Master Of The Controlled Crash

 

The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.

Psalm 37:23-24.

We serve a God who is intimately acquainted with us and infinitely more patient with us than we can comprehend. When we mess up and things are not going well, we do a good job of beating up on ourselves. On our own, we are a sorry lot.

The good news is that we are not on our own. God promises to hold onto us no matter what. He is the master of the controlled crash. Everyone walks away knowing things are going to be okay.

Remember, God is holding on to you. 

Prayer Can Accomplish Much

 

Is anyone among you suffering?  Then he must pray.  Is anyone cheerful?  He is to sing praises.

Is anyone among you sick?  Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.  The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 

James 5:13-16 

We are doing this wrong. If we are suffering, we whine or complain or say nothing. If we are sick, we go around looking tortured. The right thing to do is to pray. And, we should have no qualms about calling on our Christian friends to come pray for our recovery and they should have no qualms about praying for us.

We are not islands, we are continents of Christian compassion and we need to act like it. So, the next time one of your friends is whining about oppression, rotten kids or a stomach ache, say, “Let me pray with you.” Then do it.

Prayer should not be our last resort.  Prayer should be our first choice.

Prayer can accomplish much.

Amen

 

Rain, Floods and Wind

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.”

“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell – and great was the fall.”

When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teachings; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Matthew 7:24-29

Jesus' teachings prepare us to live our best life.  We are equipped to love one another and treat one another with respect.  We are taught how to manage our business affairs.  And, most of all we are taught to care for and minister to each other.  We can rely on our brothers and sisters in the Lord to help us and to offer good advice when we face difficult times.  We are also given wisdom so we can  evaluate life's sticky situations.  

And, we have the power of prayer backing us up.  We pray and God hears us.  

When the rain, the floods and the winds of life come, we are prepared thanks be to God. 

 

Time, Time. Where Does It Go?

Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

Ephesians 5:15-16

Nobody has enough time. We run from one thing to another. We rush our kids. We rush our spouse. We rush our parents. We rush through dinner, if we have time for dinner. Everything thing is hurry, hurry, hurry. Why is this?

I think the key to this scripture is the word “walk.” Careful walking means that we consider what is important and make time for those things, and avoid being over scheduled with activities which pay us back with excessive stress and fatigue, and leave us cranky for the ones we love the best.

Slow things down, think about what serves you and your family best.  And, make some time to rest and sit around with your family and just be together.

What Is Good

 

“For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. 

"For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. 

"The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” 

Luke 6:43-45

Jesus said some things which can be hard for people to take, especially when what He said points out a fault they possess.

We also can read this as advice to us regarding how we are to evaluate those who we come into contact with.  Jesus is telling us that regardless how people may act, the true measure of whether or not they are good or evil is the words that come out of their mouths and their actions.

Jesus wants us to be aware that bad people do and say bad things and good people do and say good things.

Therefore, we should strive to do what is good.

Look For Opportunities To Show God's Love

 

But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

1 John 3:17

In his writings John is affectionate toward us but he is also a tough task master.  He lets us know that if we say we are Christians, we need to behave in a Christ like manner and do what Jesus commanded us to do – love one another.  

One day in the 1960's, when I was a child, my mother sent me to the grocery store to buy a loaf of bread.  I saw Mike who was 7 years old and wearing a dirty undershirt, torn pants and no shoes; he was one of the poor kids.  His father died and he lived in a shack with his mother and siblings.  Mike was paying for a loaf of bread with deposit money from pop bottles he salvaged from an overgrown lot next to the store.  Mike was short six cents and the cashier sent him back outside to find three more bottles.  Bread was twenty cents a loaf then.  

 

Don’t you think someone standing in line could have paid the six cents?   Nobody did. 

It could be argued that it did not hurt Mike to dig through the weeds for pop bottles, but if someone would have said, “Let me get that for you,” and paid that six cents, Mike might have seen God’s love.

Look for opportunities to show God's love.

Sin Is A Sticky Trap

 

For we know that the Law is spiritual but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.

For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing that which I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.

So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh, for the willing is present in me, but the doing of good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.

But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

For I joyfully concur with the law of God, in the inner man, but

I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other with my flesh the law of sin.

