times a year. Some of us might actually read a mission book. But do you see the problem? We think of missions as a department, for people who are called to that duty. And, those of us who have a burden for missions, we may even spend our vacation on a work and witness trip. But we forget that the mission field begins two feet outside the church door.

The Mission of the Church is not just missions. Missions is only part of the mission of the Church.

We are the Messengers of Jesus Christ

Chris Wright, in his book, The Mission of God’s People, asks this question: What kind of person is your mail carrier? Is he a good man? Or is he a bad man? Does he go to church? Does he cheat on his wife? Does he rob his favorite magazines from the mail? Does he follow children through the park? You don’t know because it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters to you about your mail carrier is what should matter: does he or she deliver the mail safely, faithfully, and on time. He is simply a messenger and can be replaced easily by a mail server and two computers. The same cannot be said about you and me. We are the messenger who delivers the Good News of Jesus Christ. For us to be most effective, we must surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and allow Him to make us Holy and Pure.

How many people do you know that are pure and holy? How many Nazarenes do you know that are pure and holy? How many people do know in the Nazarene Church that even believe they can live a holy life? That believe in Entire Sanctification? That even believe in REPENTANCE?

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According to author Michael Munn in his biography, James Stewart: The Truth Behind The Legend, after the actor’s first western movie, many movie-watchers complained that the actor had broken movie tradition. The movie was not full of shootouts, renegade Indians, and larger than-life heroes. Stewart played a sheriff who vowed to never wear a gun, something previously unheard of in the land of Tom Mix and Hoot Gibson. The movie, Destry Rides Again (1939), paved the way for such classics as Shane (with a similar plot) and The Shootist, and such parodies as James Garner’s Support Your Local Sheriff.

Destry, may have been a role that Stewart relished, for both the character and Stewart stood up for right against seemingly insurmountable odds. In real life, Stewart’s foe was mobster Bugsy Siegel, who had helped transform Las Vegas from a sleepy western town into a gangsters paradise and then moved his operation to Hollywood. Stewart detested the mob and thought even less of Siegel. Several times the gangster and the movie star faced off – over a girl, over treatment of a mutual friend, or over general principles. Each time, Stewart stood up to the mob boss, and never showed fear. Friends Henry Fonda and Burgess Meredith urged him to stop making waves, afraid it would cost him his life, but Stewart never gave an inch to Siegel.

Eventually Siegel was gunned down by his own people and Stewart lived to a ripe old age. Stewart is quoted as saying that he believed Siegel respected him, even if he didn’t like him.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:12, Paul encourages Christians to be sanctified. One of the reasons for sanctification, he says, is

so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

The world may hate us. They may persecute us. They may make martyrs of us, but they should respect us.

Why should they respect us? Because we will stand strong – in all cases – in the power of God through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Because if Christ’s love shines through us, we even will represent all that is sacred, pure, and holy. We will stand apart from the world. We will be God’s children, and the world will know this because of our undying love for them. Yes, we will love even they who persecute us.

We will love them and not be afraid, for example do not fear the one who can take the life of the body. We fear the One who, after the body has died, has the power to throw the soul into hell. (cf. Luke 12:4-5).

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When Paul tells us that we “should mind your own business,” my reaction is to fume over his advice, say that he knows nothing of my circumstances, and blame others for not minding their own business first. If someone is in the wrong, I want to point it out. If someone makes a mistake, I wish to correct them. If something is out of my control, I want to gain control. If someone gossips, I want to slap them silent so I can repeat the gossip first. I am human… perhaps too human.

Here’s the rub: sanctified Christians don’t act that way.

Why?

When God fills us with His Holy Spirit, He changes the way we view the world. Before He fills us with His Spirit, we (the carnal Christian) look at the world and see everyone and everything as an enemy, even other Christians (especially those with whom we disagree politically or philosophically).

After God fills us with His Spirit, we (Christians whom God has sanctified) look within and realize that we were once enemies of God, and we pray that God’s will forgive and reconcile even those who oppose us.

We should mind our own business, and, instead of meddling, we should work with our hands. The best work that we can do with our hands is fold them in prayer.

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The Apostle Paul told the Timothy that elders of the Church should be paid, especially those who preach and teach. Indeed, close reading of that passage shows that Paul felt pastors should be paid double the normal salary. “Workmen,” he said, “are worthy to be hired.”

On the other hand, Paul valued his churches so much that it seems he never took payment. Instead, he earned his keep across the Mediterranean and Europe by working as a tent maker, a skill he had learned as a boy in Tarsus.

As we continue to look at 1 Thessalonians 4, we see that Paul links work – specifically working with one’s hands – to living a sanctified life. Work, in this passage, is also closely connected to living a quiet life.

The question is: why? Why does Paul link sanctification, which is an act of the Holy Spirit, to work, which is commonly considered an act of our own strength?

Here’s the thing, sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit that rids the believe of the carnal (sinful) nature and replaces it with the nature of Christ). In return, we are so full of the love of God that we want God to be in control of every aspect of our lives. We want Him to clean the muck out of even the darkest corners and replace it with the light of His love. As a result, we even give Him our work, our labor, our jobs.

Those of us who accept Jesus as our Savior but never make Him Lord of our lives… those of us who ask Him to save us but never let him have dominion over our hearts and minds… those of us who are saved, but never allow His Holy Spirit to fill us with His love, will find that we soon burn out, soon wear out, and soon return to our old habits and old ways.

By the way, I have not forgotten about the part of the verse that reads, “Mind your own business.” Well look at that, and the connection between work and peace later.

According to Apostle Paul in Thessalonians chapter 4, if we have been sanctified, then we will turn away from sexual immorality, love one another more and more, find peace and quiet in our lives, mind our own business, and earn our keep.

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I do, though, often ask to spend time with her. Though we work different hours, we manage to eat dinner together often, go to see a good movie occasionally or watch a TV show when we can. I love spending time with her. I want to be with her and I want her to be proud of me. Why? Because I know she loves me and also wants to be with me.

Isn’t that why we want to walk with Jesus? Don’t we want to be like Jesus because we love and admire Him? And, one reason we love and admire Him because He first loved us? Didn’t He demonstrate that love for us by rescuing us from sin and death through the sacrifice of His own life?

1 Thessalonians 4, Paul urges us to live in a manner that pleases God. Then he mentions specifics. Let’s read it together. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 (NKJV):

As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

Paul is writing to the Christian Church; he calls them brothers and sisters. He distinguishes their behavior from that of the pagans, and tells them that God expects them to be different. The pagans are sexually immoral, depraved, and are ruled by passion and lust. He encourages Christians to control their bodies and to be act with honor, to be holy.

It is God’s will that we be sanctified, Paul says. God called us to be holy, not impure.

So what does God mean when He tells us to avoid sexual immorality? The Greek word used to express sexual immorality is porneia, which is from where we drive the terms pornography and fornication. While the term pornography likely needs no definition, many may be unfamiliar with the word fornication. Fornication means two people who are not married to each other sharing sexual relations.

So, is that the definition of sanctification? Does it mean giving up certain sexual practices that are sinful? No. There is much more to it than that. Sexual immorality is what Paul wished to address, but it is simply one small part of living a holy life.

Is we love God, we will want to please Him, and turning away from sexual immorality is just one of many things that Paul mentions in this book.

That, though, is not the real point is this devotion. I am not here to create an updated list of thou shalt nots.

I am here to tell you that God loves you and doesn’t want to see you hurt, and sexual immorality leads to destruction.

Avoid destruction and let Him rid you of sexual perversion and lust and fill you instead with His love.

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“He’s only eleven years old,” Russell’s mother sobbed. She hid her face in her hands and cried.

Her husband squeezed her shoulder and said, “I’ll be back when I find him.” He tried to sound reassuring, but he didn’t believe that they would ever find him, not really.

Russell and his parents had been driving across the mountains when a blizzard struck the mountain pass. Dad had heard the forecast, but convinced himself that he could beat the weather. When they became stuck, they stayed with the car; that’s always best. After three days trapped in the car and no hope of being found soon, though, Dad decided to try to walk for help. A few days later, he returned with help.

He found his wife in the car where he left her, but his son had vanished. The boy had gotten out of the car to look for his dad, but never returned.

Mom had begged him to stay in the car and later frantically searched for him, but his tracks had been covered with fresh snow. He was nowhere to be found.

Now Dad joined a rescue team that would search the entire area. “I got to be honest with you,” said Captain Lourdes, in charge of the search party. The odds of finding your son alive are slim.”

“I have to try. I just can’t do nothing. He needs me.” Dad wept.

Lourdes nodded.

When they found him, Russell clung to an ice covered rock, perched on the side of the mountain. Hundreds of feet below him was a snow field that slanted into a deep mountain valley. How he made it through the past couple days and nights alive, no one knew.

“Daddy’s gotcha, Rusty.” Dad’s voice quivered as he watched the firemen hook his son to a secure line.

Once they had him off the side of the mountain and into their truck, Dad thanked Caitain Lourdes and turn embraced the boy. “I love you, Rusty.” The boy was too cold and too much in shock to speak.

“We’re only 14 miles up the mountain from the Ranger Station. It’s all downhill from here. There are lots of hills and curves and bumps in the road, but you’ll make it. The station is just across the river, but be careful,” said Lourdes, “crossing the river can be tricky, especially in the winter.” He tossed Rusty a book. “This book will answer all your questions. It’s a good book. You should read it every day. It will keep you safe. Once you cross the river, a chopper will pick you up and take you home.”

Rusty’s jaw dropped as the Captain pushed him out of the truck.

“I can’t wait until I catch that chopper someday,” said Dad as he climbed into the truck. “Don’t you worry, Rusty. Captain Lourdes and I will be waiting for you at the station. Now that you’re saved, you can follow the road with no problem.”

“Well, maybe a few problems,” said the captain.

“A few, agreed Dad. “But just read the book. You’ll know what to do.”

The men all piled into the truck and headed down the mountain.

Rusty, watched the truck drive away. Still in shock, still bitter cold, still starving, he pulled off his gloves and looked at the thin black book in his hand. “Gospel of John,” it read. Rusty read the first two chapters, stuck it in his pocket, and trudged down the road.

It began to snow again making it difficult to follow the path of the truck. Rusty never felt the little book fall from his pocket. Just after dark, he left the road for the shelter of some nearby trees. He wondered if he would ever make it to the Ranger Station.

“Found him,” Dad said to Mom when he returned to the station. “We put him on the right road. He’ll be home someday soon.”

“Oh, thank you,” Mom cried.

—–

Silly analogy, I know. Unfortunately, Rusty’s experience is very much the way that many Christians teach our walk with God: we wander far from home, Our Lord goes looking for us. We are saved. So far so good. But, here is where some Christian teaching goes wrong. Salvation doesn’t mean saying a prayer and then continuing on the same path you’ve been on. It doesn’t mean your are saved and then left to find your way through life alone. It doesn’t mean reading a few pages of the Bible and then magically conquering all of life’s challenges.

Salvation is the beginning of a journey home, hand in hand with God through the power of The Holy Spirit. The One Who rescues you, also guides you home. He is with us every step of the way. He will help us understand the guide book. He will help us discern between correct teaching and unsound teaching. He will teach us right from wrong. And He will speak to us when we need guidance or when we are afraid. He is with us when we feel all alone.

Aren’t you glad that when our Father saves us, He doesn’t leave us alone like Rusty?

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Reading the Bible alone, though, is not enough if you are seeking a deeper relationship with God. There needs to be equal parts Bible study and prayer. You see, that relationship – like any other – is a two way street.

Prayer, carrying on a conversation with God, allows you to get to know His heart. Prayer is also instrumental in allowing God to search your heart.

Learning God’s Word helps you understand the nature of God and His deepest desires for your life. The Bible is more than just a guideline for life. It is a standard by which to judge your own actions, thoughts, and dreams.

More than prayer and Bible study there is an even deeper practice: Christian meditation. Read a passage from the Bible every morning (use the same passage for multiple days if you wish), and every second that you spend idle – between tasks at work, while driving, while going to sleep, while taking a walk, or whenever you have a few seconds or a few minutes down time – ponder that passage or verse. If you cannot memorize verses, or even commit it to short-term memory, then write it down or put it in your phone, or text it to yourself. Read it, reread it, and reread it again. Pray on it, and remember: God is with you. There is no leaving Him behind.

Pray, read the Bible, mediate, and remember God is with you always. Take a walk with God. Hang on to His hand. Only He can keep you from falling.

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. – Jude 24-25 NIV

 

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So, when I first read this passage in 1 Peter (at about the age of 13), I thought I had figured out my place in this world:

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own peculiar* people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. – 1 Peter 2:9-10 NKJV *the word peculiar is used in the KJV

I was convinced that the Gospel was for losers, and that this loser was made for spreading the Gospel.

I was, however, mistaken about the meaning of these verses. While God does choose messengers and workers based on qualities that may not be evident to others, this paragraph from 1 Peter does not address that issue.

In context, Peter tells us that the holiness of Christ trips up most people, those who can neither fathom or duplicate the example that Christ sets. We, though, are not chosen because we are peculiar. We, Christians, are to be peculiar because they are chosen.

What makes us peculiar?

We are peculiar because we are chosen. That is especially true of our generation, Early 21st Century Christians. No generation has ever had so easy and ready access to God’s Word and study material (we can never claim we don’t know God because His Word was not available).

We are to be a royal priesthood, witnessing to the lost, interceding for our nation, and living as an example to one and all.

We are peculiar in that He has set us aside to be holy vessels filed with His love… because He calls us His own. We are God’s children, His people, nomenclature that once applied only to the Jews.

Because He has chosen us – me and you – we should surrender all that we are and all that we have to Him in love.

Because He has chosen us…

– before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. – Ephesians 1:4-6 NKJV

Now we can have…

redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace – Ephesians 1:7 NKJV

In return – out of love for Christ -we should…

abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:11-12 NKJV

No one has ever accused me of being holy, or perfect, because I am not. Sanctification is a work of the Holy Spirit. Discipleship – living like Christ – is something we do because our heart is filled with the love of Christ.

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In the Bible water is often synonymous with chaos, sin, or evil. In the beginning, the earth was formless, void, and full of darkness… Chaotic.

