I’m talking about writing again today. Stress-free creative writing.
I’m going to give you some steps to be able to do some stress-free creative writing. Basically, I’m going to talk about three different areas.
Brainstorm
First step.
The first one is to brainstorm. You’re just going to come up with a list of ideas that you want to write about. As you’re making that list of ideas, just write wildly; nothing is too outrageous, because you will be able to choose what is on your list. Once you’ve done that, then choose some ideas from your list that you want to write about.
Statements, Questions, and Headlines
The second area I want to talk about is how to work with those ideas.
So first of all, take your ideas and turn them into statements, questions, or headlines.
Make a list of questions
Questions
Once you have those written down, to the right of your statement, question, or headline, write down a question word: Who, what, when, where, why, how, or what then. Now if you had already written a question then you don’t want to put another question after it.
Key Words or Phrases
Write down some key words or phrases that describe the answer to that question. They can be nouns or verbs, or strong words like that. They can be sensory words like what you see or elicit what you think the smell would be like or what you would hear but some strong keywords.
So once you have done that, you have a page that has sort of an outline. You have a list of questions, statements, or headlines followed by a question word unless your original statement or idea is a question. Then you have three suggested answers to that question.
Once you have your ideas set up in that fashion, then you are ready to go for stress-free creative writing.
Fast Writing
What makes it stress-free is you’ve already come up with the basis of your ideas So now the next part and the magic of doing that is to do fast writing.
Do some fast writing
Read your first question or statement with a question following it. Pick one of those key words or key phrases and start writing just as fast as you can. I find it good to set a timer and write just as fast and furiously as I can until that timer goes off. A good time to set your timer is five minutes. Write as quickly as you can for five minutes.
If that doesn’t give you about 250 words, depending on how fast you can type, then you may want to set it for six minutes or somewhere all the way up to 10 minutes. Just write as fast as you can.
There it is: stress-free creative writing. ✔Brainstorm without agonizing over what you’re writing down in your brainstorming. ✔Make it better by picking just the words and ideas that you want to write about. ✔Put a question word after those ideas ✔Write down three things that would trigger your writing or the answer to the questions. ✔Set your timer and write just as fast as you can.
In a future post, I’ll talk about the editing process. So it is stress-free knowing that the editing comes later.
Highly recommended reading
I hope this has been helpful to you. If you would like more tips like these, I have written a book that outlines in more detail how this process works. It’s called “How to Write a Book in 28 Days or Less Without Stressing Yourself to Death” and is available on Amazon. There is both a hard copy and a Kindle version. I would highly recommend that you get that.
Also, if you’d like more writing tips like these, you can go to randycarney.com.
Writing a first-time book, the big picture in a nutshell.
Vlog
Today I’m talking about writing a first-time book. I want to talk about the big picture in a nutshell.
Overview
I’ll talk about the two different kinds of books that you can write and then give you steps for making a basic book in the first category. Then I will talk about how you can make that look fabulous.
Then in the second category, I will talk about four methods of writing that book.
Okay, writing a first-time book in a nutshell. You might not have thought that you could do this but you can.
Step One
Now I’m going to talk first about writing nonfiction.
As you think about writing nonfiction, first of all, you should write a basic book. After that, you should expand that book, edit it, and make it fabulous.
That’s the first two of the four steps to success that I have outlined in book writing and marketing.
Simple steps to writing a book.
Ten Chapters
In our nonfiction book, my advice to you is to write a basic book. To do this, write the 10 most important chapters of that basic book; your 10 key chapters. You can do it like this:
Chapter One
The first chapter will be telling why this book is important. Why people should buy your book, why people should read your book, how it will help them. Take them to everyone’s favorite radio station: which is WIIFM – What’s in it for me? Talk to them about that.
Chapter Two
Chapter two would be an overview of the plan that you have to solve their problem. Most nonfiction books are going to be ways that you would go about helping people solve a particular problem.
Chapters Three Through Nine
Then in chapters three through nine, you take seven steps to solve that problem. Now, they may not be chronological, sometimes they are chunked, they are equal, just put down in chunks, side by side, you can do that too. However, if there is a series of steps that go one before the other, then you would want to do that.
I would recommend that you come up with seven. You might have more ideas, but I suggest that you come up with seven steps to the solution.
Chapter Ten
Then in chapter 10 you would have the summary of that and the next steps they could take.
Research and editing can make it an amazing book!
Make it Fabulous!
The second thing I’m going to talk about with writing nonfiction books is take your basic book, and make it fabulous.
What you will do is take your basic book, which is uniquely you because you have come up with those ten chapters, and you’ve come up with your experiences out of your own mind. This is where you add them in.
Also compare books on that same topic. Look at their tables of contents, see if there’s anything that you have not covered on that topic in your book. Then you will add those chapters in yourself.
So you will take that basic book and edit it somewhat by cutting out some of the unnecessary words and doing a light edit.
Then you will expand it by adding more material that needs to be added. Add in more stories and come up with some of your own stories. Sometimes you can tell your own story but to protect yourself or to keep people from thinking that all you ever do is talk about yourself, you can change the name of the character that you’re talking about.
So you write a basic book, then you expand it and edit it and make it a fabulous book.
Writing Fiction
Create your own story.
The second category would be writing a fiction book. This depends on your personality. What kind of person are you?
Are you an outliner? If you are then you need to outline your entire book. Go for it if you’re really good at that. Then go through and produce a detailed outline for your book.