Romans 7:14-25

The Apostle Paul said it well, “I do not understand; for I am not practicing that which I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.”

Sin is a sticky trap which even the most devout and serious Christian cannot escape. Every day we face hundreds of temptations to do evil and every day we succumb to some of them. We cannot say we do not sin because if we even think evil things about others we have sinned.

So, what is the solution? The answer is in Jesus Christ who once and for all cleansed us from our sin. We sin, but we still serve God.

The ruler by which we measure our sin is far shorter than that of God. We say we are bad, God says we are forgiven.

So, let us strive to clean up our lives and to sin less, but let us remember that sin is sticky and it is only the swipe of forgiveness of God that can cleanse us.

When we ask, God forgives us. 

What Does The Lord Require?

 

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

 

Micah 6:8

This verse models Jesus’ ministry on earth.  When Jesus spoke or acted, He did so to show justice or kindness.  He was above all else, a humble man whose ambition was to please God, His Father. 

If we want to be Christ like, then we need to consider how we can live our lives to reflect justice, kindness and humility.

The Known God

 

So Paul stood in the midst of the Council of Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.  For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.  Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.”

“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath, and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are His children.’”

“Being the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.”

“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has raised from the dead.”

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer but others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.”

So Paul went out of their midst.

But some men joined him and believed….

Acts17:22-34

 

I think this is one of the Apostle Paul's greatest sermons.  His description of God is powerful and persuasive and rings true today.

People are still seeking the Unknown God.  He is the God we know who loves them, and requires no silver or gold but only their worship.  

God is right there with those who seek Him, waiting to be invited into their lives.  All we have to do is what The Apostle Paul did, tell them that God “…is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist….”  And, we are His children.

 

We know the Known God and we can introduce Him to those who are seeking.  Be bold like Paul, when you see an opportunity to tell someone about Jesus, do it.   

Meal Time Is Happy Time

Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it than a house full of feasting with strife.

Proverbs 17:1 

Meal time is happy time.  It is not the time to discipline children or argue with our spouses or our guests. 

Meal time should be a time of sharing about the day's happenings.  A time for congratulations and for fostering a feeling of safety in the family.  If meal time at your house is rowdy, perhaps you can set a few rules and share them with your family before meal time so they have time to think about them.

God is all about loving one another and we can bring love to the dinner table.

Love One Another

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.    

The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 

 

By this the love of God was manifested in us that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.  

 

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

 

1 John 4:7-11

In the comic strip Peanuts Linus once said, “I love humanity.  It is people I can’t stand.” 

 

Human nature is a lot like that.  It is difficult for us to love people who are not lovable, but those are the people who need love the most. 

Once we have experienced God’s love, His love begins to work in us.  We see people not as they are on the outside, but as people who God loves and we begin to love them.  

 

We offer kindness and understanding and love to others, because when we are filled with God's love it is bound to spill out. 

 

So, remember God loved us, so we ought to love one another. 

  

While We Were Helpless

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for a good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8

God does not limit His love to only good people or people with small sins.  God's love is for everyone. He dares to do what no one else ever has done.  He loves us when we are sinners, when we are not good.  

Jesus came for all men, women and children.  And, He is waiting for you.

This is possible, not because we are good, but because God is good.  

Invite Jesus into your life today, be forgiven and feel God's love. 

God Is On Your Side

 

The Lord sustains all who fall

And raises up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to You.

And You give them their food in due time.

You open Your hand

And satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all His ways

And kind in all His deeds.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

He will fulfill the desires of those who fear Him;

He will also hear their cry and will save them.

Psalm 145:14-19

God completely cares for us.  When we are down He lifts us up.  He meets our needs.  And, He is kind to us.

When we call on God, He hears and answers.

We are never left alone, because God is always with us.  

Trust God, He is on your side. 

Speak Up

 

Open your mouth for the mute,

For the rights of the unfortunate.

Open your mouth, judge righteously,

And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.

Proverbs 31:8-9

Did you ever see something happen that you thought was unfair and did not say anything?  I have.  Afterwards I got a double whammy of discomfort caused by witnessing an injustice and doing nothing to stop it. 

Why don’t we speak up?  Are afraid of being told to “mind your own business” or being ridiculed?  If we think about what Jesus would do, there is no doubt that He would intervene.   