When the nation of Israel escapes Egypt, God not only defeats Pharaoh, he defeats the waters. For Christians, the next generation crossing of the Jordan symbolizes the passing of life and entering life eternal.

Baptism took on new meaning for us with the resurrection of Christ. It came to symbolize our death and burial with He who saves us and our subsequent resurrection.

In the psalms, water represents our enemies, physical or spiritual. In the Psalm 69, the enemy is represented as deep waters, mire or muck, a raging flood, and an abyss. David has come to an end of himself. He is helpless, powerless, outnumbered, accused, and (vs. 19) guilty.

We too must come to the end of ourselves before God may act in His fullness. Paul says it best in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Do you feel like you are drowning, like you are ready to die? Give it up. Surrender to Christ, and He will make you alive. For when you are weak, He will be strong for you.

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While missteps and straying from the path may happen. Christ warns that the entire journey will be hazardous.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of following Christ is that He tells us to deny ourselves, and take up our crosses and follow Him.

We cannot imagine the gut-wrenching terror of this statement. Even if we put it into a modern context, we cannot fully fathom it.

To even attempt to follow and appreciate this statement, we must stop thinking about the cross as a gold emblem to be worn around our necks or wrists. We cannot think of it as two 4×4 posts fit together to easily hoist on the shoulder. We must think of the cross as first-century readers thought of it.

So here is just a little context. Public executions were common in the Roman empire, nearly a daily event. Many crimes warranted execution by crucifixion, including theft, rape, and murder. Crosses were little higher than eye-level, so the one dying could easily hear and see those who mocked him, which often included close relatives and associates who betrayed the convicted for fear of being the next condemned.

A sign attached to the top of the cross announced the name of the condemned and his crime. The cross was low enough that the sign could be easily read.

The Roman’s were expert executioners who knew exactly how to beat the condemned to within an inch of his life (to beat the condemned to death when he had been sentenced to die by crucifixion was itself a crime). The executioner could tell you at exactly what time they expected the condemned to die and they knew how to prolong or hasten the death accordingly.

It was uncommon but not unheard of to find a road lined with crosses of the condemned. Jesus was, Himself, crucified near a road, “outside the gate.”

The Greeks used crucifixion before Rome was an empire. When Alexander seized Tyre, to the north of Israel, in 332 BC, he crucified 2000 people.

Crucifixion, to people conquered by Caesar, was the means by which Rome instilled fear and maintained control.

For Jesus to tell those who would follow Him to “take up their cross,” was to strike fear in their heart.

I can think of two modern parallels, and both fall short in striking fear. To compare the cross to the electric chair fails because the electric chair is not used to intimidate (it is carried out behind closed doors) so much as the cross was. To compare beheading to crucifixion fails because it too is uncommon, although that may be changing.

Why did Jesus tell us this? It makes for a lousy recruitment poster. What was He thinking? It speaks to easy-believism. Is it enough for us to simply say a prayer like reading a magic spell and then consider ourselves “saved?” Even if we exhibit no remorse for our sinful life? Even if we do not repent? Is it enough to simply say a prayer?

Taking up or cross is not a burden we must bear. It is not living with human frailty. It is following Jesus no matter where the path leads, even if it leads to job loss because we read our Bible on lunch break. Even if we are sued for refusing to bake a cake. Even if we are jailed for what we peach. Even if we lose friends because we don’t hang like they do. Even if we are targeted by terrorists for being Christian. We must follow in His footprints.

It means denying our human impulse for fun, thrill, and pleasure, and praying for God to replace it with His love. It is denying yourself – dying to self – daily.

We must follow Him.

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Worf replies with a scowl, “What do you mean little?”

——

The word “by” is a tough, little word. It is powerful. When unpacked, it is found to mean:

• Identifying the agent performing an action.
• The means by which something is achieved.
• To go past or along.

This word, by, is perhaps the crux of today’s devotional, which is built around Galatians 5:16. If we don’t properly understand its meaning, we miss the point entirely.

Let’s take a look at the verse from the ESV:

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

I have read that verse many times and, until recently, never gave it proper consideration.

My first thoughts are of a walk in a dark forest and being led by a beam of sunlight filtered through the canopy. That is not right, for that indicates that while I am walking, that light guides me. While that may be a nice thought, it is not, in this case, correct. It is more than guidance.

To understand the word by, we must take a look at the Greek word that is translated in to the English word. The word by is added to the translation to account for a variant of the word pneuma. That word is Greek for spirit, which -in this verse – means Spirit of God.

The word as found in this verse is pneumati, the ending indicates it is connected to another object or person; here the Spirit is connected to the one walking. The question is, how is the Spirit connected to the walker.

By example, we see the same word used in a few different ways:

Matthew 5:3 “poor in spirit…”

Mark 1:8 “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit…”

Ephesians 1:13 “sealed by the Spirit.”

Throughout the New Testament, we see that the first two English variations of the word, by, apply most often: the acting agent or the means by which action is taken. It is also fair to say that the word can also mean, “along side” or “together with.”

So let’s take a look at the Galatians 5:16 again with a better understanding of those definitions:

But I say, the Spirit is walking for you and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

But I say, allow the Spirit to power your walk, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

But I say, walk alongside the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

But I say, walk together with the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Any one of these alternative definitions give us a more complete understanding of holiness. It may only be achieved through the might of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

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I’ll be working my way back to you, babe, with a burning love inside

Yeah, I’m working my way back to you, babe, and the happiness that died

I let it get away

That old hit (written by Denny Randall and Sandy Linzer) could easily be made into a Christian song, but it would be so wrong. In the song, released by the Spinners in late 1979, the story teller boasts to his love that, even though he has cheated and emotionally abused her, he begs her forgiveness and will be “working my way back to you.”

Too often, Christians feel the same way. We promise God that we love Him and will never go back to our habitual sins (this that we love so much). Then, when we fall into the same old trap and sin again, we set out to work our way back into His favor.

The thing is, that doesn’t work for God. When Christ died for us, His sacrifice was for all our sin, past or future. Neither salvation nor sanctification is based on our merit. We can earn neither.

Then how does one become sanctified? Through faith, just like salvation. Read Hebrews 10:10:

And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

We have been sanctified. Notice that the word “sanctified” is passive. We are not sanctifying ourselves; rather, God has sanctified us.

Because we are human, stuck in bodies, with imperfect minds, and fragile emotions, we are no more able to live a holy life than we are able to save ourselves from hell.

Why, then, so most Christians get hung up on how we live? Because we often confuse sanctification and holiness with discipleship. Nothing we do will get us into heaven. Nothing we do will make God love us more.

Likewise, so long as we are believers in Jesus Christ, nothing we do will lose is our spot in heaven, and nothing we do will cause God to live is less.

This may sound radical to many in A holiness church, but it is true. There is a place for holy living and Good sites call us to separate ourselves from the world, but we are unable to do either.

We cannot live a holy life. We can only have faith that Christ can live His life through me. Only He can sanctify me and only He can live a holy life through me.

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

 

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“But, three or four people have died trying,” said Bobby. His brother nodded in agreement.

“If no one has ever been able to reach it, then how do you know it’s there?” I asked.

“It just is. We know,” they said.

We drove a couple hours south of town before turning off into the wilds of the Ozark Mountains. Squeezed between two hillsides, the opening was barely wide enough to slither through on my belly. Inside, though, one could sit up. In a lower cavern, I was able to stand up. The sound of distant rushing waters could be heard from below. We crawled through an even deeper passage into a large cavern. The room was cold and damp. At the far end, an underground river rushed beneath a ten-foot drop. A rope that had been tied from the top led into the river and disappeared beneath the black water.

“There it is,” said Mike, stripping down to his shorts. He plunged in, flashlight in hand.

I was frightened. The two other boys followed. I was the last one to dive in. I was afraid of being pulled under by the current and sucked into the rocks where the river again disappeared. I was more afraid, though, of being called chicken. Eventually, I, too, dove in. When I hit the water, my flashlight went out.

The boys, dived underwater. I was left in the dark. They followed the rope underwater and beneath a fallen stalactite. They came up just out of sight on the right of me. I could see the glow of their lights but, around a corner. I was left in the dark. They taunted me, and told me to follow them, but I had no idea how to get there, and no light to guide me. I could make out where they were, but just barely.

At last, I could take no more of their name-calling and dove under the water into icy darkness. I followed the curve of the slimy stalactite, eventually finding the rope, and came up some twenty feet away beyond a large rock. The little mud beach on which they sat was covered with old beer cans and the remains of several campfires. We were not the first ones to make this journey, as we had supposed. This had been a party spot for years.

I have often looked back at that day, and the many summer days after it that the four of us visited that cave with girls whom we wished to impress, and wondered why it is so easy to follow the taunts of peer pressure and so hard to follow the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. Why is it so easy to fulfill the desires of the body, and so hard to even hear the leading of the Spirit? Why is it so important to us to please the ego, while we neglect pleasing God?

That summer was all about answering the call of the cave. I learned the hard way that it is not always best to give into peer pressure. Several weeks and several visits later, some of us went back to the cave with girlfriends. The girl I was with lost hold of the rope and was swept away into the rocks before she was able to come up for air. She had a gash on her forehead and was barely able to make the swim out of the water and climb up the rope and out of the cave. Nearly an hour later, when we finally exited the cave, she was covered with blood from her head. The cut took several stitches. It was all her dad could do to keep from pummeling me. I deserved it and would have felt better had he done it.

God eventually took me to the place where I begged Him to fill me with His Holy Spirit and keep me from such temptations, but it took many more near-tragedies and many more years before I heeded His call. The cave has since been block off. The pile of rocks in front of it remind me that God no longer lets me go down to such depths. Instead, He protects me; by filling me with His Spirit, He has given me the strength to… well to live; for what I called living before, was really no life at all.

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“Awww… Why do I have to take a bath?” Nancy complained as her dad called her into the house. “Yeah,” agreed her little brother, Billy. “We already washed!”

Their dad tried his best to suppress his grin, but didn’t quite succeed. Mother, on the other hand, was not amused in the least. She gently swatted at Nancy’s bottom as she came in the house. “Take a bath, now, young lady.” Turning to Billy with folded arms, she said, “and you, too, young man.” The children avoided Mom’s eyes and marched into the bathroom.

Billy, four, just could not understand why he needed a bath, for – after all – they had been playing in the rain. The rain is clean, isn’t it? When he climbed up on a step and looked in the mirror, he saw was a clean face and a bright smile. He licked his finger and smoothed his curly black hair. “But, Mom!” he called. “I don’t need a bath!”

“You did it now,” said Nancy, who had already crawled into the waiting bubble bath, and was dutifully scrubbing away mud and grime.

“Get in the tub,” Mom said, grabbing Billy by the ear with just a little less force than a bulldozer. She led him to the tub and made him crawl in. “WASH,” she commanded. She stormed out of the room.

“Now look, you made her angry at us,” said Nancy.

“Did not.”

“Did, too.”‘

“It’s your fault. If you hadn’t already started taking a bath…”

“It’s not my fault,” insisted Nancy.

Dad came in and sat down by the tub. Wash cloth in hand, he checked behind their ears, and rewashed their necks. “Now,” he said. “Good as new. Now, get dressed for bed.”

Billy climbed up to the mirror again. “I don’t look any different than before.”

“You still look like a wild pig,” said Nancy, laughing at her little brother.

“You don’t think the bath did any good?” Dad asked Billy.

“Nope,” replied the boy. “I had already washed outside in the puddles.”

Dad nodded at the slow-draining tub. “Then where did all this dirt come from?”

Billy and Nancy peered into the tub of dirty water. Their jaws dropped.

“It’s all from her, Dad. I was already clean,” said Billy.

Sometimes, even when we think we are clean, our Father knows better.

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There comes a time in every Christian’s life when God allows us to reap what we’ve sown. Specifically, immature Christians often see the wages of sin, especially sin from which we have not repented. I have.

I found myself flat on my back, having sunk lower than I could have ever imagined. I had nowhere else to turn… No one else to turn to, but to God.

Actually, that has happened a few times in my life. Call me a slow learner. Each low, after that first one, was more of a plateau. As a result, each crisis led to an ever closer relationship with God.

That’s our topic today: the life crisis that leads to surrender.

While the experiences that have led me to a deeper walk with Christ are certainly unique, the crisis experience itself is not. Most people endure at least two such experiences in their spiritual journey.

The first such crisis is the one through which God worked to lead us to salvation. Since I can rightfully assume that most of my readers and listeners are Christian, I won’t expound upon it.

The second crisis is the one that God uses to sanctify us. It is at that point that He fills us with His Holy spirit. It is that point that we realize that God is cleaning house, revealing to us or wicked hearts and asking us to repent of sins big and small. He sweeps those sins out the door and fills us with more of His love.

The great holiness preacher of the early 20th century, Buddy Robinson, described sanctification as a boiling pot in which sin rises to the top, and is skimmed away by God. At one point, he thought that if God didn’t turn down the fire, there would be nothing left to skim.

It is not a fair analogy to compare the journey of an Old Testament prophet to a Christian journey, but the parallel is so close, that I cannot resist it.

We read 1 Kings 19 where Elijah is exhausted. He’s flat on his back and tells God that he’s ready to die. He hit bottom. Here’s the lesson:

It wasn’t until Elijah told God that he was ready to die that God gave him the strength to live.

There is the parallel. Take a look at Ephesians 2. I urge you to read the entire chapter. Even will focus on verses 4 and 5 from the NIV.

…because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved.

This – described in Ephesians 2 – is the crisis experience that leads to salvation.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 ESV – For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;

I encourage you to read Roman’s chapters 6-8. This describes the crisis experience and a before and after picture of sanctification. Here are some key verses: Romans 6:11-14 NIV

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

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What is your favorite sin? Come on. I know your have one. All but the most mature Christians always have a favorite sin, one that is always in the back of our minds, waiting until we are physically tired, spiritually weak, or in emotional turmoil to pounce and take control of our lives.

For many, it is uncontrollable anger or rage. For others it is sexual perversion or pornography. For some it is overeating. For some it is out-of-control spending. For someone else, it may be abusing drugs or alcohol. For a few it may be a combination of some of these or all of these things.

Truth be told Christians still struggle with sin – correction: most Christians still struggle with sin. But, why? Christ came to rescue us from sin and death, not just death! Why, then do we struggle? Is it because we have never been taught that Christ conquers sin? Is it because we have never heard of anyone overcoming sin?