Others, that just drives them crazy. Some people are known as being “pantsers” which means they write from the seat of their pants.
If that’s you, then you have to have the basic idea of your book. You need to know three conflicts that would occur about a third of the way through, halfway through, and three fourths of the way through. Then you would just write from the seat of your pants, writing toward those conflicts or disasters.
Finally in the hand you bring the resolution.
There is a third method if you would like something between those two. It is from a writer named Randy Ingermanson He has written a book called “The Snowflake Method” which talks about coming up with a basic ideas of where you’re going to go.
The “snowflake method” might work for you.
He talks about fleshing out your characters and giving good summaries of your characters. Then he takes your book in one sentence, then take that one sentence and come up with a one page statement of your book.
Then you take each of those sentences and you write paragraphs on each of those sentences and come up with a synopsis of your book.
Combining that with what you have done for your characters, you can come up with a good nonfiction book.
(I don’t get any commission off of his book but I do recommend it. I think it is very good.)
There’s a fourth one and it is my combination. If you have read my book “How to Write a Book in 28 Days or Less Without Stressing Yousrelf to Death,” you will notice that I take an outline and turn it into a special type of writing plan.
Some call it a blueprint like a blueprint for a house. You can do that for both fiction and nonfiction.
I hope this has been helpful to you and also if you’d like more tips like these click on www.randycarney.com. There, you will find many more videos, blog posts and tips like these.
Well, it’s good to talk with you again. I hope you have a wonderful day. Remember, YOU CAN WRITE A BOOK!
Be sure to check out the video that accompanies this blog. You can see it here.
Sam wanted to write a book but he didn’t know how to go about it. Then he came across his friend Jim who had written a book before.
Jim gave Sam some good advice.
When Jim found out it was a how-to book, he told Sam, “Well, you can write a how-to book. What you need to do first is to figure out what the problem is. Then define that problem. Then come up with some steps to a solution for the problem.
“So when you write your book, you talk about the problem first. Next, you talk a little bit about the plan for accomplishing the problem. Then show the steps to the solution. Finally, at the end, you summarize what you did to get to the solution and suggest a next step for the reader.
I want to start off by talking about writing a basic how-to book and then I’ll talk a little bit more about how you can expand that.
Getting Started
Getting started with your how-to book
First of all, define the problem. Then picture the solution to the problem and what life would be like when the problem was solved. Then brainstorms some steps that it takes to go from problem to solution. Sometimes those steps will be in order, but sometimes they may not be chronological. Either way, figure out a number of steps to get from problem to solution.
The Steps
We think of seven as being the perfect number, at least in my circle of friends. Our Christian worldview and our Biblical worldview, think of seven as being the perfect number. So I would urge you to reorganize what you come up with in your brainstorming into seven steps.
That’s not set in stone. You may not be able to get everything done in seven steps, so maybe you would have eight or nine steps. Or maybe you can cover it in six steps or five steps. So somewhere between five to nine steps, but aim for seven. You may be able to combine some of those steps to make a chapter or split up a step if it looks like it would take longer than the other chapters.
While having done that then you can come up with a basic book. So you may have a little attention-getting introduction at the beginning of your book. But then in your first chapter, you will be introducing the problem, and then it’s a good idea to agitate the problem. For example, “What will life be like if we don’t solve this problem?”
This will get the reader wanting to look at the book and the steps that it will take to solve his problem.
Making progress.
Chapter Two
Then, in chapter two, describe the plan. You’re going to go into detail with the plan in chapter two. Give a brief description of the plan and what they can look forward to in the rest of the book.
Chapters 3 – 9 (ish)
Then chapters three through nine, especially if you had the seven steps as your perfect number, describe the steps. Those would be your chapters three through nine.
Finishing Up
Finally, you come to chapter 10. There, you will summarize and visualize what life is like with the solution to the problem and give the reader the next step.
That’s how to come up with your basic how-to book. These are simple steps to get started.
Roadmap to Success
Now, my roadmap to success in coming up with a great book is to follow these four steps: 1. Come up with a basic book like I just described. 2. Make your basic book, your a good book, a great book. A fabulous book. Take a period of time, (not too long) maybe a month or so. to make your good book, a fabulous book. You will do this by adding stories and examples from your own life. Look at other books in your field. See if you’ve left anything out. If you have then you could add some chapters. You will have trimmed your book and then you will have expanded your book. Then you’ll go back through the editing process again and trim it until you have it where you want it to be. 3. Step three is publishing your book. We will look at the different options for publishing books. There are basically three options for publishing. I guarantee that you can get a book published in this day and age. 4. The fourth is to monetize that book. Get royalties off of it. However, there are also other ways of getting income from a book.
Roadmap to success in writing.
So I urge you to write a basic how-to book and then turn it into a fabulous book. A book that will help others and a book that will fulfill you.
New Coaching Opportunity for You
I also want to let you know about a cool new coaching program that I have, instead of a traditional coaching program which has set times maybe an hour or so per week where we meet together, you can now have unlimited access to me where I coach you using support just like this.
Now the price of this program is much lower than my normal coaching program, and there’s a reason for that. It’s because you can reach out to me and I can reply to you at any time of day. That’s convenient for each of us. This helps my calendar not be so full, allows me to have more time for my own personal writing projects, and it allows me to get back to you within one business day.
I’m offering a new coaching opportunity!
Plus, you can do it not just once a week, but throughout the week. You would think that unlimited that would cost more, but not actually because it does help free up my calendar.