Speak up.  It is the right thing to do.

Comfort Those Who Are Suffering

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

God’s comfort brings us peace in the worst of times. Because we have this great gift from God, we are able to comfort those who are suffering.

Comfort, like all the gifts we receive from God, is ours to give away.

A Place of Forgiveness and Grace

 

And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 

Romans 11:23

How far from the grace of God can someone fall? 

Atheists say there is no God and agnostics are unsure if there is a God.  Yet, for atheists and agnostics even in their state of unbelief and uncertainty, God is waiting to restore them to the place He has for them – a place of forgiveness and grace. God never stops loving anyone.

We are His and He is waiting.

Be Kind To Seekers

 

So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 

 

Luke 11:9-10

 

Seekers are everywhere. 

Jesus knows that people take all sorts of routes to find Him.  Some come to God after exploring other religions and some have a lifetime of struggling with different ideas and beliefs before they reach out to Jesus.  Some come because they want more out of life, but they are not sure what that more is. 

Our call is not to trample these people because of their ideas, but to lead them with kindness to knock on the door where Jesus waits.

 

Be kind to seekers.

Now Is The Time

 

And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain—for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.”  

 

Behold now is “the acceptable time,” behold now is “the day of salvation." 

 

2 Corinthians 6:1-2

We are spiritual beings.  God made us this way.  To be all that we can be we need a relationship with God.  God made it easy for us.  He sent His Son, Jesus, to cleanse us of our sin and make us into new people in Him.  All we need to do is acknowledge Jesus as our Lord, Master and Savior, and we are redeemed and we rest in God’s favor.

Now is the time.

The Apostles Did It, We Can, Too

 

For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.

We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ, we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor.

To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.

1 Corinthians 4:9-13

So, you think you are having a bad day? The Apostle Paul gives us a glimpse of what every day was like for the apostles. Yes, they had their church friends, but they also had a world full of enemies who killed all of them except John the Beloved.

What does this teach us? It teaches us that it is not always easy to be a Christian and to act in a Christ like manner. It teaches us that even when we do what is right, there will be people who will criticize and torment us for doing the right thing.

And, should we do something wrong, there will be people who know nothing of the forgiveness of God, who will yell at us and gossip about our shortcomings.

All this stuff happens, but we know our faith rests in God and that we are called by God to do His work. Therefore, we keep on working for God and sharing the Gospel.

If Paul and the apostles did it, we can, too.

Sing For Joy

 

But let all who take refuge in You be glad,

Let them ever sing for joy;

And may you shelter them,

That those who love your name may exult in You.

For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord,

You surround him with favor as with a shield.

Psalm 5:11-12

Every now and then, we get something going that is not good.  Maybe our spouse or our kids are mad at us.  Maybe we are falsely accused.  Or, it might be, through no fault of our own, we end up alone.  All these things can cause us to feel hopeless. 

But we are not hopeless because God promises us that we can take refuge in Him and He will restore our joy and He will bless us.  And, He will surround us with favor like a shield.  

We sing for joy because God is on our side.

Filled Up

 

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven or on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to His be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generation forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21 

If you aren’t charged up for God, after reading this prayer, you should be. 

God welcomes our prayers, in whatever words we chose to use. However, the Bible also provides us prayers we can pray. This prayer is powerful in that it opens us up to receive from God the knowledge of His great love for us and be filled up to all the fullness of God.

God’s love is high voltage and it is in us.

More Than Words

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 

 "You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart.  

The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things.  

But I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment. 

For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Matthew 12:33-37

My Uncle Al was not a religious man and he rarely went to church, but he did read his Bible and when he talked about the Bible he said, "It's heavy," meaning it had deep meaning which made him think.

That describes this passage in which Jesus was addressing the Pharisees, and which we too can take to heart.

Jesus warns us to not be careless with our words and to think before we speak because when we stand before God we will either be justified or condemned by our words.

Remember, when we are talking, it's more than words, it is a revelation of our hearts, and we want our words to reveal the good in our hearts. 