We cannot fathom eternal life. Yet, we accept God at His word that we will live in His presence eternally. If we can believe that, then why can we not believe that He will presently free us from sin?

Holiness is perhaps the most difficult concept for a Christian to comprehend. It is a paradox. On the surface it is at once an

While we will NEVER be perfect while in this life, God will help us to overcome sin and fill us with His perfect love.

act of faith and an act of discipline. Our sins flee from the presence of God never to return, but then God reveals to us sins that are rooted even deeper in our lives and gives us the power to overcome even those. And He does this again and again. Holiness is not a goal to be reached only upon death, rather it is a journey that begins on the day of salvation and ends only at the foot of His throne.

Holiness is an act of mutual love. God loves us even in our sin, and he beckons us to come to Him. He loves us too much to let us continue wallowing in the filth of our sins. He demonstrates to us that we must fully abandon or sins.

Once we acknowledge those sins and ask Christ to rid us of them, then He will empower us with the power and love of His Holy Spirit, so that we may overcome those sins. As a result, we love Him too much to continue in sin. That is sanctification. It is at once an act of surrender: we surrender our life to God and lay down our sins on the altar of the cross. And it is an act of the Holy Spirit: He fills us with His love and gives us the power to walk away from those sins, never to return.

And it is a journey of discipline, for God’s Spirit moves into our lives. Daily we surrender our will to Him and ask that His love continue to empower us; we die daily.

We have God’s promise, though: He that began the good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. He will never give up on you. So never give up on Him.

If the struggle you’re facing

Source

I fought back but to no avail. If I ran into the backyard, Jerry pelted me in the head. If I ran into the front yard, David bombarded me, but much gentler. Eventually, I ran inside.

Childhood memories like these are precious, but I am reminded of the Bible story of the woman caught in adultery. When the Pharisees brought her to Jesus, they asked Him to sentence her to death by stoning. This incident is found in the 8th chapter of the gospel of John if you want to read it. The only thing I can think right now is how much those rocks would have hurt, given how much the snowballs hurt.

If you are familiar with this incident in the life of Jesus, then you know that Jesus rescued the woman by challenging the Pharisees. “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

This week here at Christian Holiness Daily, we begin studying holiness and sanctification, two sides of the same coin, both of which are widely misunderstood.

Holiness is loving God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit that enables believers to love God in such a manner. One result of loving God so fervently is that we learn to love other people in the same way that we love God, even our enemies. We’ll discuss that as well.

One of the misconceptions about holiness is the belief that those who are sanctified are suddenly sinless, or perfect, or believe that they are miraculously without sin. This is not true. I know of no true Christian who, if challenged by Jesus to cast the first stone, would have thrown the rock. I wouldn’t have. Living the life of holiness doesn’t mean you are perfect. It means that God has filled you so full of His love that there is no room for the love of sin.

We’ll talk more about the perfect love of Christ as we travel together on this journey. For now, let’s just say that I wish I had had the wisdom of Jesus during that late winter snowball fight. Maybe I wouldn’t have gotten beaned upside the head.

Until next time, put down those rocks. None of us are without sin.

Source

Look to the Lord and His strength. Seek His face always.

 – 1 Chronicles 16:11

Previous Memory Verses

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. –

One Minute Bible

Acts 10:9-23,34-35 NKJV

The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour.  Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth.  In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air.  And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”

And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.”  This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.

Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate.  And they called and asked whether Simon, whose surname was Peter, was lodging there.

While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you.  Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.”

Then Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius, and said, “Yes, I am he whom you seek. For what reason have you come?”

And they said, “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you.”  Then he invited them in and lodged them.

On the next day Peter went away with them, and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him…

Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.  But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.

One Minute Prayer

Father, teach us that you are no respecter of persons, but that whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 82:3-4 NKJV

Defend the poor and fatherless;

Do justice to the afflicted and needy.

Deliver the poor and needy;

Free them from the hand of the wicked.

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 14:31 ESV

Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker,

but he who is generous to the needy honors him.

One Minute Devotion

I grew frustrated with a mission, where I volunteered. The mission was sponsored by a large, rich church, one of the largest. It reached many poor and homeless. It fed them, provided childcare, and church services.

I became aggravated when a lady in the sponsoring church said that she was glad “those people” had a church of their own, because they smelled! I never volunteered again.

The fact is, attitudes like that are unavoidable. They are natural. Had I talked to the homeless at the mission, I would have found similar opinions of parishioners in their sponsoring church.

I was wrong to judge the folks in the sponsoring church. Christ calls us to lend a hand to the poor and to share the Good News with them. We are not told how to accomplish this mission. We are called to do it.

I love to tell the story of unseen things above, of Jesus…

Source

One Minute Memory Verse 

Look to the Lord and His strength. Seek His face always.

 – 1 Chronicles 16:11

Previous Memory Verses

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. –

One Minute Bible

John 4:13-26 NKJV

Jesus answered and said to [the Samaritan Woman], “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”

The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”

Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”

The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”

Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

One Minute Prayer

Father, help us to reach out to the outcasts. Remind us that you died for sinners, the homeless, the poor, prisoners, and the sick.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 63:1-5

O God, You are my God;

Early will I seek You;

My soul thirsts for You;

My flesh longs for You

In a dry and thirsty land

Where there is no water.

So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,

To see Your power and Your glory.

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,

My lips shall praise You.

Thus I will bless You while I live;

I will lift up my hands in Your name.

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,

And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 25:25

Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country..

One Minute Devotion

Comedian Mark Lowry understands this: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” (Mt. 9:12). He jokes that we should “Throw the doors open and let them in” –  the outsiders. He has a point.

In the Mark. 22:1-14 The king commands, “Go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.” Christ says it is our job to beat the bushes and bring them to the marriage feast of the Lamb.

Jesus has a table spread Where the saints of God are fed, He invites His chosen people, “Come and dine”

Source

One Minute Memory Verse 

Look to the Lord and His strength. Seek His face always.

 – 1 Chronicles 16:11

Previous Memory Verses

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. –

One Minute Bible

Acts 2:37-47 NASB

Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 116:1-2 NASB

I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my supplications.

Because He has inclined His ear to me,

Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 17:22

A joyful heart is good medicine,

But a broken spirit dries up the bones.

One Minute Devotion

For most of the last 20 years, my motto has been, Live Life Desperately. Let me explain:

The day after Thanksgiving in 1997, I stood in my office watching a terrific rain when a firetruck flew by, sirens blaring. Seconds later, an ambulance and several police cars followed. I remember saying a prayer for the situation, whatever it was. My boss shortly took me to his car. “Your wife has been in an accident,” he said as we drove the same way as the firetruck.

Kathy had been on her way to work when an oncoming car lost control and slid sideways into her car. She wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

I began to pray desperately. I prayed non-stop. For days, I spent my every waking moment begging God for her life.

Seven surgeries and a pacemaker later, she was discharged to rehab. A year after that, she was again walking. Twenty years later, she is in pain daily, but she is alive and walking.

It took years for our family to recover. We eventually did. It took as many years to realize that, during the desperate and sad times that followed, I was drawn closer to Christ than I had ever been before. I have since practiced praying continuously. When I forget, I simply remember that there was a time that I didn’t have to be reminded to pray. I prayed because I was desperate.

Oh, fragile man that I am, though my eyes may be blinded to the evil that surrounds me, am I not always desperate for God’s guidance? Live Life Desperately!

This is my daily bread

this is my daily bread

your very word spoken to me

And I’m, I’m desperate for you

And I’m, I’m lost without you…

Source

One Minute Memory Verse 

Look to the Lord and His strength. Seek His face always.

 – 1 Chronicles 16:11

Previous Memory Verses

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. –

One Minute Bible

2 Samuel 12:1-7 NKJV

Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”

Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!

One Minute Prayer

Father, teach us the importance of confessing our sins.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 51 NKJV

Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,

Blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.

Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight—That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice.

Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.

Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.

For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;

You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,

A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise. Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 28:13 NIV

He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

One Minute Devotion

A 12-step program Kathy and I led was full of love. We learned to love God and one another. We supported one another, and confessed our sins and shortcomings to one another. That little group that met on Tuesday nights became a true church. Confession was key, both to growing closer to Christ and growing closer to one another.

Source

One Minute Memory Verse 

Look to the Lord and His strength. Seek His face always.

 – 1 Chronicles 16:11

Previous Memory Verses

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. –

One Minute Bible

Luke 4:1-13 NKJV

​            Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you,’

and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

One Minute Prayer

Father, teach us to absolutely rely on You, that we will resist when temptation.

One Minute Praise

Isaiah 12:1-2 ESV

You will say in that day:

“I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me,

Your anger turned away,

that you might comfort me.

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid;

For the Lord God is my strength and my song, And he has become my salvation.”

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 22:17-19 NIV

Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge,

For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.

That your trust may be in the Lord, I have made them known to you today, even to you.

One Minute Devotion

I drove fifty miles daily from home to work, to school and back. I gave God that journey daily. He, in turn, made the drive joyous.

One day, though, traffic came to a standstill. I spied a fast-moving 18-wheeler in my mirror. I had no doubt that it would plow right into me.

Oddly, I didn’t panic. I told Christ that my life was in His hands. I was resigned to die if that is what God wanted. I said a prayer for Kathy and our kids. I intended to lie across the seat, but before I could move, the semi ran up over my trunk and through the rear window, up against my seat

When I read Luke 4, I realize that Christ was fully man and fully God. He was able to resist temptation because of His relationship with His Father. Abraham in Genesis 22 had faith to offer up his son as a burnt offering because of his long relationship with God.

Rarely does a man exhibit a solitary act of great faith. Faith comes from daily reliance on God in the small things. Faith is the result of intimately knowing God’s heart, trusting Him Whom we know, and obeying what He has taught us. Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Source

Look to the Lord and His strength. Seek His face always.

 – 1 Chronicles 16:11

Previous Memory Verses

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. –

One Minute Bible

Acts 16:16-29 NIV

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

One Minute Prayer

Father, we pray for faith in all circumstances. Lord, we believe; help us in our disbelief.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 37:5-6 NIV

Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,

your vindication like the noonday sun.

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 28:26 NIV

Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.

One Minute Devotion

Lesson for parents: never give a BB gun to kids at Christmas if the weather is too nasty to use it outdoors. That was the case when I was seven. My brother David got a new Daisy BB Gun for Christmas, and I was the only indoor target at which to aim. What’s worse, is that I was a willing target. The gun was unloaded. He removed all the BBs and shot it towards the floor a few times. Sure enough, the gun was empty.

So, I posed on the far side of the bedroom like a duck in a shooting gallery. On the third shot, a BB that had been stuck in the barrel dislodged and shattered my glasses into my left eye. After a trip to the ER and several follow-up visits, they at last removed from my eye all the glass.

I trusted David. I still would. He would never hurt me. Likewise, I have faith in God, for I am confident that whatever circumstances, blessings or suffering, it will be for the furtherance of His Kingdom, or to glorify His name, or to perfect my love.

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful May the fire of our devotion light their way. May the footprints that we leave…

Source

One Minute Memory Verse 

Look to the Lord and His strength. Seek His face always.

 – 1 Chronicles 16:11

Previous Memory Verses

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. –

One Minute Bible

Jeremiah 36:31-36 NKJV

Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—  not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord.  But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Thus says the Lord,

Who gives the sun for a light by day,

The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,

Who disturbs the sea,

And its waves roar

(The Lord of hosts is His name):

If those ordinances depart

From before Me, says the Lord,

Then the seed of Israel shall also cease

From being a nation before Me forever.”

One Minute Prayer

Father, give us the strength to remember the Covenant you’ve written in our hearts. Forgive us the times when we have ignored it. Remember our sins no more.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 13:5-6 NKJV

But I have trusted in Your mercy;

My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,

Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 2:1,2,5 NKJV

My son, if you receive my words

and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; then you will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God.

One Minute Devotion

When I was four years old, I could see the mountains from our back yard in California. I was convinced that, if I tried, I could touch them when I swung high on my swing set. I never touched the mountains, of course.

Many people feel the same way about Christian holiness. Like the mountains a few miles away from the home of my childhood, holiness can be seen. One can swing toward it. One can reach for it. But one can never grasp it. We find ourselves chained in place, and end up swinging back from the mountaintop in endless cycles of gain and loss.

This is a sad misconception of Christian holiness. Holiness is the heart of the relationship between a Christian and the Lord. It is God’s will for us that we be sanctified (1 Thess 4:3). God commands us to be holy (1 Peter 1:13-16). He would not ask us to be holy if it were not possible.

Salvation writes the New Covenant on our hearts. Absolute surrender to God allows Him to work the grace of Sanctification in our hearts and mind, and imbues us with the power to live holy (as He has commanded).

I eventually tried to jump off the swing, in effort to fling myself to the mountain. I landed with a thud just a few feet away, scraping my knees and hands.

If one wants to grasp holiness, then one must let go of the chains that tether us, and trust Jesus. For only one who flings himself into the arms of God will know His holiness. Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word…

Source

One Minute Memory Verse 

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Last week’s memory verse:

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

One Minute Bible

Matthew 26:1-16 KJV

And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, Ye know that after two days is the feast of the Passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.   Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.   But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.

Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.   But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?   For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.   When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.   For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.   For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.   Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.   And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

One Minute Prayer

Father, teach us the lessons of this passage: to lavish you worship without consideration of cost, for you have sent Jesus to us just as you did to Simon the Leper, to sup with us in spite of our frailties.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 145:14-19 KJV

The Lord upholdeth all that fall,

and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.

The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.

Thou openest thine hand,

and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 3:9 NKJV

Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine

One Minute Devotion

Joe looked like he could take care of himself, but when life choices put him in prison for a year, he was scared to death. He had no doubt that he must return to God of his youth. He prayed desperately for God to intervene.

In little ways, God showed Joe that He heard his prayers. Joe’s counselor and case manager were Christians, as were some of the guard. He was put in a cell block where he met other Christians with whom he could pray. He found caring chaplains who cared about the condition of his heart. Joe heard God’s voice in nearly every step of the year-long journey.