If you’d like more details on this, just let me know. I’d be happy to make a quick video personally explaining my programs.
Before I begin, I want the ladies to know that while I’m referring to this person as the “noble man,” I really mean noble person,
Last week, my sermon and blog were on John 2, when Jesus turned the water into wine. I mentioned that the wine in the Bible was nothing like the wine we have today. You can read that here.
That was the first of seven miracles that John used to prove that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and by believing in Him you could have eternal life.
This is the second one.
John 4:46-54 (MEV)
46 So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick in Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him, pleading that He would come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” 49 The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your son lives.” And the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. 51 While he was going down, his servants met him and told him, “Your son lives!” 52 When he inquired of them the hour when he began to heal, they answered, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 Then the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” So he and his whole household believed. 54 This was the second sign that Jesus did when He had come from Judea to Galilee.
The Noble Person
I have titled this “The Noble Man”. The above scripture reads “nobleman.” What does being a noble man (or woman) look like? I’ve been thinking about it. I want to encourage everyone to be a noble person.
What is a Noble Person?
Being noble means having a good reputation. The man in the verses was looked up to in society. The Bible says that a good name is rather to be desired than great riches. (Proverbs 22:1)
Nobility makes me think of royalty.
Also when I think of nobility I think of royalty. I think back to the fairy tales when the young lady desires her prince to come, marry her, and take her to a place of bliss.
This particular noble man may have been related to Herrod. Not the Herrod that was king when Jesus was born, but some descendant down the way. He may have been related to him and that’s why he was a noble man. In those cases, the babies were born into royalty.
You also think of reputation when you think of nobility.
Nobility also has with it the idea of having high and lofty thoughts. I think of William Carey who went to India. He made the statement, “Expect great things for God. Attempt great things for God.”
While William Carey was in India, it wasn’t all sweetness and roses. While there, his wife suffered some troubles. In spite of that, and other difficulties, he was able to translate the Bible into the language of the people there. Some people call him the father of modern missions.
I also think a noble person carries with him or her the idea of righteousness. Of course, it’s not perfect righteousness.
The man in the scripture showed that he cared for his son. He was a man who knew where to go to find answers for his son: He went to Jesus for the answer.
Jesus sort of rebuked him, and the crowd, when He said, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” Jesus was happy to show the signs and wonders, but He didn’t want people relying on that.
Think about Thomas, one of the apostles. He missed “church” and didn’t see the risen Jesus the first time He appeared in front of the rest of them. The rest of the apostles tried to tell him that Jesus had been there, but he refused to believe them. He said, “Unless I see the nail prints in His hands, and put my finger in the nail prints, and put my hand in His side, I will not believe.”
Thomas needed visual proof.
Eight days later, all the apostles, including Thomas, were together again and Jesus came. Thomas didn’t have to put his finger in the nail prints to believe. He looked at Jesus and said, “My Lord and my God.”
Jesus said, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and have yet believed.” (John 20:25-29)
You go through life on a matter of faith. Sometimes, you just have to believe. Sometimes, God will do amazing and wonderful things. Sometimes it’s your faith that carries you through.
This nobleman was undeterred in his mission, though. He had heard the statement Jesus had made. But he told Jesus that his son was sick and pleaded with Him to go to the boy and heal him. Jesus told him to go home, that his son was alive. Then he believed and did as Jesus told him to do.
He went home without Jesus accompanying him because it wasn’t necessary. As he was traveling home, his servants came to meet him and told him, “Your son lives!” He asked when he got better, and they told him the fever broke at the seventh hour, and the nobleman realized that was the exact time that Jesus had said, “Your son lives.”
Why Should We Aspire to be Noble People?
When we think of righteousness, it is required, in a certain form, to enter into Heaven. There is a barrier to getting into Heaven. The barrier is that sin can not come in. The problem is we have all sinned. So righteousness is required to enter into Heaven. It has to be 100% full and complete.
We should aspire to figure out how to get this “credited to our account.”
Then we have the example of Jesus. He was 12 years old and He and His parents had gone to the temple and they lost Him. They went back and found Him in the temple, talking, asking and answering questions, and astounding everyone who heard Him. He went back with His parents and the Bible says He found favor with God and man. (Luke 2:41-52)
His time for ministry was going to come later. The opening chapters of the book of John show Him coming into that ministry.
Half of the book of John goes through these seven miracles, but the second half goes through the last week of Jesus’ life; the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
One of the reasons to aspire to be a noble person is because you can find favor with others. You can find your relationships improved. If you are a noble worker, your employer will probably take notice of that. If you’re a business person and you are a noble person, word of mouth will spread and people will come to you.
How Do You Become A Noble Person?
Since we aren’t, we’ve all sinned and come short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23) is there any hope for us at all? Of course there is!
When we think about nobility, we are a “Kingdom of Grace.” When you accept Jesus as Savior, you are born into God’s family and become royalty. You are joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. All the inheritance of His Father is ours, too.
The Kingdom of Grace is on earth.
If being born into the family is too difficult to comprehend, the Bible also says that He adopts us as sons and daughters. (Ephesians 1:5)
How Do You Get Adopted By God?
The Bible says that Jesus came to this earth in the flesh. (John 1:1-5) Whoever puts their trust in Him has the power and authority to become the sons of God. Come to Christ. Believe, and by doing that you become a child of God.
