Monthly Archives: November 2014

Our Response

Posted on by

In my lifetime I have been hurt, offended and angered so many times that I cannot even begin to calculate the number.  In life you must have pretty thick skin or you will not make it.  When I worked in police, fire and EMS thick skin was definitely a requirement.  Now, being in the ministry takes even thicker skin.

One problem with thick skin is that nothing penetrates it.  That was profound I know.  Think about it.  I remember a time in my life that I was ashamed of my tears and I asked God to take them away.  He took them away and I became the hardest and dry person you could meet.  I soon begged for the tears back.  Thankfully in God’s mercy He permitted them to come back and I have not done that again.

There is a delicate balance between being thick skinned and being just hardened.  When you are so hard that you will not even listen to the Holy Spirit of the Living God then you are on dangerous ground.  When one is thick skinned He will still listen for that still small voice; but, he will not allow anyone to get to him or her.

I am thinking about some dear friends that have hurt me deeply in the past.  I do not think that they did it intentionally.  If they did they are true hypocrites.  I really don’t think they intended to insult my character and crush me deeply.  As I pondered this situation I went to Psalm 55:12-13, “For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:  But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.”

Now comes the really hard part.  Do I allow my hardened condition (if one exists) to respond in hatred?  Do I allow my thick skinned heart to forgive them and move on?  Oh; by the way, if I respond in the love of Christ with forgiveness then I can move on and be useful to God.  If not I will surely drown in bitterness and hate.  That slough is no place for a Christian to be.

So, how are you doing?

Strong

Posted on by

When I was growing up on the farm I did many things that other boys did.  If I was not working I had a BB gun in my hand and I was out around the farm shooting at things.  I was constantly into things for sure.

One thing every boy needs to be a part of on the farm is bailing hay.  You just have not live until you put hay in the barn and it feels like the temperature in the barn is 150′.  Working out in the field bailing is hard enough; but, to be sent into the barn was horrible.

I remember a day when I could carry one bale in each hand.  I cannot even remember how heavy a bale was back then.  They were heavy for sure.  I can hear my uncle telling other farmers, “He is as strong as a bull.”

The sad reality is that was about thirty years ago.  Now, I grow older and just this past week have been struggling to open things in the kitchen.  I nearly cried the other day because I did not have the strength to do something I have done for many years.  This is life now, I guess.

Now all I can do is pray as David did in Psalm 18:17, “He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.”  This is a stark reminder of the truth that I am weak; but, He is strong.  I thank God that He is my strength.

We have to remember that we must rely upon our omnipotent (all powerful) God.  When we get to big for our britches so to speak we will get a reminder for sure.  Our God is an awesome God and He is all powerful!

So, how are you doing?

His Money’s Worth

Posted on by

I used to work with a guy who had for his motto, “Buying is buying and selling is selling.”  In other words if you get the short end of the stick it is your fault because you agreed to pay the price.  I have made many bad deals in my life for sure.  Most of the time I have received the short end of the deal.

With this in mind I would like you to consider a thought provoking statement by a friend Evangelist Harrell Noble.  He said, “Did Christ get what He paid for … in you”.  Well, I can honestly say that I do not believe Jesus got anywhere near what He paid for in me.  Now, I was not in the service where Brother Noble preached and made this statement.  So, I might be off track with what he was saying.

I do know Brother Noble and he is an awesome preacher and servant of God.  One thing I know about me is that to be totally honest, God did not get what He paid for with me.  I have failed Him miserably in every area of my life.

Now, the thing is whether I continue in defeat and drown in self-pity.  I cannot.  I must realize that God is able to work in and through me to accomplish His will.  Look at Ephesians 1:14, “Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

We are a “purchased possession” of Christ.  He paid with His precious blood and His life.  This makes you and I eternally special and loved.  Now, go on and live like it.

So, how are you doing?

Etched

Posted on by

Yesterday evening I caught a bit of a show about the Terra Cotta warriors.  What I watched was interesting.  They told about how the emperor held the people and made them work.

There was a hierarchy, which had one craftsman supervising ten people.  Each worker had to sign their work.  So, if your work was substandard according to the emperor you were removed and killed.  That was some motivation.