Joe attended every chapel service offered. On Sundays, he sat in both the Protestant and Catholic services. On Mondays, he went to a Gideon meeting. Tuesdays, he attended a “holy-roller” service. Wednesdays, a simple Bible Study. Thursdays, a singspiration. Joe learned to pray without ceasing, and grew nearer to God than he thought possible. He went to prison a lost sheep, and got out a lamb recognizing his master’s voice. There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God…

Source

One Minute Memory Verse 

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Last week’s memory verse:

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

One Minute Bible

– Matthew 6:1-15

“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.  In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

One Minute Prayer

Father, it is human nature to put ourselves, our needs, our wants, our selfishness, in the center of prayer. Father, give us strength to set our selfishness aside while we pray.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 27:7-11

Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”

Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper.

Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 9:6

Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

One Minute Devotion

I was sick. I had not seen a doctor, and my cancer diagnosis was still in my future, but I knew was sick. That was not all. Because of recent actions, my family had lost all faith in me. All this was going though my mind as I stood in line to be prayed for by an evangelist.

The all black choir swayed to the music of an electronic organ, guitars, and sax. The line of seekers snaked around pews and into the foyer. Everyone wanted prayer. The pastor dabbed his fingers with oil, said a prayer, and sent seekers on their way. 10 seconds each; that’s all it took.

He looked me in the eye and smiled. He didn’t know me, but his heart did. “I pray for the health of my family: physically, psychologically, emotionally, and financially,” I said aloud. It was all I knew to pray. If you only had time for one short, desperate prayer, what would it be? That is why we learn The Lord’s Prayer.

Sweet hour of prayer. Sweet hour of prayer that calls me from a world of care…

Source

One Minute Memory Verse: – Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Last week’s memory verse:

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

One Minute Bible

John 3:1-21

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”  Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”  Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?  Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

One Minute Prayer

Father, search my heart daily.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 51:10-13

Create in me a clean heart, O God;

and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence;

and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;

and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 4:23

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

One Minute Devotion

Dr. Christiaan Barnard, the doctor who performed the first heart transplant was threatened by with charges of murder. As you likely know, the new heart must come from a living person; it must be beating when removed from the donor body.

The donor, of course, was brain dead; prosecutors never carried out their threats. The sad fact is that to transplant a heart, the donor must die, and the recipient, must also undergo a type of death. He or she is put on life support while the old heart is stopped and removed, and the new heart is put in.

There can be no rebirth – no new heart – without death. To be born anew in the image of Christ, we must be willing to die. Christ was willing. He laid down His life that we may receive His heart. Change my heart O God…

Source

One Minute Memory Verse: – Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Last week’s memory verse:

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 

One Minute Bible

Matthew 25:34-46 NIV

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.    All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.    He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink

When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?   When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

One Minute Prayer

Father, teach us to love others as you love them.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 37:23-28 NIV

The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.

They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing.

Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever.

For the Lord loves the just

and will not forsake his faithful ones.

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 31:8-9 ESV

Open your mouth for the mute,

for the rights of all who are destitute.

Open your mouth, judge righteously,

defend the rights of the poor and needy.

One Minute Devotion

I was an Adult Student at Mid America Nazarene College, carrying a full load, working two jobs, and raising three children. It was Christmas, and Kathy and I had no idea how we would buy presents for our kids. One thing we did have, however, was food.

We loaded all three kids in the car and delivered bags of groceries to a fellow adult student. He and his wife and kids had no more than we did.

We quietly set the bags of food in front of their door, knocked, and ran away. We felt good; we had helped. When we got home, we thanked God for His goodness. The next day, my adviser called me into his office and gave me boxes of toys for our kids. God is good… All the time.

Source

One Minute Memory Verse: – Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Last week’s memory verse:

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 

One Minute Bible

2 Samuel 24:15-25 ESV

So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men.  And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.  Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”

And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, raise an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

So David went up at Gad’s word, as the Lord commanded.  And when Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. And Araunah went out and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground.  And Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be averted from the people.”

Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.  All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.”  But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.”

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.  And David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.

One Minute Prayer

Father, give us a heart at peace with you.

One Minute Praise

– Psalm 40:5-8

Many, Lord my God,

are the wonders you have done,

the things you planned for us.

None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—

but my ears you have opened—

burnt offerings and sin offering you did not require.

Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—

it is written about me in the scroll.

I desire to do your will, my God;

your law is within my heart.”

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 14:29-30 NIV

Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

One Minute Devotion

Here is a great story I heard once: I took a friend home when his truck broke down. He had had an awful day. Not only was his truck broken down, but he had broken an expensive power tool, and he had broken his toe. He was full of anxiety.

On the way into the house, he paused under an oak, reached out and touched the tips of a low-hanging branch.

“That’s my Trouble Tree,” he said when I asked. “I don’t take troubles home with me. I leave them at the cross, My Trouble Tree is a symbol of the cross of Christ. Funny thing is, when I go out the next morning, those troubles are not near as big as they were the night before.”

Source

One Minute Memory Verse: – Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Last week’s memory verse:

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

One Minute Bible

Acts 12:1-16 CEB

About that time King Herod began to harass some who belonged to the church. He had James, John’s brother, killed with a sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he arrested Peter as well. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. He put Peter in prison, handing him over to four squads of soldiers, sixteen in all, who guarded him. He planned to charge him publicly after the Passover. While Peter was held in prison, the church offered earnest prayer to God for him.

The night before Herod was going to bring Peter’s case forward, Peter was asleep between two soldiers and bound with two chains, with soldiers guarding the prison entrance. Suddenly an angel from the Lord appeared and a light shone in the prison cell. After nudging Peter on his side to awaken him, the angel raised him up and said, “Quick! Get up!” The chains fell from his wrists. The angel continued, “Get dressed. Put on your sandals.” Peter did as he was told. The angel said, “Put on your coat and follow me.”

Following the angel, Peter left the prison. However, he didn’t realize the angel had actually done all this. He thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself. After leaving the prison, they proceeded the length of one street, when abruptly the angel was gone.

At that, Peter came to his senses and remarked, “Now I’m certain that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod and from everything the Jewish people expected.” Realizing this, he made his way to Mary’s house. (Mary was John’s mother; he was also known as Mark.) Many believers had gathered there and were praying. When Peter knocked at the outer gate, a female servant named Rhoda went to answer. She was so overcome with joy when she recognized Peter’s voice that she didn’t open the gate. Instead, she ran back in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate.

“You’ve lost your mind!” they responded. She stuck by her story with such determination that they began to say, “It must be his guardian angel.” Meanwhile, Peter remained outside, knocking at the gate. They finally opened the gate and saw him there, and they were astounded.

One Minute Prayer

Father, we pray that you give us the focus and singular purpose to say that all we want in life is to dwell in your house.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 27:4

One thing I ask from the Lord,

this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord

and to seek him in his temple.

One Minute Wisdom

Isaiah 40:30-31

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

One Minute Devotion

Mac had served most of a 35-year sentence for drug charges in federal prison. He suffered diabetes and kidney failure. He would die alone in prison unless the warden granted compassionate parole. Although he was dying, Mac wheeled his chair to chapel and sang Victory in Jesus at every opportunity. Volunteers from a half dozen different prison Bible study groups prayed for Mac to be released so he could die surrounded by family. Their prayers were answered when Mac was discharged to a halfway house two weeks before he died. O Victory in Jesus, my Savior forever… He sought me and bought me…

Source

One Minute Memory Verse: – Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Last week’s memory verse:

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 

One Minute Bible Philippians 4:4-19

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

One Minute Prayer

Father, as we learn to turn our attention to you in all things, at all times, and in every situation, teach us not to be anxious. Give us peace.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 16:11

You make known to me the path of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 12:25

Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down,

But a good word makes it glad.

One Minute Devotion

For decades, Lloyd Colbaugh edited Pentecostal Evangel Magazine, but his passion and calling were in ministering to the incarcerated. For more than thirty years, Lloyd and his wife Nita led song services and prayer at the Federal Medical Center in Springfield, MO. Countless inmates there gave their hearts to Christ under Lloyd’s tutelage. Ask any one of them and they will tell you that they remember three things about Lloyd: his ear-to-ear grin, his faithful prayers for them, and his non-judgmental attitude, reflecting the fact that God is no respecter of persons.

I will always remember holding hands with inmates and other volunteers, as Lloyd led us in singing the Lord’s Prayer after prayer meeting.

Our Father… Who art in…

Source

The Five-Minute Quest

One Minute Memory Verse: 1Thessalonians 5:16-19  –

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.

One Minute Bible

Romans 12:9-13 ESV

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ¹⁰ Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. ¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

One Minute Prayer

Lord, give me zeal for your presence. Make me fervent in spirit. Give me sight so that I may rejoice in hope and patient in tribulation. Teach me to pray.

One Minute Praise

Psalm 84 ESV

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God. Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!

One Minute Wisdom

Proverbs 3:19-22 ESV

The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
by understanding he established the heavens;
 by his knowledge the deeps broke open,
and the clouds drop down the dew.

My son, do not lose sight of these—
keep sound wisdom and discretion,
and they will be life for your soul
and adornment for your neck.

One Minute Devotional

Sunday, the Lord’s Day; a day of rest. How often we forget that. Church duties wear us out. For most Christians, Sunday is not restful, and it is not the Lord’s. In the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, she tells that her Pa would compel her to sit in a chair for hours after dinner recite and rehearse the words of the Sunday morning lessons. How about this Sunday, we just curl up on our Daddy’s lap and comfort in the strength of His “Everlasting Arms.”

Source

God appears to the young King Solomon and says, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

God is no magic genie that we should ask anything of Him, but, in this case, He does exactly that: He offers Solomon his heart’s desire. 

You and I could probably not be trusted with such a wish, but Solomon had learned well from watching the failures of his father. He does not ask for wealth, or power, or love. He knows that riches may lead to evil, and excessive power could lead to abuse. Lust leads to infidelity, and sometimes to death. Instead, he asks for wisdom. 

If we look back to 1 Chronicles 22:12, we read that David had prayed that God would grant Solomon wisdom and understanding. In chapter 1 of 2 Chronicles, God answers David’s prayer and grants great wisdom to King Solomon. 

Much of Solomon’s wisdom was eventually recorded in the Bible, in the book of Proverbs. One proverb that catches my attention is 15:29, which reads, 

The Lord is far from the wicked,

But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

– NKJV

I wonder what Solomon thinking when he wrote that proverb? Did he think of that prayer, the prayer of his father, asking God to give Solomon wisdom? Was David perhaps the righteous man Solomon thought of when sharing that piece of wisdom?

If you’ve stayed with me to this point, you may see a paradox here. In one paragraph I suggest that Solomon learned from his father’s failures, and in another I propose that David was the model for the righteous man praying. 

This is really no paradox. Both may be true. You see, there exists no truly righteous man but Jesus Christ. Not David, not Solomon, not Peter, not Paul; none are righteous. With a broken heart and true repentance, David sought forgiveness for his sins. By faith, he learned to trust in God, and by faith, through the sacrifice of the Son of God, he was found righteous in God’s sight. In the same way, you and I, through faith in Jesus Christ, can be counted righteous in God’s eyes. 

It took David most of his life to develop the faith necessary to live a holy life. I can relate. I’m not there yet, but I am finally headed that direction. 

By the way, James refers to Solomon’s proverb, and his thoughts contain sound advice for the Christian journey:

…confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

– James 5:16 NIV

FEAR NOT, for God hears the prayers of the righteous. 

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This is, I believe, a distortion of the truth. While it’s clear that God will reward followers based on what they have done with the gifts He has given them, it is also clear that the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. 

Have you ever heard someone say, usually with disdain, “They’re only fooling themselves,” or “Who does he think he’s fooling?” We often – no, not often – MOST of us really do deceive ourselves MOST OF THE TIME, and try to put on our “best face” for others. A wise old man once told me, “Inside each of us are three people: there is the me that I see. There is the me that others see. And, there is the me that only God sees. 

The Bible tells us that man cannot know his own heart, for it is “deceitful above all things.” God knows it, though. He sees all the closed doors, the locked up cabinets, the hidden passages, and the secret compartments. He knows us better than we know ourselves. 

Now, here is the good news. He sees all our secrets and all our sins and loves us anyway. 

One more thing…

If we want to follow Jesus… If we want to be holy as He is holy (which God expects of us)… Then we should ask God to search our hearts and reveal to us those places where we hide sins, and then to rid us of those sins. 

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presence,

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

– Psalm 51:10

There is an old hymn that we sang when I was just a boy, Search Me, O God. It is my prayer:

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Later, he himself was chained while awaiting trial, jailed for his Christian beliefs.  He was eventually executed, as he had executed others. 

Paul, though, used a similar term to describe his relationship with Jesus Christ. He called himself a bondservant. In fact, so did James, Peter, and Jude. Paul even described Jesus as a bondservant, doing the will of the Father. So, one may wonder, then, why escape the bonds of sin just to be enslaved by Christ?

Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James…

Jude 1a

To understand this, we must look at the difference between a someone who is a slave or prisoner and a bondservant. 

The Greek word translated as bondservant in many Bibles is translated slave by many others. Either translation is technically correct. As a Pharisee, though, Paul knew that the equivalent Hebrew word was applied to a special kind of slave, a bondservant. 

The word bondservant is the perfect word to describe a true follower of Christ. A bondservant is a slave who loves his master so much that he petitions to become permanently bound to him. You see, many slaves could earn their freedom or purchase their freedom. A bondservant, on the other hand, took legal action to avoid ever being separated from the master.

Here’s the thing. You have never experienced true freedom unless you have bound yourself to the Master. He is a loving Master, one who protects you, cares for you, provides for you and adopts you into His family. He rids you of your sinful nature and replaces it with His holy nature. By giving yourself wholly to Him, He creates in you a clean, pure heart. 

He breaks the chains of sin and death that bind you. His love compels you to become His bondservant. 

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An actor? A politician? A businessman? A singer? A philosopher? 

Tough question. 

How much time would you spend with him or her? 

I might pick Billy Graham, and I imagine I could spend days or weeks before I would learn all I want to know. Several others come to mind. Yet, I can’t think of a one that I would be satisfied to simply meet. Sure, I would love to meet Ravi Zacharias, for example, but if I had an opportunity to learn from him for the next several years, then I would not be satisfied to simply meet him and then go my way. 