Isaiah says that our own works of righteousness are as filthy rags because of sin. (Isaiah 64:6) But we come to Christ, realizing that we need a Savior, and we call on Him. He comes into our hearts and we are born again, born into the family of God. We become children of God and Jesus puts His robe of righteousness on us. When that robe is put on us, the other robe disappears and we put on the righteousness of Christ. That’s how we’ll be able to enter into Heaven.
Bible study is critical.
We need to study the Word. One place where the word “noble” is mentioned in the Bible is in the book of Acts. Paul was preaching at Thessalonica and they didn’t like his preaching. They tried to kill him and they ran him out of town. He went to a place called Berea and preached the Word of God to them. The Bible says that these people were nobler than the Thessalonians because they searched the Word daily to see if what Paul was saying was true. (Acts 17:1-12)
We should study the Word.
Erma Bombeck is one of my favorite authors. She once said,
“I received a letter from a single mother who had raised a son who was about to become a dad. Since he had no recollection of his own father, her question to me was “What do I tell him a father does?” When my dad died in my ninth year, I, too, was raised by my mother, giving rise to the same question, “What do fathers do?” As far as I could observe, they brought around the car when it rained so everyone else could stay dry. They always took the family pictures, which is why they were never in them. They carved turkeys on Thanksgiving, kept the car gassed up, weren’t afraid to go into the basement, mowed the lawn, and tightened the clothesline to keep it from sagging. It wasn’t until my husband and I had children that I was able to observe firsthand what a father contributed to a child’s life. What did he do to deserve his children’s respect? He rarely fed them, did anything about their sagging diapers, wiped their noses or fannies, played ball, or bonded with them under the hoods of their cars. What did he do? He threw them higher than his head until they were weak from laughter. He cast the deciding vote on the puppy debate. He listened more than he talked. He let them make mistakes. He allowed them to fall from their first two-wheeler without having a heart attack. He read a newspaper while they were trying to parallel park a car for the first time in preparation for their driving test. If I had to tell someone’s son what a father really does that is important, it would be that he shows up for the job in good times and bad times. He’s a man who is constantly being observed by his children. They learn from him how to handle adversity, anger, disappointment, and success. He won’t laugh at their dreams no matter how impossible they might seem. He will dig out at 1 a.m. when one of his children runs out of gas. He will make unpopular decisions and stand by them. When he is wrong and makes a mistake, he will admit it. He sets the tone for how family members treat one another, members of the opposite sex, and people who are different than they are. By example, he can instill a desire to give something back to the community when its needs are greater than theirs. A father has the potential to be a powerful force in the life of a child. Grab it! Maybe you’ll get a greeting card for your efforts. Maybe not. But it’s steady work.”
Fathers, I encourage you to be noble men. Mothers, I encourage you to be noble ladies, We can’t do it on our own, but aren’t you glad that you can come to Christ and you can be born again and you can receive the righteousness of Christ. It’s put into your account. You’re born into a royal family. You become a noble person. If you’re a Christian, you’re a noble person.
The word “Christian” means to be like Christ. We sometimes have a little bit of a problem trying to live up to that. But I want you to understand that if you’re a Christian, you’re in a royal family, and you ought to live like it.
Being a noble person requires prayer.
You can be a noble person. Do your best and commit the rest to God. The more you do that more you’ll realize that it’s not your best that does it, it’s when God takes over.
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there. 2 Both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 6 Six water pots made of stone were sitting there, used for ceremonial cleansing by the Jews, containing twenty to thirty gallons[a] each. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 Then He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water that had been turned into wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who drew the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom, 10 and he said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and after men have drunk freely, then the poor wine is served. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of His signs, Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and He revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. 12 After this He, and His mother, and His brothers, and His disciples went down to Capernaum. They remained there a few days.
Sermon Video
The Great I AM
This passage in the Gospel of John is the first of seven miracles that Jesus performed that help us know that we have eternal life.
It’s also organized around 7 statements, called the “I AM” statements. When God told Moses to go get the children of Israel from Egypt, Moses asked God, “Who should I say sent me?” God responded, “Tell them ‘I AM’ has sent you.” So we know God as being the Great “I AM.”
God told Moses He was “I AM”
In the Gospel of John, there are seven times when Jesus says, “I am…” and concludes with seven different things. This is the first of the seven miracles that are mentioned there.
The Event
It was a wedding. Weddings then weren’t like weddings today. They were very long, drawn-out events. It all started with a betrothal. That lasted for a year. During that time, the groom went and prepared the home for his new wife.
Weddings in Jesus’ time were much different than they are today.
Then on the day of the wedding, he would go get the bride. A group went with him. There was a procession as the bride was brought to the wedding.
Then there was a feast. If the family could afford it, they would have a master of the feast.
I know this one was a big wedding based on the number of water jugs that Jesus had the servants fill. It was between 120-180 gallons.
So, the bride and groom had a problem. They were out of wine. Mary said, “If you have a problem, go to Jesus.” Good advice.
At the time of this miracle, Jesus’ ministry had not yet come to its fullness. At first, only the servants knew about the miracle. The celebration continued and none of these events took away from the couple’s time together.
Of course, the servants didn’t keep it quiet for long. Maybe some of the disciples were watching, or maybe Mary was. I don’t know who was looking on, but many people knew that this miracle had taken place, and word got out.
So as Jesus got ready to come into His ministry, there was already a foreshadowing of the miracles to come.
