Tag Archives: trust

Is It Hard?

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The other day our son suffered a seizure at the dinner table.  It was very frightening for my wife and I both.  As the seizure went on his body became so stiff that you could not move either arms or legs.  All I could do was follow my training.  It worked.

I remember asking God for help and He gave it with great measures of His grace.  We would not have made it.  Most importantly our son would have not made it.  He was sitting at the table eating dinner and the seizure hit like a lightening bolt.

As I fell back on my training I ordered my wife to call for the paramedics.  That did not go well.  I took her phone and began to yell orders at the dispatcher.  That was the wrong thing to do and I know it.  In the “heat of the moment” my daddy instinct took over and it was game on.  I am sorry for my actions; but, help arrived and quickly I might add.

I remember thinking to myself that if God did not miraculously intervene on out behalf that I was not going to live through this.  I thank God that He did move in and it was evident.  I was reminded of the latter part of Jeremiah 32:27, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”  God is posing a rhetorical question here and the answer is an emphatic “NO!”.

Now, I know that you; my readers, are facing insurmountable troubles.  Take time and consider honestly the question of Jeremiah 32:27, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”

So, how are you doing?

Do You Know How It Feels?

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As I get older I have come to the realization that nearly every part of my body hurts.  I cannot do what I used to do.

I have heard all of my life that when you do a hard days work you should lay your head on your pillow at night tired and have a sense of accomplishment for your hard work.  This is absolutely true.

As I am thinking along this line I want to ask you a personal question.  Do you know how it feels to lay your head on your pillow at night knowing that you have eternal life?  If not contact me and let me show you how.

Paul says in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We live in a day where the only constant is change.  With God Almighty, He never changes.  He loves you supremely and He has sent His only Son to purchase eternal salvation for you.  All you have to do is receive it.  It is that simple.

So, how are you doing?

God’s Peace

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There are so many people that live in turmoil.  Their lives just seem to be like a boat rocking and rolling on the stormy seas.  Many people today are searching for peace.  Nations are seeking peace (or at least that is what they say).  We live in a day when peace is at a minimum.

Yet; if you know Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you can have great peace.  Remember, peace is not the absence of trouble and trials.  Peace is that calm assurance and confident trust in Jesus Christ in the midst of the troubles and trials.

One of my favorite lighthouse pictures shows a lighthouse out in the sea.  There is someone standing in the doorway as an enormous wave crashes against the back of the lighthouse and is coming around to the front.  This speaks to me of peace.  It is a picture of life.

David; the shepherd boy, wrote Psalm 23:2, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.”  Even thought the grass might be too tall to see over we can have peace.  Even though the waters are troubled and no longer calm we can have great peace.  The choice is all ours to make.

So, how are you doing?

I Know A Man Who Can 1

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Yesterday I was listening to music.  When I woke up it was time to make lunch.  The song on at the time was by Greater Vision and is titled “I Know A Man Who Can”.  We are needing a miracle in my family right now.  We are watching as one of our dear members slowly transitions down in health and upward toward Heaven.  This is a painful process.  I have not been able to make it to the hospital for several days due to schedules and shift changes.

With this in mind I was listening to this song; which is a favorite of mine, and some thoughts came to my mind.  Let me share some of these thoughts.

I. I Know A Man Who Can – heal the broken heart.
Look at John 20:15, “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.”  For the most part those who followed Jesus believed He was who He said He was.  Then they watched Him be crucified and then buried.  How would you feel?  You and I would be crushed.  We would be disillusioned.  There is an entire gamut of feelings associated with what these people had and were going through.

Then Mary in this state goes to the tomb of Jesus.  She sees a man that she thinks is the gardener.  When she speaks to this Person she finds out it is Jesus.  Then all the feelings fade away in sight.  The disillusionment drops off like rain off a duck’s back.  All the wrong feelings disappear at the revelation of who Jesus really is to Mary.

Now, let’s make this personal.  I don’t know what is happening or not happening in your life.  I can tell you this for sure.  If you will come to faith in Jesus Christ the trials of life will probably not get better.  What changes is your perspective on the problems and your response should change also.  This will make all the difference in the world.  You see, “I Know A Man Who Can.”  Take your needs and cares to Him and let Him work in your life.

So, how are you doing?

Herod

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We have seen in the Scriptures how God uses many different things, circumstances and even the unbeliever to work out His plan.  I mean, He used a donkey to speak to Baalim.  I am glad that it has not been recorded in Scripture some of my less than positive moments in life.

God even used an heathen king to bring about His plan.  It all started when Herod received word of a King to be born in Bethlehem.  Look at Matthew 2:3, “When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.”  This word “troubled” means to stir or agitate.  Herod was an unhappy camper.  He was the sitting king of that day and he would have nobody else dethrone him if at all possible.  I don’t know too many rulers that want to be dethroned.  It usually means death to the sitting king.

In this instance it would have meant death too.  Think about it.  Lets go a little deep here.  If Herod came face to face with King Jesus then Herod would have to die.  He would have to be just like you and I.  He must die to self.  He must crucify the old man.  Even worse, he would have to bow the knee to Jesus and he was not willing to do that.  This prideful dictator would bow to nobody.