Yet, that is how many of us treat Christ. We met Him, and then don’t bother to stick around and learn from Him. Some of us have met Him only once. Some of us meet Him only on Sundays between the hours of 11 AM and noon. Some of us believe we are special because we meet with Him three or four hours a week. Each and everyone of us, though, have been invited to make Him our mentor, and learn from Him all day, every day, seven days a week, forever. 

How can we turn that down? 

How do we renew our minds, as Paul tells us in Romans? By asking Christ to rid our hearts and minds of the gross filth that now occupies them, and filling them with his wisdom. It is through Bible study, prayer, and worship that we renew our minds. 

Here is one of the great mysteries of Christian holiness. It is through God’s power and our self-discipline that we may ever rid ourselves of the carnal nature that so plagues us with evil desires. 

How to start? Just sit down with the Bible, and pray. Just… Talk to Him. 

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

– Romans 12:2

All Hail the Power of Jesus Name –
Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget 

the wormwood and the gall, 

go spread your trophies at his feet, 

and crown him Lord of all. 

Go spread your trophies at his feet, 

and crown him Lord of all. 

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Nothing on heaven or earth compares to the beauty of God’s holiness. No landscape, no face, no starfield can compare to the beauty of our holy God. 

If we seek after His holiness, and if He graciously imparts even an infinitesimal part of that holiness to us, then perhaps those who know us will see that spark of beauty and seek its source. 

Never forget, nothing you and I can do can earn God’s holiness. Our righteousness is as filthy rags. God’s righteousness is bestowed upon whom He wills. Surrender to Him. Seek after His holiness like one seeking buried treasures. 

Hymn by Isaac Watts, 1803

Let all the earth their voices raise

To sing the choicest psalm of praise,

To sing and bless Jehovah’s name:

His glory let the heathens know,

His wonders to the nations show,

And all his saving works proclaim.
The heathens know thy glory, Lord,

The wond’ring nations read thy word,

In Britain is Jehovah known:

Our worship shall no more be paid

To gods which mortal hands have made;

Our Maker is our God alone.
He framed the globe, he built the sky,

He made the shining worlds on high,

And reigns complete in glory there:

His beams are majesty and light;

His beauties, how divinely bright!

His temple, how divinely fair!
Come the great day, the glorious hour,

When earth shall feel his saving power,

And barb’rous nations fear his name;

Then shall the race of man confess

The beauty of his holiness,

And in his courts his grace proclaim.

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Philip Sopher published a piece in The Atlantic two years ago (Here) that traced the term “weekend” to 1879. While the concept existed prior to that date, he claims the term didn’t. He and countless others claim the concept of the seven week with six days of work and one day of rest can be traced back to ancient Babylon, and completely denies that the ancient Jews practiced a day of rest (a Sabbath day) prior to their captivity in Babylon. In all fairness, Mr. Sopher wrote his article to advance a shorter work-week, not to get bogged down in a biblical debate.

Ours is a nation with a Judeo-Christian heritage, which explains why the 5 or 6 day work week has been the norm (with few exceptions) for most of the last 400 years. The Jews practice a Sabbath that begins on Friday evening and lasts through Saturday. Christians worship on the Lord’s Day, Sunday. Generically, I use both the Sabbath and the Lord’s Day interchangeably.

The five-day work-week is vanishing; so is the six-day work-week. I know several young men who work seven days a week, and I did it myself for years. This is the result of both a changing economy and a disconnect with Judeo-Christian values.

Not honoring the Sabbath or the Lord’s Day does not make you a bad Christian. Mark 2:27 quotes Jesus:

The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.

Christ took time to rest. He stole away by Himself, or with His closest friends. Personal rest and corporate worship are vital to your life. If we want to grow close to God, we must try to rest and honor Him in spite of our work schedule and the economy. Not observing the Sabbath or Lord’s Day does not make you a bad Christian, but not finding time for rest and worshipping together with your family and brothers and sisters in Christ can cause you to lose that personal connection with our Lord Jesus. And if you lose that relationship, your family may follow your example.

I know that a great many may not be able to coordinate their schedules as I suggest here. I’m not wealthy; I’m a working stiff just like most of you. The point is to improve on our current habits.

How Christians may restore the Sabbath. Rest and worship are important and necessary. The point of this article is to encourage Christians to honor the Lord’s Day as a family. At least, try to take one day of rest and spend it physically idle, communing with God, and cherishing your family.

• If you work Sundays, pray about it, and then ask your employer for Sundays off. Explain how important worship and rest has become to you. You may not get an immediate positive response, but you may. If not, be persistent. Ask again and again when the opportunity presents itself. See if anyone is willing to swap a shift with you and, if so, bring that news to your boss. As a last resort finds some time to rest and worship, no matter what day.

• Get up early and begin your Sabbath with a family breakfast. When was the last time you did that? Prepare your Sunday meals and snacks before Sunday so that no one is cooking on the Lord’s Day.

• Go to church as a family and stay in services as a family. Don’t always usher the kids off the children’s church or teen worship. Not always. Teach them to listen and absorb God’s Word in the adult service. Discuss the service with them later. Show them how the message that was preached is important to you and how you will apply it to your life. There are many who think segregating children and teenagers from the adult services is one of the primary reasons so many kids drop out of church once they are out of their parent’s home.

• Go home and eat dinner together. Prepare  your Sunday meals ahead of time, so no one has to cook. Rest the remainder of the day.

• Go to evening service if you wish, but do not go out to eat with friends from church. While socializing with brothers and sisters in Christ is integral to the body of believers, those relationships should not be built at the expense of your relationship with your Lord. Sundays are about resting and regenerating your strength, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. On Sunday, we rest in the arms of Christ.

• Leave the TV off. Stay off the computer. Turn off your smart phone. Talk as a family, read the Bible as a family. Read Christian books. Discuss your reading, or simply rest. On Sunday we rest.

Try this for 60 days, and see how what happens. Will you grow closer to God? To your family? Let me know. I’ll let you know how it works for me.

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The way I know it now.

I could not see my need for Him,

My pride would not allow.

I had it all, without a care,

The “self-sufficient” lie.

My path was smooth, my sea was still,

Not a cloud was in my sky.
I thought I knew His love for me,

I thought I’d seen His grace,

I thought I did not need to grow,

I thought I’d found my place.

But when the way grew rough and dark,

The storm clouds quickly rolled;

The waves began to rock my ship,

My anchor would not hold.
The ship that I had built myself

Was made of foolish pride.

It fell apart and left me bare,

With nowhere else to hide.

I had no strength or faith to face

The trials that lay ahead,

And so I simply prayed to Him

And bowed my weary head.

His loving arms enveloped me,

And then He helped me stand.

He said, “You still must face this storm,

But I will hold your hand.”

So through the dark and lonely night

He guided me through pain.

I could not see the light of day

Or when the storm might wane.
Yet through the aches and endless tears,

My faith began to grow.

I could not see it at the time,

But my light began to glow.

I saw God’s love in brand new light,

His grace and mercy, too.

For only when all self was gone

Could Jesus’ love shine through.
It was not easy in the storm,

I sometimes wondered, “Why?”

At times I thought, “I can’t go on.”

I’d hurt and doubt and cry.

But Jesus never left my side,

He guided me each day.

Through pain and strife,

Through fire and flood,

He helped me all the way.

And now I see as never before

How great His love can be.

How in my weakness He is strong,

How Jesus cares for me!

He worked it all out for my good,

Although the way was rough.

He only sent what I could bear,

And then He cried, “Enough!”
He raised His hand and said, “Be still!”

He made the storm clouds cease.

He opened up the gates of joy

And flooded me with peace.

I see His face now clearer still,

I felt His presence strong.

I found anew His faithfulness,

He never did me wrong.
Now I know more storms will come,

But only for my good,

For pain and tears have helped me grow

As naught else ever could.

I still have so much more to learn

As Jesus works in me;

If in the storm I’ll love Him more,

That’s where I want to be.
Written By:

Wendy Greiner Lefko

© 1996 Used with permission
Thanks, Nancy Okabe for your contribution

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 

Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 

And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. 

And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are preparing?”

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

Mark 4:35-41

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Those nine things (“fruits”) are:

Love

Joy

Peace

Longsuffering (patience)

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self-control

The Catholic church adds:

• Generosity
• Modesty
• Chastity

We are never to judge others; that’s not why the Apostle Paul penned this list. He wrote it so that we may examine our own heart. If you are a growing Christian, you will begin seeing these attributes in your own life. 

Nor are we to be “fruit inspectors.” Some who call themselves Christians justify judging and gossiping about others by quoting this verse from Matthew 7:17-20. 

Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Put in context with the verses preceding it, and one sees Christ referring to false prophets. If we judge the quality of anyone’s life we should begin and end with our own. 

Does my life exhibit love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, generosity, modesty, and chastity?

I admit it; I’m lacking in many areas. But I’m surrendered to Christ’s will, and pray He has patience with me and helps me grow and bear good fruit. God fruit. 

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I have found a desire within myself that no experience in this world can satisfy; the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.   

-C.S. Lewis

When I read this quote by C.S. Lewis, I went right past it. I was looking for something to go with today’s Scripture, Psalm 107:29…

He calms the storm,

So that its waves are still.

Then, I came back to it. I ignored that quote again and again until I could no longer ignore it. I decided I should select another passage in the Bible. 

That’s when my eyes were opened. These two unrelated things- a quote about feeling like I don’t belong in this world and a passage about calling the storm- really do belong together. 

As Christians, we really are strangers in a strange land, aliens, just passing through on our way to a better place. This world can never satisfy us. I’m fact, we often find it scary. Nearly every day, we face storms. Awful, horrific storms; they are made even scarier because we are far from home. 

I get scared often. I don’t think I’m alone. 

Praise be, I don’t travel this land alone. God goes with me. When the storms rage, He calms the them or He shelters us safe in His arms. He reminds us that our citizenship is in heaven and this path will lead us there. 

So let the storm clouds rage high,

The dark clouds rise,

They don’t worry me;

For I’m sheltered in the arms of God.

He walks with me,

And naught of earth shall harm me,

For I’m sheltered in the arms of God.

– Dottie Rambo

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This quote by the 18th century  preacher, Jonathan Edwards is just as true today as it was over two centuries ago. So many times we believe that God can forgive us of the small stuff, but not the really big stuff. His grace, says Edwards, is the same, no matter the size of the sin. 

Often we think that God has mercy on the lost, but has no mercy for the Christian who stumbles and falls into her old ways. His grace is sufficient to wash away the sins of the lost and the Christian who loses her way. 

How many times will God forgive you? Have you ever counted the stars? There are “billions and billions” of them.  It would over 6000 years to count just the stars in our galaxy. Yet his mercies are as numerous as the stars. His mercies are unfathomable. 

God sent His Son to die for our sins. He did this so that He would be able to forgive you, for only the sacrifice of a perfect God can wash away the sins of fallen man. He wants YOU and me to turn from our sinful ways and seek His forgiveness, for He WANTS to forgive us. 

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

– John 3:17

When we stumble and fall, and sin against God, we need to immediately reach out a hand to Jesus, ask His forgiveness, and allow Him to pick us up again. 

Jesus never fails. 

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And God was touched, and although it was unlike him, God gave that man money, time, and a glorious talent. And then He waited, and waited, and waited…..And then after a while, He shrugged His shoulders, and He took all those things right back from the man, the money, the time and the glorious talent. After a while, the man sighed and said, “If I only had some of that money back, I’d give it to God. If I only had some of that time, I’d give it to God. If I could only rediscover that glorious talent, I’d give it to God.”

And God said, “Oh, shut up.”

And the man told some of his friends, “You know, I’m not so sure that I believe in God anymore.”

(God is No Fool, 1969, Abindgon Press.)

 What do you think about that? We laugh, but why? Could it be because we see ourselves in some measure in this illustration?

 This summer we have been looking at things with which we Christians struggle in our daily lives. And an area that every Christian must face is Stewardship. We are called to be Stewards. But what does that mean?

 Usually when we speak of Stewardship the first thing that comes to mind is Money. And money certainly is something that is important. Someone has pointed out that, In Matthew, Mark, and Luke 1 out of every 6 verses deals with money. Of the 29 parables Christ told, 16 deal with a person and his money. (Sermonillustrations.com).

Obviously, Money issues are included in the topic of Stewardship, but Money is only one part of the subject. I was taught growing up in the church that Stewardship involved the 3 T’s—Time, Talent, and Treasure. That pretty much covers the totality of our lives, doesn’t it?

This morning, let’s consider Christian Stewardship and ask the Holy Spirit to open our minds to His Will.

I. WHAT IS STEWARDSHIP:

a. In a word, Stewardship is about managing God’s Resources. Let me explain some of the implications of that simple definition.

i. There is the fact of Ownership. King David, in Psalm 24:1 & 2 told us, “The earth is the LORD’S, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.” God owns it, we enjoy it!

ii. There is the fact of Responsibility. In Genesis 1: 28 we read, “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” In Genesis 2:15 we read, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” These verses reveal that we were created to be managers, caretakers, overseers of God’s creation. It belongs to God, but we have been given the responsibility of seeing after it!

iii. And there is the fact of Accountability. How many times are we told in the Bible that we will are accountable to God? I’m not sure exactly how many times, but I am sure it is several! Consider these examples: Jeremiah 17: 10 says, “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

Matthew 12: 36-37 , But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Romans 14: 12 says, “So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” We are answerable to Almighty God for all that we do. He is the Lord, the Owner, the Creator. We have been created by Him and given the task of taking care of His creation. And we will stand before him and give our reports!

iv. And there is the fact of reward for our services. Revelation 22: 12 says, ”Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.” It is God’s and we are His servants and managers. But He is a just God and will reward us for fulfilling the purpose for which we were created!

b. So Stewardship means recognizing that God is really in Charge and that He has given us the task of managing His creation and that we will have to give an account. We look forward to the day when, after giving an account to God, we hear Him say, “…Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness” (Matthew 25: 21).