Well, this caused me to think.  Our God is The Master Craftsmen.  Think about how each one of us has fingerprints that are unique to each individual.  Wow!  Our Father knows the number of hairs on our head.  He even bottles our tears and puts them into a bottle.  This just amazes me.

Just like each of those craftsmen and workers put their names on each individual piece of work so our God has put His name on each piece of His handy work.  I watched as they showed a re-enactment of someone engraving their name into a piece of metal work.  God has also engraved; if you will, in every human being about Himself.  It is up to each one of us to respond to the knowledge we have been given.  Look at Romans 1:19, “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.”  The phrase “that which may be known” means well known.  So it is not some secret that God tries to hide the knowledge of Himself from us.  He wants us to know Him deeply and intimately.  Which is much the opposite of the emperor in the story of the Terra Cotta warriors.  The world “manifest” means shining  and has to do with being apparent.

The knowledge of God is well known to us and it is shining and apparent to us.  The problem is that we suppress this truth because we want to live our lives the way we want and not according to the will of God.  This is sad because God wants all men, women, boys and girls to be saved.

So, how are you doing?

Decoy

Posted on by

Last night I was watching a show on television that I do not often catch because it is on late on Saturday evening.  To be honest, I forget about it.  The show is one of those hunting and fishing shows and I enjoy the host even though his public speaking ability is not the greatest (I am being kind).

Just an hour or so ago I caught the last half of the show.  The host and his guest were hunting goose in Canada.  I am all for that.  Maybe it will thin the population that comes to America each year.

As I was watching I noticed something.  There were fake geese all over the field they were hunting in.  These men had special suits designed to look like a goose.  They would blow the goose calls and the goose would circle around and start to come in for a landing and the hunting party would begin shooting as many as they could as fast as they could.

As I watched this show I began to think about the Word of God.  My mind raced all over the place.  Then the words came to me from Ephesians 6:11, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”  The word “wiles” in the original is “methodeia” and it means traveling over, travesty or trickery.  We need to guard against the schemes, methods and trickery of the enemy of our soul, the devil.  We do this by putting on the armor that God has provided for us in Ephesians 6.  You can look there and see how He has provided for us.

There is one place where there is no armor to cover.  That is the back side.  So, in the battles of life you and I must beware of the schemes of the devil and we must keep moving forward in the power of the Holy Spirit of the Living God.

So, how are you doing?

Do Your Best

Posted on by

I have really enjoyed being able to work on the farm this year for my cousins.  The greatest part was taking our son with me on the tractor and allowing him to get out of the house and do something totally different.  He loved it.  The tractor has air conditioning and heat depending upon the weather and it has a tape player.  I know that a tape player might sound like old technology to you; but, we still have some tapes in good shape and we made good use of them.

One evening I managed to start on the wrong side of a field.  This really does not sound like a big deal.  The problem is that in the spring when you work the ground for planting it will jar your teeth out of your head if you try to work at the proper speed to move the dirt around like it needs to be.

I managed to correct my mistake even though it jarred my insides nearly into mush.  It was so bad that a group of cannibals passed me up.  Seriously, I told one of my cousins that it is correct on the top when you look at it; but, underneath it is all wrong.  We had a good laugh out of it.

Some of you might have just left it.  Most of you would have corrected the mistake.  I had to correct it once I knew it was wrong.  Why?  Well, it has to do with the truth in the Bible found in Colossians 3:17, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

I am a child of God.  When I make a mistake it reflects on Him and me.  I do not want to reflect badly on my Saviour.  He gave His absolute best for me so the least I can do for Him is to do my best at everything.  I hope you do the same.

So, how are you doing?

Think About It

Posted on by

As I was reading my Bible yesterday a verse jumped out at me.  I think it is the verse that the organization Voice of the Martyrs uses.  Look at Colossians 4:18, “The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.”

What jumped out at me from this verse was the three words, “Remember my bonds.”  We have no idea at the real number of Christians that are in prison all over the world for their faith.  The sad thing is that we are seeing things happen here in our beloved America to persecute Christians.