The Substance
There has been much debate over the “wine” mentioned here. Even the Old Testament sometimes mentions wine as an intoxicating beverage. Noah drank some and became drunk. (Genesis 9:21)
But I want to make clear that the wine here is not like we think of wine today. The word wine in the Bible is the word “oinos” which means fruit of the vine. Modern-day wine comes from distilleries. Those did not even exist at the time this wedding took place. When they distill the wine, it becomes more concentrated and the alcohol content is much higher. The wine at this event was not like that.
Fruit of the vine did mean the “wine” they had then, but it can also be grape juice. Many churches, including mine, use grape juice for the Lord’s Supper.
It wasn’t wine like we think of it today.
Paul told Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach. (1 Timothy 5:23) This was not so he would become intoxicated, but for medicinal reasons. A little wine for health reasons is OK. I know of a lady who was a strong Christian. Her doctor advised her to drink a small amount of wine daily to help with her blood pressure. She did do that. Again, that was fine for medicinal purposes. Some church covenant agreements among members might rule out even this. Be faithful to your particular covenants.
Some churches I’ve attended have their covenant hanging on the wall. These covenants often include a phrase like, “refrain from the sale and use of alcohol as a beverage.” That’s probably the position of many churches, whether they have that hanging on the wall or not.
In Biblical times, there was another designation for a diluted drink that was still called, “wine.” That was a mixture containing the wine (whether the grape juice or the fermented product that could intoxicate) mixed with five parts of water–on part wine, five parts water. This mixture was still called, “wine.”
We’re told to be filled with the Spirit and not drunk with wine. (Ephesians 5:18) Those who are drunk with wine act differently than they would otherwise. When we are filled with the Spirit we act differently than we would otherwise. We ought to be bolder.
It’s possible that in Biblical days, they had issues with the purity of the water. Mexico is a good modern-day example. When you visit there, you’re told not to even brush your teeth with the tap water, but to use bottled water instead. Many countries have this problem.
In Biblical times, they had a process where they would take an amount of wine, and 5 equal amounts of water and mix it with the wine. You can see how that would help avoid drunkenness by diluting the wine and the alcohol content.
It’s possible that any of these drinks were what they had at the wedding. I just want to be sure you understand that the word “wine” has a much broader meaning than what we think.
Whatever it was, they had wine and then ran out. Then they filled the water jugs to the brim and Jesus caused it to become the wine, and it was the best. The master of the feast said it was the best.
The Reason
Why did this miracle take place? The New Testament is not the only place where miracles appear in the Bible.
Mary knew who Jesus was. She knew that he was the Son of God. She knew that He could take care of this problem.
There are seven miracles recorded in the Gospel of John.
Why?
To show that Jesus was more than just a man who was considered to be a great teacher. He was a man who went about doing good. But He was more than that.
He was the Divine Son of God. The Bible says that He was God in the flesh. He was God and He was with God. That’s beyond our human comprehension, but I believe it as fact.
Jesus was fully God but also fully human. He got tired. He had flesh. When he was whipped by the Romans, His flesh was torn from His body so that He barely looked human. He experienced physical suffering. He even knew what it was like to die. He also rose from the grave.
Many miracles are recorded in the Bible.
These miracles show who He was.
After Jesus ascended into Heaven, there were more miracles. Peter, John, and Paul all witnessed miracles.
Why were they so prevalent then? First, it was to show that Jesus was truly God. Second, it was to show that the disciples, who would write down the words that became the New Testament, were genuine Gospel writers, and that the writing was coming from God. Once God decided everything He wanted to be recorded was written down, there was no need for the abundance of miracles.
That doesn’t mean that there are no miracles anymore. The miracles in the Bible are there to show us that He’s a miracle-working God.
We aren’t Gospel writers and we aren’t God in the flesh, but we are people who can pray. We can pray and God will come and answer prayers.
At the end of His earthly life, He was put in the grave, but the grave could not hold Him. That gives us hope. Some of us have faced death. We’ve been in car wrecks and survived, or had a serious illness. But there was a peace from God that passes all understanding. For those of us who are Christians, that’s so encouraging. If you’re a child of God, Heaven is what awaits you.
There is a story about an old evangelist named John Rice. A man pulled out a pistol, pointed it at the preacher, and said, “I’m going to blow your brains out.” His reply was, “Son, you can’t scare me with Heaven,”
Heaven is for real!
Some people say that we talk about Heaven so much that we’re no earthly good. I say that we talk about Heaven so much that we ARE earthly good. We talk about Heaven so much that we know we have a miracle-working God, we can pray and sometimes see unusual miracles take place. We know that the grace of God is sufficient for us and that even if we don’t get the answer we want when we want it, Heaven is for real. We know that when this life is over, we’ll go into eternity and this will just be like a drop in the bucket.
If you don’t know Jesus, you ought to. You can call upon Him today. I can help you find the way. Contact me here and I’ll be happy to talk to you about your relationship with Christ.
Have you ever wondered how to serve the Lord when you have someone over you who’s not a committed Christian?
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Maybe it’s a college professor trying to challenge your faith. It could be in grade school or high school with difficult teachers. Perhaps you have a difficult boss at your job. Maybe your company is going to be taken over by another company, and it has a bad reputation. You may worry about restructuring and new management.
We don’t know how all these events will turn out. What we do know is that no matter where we are or what circumstances we find ourselves in, we are to serve God to the best of our ability.
In Jeremiah chapter 27, Jeremiah had the difficult task of telling the kings that they were going to come under the rule of another nation.