II. HOW Does Stewardship Contribute to Balance in Life?

a. When I was considering my Master of Ministry project in my graduate work, I seriously considered focusing on Balance in Ministry. I believe that the problem most of us face is that we get our lives out of balance.

b. The three T’s that I mentioned earlier—Time, Talent, Treasure—suggest that, if I honor those Stewardship areas, my life will have balance. Let’s consider how.

i. Time: Keeping our time commitments in balance can really be a challenge. We need to remember that God is the creator of Time. He gives us—24 hours each day, 7 days each week, 12 months each year. Of course, we do not know how many years we have, so we must pay attention to each day. In those time intervals, he has designated times to sleep, times to be awake, times to work, times to play, times to be quiet and times to shout. We have to work at using our God given time in ways that honor God. Parents must have time for themselves, time for their children, time for participating in society. And we must learn how to regulate enough time for each thing for which we are responsible. We read how Jesus spent time with friends, spent time teaching his disciples, withdrew from people to be alone with God, engaged people with his teachings and sermons. He set aside times to go to Jerusalem for the Religious Festivals, as well as times to take boat rides around the Sea of Galilee. In other words, Jesus regulated his time so that he could accomplish those things that he needed to accomplish. It was told that Former General Superintendent Dr. R.T. Williams claimed to have had a special moment where God spoke to him and told him to take up golf. He was so convinced that it was God’s direction and he later testified that he learned that God was giving him that command because he would need to have that recreation in order to deal with the stresses of Administration and the problems that were involved as a General Superintendent. Dr. Williams said golf literally saved his life! God wants us to manage our time in a way that honors Him—and that includes recognizing that we must take care of ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually! The point is this: We must practice the discipline of Time Management and make time for those things God has entrusted to us—our personal needs, our family responsibilities, our contribution to society. And in that time we have been allotted we must be sure not to neglect our time with God. Remember those words Jesus spoke to his disciples in the Garden just before he was arrested: “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?…” (Matthew 26: 40). I challenge you to take a week and keep a time diary, and then evaluate how much time you spend on your various activities. Then ask yourself, “Am I using my time in such a way that God is honored? What priorities need to be adjusted in my schedule so that I’m giving the proper attention to each area of my life?”

ii. Talent. Our awesome God has created each of us as unique persons. We each have been given combinations of abilities that are valuable for God’s purposes. For some it is musical ability. For others it may be hospitality, or the ability to fix things, or the gift of being able to communicate well with others. It isn’t fair to compare yourself to someone else because there are no two people exactly alike. But God makes it clear that each of us is responsible to contribute to the good of others. Paul, after talking about the various parts of the body of Christ, reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12: 17, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” In a similar context in Romans 12, Paul writes in Romans 12: 5 “So in Christ we, though many, form one body and each member belongs to the other.” Contrary to what some have said, none of you has been called to be the “Thorn in the Flesh.” We are to use our abilities to build up the Body of Christ, not harm it! So, what do you like to do? How can you use that enjoyable experience to build up the Church—the Body of Christ? I remember several years ago, Dr. V.H. Lewis, a former General Superintendent in our denomination, telling pastors that they should use their authority or they would lose it. I would paraphrase that to say, “You must be using your talent or spiritual gift for the Lord or you will lose it!”

iii. Treasure—Yes, Stewardship does involve our money and our possessions. I just caught myself doing what we all tend to do—I said “Our Money” and Our Possessions.” But these are not Mine. They are God’s and He has entrusted them to me to use in a way that honors him. The Bible from the various earliest days in history has taught us the need to give to God. We read about the sacrifices of Cain and Abel –sacrifices that continued with Noah who sacrificed to God after leaving the Ark as a way of giving Thanks to God and acknowledging his dependence upon God for the future. We read how Abraham, long before the giving of the law chose to give 10% of his possessions to the King of Salem who was a priest of God—Melchizedek. And then, after the Exodus, God gave clear and detailed instructions on giving tithes and offerings. Those tithes and offerings were to be used to support the families of the priests who were commissioned to oversee and lead the religious life of Israel. Some of the tithes were used for repair and upkeep of the Temple and the instruments and tools that were to be used in the religious duties. Some of the funds were to be used to minister to the poor and needy. It was God’s plan to see after the spiritual needs of the nation and to show compassion to others in need. The bottom line is, while the money given was to be used for specific things, the giving of the money was for the purpose of honoring God as Owner and giving Him thanks for His faithful provision. The prophet Malachi went so far as to say that failure to bring in your tithes and offerings is the equivalent of robbing God! In Matthew 23:23, as Jesus was confronting the religious establishment for their Pharisaical attitudes, said this: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” Yes, we are to give, but we must make sure that our giving comes from our love and devotion for God and the things of the Kingdom of God!

iv. Someone has said that the most difficult thing to surrender for many Christians is their pocketbook or wallet! In Matthew 6: 19-21, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Conclusion:

 I’ve heard so many over the years criticize the church, saying, “All they want is money, money, money.” I am here to tell you that its not the church that is begging for your money—it is the Head of the Church who already owns it all. He has blessed you with the resources you have—your time, your talent, your money. He has entrusted these things to you to manage. But do not forget, He will hold each of us accountable. We must follow His directions on how we use it!

 Matthew 6: 21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The most important step in Christian Stewardship is giving our heart to God. If He has our heart, then the rest of the stewardship detail will fall into place.

 Where is your heart today? Have you given it completely to God?

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For this is God,

And our God forever and ever;

He will be our guide,

Even until death. 

– Psalm 48:12-14

I wandered through life with no destination. Lost. Alone.  I dragged family with me. I could not see the road ahead. I drove through a darkened life with no headlights on a moonless night. 

I took many wrong turns. 

Worse yet, at any time during my wanderings, I could have reached over and turned on the headlights, but I didn’t. At least, not for years. 

Yes, I carried the light with me. Christ, the Light was with me on my journey, and I never once trusted Him to light my way. I kept His Light “under a bushel” and never let it shine.

I did not relinquish control to God until I had taken so many wrong turns on my journey that I feared I would be forever lost. Once I gave God the steering wheel, so to speak, I never again worried about losing my way. 

With God in control my road is well lit, even when darkness closes in around me; I never lose my way. Together, we just follow His Light. 

If He be my God, He will be my guide. He can be yours, too. 

Your word is a lamp to my feet

And a light to my path. – Psalm 119:105

Dear God, I pray that the generations following will find the Light, in spite of the aimless wanderings of my younger years. 

Source

He was older than me, maybe thirty, and traveling alone with a large bag. He climbed in the back seat and shut the door. Just as I put the car in drive, the door opened again. 

“Scoot over, friend.” A young soldier on leave climbed in. Then another. Then another. Within seconds, my car was crammed with soldiers heading to Springfield, Mo for a few days recreation. Nine of us. Seven soldiers, a random hitchhiker, and me. There was barely room for me to steer. 

I don’t remember everything we talked about, but I do remember we talked. I remember looking in the mirror and thinking how out of place the hitchhiker looked among the soldiers. I remember asking where the soldiers had come from. When I pulled over, I had seen but one person on the side of the road for a mile in any direction, the random hitchhiker. 

Yet, there they were, crammed in as if mine was the only car on the interstate that could or would haul them a hundred miles west. 

The soldiers wanted off on the north side of town. The hitchhiker wanted to go with me all the way to Kansas. When I dropped the soldiers at East Kearney St., though, they insisted the hitchhiker get out with them. 

“I don’t mind taking him with me to Kansas,” I said. 

“No, he’s getting out,” said one of the men while the others practically dragged the hitchhiker out of my car. 

“You should be careful who you pick up,” said a soldier, ducking at my window, smiling. 

I have thought about that day many times in the past thirty some years. I have concluded that God sent those soldiers to me to protect me from… I wonder what they protected me from. I have often wondered if they were angels that looked like soldiers. I wonder if the lone hitchhiker was a serial killer. Who knows? 

It’s likely that everyone were just what they seemed, a down on his luck drifter and seven eager soldiers. Still… I wonder. 

I do know this. When we help those in need, whether it’s feeding the hungry, giving to the poor, helping widows and orphans, visiting the sick and imprisoned, it is like we are taking care of God, himself. Maybe that day, God also took care of me. 

‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

My challenge today: help someone; make a difference in someone’s life. 

Source

– James

A. Good question, James. Thank you. If you define Lordship Salvation in the traditional sense, then no. Absolutely not. Lordship Salvation, as the term has been used in my lifetime, means that one must prove himself or herself to earn salvation. In other words, Lordship Salvation teaches that salvation is accomplished by our works. This is in clear conflict with the Bible. This is following the Law to work our way into heaven. If even just one man or woman could do this, then Christ’s sacrifice was unnecessary. We could all just worship William or Sally or whoever accomplished such a feat. 

Salvation is obtained only by grace through faith, lest anyone should boast. 

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

– Ephesians 2:8-9

God didn’t rescue us from sin and death with only the promise of eternal life. Our deliverance begins at salvation and continues to work in us our entire lives. This work of the Holy Spirit is known as sanctification and it brings us to victory over sin. Our divergence at salvation also leads us into a living relationship with our Savior that compels us to do good works. Look at the next verse in Ephesians. 

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

– Ephesians 2:10

Christ calls us to follow him. He calls us to repentance. He calls us to share in His victory over SIN and death. He compels us through His love and his example (and His commands) to be holy. 

One cannot obtain salvation through good works, but one who truly develops a relationship with God will make Him Lord and do the good works that He shows us to do. 

Source

It amazes me that a man with Peter’s flaws could go on to be such a man of God. His story is one of God’s mercy and grace. He exemplifies Apostle Paul’s assertion that God chooses the lowly and despised (1 Corinthians 1:28).

So, if one looks at the writing of Peter, what can we take away from his message? If we condense his work into one verse, it may be this:

Therefore, beloved, looking forward to [the return of Christ], be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;

-2 Peter 3:14

To Peter, holiness and godliness were not an option. Our fear of God leads us to a deep relationship with God. Our relationship with God leads us into His love. Our love of God compels us to obey Him. Our obedience to Him allows Him to bestow upon us His holiness.

How, though, can I, a weak and sinful man, ever hope to achieve a close enough relationship to God that my sole desire is to please Him? The truth is, God has already given us the tools necessary to live a godly life.  Peter assures us of this earlier in 2 Peter 1:3

…His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,

What are those tools? Prayer, The Word of God, and fellowship with fellow believers. Peter summarizes this as the knowledge of Him who called us. How do we obtain knowledge of Him? Through prayer, Bible study, and fellowship with other believers.

How do we live a holy life? Get to know God so well that our love for Him outshines our desire to sin.

Source

I admit it. I’m not very wise. Yet, I do take sweet comfort in the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. To think that He died and then defeated death and hell so that you and I could also conquer death and hell… I am dumbstruck. 

Try telling it to a hundred people, though, and you risk all one hundred finding you a fool. The Apostle Paul warned us, though. He told us that would happen. 

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

Where are the wise? I submit to you that the wise are not in political parties, not in Congress, not on college campuses. The wise are teaching Sunday school, preaching the Gospel, and filling the altars. 

Wisdom is found in His Spirit, knowledge in His Word, and power in the cross. 

Source

1 Corinthian 6:6-13
Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Introduction:

Toad baked some cookies. “These cookies smell very good,” said Toad. He ate one. “And they taste even better,” he said. Toad ran to Frog’s house. “Frog, Frog,” cried Toad, “taste these cookies that I have made.”

Frog ate one of the cookies, “These are the best cookies I have ever eaten!” said Frog.
Frog and Toad ate many cookies, one after another. “You know, Toad,” said Frog, with his mouth full, “I think we should stop eating. We will soon be sick.”

“You are right,” said Toad. “Let us eat one last cookie, and then we will stop.” Frog and Toad ate one last cookie. There were many cookies left in the bowl.

“Frog,” said Toad, “let us eat one very last cookie, and then we will stop.” Frog and Toad ate one very last cookie.

“We must stop eating!” cried Toad as he ate another.

“Yes,” said Frog, reaching for a cookie, “we need willpower.”

“What is willpower?” asked Toad.

“Willpower is trying hard not to do something you really want to do,” said Frog.

“You mean like trying hard not to eat all these cookies?” asked Toad.

“Right,” said Frog.
Frog put the cookies in a box. “There,” he said. “Now we will not eat any more cookies.”

“But we can open the box,” said Toad.

“That is true,” said Frog.

Frog tied some string around the box. “There,” he said. “Now we will not eat any more cookies.”

“But we can cut the string and open the box.” said Toad.

“That is true,” said Frog. Frog got a ladder. He put the box up on a high shelf.

“There,” said Frog. “Now we will not eat any more cookies.”

“But we can climb the ladder and take the box down from the shelf and cut the string and open the box,” said Toad.

“That is true,” said Frog.

Frog climbed the ladder and took the box down from the shelf. He cut the string and opened the box. Frog took the box outside. He shouted in a loud voice. “Hey, birds, here are cookies!” Birds came from everywhere. They picked up all the cookies in their beaks and flew away.

“Now we have no more cookies to eat,” said Toad sadly.

“Not even one.”

“Yes,” said Frog, “but we have lots and lots of willpower.”

“You may keep it all, Frog,” said Toad. “I am going home now to bake a cake.”
(Sermonillustrations.com –Ray & Anne Ortlund, Renewal, Navpress, 1989, p. 73-74.)

Does that story strike a cord with you? Do you find it difficult to resist temptation?

In the Epistle of James we read, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1: 13-15, NIV).

This Summer we have been examining areas that trouble Christians on a regular basis. There are the issues of Total Commitment, of Complete Trust in God, of Shame from our past experiences, and so much more. But the one thing every Christian has to deal with is Temptation. We all are tempted. Even Jesus was tempted: “ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15, NIV).

If temptation is so prevalent, then we need to recognize it and know how to resist it.

I. WHAT IS TEMPTATION?
a. Temptation is an enticement to sin, plain and simple. We can make all kinds of excuses, talk about our human condition, blame self-will or lack thereof, but when all is said and done, temptation is an enticement to sin.

b. Someone made this distinction between “trials” and “temptations”: What is temptation? Seduction to evil, solicitation to wrong. It stands distinguished from trial thus: trial tests, seeks to discover the man’s moral qualities or character; but temptation persuades to evil, deludes, that it may ruin. The one means to undeceive, the other to deceive. The one aims at the man’s good, making him conscious of his true moral self; but the other at his evil, leading him more or less unconsciously into sin. God tries; Satan tempts. (Fairbain, quoted in The Words and Works of Jesus Christ, J.D. Pentecost, p. 99.)

c. In order to fully understand what “temptation to sin” means, one has to know what sin is. Sin is disobedience to God. It means doing something that is contrary to God’s Will, God’s Law, God’s Character. It stands in contrast to the very nature of God.

d. And while it does not at first seem to be so terrible, sin is an affront to God. In Hebrews 6: 6 describes sin as “…crucifying the son of God …and subjecting him to public disgrace.”