No matter what the liberals want to tell us, this nation was founded upon God and His Word.  They cannot deny it; but, they try to.  The problem is that unregenerate people are allowing their ignorance and even hate of our God to move them to attempt to wipe out that history.  Sadly, we sit by in our padded pews or recliners and allow them to do it.

These revisionists are rewriting our history right under our noses and we do not care.  On the other side the muslims just want to cut off our heads in the name of some whoremonger they follow.  If you choose to sit by and let the world pass you by then one day you will wake up and wonder where it all went.  I can tell you it will have gone to the dogs and we will be in prison and killed.  “Remember my bonds.”

So, how are you doing?

Obstacles

Posted on by

The other day I was working in the field.  Where I was working had some very wet areas in them.  One place was so wet that the tractor sank in the mud and then began to get a hold and take off.  It was an interesting feeling.

Then last night I was moving another tractor and disc from one field to another.  I over shot the entrance off of a busy state highway.  I sat there trying to back up the tractor with a disc and rolling baskets behind.  There was no backing up.  I managed to put tractor into the middle of the ditch between the road and the field I needed to be in.  I sat there for a few seconds and prayed.  I switched the tractor’s front wheel assist on and I turned right going up the side of the ditch.  As I did I felt the tractor shifting it’s weight toward my left.  I prayed harder that it would not roll over as it was a huge possibility.  I felt all six tires grab hold and begin to pull.  In a few short seconds I was in the field.  It was the longest few seconds of my life.

In life we will come across obstacles.  Moses and the Israelites were faced with the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian army closing in behind them.  What were they to do.  Look at Exodus 14:15, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:”  Just two verses prior to this God tells them to stand still and see the salvation of the LORD.  Now, He says to go forward.

We have some choices in life when we find ourselves against obstacles.  We can try to go around it.  We can attempt to go over it or we can just go on through it.  What is your response?  Better yet, what is God directing you to do?

So, how are you doing?

Impact, Influence

Posted on by

Do you ever wonder what kind of impact you are having on people?  In the ministry I know that I do.  You go along like the prophet Jeremiah sowing seeds and watering them with your tears.  The results are up to God and I understand that.

I was thinking about the song “Thank You” by Ray Boltz.  Sadly, he no longer walks with the LORD; but, this song is still has a deep impact on God’s people.  I remember a line of the song that says, “… as far as the eye can see.  Each life somehow touched by your generosity.”  We never know what kind of impact or influence we are going to have on someone.

The other evening we went out to eat because we had a gift card.  While we were sitting at the table a young lady came to our table and inquired if our son was Jonathan.  We said yes.  This young heart had tears rolling down her face.  She was a peer for Jonathan when he was in school.  From our conversation he had quite an impact on this young girl.

The tears ran down her cheeks as she told us about her activities with Jonathan.  you can imagine how we felt.  I was fighting back tears and I believe that my wife was also.  She shared with us how because of her work with Jonathan that she had decided to be a special education teacher.  Wow!  She said that her work with Jonathan confirmed in her  that she wanted to do that.  She will start college for that next fall.

This proves to me that anyone can have impact and influence on someone or even multiple people.  I was thinking about the Apostle Paul and his interaction with king Agrippa in Acts 26:27, “Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.”  We have to be people that make an eternal impact and have eternal influence on others.

So, how are you doing?

 

Veteran’s Day 2014

Posted on by

Today we celebrate the sacrifice of the American soldier.  I am thankful for all those who have served and are currently serving in our nations military.

Being a soldier is not an easy thing no matter if you are in the US Army or God’s Army.  Nobody promised that it would be easy.  If they did, they have lied.  If something is worth obtaining then it will not be easy to get it.  Being a soldier is no different.

Look at the counsel that the Apostle Paul gave to Timothy in II Timothy 2:3-4, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”  It is not easy to be a soldier.  No matter if you are in God’s Army or not there is a war going on whether we acknowledge it or not.

I am thankful for the American Soldier.  Someone said that if you can read thank a teacher.  If you can read in English thank a soldier.  There is a lot of truth to that.  If it were not for our armed forces we would not be speaking English because we would be ruled by some other government.

Thank you to all men and women that have given themselves to serve our nation and secure our freedom.

So, how are you doing?