Keep Going For God

 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

James 1:2-4

Nobody likes trials and tribulations.  They can be heart wrenching and heart breaking and at the very least frustrating, but they also make us stronger because we gain confidence by overcoming the problems we face.  Overcoming may mean victory, or it may mean that we go on serving God, even if things do not workout according to our plans and wishes. 

I won’t say shake it off, but I will say keep going for God.  Things will get better and you will get stronger. 

No Fish, No Problem

Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 

And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat. 

Now when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”   

Simon responded and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”  And when they had done this, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear;  so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking.

But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”  For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and likewise also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. 

And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

Luke 5:1-11 

If you know anything about fishermen, you know they like to brag about the fish they catch, so this for Simon was a humbling moment when he confessed they had caught no fish. Yet, here he was, face to face with Jesus and he did as he was told and caught so many fish, that he had to call for help to bring them in.  

I look at this and think how sometimes when we are ready to quit some failing venture, that something happens that brings us enough success that we decide to carry on. That is the way it is with God, when are down to nothing, God is up to something.   

And, for Simon, James and John that is exactly what happened - Jesus called them to be His Disciples and they left everything and followed Him.

So, when you think you are not successful, remember that God's plans are bigger than our plans, and, He will open doors for you to find success. 

Today Is For You

 

Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:27

It's Sunday and it's your day.  Relax and do something you want to do.

Jesus said it and we believe it.

Have a good day. 

 

No Sin Is Too Big For God To Forgive

 

“Come now, and let us reason together,”

Says the Lord,

“Though your sins are as scarlet,

They will be as white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They will be like wool.”

Isaiah1:18

Do you think your sin is too big for God to forgive? 

Think again. God says He will forgive you.  Jesus came to forgive all sins, not just the small ones. When we confess our sins, repent and ask Jesus to be our Lord, Master and Savior, we are new in the eyes of God. As far as God is concerned, there is nothing that prohibits us from ministering in His name.

However, we still may face the problem of people and what they think. The barriers caused by our previous sins might not so easily be reconciled with humans.  What then can we do?

We can find places to minister where others are not ministering. We can serve the homeless, we can work with refugees, or we can provide lawn care to those who need help.  We can create an awareness of the needs in our community.  When we seek God's direction, He will provide us with more opportunities to minister than we can do alone, and God will send people to help us. 

Be brave. 

When God calls answer Him. 

Need A Break?

Then he came to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

1 Kings 19:9-10.

Elijah called the fire down from heaven. I would call that a roaring success, but Elijah was discouraged and hid in a cave.  He was exhausted.  

We all have times when we feel like we have been beaten up when all we were trying to do was the right thing.  We need to take a break and take time to pray and study the scriptures and to rest.  

That’s OK, but don’t lose heart.  God will come looking for you, and when He does say, “Here Am I.” 

Read I Kings 18 and 19 to get the whole story of Elijah calling the fire down from heaven. 

The Right Time

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

James 4:17

Sometimes it takes a life time of bad choices to figure this out, but I say, "Why wait?" 

Think before you act. 

As Martin Luther King said, "The time is always right do do what is right." 

 

Everything Will Be Alright

 

Then Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity?  Curse God and die!”

But Job said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks.  Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?”  In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Job 2:9-10

Did you ever notice when bad things happen to Christians there are always people who say they must have done something wrong?

I should know because I have felt at times like I was melting in the midst of purgatory with accusations from those who I thought would support me in the worst five minutes of my life.  I was driven to the point of questioning my faith. 

Then I discovered my accusers were wrong.  If your spouse cheated on you or your child got arrested or your house burnt down or if you were laid off from your job, it was not because you sinned.  It is because God has some bigger plan He is working on and you just happen to be right in the middle of it. 

It may be rough going, but we need to praise God for our circumstances and with great anticipation wait to see what He has planned next. 

Raise your hands up and say, “Thank you God for everything.  I trust you.  Hallelujah!  Amen.”

Take A Walk

Therefore I, a prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, and being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope in your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. 

Ephesians 4:1-6

Paul wrote to the Ehesians to encourage them to maintain their Christian faith in his absence.

Paul points out that we, as Christians, have a higher calling than our own personal agendas, that being serving God by acting with humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, and striving for unity in the Church.

All of this is possible because the one God and Father is over all and through all and in all.  All includes us!

So, take a walk and find the bond of peace.