II. WHAT IS TEMPTATION’S APPEAL?
a. Of course, temptation never seems to be that bad. It comes disguised as something we want or that we think we need. It is presented in a way that sounds innocent until a person takes time to consider the full implications. 2 Corinthians 11:14 tells us that Satan disguises himself as an Angel of Light in order to deceive us.

John Piper says that sin (lust for example) “gets its power by persuading me to believe that I will be more happy if I follow it. The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier.” (E. Lutzer, Putting Your Past Behind You, Here’s Life, 1990, p.54.)

b. Most of you know that I have a continual battle with weight and am almost always on a diet of some kind. If I were to be in a situation where I was told not to eat anything for a period of time and someone placed a bowl of cooked green beans on the table in front of me, I would not be tempted at all. But, on the other hand, if someone placed a freshly baked cinnamon roll in front of me, that would be a different story! I hate green beans, but I really love cinnamon rolls. And Satan won’t tempt me to do things I really don’t want to do. I have no desire to rob a bank or to murder someone. Satan would try to get me to do things that are more appealing—like keep that $10 bill I found in the parking lot, or eat that cinnamon roll! Or, it may be that he would tempt me to hold a grudge and plot to get even with someone who has wronged me—because I would feel a sense of justice for doing that!

c. Remember when Jesus was arrested and Peter followed him to the courtyard where he was being held. Three times he was accused of being a follower of Jesus, but Peter said no. Why did he do that? The reason Peter yielded to the temptation to deny Jesus was because he feared for his own safety. Temptation came because of his own desire to not be arrested!

d. Temptation is usually subtle. It appeals to our own desires and leads us into traps. I read this story this week: In the Australian bush country grows a little plant called the “sundew.” It has a slender stem and tiny, round leaves fringed with hairs that glisten with bright drops of liquid as delicate as fine dew. Woe to the insect, however, that dares to dance on it. Although its attractive clusters of red, white, and pink blossoms are harmless, the leaves are deadly. The shiny moisture on each leaf is sticky and will imprison any bug that touches it. As an insect struggles to free itself, the vibration causes the leaves to close tightly around it. This innocent-looking plant then feeds on its victim. (Our Daily Bread, December 11, 1992.)

e. If temptation looked bad we would have no problem avoiding it or resisting it. But it always tries to appeal to something within us that is to our liking!

III. HOW CAN WE RESIST TEMPTATION?
a. Mark Twain is quoted as saying, “There are several good protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice. “

b. God’s Word says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter 5: 8-9).

c. And again in James 4: 7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

d. In Sermonillustrations.com there was this article: : A recent survey of Discipleship Journal readers ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge to them:
1. Materialism.

2. Pride.

3. Self-centeredness.
4. Laziness.
5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness.
5. (Tie) Sexual lust.
7. Envy.
8. Gluttony.
9. Lying.

Survey respondents noted temptations were more potent when they had neglected their time with God (81 percent) and when they were physically tired (57 percent). Resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer (84 percent), avoiding compromising situations (76 percent), Bible study (66 percent), and being accountable to someone (52 percent).

e. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “What settings are you in when you fall? Avoid them. What props do you have that support your sin? Eliminate them. What people are you usually with? Avoid them. There are two equally damning lies Satan wants us to believe: 1) Just once won’t hurt. 2) Now that you have ruined your life, you are beyond God’s use, and might as well enjoy sinning.”Learn to say no. It will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin.”

f. How do you resist temptation? Live close to God. Cultivate that sensitivity to His promptings. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Strive always to do what is pleasing to Him. In all situations “Pray without ceasing.” Consider the consequences before you act. The old saying that used to be popular isn’t bad: Ask, “What would Jesus do?”

Conclusion:
 >As I was thinking about temptation and preparing this message, I thought to myself: I don’t believe that any of you are being tempted to steal from someone or to murder someone. None of you are deliberately planning to do something that you know will dishonor God. At least I hope that is true!

>But I know that temptations are much more subtle than that. We may not be planning to hurt someone else’s reputation, but we may be thinking of how to make ourselves look good to others. We may be tempted to substitute something good instead of the best. God may be calling us to go on a Mission trip, but we think that we can just pay someone else’s expenses so they can go in our place. I’ve known of people who testified that they felt called into the ministry, but they decided they would work hard and gives lots of money to the church instead. They thought that would pacify their conscious and atone for their disobedience. Too often that is the way we think.

>And there are some things we need to understand. Temptation is not sin, but yielding to temptation is. Too often temptation causes us to feel guilty, but that is false guilt unless we are seriously considering giving in to the temptation.

>And another thing: What may be a temptation for you is not necessarily a temptation for me. Satan appeals to our individual desires or weaknesses. You may really like green beans!

>And when we see someone who has yielded to temptation, we need to be careful in our own attitude. It was F.B. Meyer, I believe, who once said that when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are two things we do not know: First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin. And second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her. We also do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances. (Stephen Brown, Christianity Today, April 5, 1993, p. 17.)
Galatians 6: 1-2 says, “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.”

>And I have learned that it is not just in those areas where we know that we are weak that we need to guard against temptation. Sometimes we think we are strong in certain areas and we let down our guard and Satan takes advantage.

> And often temptation comes on the very heels of victory. I was told by a college counselor that after a great revival meeting on campus, there were students so caught up in the emotions of the moment that they let down their guards and yielded to their passions in the heat of the moment.

>Are you battling temptation? That’s great because it means you haven’t yielded to it. And if you weren’t trying to live for God, Satan wouldn’t even bother with you. He is busy trying to cause Christians to fall. He doesn’t need to bother with those who have already fallen!

 >The message God has for you today is this: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
 

Helen Lemmel penned this chorus to an old familiar hymn:
 Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

God will give you victory if you will just flee to Him…

Source

About 15 years after the resurrection of Christ, Peter is thrown in prison in Jerusalem. Herod is afraid Peter will miraculously escape, and so assigns four squads of soldiers to guard him. 

Peter could care less. Whatever happens will happen, so he turns in for the night. Herod was right. Sometime in the middle of the night, an angel is sent by God to deliver Peter, who nearly slept through it. As Luke tells it, the angel had to strike Peter in the side to wake him. 

I imagine the angel turning on the lights, whispering his name, nudging his shoulder, and shaking him, before finally, smacking him in the side. 

For He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you in all your ways.

In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone. 

– Psalm 91:11

When Peter sat up, his chains fell from his hands. 
“Get dressed, and follow me,” says the angel. 

“Sure. Whatever,” says Peter with a laugh, believing it to be a dream. It wasn’t until Peter was completely out of the prison, past the guards, and down the street that the angel disappeared and Peter finally came to his senses. 

For a split second, he didn’t know what to do. “Wow,” he said. “Christ really did send an angel to free me.” Immediately he ran to the house of John Mark and his mother. This is, more or less, his center of operations. When he arrived, he found a prayer meeting in session. EVERYONE was praying that Peter would be saved from the prison… Everyone but Peter, that is. Peter had not been praying. He had been asleep. 

You see, many times, we don’t realize just how deep of a predicament we have fallen. Sometimes, the danger is more real than we can imagine. Often, we don’t pray for ourselves because we don’t quite get it. Thank God for a praying family, and a praying church family. 

God knows what we need even before we ask it. It was no accident that the angel was there when Peter needed help. God knew that Peter would sleep through this, for, afterall, he had slept through Christ’s prayer and suffering on the Mount of Olives. Yet, he sent divine help to Peter.

How many times has God sent us divine help when we didn’t even ask. How many times have we had ANGELS watching over us, and we didn’t know it. How often do others lift us up in prayer, when we are totally unaware?

Hmmmm… I wonder…

Source

A few moments later, the guide turns on an insignificant, old fashioned penlight. At that point, one can here multiple sighs of relief, for in a world of utter darkness, the smallest of lights can point the way. 

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 

         – Matthew 5:16

At different points in the Gospel, Jesus says that He is the light (John 8:12), and He says that you and I are the light (Matthew 5:14-16). Both are true statements. When I look back on the state of my mind when I lived in sin, I realize now that there was no light in me. Had God not been merciful, I would have perished and spent eternity cast into utter darkness, in torment, drowning in endless fire. He showed me the Light, and – praise God – I followed that Light. 

Now that He lives in me, His light shines through me (no credit to me). My prayer is that those around me may also see the light. I pray that everyone from my family to complete strangers may see something of Jesus in me, something that will compel them to follow the Light of Jesus Christ. 

I was a fool to wander and stay

Straight is the gate and narrow’s the way

Now I have traded the wrong for the right

Praise the Lord, I Saw the Light. 

                    – Hank Williams

Source

What can you do to help the toxic Christian enjoy life more, and make life more pleasant for those nearby?

1. Pray for the toxic Christian. Most people like this have become so worn down by the stresses of life that they experience no joy.  Pray for this person, that his or her joy will be restored. 
2. Tell him or her that you love them, and give them a hug. I come from a hugging church, one with many huggers. Rita, a good friend is known for her hugs. Last year when we moved our membership to a new church, I was thrilled to meet Joy, a hugger just like Rita. Everyone needs a hug once in a while. Everyone needs to experience Christian love. 
3. Invite him or her to dinner. Get to know the toxic Christian. Perhaps… just maybe, they only became toxic after feeling alienated. Maybe he or she simply needs a friend. 
4. Ask their opinion. By including the toxic Christian in serious conversation, and asking their opinion, you will demonstrate respect. Sometimes, all it takes to melt a heart is love and respect. 

Christ tells us that if we believe in Him, then rivers of living water will flow from our hearts. Share that living water with those who thirst most. 

Source

It is true that while Jesus was on the cross, He thought about you and me. This is evidence in His prayer for forgiveness of those who crucified Him. My point is that, sometimes, our worship begins to focus on ourselves instead of the great love God expresses towards us in the person of Jesus Christ. At some point, it becomes prideful, and self-centered.

The Word of God consistently calls us to a life of self-denial, and not self-love. Very little is written in the Bible about boosting the ego of Christians, but much is said about avoiding self-love. Instead of loving ourselves, we are to love God, praise God, worship God, and obey God.

For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.       

  -2 Timothy 3:2-5

So, how is it that sinful man would ever want to deny himself or herself in order to worship God? There is no human explanation. I can only say that when one hears and comprehends the Word of God, and one experiences the love and acceptance of God, the natural response is to deny self, and instead focus on God. Take a look at the Zacchaeus, tax collector. Here is his response to hearing the loving and accepting words of Christ:

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

He didn’t have to be told to deny himself. His self-denial was in response to repentance, offered in the realization that he was but a filthy sinner staring at a pure and holy God. That should be our response, too. We deny ourselves so that we may fill our hearts with His Spirit, and our minds with His Word.

Source

I’ve done in again. I do the things that I don’t want to do… that I never want to do. And the things I want to do, well… I just don’t do them. That paraphrasing of the words of Apostle Paul could apply to every man and woman who has ever served God. They apply to me. Yesterday, you and I talked about dying daily, but which of us go a day without failing God? I die daily because I know I fail Him daily. 

As a young Christian, I often asked my pastor if I could sin so much that God wouldn’t forgive me. Many times I feared I had reached a “point of no return.” Now, I know that there is no sin too awful to be washed away by the blood of the Son of God. To think so is wrong, and, in its own peculiar way, prideful. 

God’s love is unconditional. He doesn’t love us when we are good and hate us when we are bad. His love never changes. To think otherwise is to attribute frail human qualities to the perfect nature of God. His love never fails us. In a strange and inexplicable way, He is always ready to forgive me when I sin. He’s ready to forgive you, too. 

His love truly is amazing. 

…I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.         -Romans 7:14-17

O wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!.                                 -Romans 7:24-25

Source

That last challenge, to take up our crosses, is difficult for many  21st century Christians to understand. At least, it is difficult for us to understand it in the same way that first century Christians understood it. 

The cross was more than a symbol of shame; it was the ultimate shame and disgrace. Criminals were put to death on the cross. Traitors were hung on a cross, and enemies of the state. Unlike contemporary capital punishment, like the electric chair or lethal injection, the cross was not a quick death and certainly not merciful. It created a tortuous and lingering death, one that was excruciatingly (the word excruciating, in fact, means “of the cross”) painful, and designed to make a public spectacle, an example. 

To take up our crosses means to deny ourselves of our carnal desires. It means to rid our hearts of its perverted, sinful nature and fill it with the nature of Christ. To take up our crosses means to be willing to lay down our lives for Christ, and in a more practical sense, it means to give our lives to Christ. 

What’s more, we are to deny ourselves and take up our crosses daily. This willingness to give our lives to Christ and for Christ is the key to following in Christ’s footsteps. The journey is a day-by-day, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute, and breath-by-breath surrender to God. 

When we walk daily in absolute surrender to Christ, our hearts reflect His heart, and our desires are to grow ever closer to God. 

To paraphrase Dr Charles Stanley, before we can live, we must be prepared to die. 

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Jesus made this clear in a series of parables recounted in Matthew 24 and 25. The Parable of the Talents demonstrates clearly to us that God has given each and every one of His Children a gift – our lives, and that one day, we will be asked to account for what we have done with that life. 

Many lessons can be learned from this parable An excellent summary of five of those lessons may be found here. Yet, while I have heard many men of God equate this parable to our gifts and talents, and many more who say this parable clearly teaches us to be good stewards of our money, I have heard few – if any – who apply this parable to our time. 

There are no surveys to completely answer this question. George Barna reports that only one in three Americans read the Bible at least once a week. Half of Americans read the Bible at least once a month. 

The Washington Post (here) claims that most Americans spend around eight minutes a day praying, with Montana spending only about two minutes daily on their knees and Southerners spending about 17 minutes each day praying. 

The average church-going Christian in America spends over thirty times more time in front of a TV than in front of a pulpit. Will God point this out to us on Judgement Day? I don’t know, but I do know… I feel… we should be as accountable for our time as we are our money. 

If we believe in tithing 10 percent, should we not also give to God 10 percent of our time? This, to me, is a no-brainer. 