Jeremiah 27 (MEV)
In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 Thus says the Lord to me: Make bonds and yokes and put them on your neck, 3 and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 And command them to go to their masters, saying: Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: Thus you shall say to your masters: 5 I have made the earth, the men, and the beasts which are on the ground by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed good to Me. 6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant. And also I have given to him the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 All nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son until the time of his own land comes; and then many nations and great kings will make him their servant. 8 It shall come to pass that I will punish the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, says the Lord. I will punish that nation with the sword, and with famine, and with pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 Therefore do not listen to your prophets, or to your diviners, or to your dreamers, or to your enchanters, or to your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon.” 10 For they prophesy a lie to you in order to remove you far from your land. And I will drive you out, and you shall perish. 11 But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those I will let remain still in their own land, says the Lord, and they shall till it and dwell in it. 12 I spoke also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying: Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live. 13 Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Therefore do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, “You will not serve the king of Babylon,” because they prophesy a lie to you. 15 For I have not sent them, says the Lord, yet they prophesy a lie in My name, so that I might drive you out and that you might perish, you and the prophets that prophesy to you. 16 I also spoke to the priests and to all this people: Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets that prophesy to you, saying, “The vessels of the house of the Lord will now soon be brought again from Babylon.” For they prophesy a lie to you. 17 Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why should this city be laid waste? 18 But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of Hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem not go to Babylon. 19 For thus says the Lord of Hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the rest of the vessels that remain in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. 21 Indeed, thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: 22 They will be carried to Babylon and they will be there until the day that I visit them, says the Lord. Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.
Jeremiah was a prophet in the Old Testament.
The Prophesy
Jeremiah prophesied judgment on God’s people who had been disobedient. It had already happened to the northern kingdom.
He told the kings that the world was going to come under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He advised them to cooperate and live. He told them not to listen to the lying prophets, and that even the vessels of the temple that hadn’t been carried away before would be taken away. They were going to stay until the Lord delivered them. It turned out to be a period of 70 years, so there were going to be 2 generations who lived most of their lives under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar.
Timing is Important
Now, before I get into the “meat” of this, let me say that there are times to fight and times to stand. Not always do you acquiesce to those that are coming against you. You need to know when God is telling you to act. Fight when it’s time to fight and resist when it’s time to resist.
When the Roman soldiers captured Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, He allowed it to happen. But another time they came for Him, He walked into the crowd and just disappeared. (Luke 4:30) All of the apostles were imprisoned for taking a stand for their faith, but there were times when they didn’t allow themselves to be captured. Acts 9 tells of Paul being lowered over the city gates in a basket to escape capture.
I’m talking here about when God tells you to give in.
As we look at Jeremiah’s message to the kings, let’s think about three considerations that may be applied to us today.
God’s Judgment
Time and time again, God’s people had been warned that they needed to repent, They had been turning from the Living God to idols. They were disobeying God.
Life is sacred.
The United States has been warned time and time again. The U.S. has turned away from God many times. For example, over 63 million innocent lives have been lost to abortion since 1973. There are consequences for sin.
I believe that we are under judgment already. Empty store shelves are similar to a famine. The recent outbreaks of disease can be compared to pestilence. There are consequences for sin. Just because we are in the United States of America, it doesn’t mean we’re immune from those things.
But we also need to realize that the bondage is not always of our own making. There were people who were faithful to God in Jeremiah’s time; not everybody had turned away from the Lord. There were those who wanted to serve Him. However, they were still going to be facing the same consequences as everyone else. Not all bondage is of your personal doing, but we all have to suffer the consequences of national sin.
In years past, we had the national sin of slavery and racism, and we’re still making up for it.
In Jeremiah’s day, there was no United States. There was no nation that had the type of freedom that we have. The nation of Israel wanted a king. God gave them what they wanted, but had a warning. He told them that the kings would take their livestock, much of their goods, and a lot of their riches. Sometimes they had a good king, but sometimes the king was wicked.
My point is life under Nebuchadnezzar may not have been any worse than under a local rule that was wicked.
They were there because of the judgment for their past sins. Now God was telling them He was going to add to that.
Serving God in Difficult Times
You can serve God in captivity. You can serve God when you’re under foreign rule.
There’s an example of that in the Bible. Joseph, in the Old Testament, was very loved by his father.(Genesis 37-50) His father gave him a special coat of many colors. That caused jealousy among his brothers. One time when they were out tending the flocks, the brothers conspired to capture Joseph. They took him and put him in a pit. Then they took his coat, tore it, and put animal blood on it, They took the coat to their father and made it appear that Joseph was dead.
When the brothers returned to the pit, rather than kill him, they decided to sell him to a group of Midianites that was passing by. They then sold Joseph to a high-ranking official in Egypt named Potiphar.
Joseph was betrayed by his brothers.
Joseph had been betrayed by his brothers, taken from his homeland, and sold into slavery. He did the best he could in those circumstances. Over time, he was given positions of responsibility. The slave became like a chief administrator over Potiphar’s house.
Then, Potiphar’s wife attempted to seduce Joseph. When he refused her advances, she became angry and falsely accused him of assault.
Faithful Through the Trials
The roller coaster of Joseph’s life continued. After the accusation, he was thrown into prison. But he was a cooperative prisoner and became a trustee of sorts. He organized the other prisoners and together they cleaned up the prison.
Before long, Joseph became high in authority in the prison.
Then, a couple of Pharoah’s officials were put into prison. While there, they had some dreams and Joseph told them what the dreams meant. He said one would be released and the other executed. It happened just the way Joseph said it would.