Okay; friend, it is your turn.  Will you humbly bow before Jesus and confess you are a sinner and you need a Saviour?  It is up to you.  The truth is that you can bow before King Jesus today and trust Him as your Saviour or you can bow before Him as your Judge.  The choice is yours to make.

So, how are you doing?

 

Jesus Is The Man-3

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In the past two days we have looked at Jesus is the man of Sorrow, the man of Sympathy.  Today we will look at another attribute of Jesus.

Jesus is the Man of Salvation.  If it were not for Jesus there would be no salvation.  He is the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world (John:1:28).  He is our sin bearer.  Jesus took our sin to the cross and paid the ultimate price for my sin and your sin.  We have to make it personal.

Too many people want to generalize things and by doing so they can avoid putting themselves in with all the others.  It is like they think they are too good or something.  Every person born since Adam is infected with sin and only Jesus has the cure for sin.  He gave Himself to be sin for us.  He never knew sin; but, became sin for us (II Corinthians 5:21).

The Bible tells us what Jesus did to cure this sin problem that we are all infected with.  Look at John 3:17, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

Now, you and I are at a crossroad.  We can choose to trust Jesus as our Saviour or we can choose to reject Him.  The choice is your’s to make.

So, how are you doing?

Sorry, Wrong Number…

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Joel Hemphill shares a story on one of the Gaither Homecoming DVD’s that caught my attention.  He said that he received a message on their answering machine from a lady that was upset because some organization that had left a box of food for she and her family was stolen by someone else.

He tells that the lady only left her address on the message and no telephone number and he had no way of getting in contact with the organization.  He tells how he decided to do something about this.  He told of getting a ham and a large box of food together.  He tells of walking through the projects of Nashville, TN as he looked for the address.  He tells how much the family appreciated the gift and how they responded to he and the gift.  He said, “I just remember walking away from that apartment thinking, God don’t ever let my number be a wrong number.”

I am sure that there have been times in my life that people have metaphorically dialed my number and received the message that it was a wrong number.  This really breaks my heart as I sit here thinking about that.  There have been many times in my life that I was not able to help someone.  Yet, was it a faith failure that kept me from helping them?  All this time later I could not tell you.  This one thing I know, if God will give me the faith then I promise to help whoever He directs me to help.

All too many times I have been on the needing end and I know what it is like to be turned away by even family because their resources are gone too.  If you have not made Jesus Christ the object of your faith then life will seem impossible.  Have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ for eternal salvation?  If not I beg you to do that today.

So, how are you doing?

Trust

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There were two farmers who needed rain. One farmer did nothing.  The other farmer went out and prepared his fields for rain.  Which one believed God?  Obviously, the farmer who made preparation for rain is the one who believed God.

What about you, my reader?  Are you trusting God?  We live in a day that we have no choice but to trust God.  I seems to me that you cannot hardly trust anyone around you anymore.  It is sad to say the least.

The Apostle Peter gets a lot of grief because he sank while walking on the water.  Here is the thing.  Nobody else got out of the boat.  I don’t see any of the people I hear talk down about Peter getting out of their boat and walking on the water either.  So, my counsel to you and I would be to “Put your money where your mouth is and start walking on the water yourself.”

Look at Matthew 14:28, “And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.”  It is high time for Christians to take God at His Word and get out of the boat and trust Him.  We want to do it ourselves and that is not trusting God.  It is one thing to do what you can and trust Him for what you cannot.  It is a whole different thing to sit back and expect God to do it all.  He will not.  You and I have to trust Him and do what we can and let Him work and do what we cannot.

So, how are you doing?

Love You Through It 3

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It seems today that betrayal is rampant.  It seems that you cannot trust anyone.  Sometimes this trust is broken because of a failing mind (as in my case).  Sometimes it is simply deceit.

In my life I have experienced betrayal like many of you have also.  The part that I hate is that I have been the one who has betrayed the trust of another.  Worst of all I have betrayed my LORD.  I think if you were honest you might say the same thing of yourself.

When I thought of betrayal and our theme of loving through tough things I thought of the Prophet Hosea.  Look at his situation in Hosea 1:2, “The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.”

I cannot imagine what he was thinking and feeling when he received this from the LORD.  Yet, here is a man that could now help others love through relationship failures.  The sense of betrayal and the broken trust.  Only Jesus can help you and I “Love You Through It” in this situation.  I know from experience how Jesus brings you through it and even mends broken relationships.

So, how are you doing?

One For The Money

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When someone comes in contact with Jesus they are at a place where a decision has to be made.  In the account of what we call “the rich young ruler” we see this.  Here is a young man that the Word of God tells us “for he had great possessions”.  Someone once said, “It is not a sin to have possessions.  It is a sin for possessions to have you.”  There is wisdom for all ages in that truth.

Jesus lovingly confronts this man where he lives so to speak.  Jesus knows all about him and knows he has “great possessions”.  He also knows that these possessions had this young man.  So, in love for this young ruler, Jesus confronts him where he needs to be confronted.

Now, this young man had a choice.  He could continue to trust in his possessions and his good works or he could put his full faith and trust in Jesus.  The results are seen in Matthew 19:22, “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.”  Here was a “rich young ruler” that was possessed by his possessions.  He had the opportunity to be possessed by Jesus Christ; but, passed up the greatest opportunity of his life.

So, how are you doing?