2.4 hours a day spent in communion with or service to God. “It’s about time” I try this. 

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Note: I understand that the common conception of Judgement Day is that only those who never accepted Jesus as their Savior will face Judgement. I use the term generically in this devotion to refer to that day when Christian will exchange their works for a crown. 

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There was no preaching. Just earnest prayer for one another. They prayed to save families. They prayed for lives to be changed. They threw themselves on the altar of God and begged for mercy. The prayer meetings spread to Philadelphia, to Chicago, then across country, then to Europe.

Newspapers reported on its effects daily. There was no leader in this revival, no hysteria, no show, and little preaching. There were many changes lives.

Businesses nationwide began to close at noon to attend daily prayer. Most historians believe that 1 million souls were brought to salvation. Conservative estimates put that number at 300,000.

It began with one man’s desire to pray. Revival always begins in prayer. It is time once again for us to pray.

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“Your finger?” Mitch says smiling. 

“One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else loses all meaning.” Of course, being an old ranch hand, Curly’s language is more salty. 

“But what is that one thing?”

“That’s what you have to find out,” says Curly, the cowboy sage. 

Many Christians struggle to discover that One Thing.  They can spend their entire life in vain pursuit of one thing after another but fail to find the One Thing. The Apostle Paul, a man much less worried about comedic affects or entertaining others, tells us exactly what the One Thing is. In Philippians 3:13, he tells us,

…one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

So, what is that One Thing? It is reaching the goal, or the journey to to reach the goal. In other words, the One Thing that most matters to Paul is to live everyday in total devotion to Jesus Christ. As Christians, this also should our One Thing, the one thing that matters most. 

What exactly does Paul mean when he talks about reaching forward and pressing ahead? What exactly is complete or total devotion to Jesus Christ? Let’s look at the context of this scripture. 

1. Total devotion means giving up EVERYTHING. Paul considers his old life gone, forgotten, behind him (vs. 7-8). What he had once considered to be an essential part of his life – his name, reputation, standing in the community, wealth, education, religion- pales in comparison to his love for Jesus Christ. Though he lost it all, he doesn’t care. He is glad to have given it all up; he gladly traded it all for a deeper relationship with the Savior who sacrificed Himself to atone for Paul’s sins. Indeed, Paul has not just given up his old life, but has given up all this he is and ever will be…
2. Giving up EVERYTHING for WHAT? Why make such a sacrifice? Why give up everything? Paul gave up everything for the “excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus” his Lord. Once we get to know Jesus, through studying His Word… Once we get to know Jesus through fasting and prayer… Once we get to know Jesus by basking in His presence… Then we discover the excellence of His love. We give up all that is necessary to be able to spend just another minute at His feet, and living in His light. 
3. To know Him and the power of His resurrection. Which of us would not wish to intimately know God if meant that we could share in the power of His resurrection? The power of His resurrection is the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, but more than that, it is the power to be free of the sin that binds us in our present life. 
4. To share in the fellowship of His sufferings. The claim that Paul makes is that he wishes to share in Christ’s sufferings. This from a man who once dealt out sufferings similar to that which Christ endured. He knew the power of the Roman whip. He knew the slow tortuous death on the cross, yet he longed to suffer like Christ. He was told at the beginning of theHis ministry  things he would suffer for Christ, but, still, he longed for more. He longed to submit to Christ, so that he may share in the loving light of Christ. 

Paul longed to be confirmed to the death of Christ, if it meant sharing in the resurrection of Christ. This is the One Thing that mattered to him. And it should be the One Thing that matters to me and you. 

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“Technological progress without an equivalent progress in human institutions can doom us,” Mr. Obama said, adding that such technology “requires a moral revolution as well.” 

This statement is disturbing on many levels, not the least of which because he implies that to drop the bomb we must have been morally bankrupt.

History is in no need of defense. 130,000 lives were lost in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but perhaps half a million lives would have been lost on both sides of Operation Downfall, the Allied invasion of Japan, had it proceeded.

On a much deeper level, President Obama suggests that human morality is, or should be, fluid, changing at the same rapid pace at which technology changes. It is, or should not be, a constant, according to our president. This should come as no surprise, for our president, like all progressives, does not believe in immutable truth.

There really is, Mr. President, such a thing as moral truth. It is unchanging, immutable, and it once was the guiding light by which we, as a nation, governed ourselves. It should still be our standard today.

Had progressives not disregarded the truth in their quest to fundamentally change our world, we would be today much better off. For when the truth constantly changes and when morality is fluid… when what is right one day is wrong the next and what is wrong today is right tomorrow, then no one can stand firm. Mr. Obama does not have to call for changing morality, for he and others like him have already created such a world. The very ground on which we as a nation place our feet is crumbling beneath us. It seems that we can only watch as our nation is destroyed.

Here is the immutable truth against which Mr. Obama fights:• That all men are created equal.

• That we are endowed by our Creator (not our elite government benefactors) with certain unalienable Rights, and that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

• That all life is unique, sacred, and precious, from the conception until God takes that life home.

• That murder is wrong.

• That to lie is wrong.

• That to covet and steal is wrong.

• That to give freely as we are able to the poor, sick, and needy is our duty.

• That we are to protect and care for our families is our right and our duty.

• That we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, no matter who they are.

• That we have a right and a duty to protect our nation from invasion. 

In spite of what progressives wish for you to believe, the extraordinarily large body of writings by our nation’s founders portray our nation as one founded on Judeo-Christian morals. Thomas Jefferson, among many others believed this nation to be the embodiment of the new Israel. He proposed that the seal of the United States should portray the Exodus, for he viewed the U.S. as the New Promised Land, a land of liberty, and Europe as an oppressive type of Egypt. While progressives paint him as a deist at best, he instituted Christian worship services in the capitol building. Ours is indeed a Christian nation, or it once was.

It wasn’t until we allowed the courts to remove Christ and Christian morals from the public arena that our nation began its decline. It’s okay, Christians reasoned; they don’t have to call our value system Christian, so long as they don’t change it. No one could have predicted just how much our nation would change once we set aside our Christian morals. 

Morals change daily in 21st century America, for truth has been eliminated and there remains no firm foundation on which to base our beliefs. We have no moral compass and our national leaders are delusional. Perversion is worshipped and family values are attacked. Our leaders uphold or ignored laws on a whim. Laws respected yesterday are ignored today. Lies are repeated so often that the populace eventually believe it. Those who deny popular falsehoods are ridiculed, rejected, sanctioned, or threatened. Our world values nothing but pleasure and power, for there is no value in truth.  

This upside-down world must either self-destruct or seek repentance. There is no other alternative. This is not a time, Mr. Obama, to seek further change. Had the electorate known eight years ago of what nature change you promoted, you would have lost the election. The only change that will restore sanity, liberty, and trust us to fall to our knees, turn from our wicked ways, and seek God’s face. 2 Chronicles 7:14. 

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3. Stop being so timid. I often hear church people say, “You are the only Bible some folks may ever read.” While the sentiment of this statement is admirable, the metaphor is insufficient. Never does God’s Word say to be a silent witness, which is the way many Christians live. Indeed our life must be a witness, but so must our word. We are to preach and pray, testify and teach, and spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

4. Stop denying God’s power. God doesn’t answer prayers like He used to, or so people say. Or perhaps, God simply doesn’t call people to be Elijahs, or Pauls, or Peter anymore. This is not so. Elijah was a nobody when God began using him. Paul was a self-righteous, murderous man when Jesus called him. God, in fact, still uses people in miraculous ways. Stop denying God’s power and ask why God is not working in your church. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

5. Stop seeking new programs. To a large portion of that 21st century American church, Sunday school is outdated. Small groups are misused and abused. Floundering churches desperately grasp for new programs or restarts in hope of growing their numbers. While John Wesley may never have said, “Set yourself afire and people will come from miles to watch you burn,” it is true nonetheless. Stop spending money on new programs and rebranding and, instead, spend time in prayer, Bible study and seeking the power of the Holy Spirit. Don’t worry about numbers, rather worry about your relationship with God and with one another.

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A good Muslim can be sure of heaven only by becoming a martyr. 

• A good Christian is sure of salvation by the witness of the Holy Spirit in her life.

A Good Muslim believes that non-believers are infidels to be subjugated, with no standing in Muslim society. 

• A good Christian believes that non-believers are God’s children to be love and prayed over.

A good Muslim views Allah as a dictator, who issues harsh commandments, impossible to keep.

• A good Christian sees God as a loving father, who issued 10 commandments to keep His children safe. 

A good Muslim believes that every man should live in bondage to sharia law. 

• A good Christian understands that she is a sinner, and that the Law points to the bondage of sin, and that Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection frees her from sin. 

A good Muslim is a slave to Allah. 

• A good Christian is a willing bondservant to God’s loving, compassionate will for her life. God’s law demonstrates our fallibility, and points our need for redemption.

A good Muslim believes he should kill infidels. 

• A good Christian believes that when the apostle Peter took up the sword, Christ told him to put it down; she fights only to protect herself, her family, and nation. 

A good Muslim believes Allah demands that men, women, and children sacrifice their lives to be guaranteed a place in paradise. 

• A good Christian believes that God sacrificed His Son to guarantee her a place in heaven. 

A good Muslim believes that women are property, to be subjugated and used.  

• A good Christian respects women and treats them as equals. 

A good Muslim believes that harsh civil laws of a theocracy should dictate societal norms. 

• Because of her belief in freedom from sin, a good Christian trusts in a free society based on a constitution founded on Judeo-Christian ethics.

A good Muslim believes that one who – like the staff of Charlie Hebdo – portrays Allah in a negative manner, should be killed (fatwa).

• A good Christian may not like sacrilegious things but understands that God gives her and everyone else the freedom to live as she chooses; she may not like the way others live and believe, but vengeance is God’s province. 

A good Muslim believes in killing adulterous women, just as Mohammed did. 

• A good Christian may not like the deeds of the adulterer, but believes in forgiveness, because Christ forgave.

A good Muslim coerces non-believers to convert to Islam. 

• A good Christian believes that by letting Christ shine from within, and by always being ready to speak of Christ, non-believers will become pliable and willing to listen when the Holy Spirit speaks to them.

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1. The Miracle of the Calming of the Storm (Mark 4:35-41). This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. Christ gives comfort during the storms of life. Sometimes, though God allows the storms to rage because that’s how we grow. The storm is where we learn  our lessons. It is during the storms that we grow closest to God. 
2. The Storm that Interrupted Paul’s Journey to Rome (Acts 27:21-26). Whereas those young followers of Christ temporarily lost faith when a storm hit their small fishing boat, when a storm hit the ship upon which Paul was held prisoner, it was he who shared his faith with those around him. We will face storms. They will come in many forms, but they are certain to come. As we mature in Christ during storm after storm Er learn not to blame God, but to trust in Him, and to help others keep the faith. Paul said, I have faith in God, that he will do just as He promised. 
3. The Scattered Christians to Whom Peter was Addressing (1 Peter 1:1-16). Peter addressed Christians ensuring storms. These storms were persecutions. And in the missy of their storms, he encouraged them to be holy. In ofthe middle  of their trials, Peter wad telling them that the I’ve thing that mattered most was not to be rescued from their hardship, but to be holy through it all. 

Conclusion – trials come to make us strong, and to provide opportunities to master in our holiness. 

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Sometimes, you can feel all alone, even in a crowd. Even when dozens of friends and family offer to talk, you still feel like you have no one to talk to. You feel all alone. You feel like everyone thinks you are worthless. Sometimes, you even believe it yourself. You are not worthless and alone. 
God created you for a reason. The purpose of your life is three-fold. 
1. God created you because He loves you. Before you were ever born, He loved you. Before He created the universe, He loved you. He loves you now. He always will. “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).
2. He created you so you could love others and lead them to Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18-19, Matthew 28:16-20). He tells us to love one another, as we do ourselves. He knows that we feel more complete when we share the love that He instills in us. 
3. We were created to do good works. He prepared us in advance to do good works, to share our love, to share His love, to feed the poor, to give water to the thirsty, to help widows and orphans, to heal the blond, to make they lame to walk again, to visit those in prison. Whatever God had told you to do, He had prepared you for it (Ephesians 2:10). 
You are not worthless and alone. You have a reason to live. You are on an exciting mission, a mission from God. 

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Likewise, we deny ourselves and serve God, or we deny God and serve ourselves. There is no compromise.
There is no turning back… Not once we are set free. 

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I am like that, one minute I worship Christ, and the next I’m seeking the things of the world. Aren’t we all like that sometimes?

Paul talks about the same thing. In Romans 7, he talks about the struggle with carnal nature and declares that he is hopeless. In Romans 8, he says Christ is his only hope for rescue. Peter also declares Christ is our only hope to conquer sin. In 1 Peter 4:1-2, he tells us to put on the mind of Christ – to arm ourselves with that same mind – for he who suffered in the flesh has overcome sin. 

Only Christ can rescue us from sin: scilicet is superis labor est …. A care well worthy of the labor of God. 

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Chapter One
Your link to the first installment of The Quest.

View this email in your browser
Hi, as you requested, here is the Second installment of The Quest for the Heart and Mind of Jesus Christ (chapter one). What you are looking at is the final draft of a manuscript that I am preparing for publication. as a subscriber to Christian Holiness Daily, you will receive notifications (on average of about one a week when a new section or chapter is ready to read. At the end, you will receive a free copy of the ebook and a discount offer for the hard copy.

The first installment of The Quest can be found at this page: http://christianholinessdaily.com/the-quest/
Your feedback as “first readers” is greatly appreciated. Send questions, comments or suggestions to steve.hager@outlook.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

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They crucified Him yesterday and even God could not bear to look at the sight. Joseph and Nicodemus entombed Him before the Sabbath began. They took a risk, asking for His body. Suppose someone accused them of following Him? What would happen to them? What would happen to me, if they found out I had followed Him?
He’s dead. What to do? What now? I despair. All is lost. I am without hope. I pray, but why? It seems all I knew and believed has just been disproved. 

The world crumbles around me. Rome squeezes an ever-tightening grip around our neck. The High Priest has been bought and paid for. The Sanhedrin is corrupt. The Pharisees are all hypocrites. We are slaves to the powers that be. Our only hope lies dead. God, help us all. 

Still, I pray… Without ceasing, I pray. 

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