The one who had been released forgot all about Joseph…until the Pharaoh had a dream that nobody could explain. When he heard about the dream, he remembered Joseph and said he was in touch with God and could interpret dreams.
Pharaoh sent for Joseph and God revealed to him what the dream was and its meaning. Joseph told the king that famine was coming and that he should build storehouses during the plentiful years so there would be food when the famine came.
The king was so impressed that he put Joseph in charge of storing up the grain for the coming famine. The man who was once a prisoner was now in a place of high authority in Egypt.
Even in captivity, you can serve the Lord.
Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego
Think of the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. (Daniel 3:16-28) The king had erected a statue of a false god and ordered everyone to bow whenever they heard the music. The king commanded that anyone who would not worship be thrown into the fiery furnace.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not do it. Their refusal was reported to the king. The king had a dilemma because during their captivity, the three had found favor with him. He didn’t want to execute them.
The king confronted them and asked again if they would bow. They all said no. The king asked if their God was able to deliver them. They said they knew He was able, but even if He chose not to, they still wouldn’t worship the false god.
So, the three were thrown into the furnace. When someone looked inside, they did not see three people…but four! The Son of God was in that furnace with them. They were delivered.
Even when faced with execution, they were faithful to God.
During Daniel’s captivity, the king decreed that no one was allowed to pray for a period of time. Daniel defied the order and prayed three times a day, as he always had. He was thrown into a den of hungry lions. The lions’ mouths were shut and Daniel was delivered. (Daniel 6)
Naaman
In 2 Kings 5, we find the story of Naaman. He was a great warrior, but he had leprosy. A slave girl who was serving his wife talked about the prophet Elisha in her homeland. Naaman trekked to Jerusalem for healing. Elisha didn’t even come out to greet him. He sent word that Naaman should go wash in the Jordan River 7 times. He was healed.
You can serve the Lord in captivity. You can serve the Lord when things aren’t going well. You can serve the Lord if your government becomes corrupt.
We still have a responsibility to serve God to the best of our ability. We still have a responsibility to do that which is right and to be honest.
Our treasures are not on earth.
Do things for God, and your treasures will be laid up in heaven. We need to make sure that our friends and family have the promise of heaven, regardless of what the future holds. Remember, we’re just passing through.
The year was 1635. John Elliott had just finished a long day riding his horse in the rain. Just as he had the past few days, he removed his boots and socks. He wrung the water out of his socks only to put them back on again. He was concerned about his health after the trip. But he had a mission.
John Elliott
John Elliott was born in England in 1604. Like many others, he had attended Cambridge University.
He came to America and after a couple of years, was sent to Boston, Massachusetts, which, at the time, was a rural and wooded town. He became the pastor of Roxbury Church.
Why America?
Why did people come to America? It certainly wasn’t for an easy life. Many had to learn how to farm, something they had never done before. Indians taught them how to farm.
Some new settlers came seeking gold. We’re told that’s why the Spaniards came. But the ones that came from England were escaping religious persecution. They wanted to worship God in the way they felt they should according to their hearts.
Many that came over were already pastors. John Elliott was one of them.
A New Mission Field
He had a heart for the Native Americans. He wanted to share the Gospel with them. There was a problem, though: they didn’t speak the same language. So John decided to learn their language. He discovered what a difficult task it was going to be when he learned that a two-syllable phrase in English translated to a 12-syllable phrase in the Wampanoag (the local Indian’s) language. He began learning the language, but also had an interpreter who knew enough English so they could converse back and forth.
The apostle to the Native Americans
There were a few stumbling blocks in the process of sharing the Gospel because the two had to sometimes clarify what the other was trying to say. But they eventually got the message out.
They began telling them that all people had sinned and come short of the glory of God. That Jesus Christ had come to this Earth as the Son of God, He lived a sinless life and died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin. Then He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
John went on to tell them that Jesus was coming again and it will be as a Judge. But the ones who accept Him as Savior will escape the judgment.
That is the message he presented to his neighbors. They were open and many of them wanted to receive Jesus as Savior.
In fact, there were so many that they decided to start their own village. They called them Gospel Towns.
In Europe, he was known as the man who printed the first complete Bible in the United States. It was a Bible written in the language of the American Indians he was ministering to.
He had preached to so many Native Americans (Algonquins) who then began preaching to their tribes themselves that he wound up with 24 villages. They weren’t small, either. The villages had populations of 2,50 – 4,000.
Endure Hardness
John Elliott was traveling to these various towns when the relentless rain hit and he had to wring his socks out each night. He may have gotten some shelter in a tent for a time, but again and again, went back out into the weather. He wondered if he’d develop pneumonia or something worse and wind up dying from it. While having these thoughts, he was reminded of the verse 2 Timothy 2:3 which says, “ Endure hard times as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
It had been raining for days.
What do you do when hard times come? There’s your answer. Endure hardness.
That’s what many of the people who came to America decided to do in those early days.
There’s a book by Robert J. Morgan called “100 Verses That Made America: Defining Moments That Shaped Our Faith.” I’ve gotten several stories from it, including the one here. I would recommend you take a look.
John Elliott said that when things got hard, Jesus stepped in and brought to his mind the verse in 2 Timothy: “Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
Why Endure Hardness?
Why should we endure hardness? Because hardness is going to come. The Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust alike. (Matthew 5:45) Sometimes it doesn’t rain enough, sometimes it rains too much. It’s just a fact of life. Some things are hard. It’s not all easy.
I think of newly married couples. The hard times are bound to come. It’s so important that you endure the hard times and stick it out. It’s not always you causing trouble with one another, sometimes it’s just the difficulties of life.
Disappointment comes. It could be illness, the sudden death of a loved one, financial hardship, or something else. If you make it through the hardness together, when you come out on the other side, somehow, you’re stronger.
Of course, you wouldn’t ask for those difficult times to come to make you stronger, but you can be thankful that you have become stronger.
We’re to endure hardness. It will come.
Preparation for battle
When a soldier goes into the service, they start off in basic training. They have a drill sergeant who is usually pretty tough. One person said, while he didn’t remember his drill sergeant’s name, he did remember that he was always there. At first, he didn’t like that he was always there, but then he grew to appreciate that the officer was always around when he was needed.
The training is preparing you for the hardness of battle.
The soldiers are sometimes given a backpack to carry. It may weigh as much as 50 pounds. Then they’re told to go on a run or hike. They’re being prepared physically, pushed beyond their limits.
I once took a class called “physical fitness” at a local community college. When we started, they brought us all in and had us do different physical tests. We did pushups, situps, and chin-ups. They didn’t tell us why we were doing them, so we all did our very best.
In the next class, they told us that they were going to take our best and cut it in half. We were all happy with that. Then they said we were going to do each exercise three times. We weren’t quite as thrilled then. But we went on, and at the end of the semester, we did the same tests again and found that we had gained in all the areas we had been working on.
We were pushed to our physical limits and grew as a result.
Endure Hardness as a Good Soldier
Endure hardness as a good soldier.
Soldiers are required to make their beds daily. An officer once said that it’s to establish a routine and develop good habits. It’s part of being disciplined.
What is a follower of Christ called? A disciple, which comes from the word discipline. In Luke 14:26, Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.”
The part about hating family members is by comparison. Your love and devotion to Jesus should be so much more than that for your family that it isn’t even close!
Discipline
To be a disciple of Jesus.
A Good Soldier
Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
The verse says to be a good soldier, not one that goes in and destroys the countryside. A good soldier doesn’t go in and pillage and plunder.
We’re called to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ.
A while back, I heard that many people in Afghanistan were coming to Christ. Why? Because of the good soldiers that were sharing the Gospel.
Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
We have Jesus as our great Commander. He’s the greatest leader ever. Our Earthly leaders will do the best they can but they can only do so much. They have to deal with their limitations. But when you have Jesus Christ as a leader, He is the Lord of the universe. He knows everything. He will make the best decisions. So as a good soldier, you follow Him.
Even if you don’t understand what your leader is doing, a good soldier completes the mission and sees in the end how it all works out. That’s how God works with us sometimes.
Joni Eareckson Tada
You may have heard of a lady named Joni Eareckson Tada. In 1967, she misjudged the depth of a river and dove in headfirst. She suffered a fracture between her fourth and fifth vertebrae which left her paralyzed from the shoulders down. She has very limited use of her hands and is able to lift a little bit, but that’s all.
Joni Eareckson Tada
But she’s painted beautiful pictures by holding a paintbrush in her mouth. She’s given speeches all over and has been an inspiration to many. She has endured hardship and come through it.
Sometimes God allows us to endure hardness so we can help someone else.
Unbroken
The prisoner could not be broken!
A group of soldiers had been captured and were prisoners of war. One of the camp guards did everything he could to break their spirit. It was hard to break the spirit of one of the soldiers, though. He had such determination. At one point, this solder was about at his physical breaking point. The leader of the camp ordered him to lift a log. Even on his best day, the soldier couldn’t have lifted it, and now he was ready to drop. But somehow, he managed to hoist the log over his head. The camp leader who was trying to break this man wound up the one who was broken and defeated.
We’re to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
One day, Jesus is coming back. One day, there will be a war. All the forces of good and evil will come to battle. Jesus’ forces, including those of us who are Christians, will fight with Him. It’s called the battle of Armageddon. (Revelation 16:16)
How will it end? God, The One who spoke the world into existence will win the battle!
Whose side will you be on?
Armor of God
The Bible tells us to put on the whole armor of God. (Ephesians 6:11-17) You begin with the helmet of salvation. If you don’t have the helmet of salvation, the rest of the armor is useless. But the verses also talk about the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, and feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace.
Ephesians 6:11-17
I want to encourage you, as John Elliott was encouraged, to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
If you have never put on the helmet of salvation, or even if you’re not sure. You need to be sure! Feel free to contact me here and I can help you and answer any questions you may have.
Proverbs 26:27 “Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone, it will return upon him.” (MEV)
I picture someone digging a deep pit or moving a huge boulder when I read this verse. Perhaps a stone-like those used to seal graves. It took many men or an amazing feat of engineering to get them moved into place.
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That’s why the women who were going to Jesus’ tomb wondered who would move the stone for them. Of course, we know that their concern wasn’t necessary. The angels had already moved the stone.
The verse above shows the negative side of how things happen sometimes. There’s a positive side found in the New Testament.
The Golden Rule
Going back to my youth, a positive side was presented to me by none other than Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. At the end of their program, they would sing, “Happy trails to you, until we meet again.” They were Christians. Dale Evans went around the country talking about the Bible. My wife and I actually heard her speak in Kansas City, Missouri.
Roy Rogers & Dale Evans
One of the things they would say before singing their signature song was, “Remember, boys and girls, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” You probably know this as “The Golden Rule.” It’s actually Biblical. The verse can be found in Matthew 7:12.
Jesus said that there were two commandments. The first one was the greatest, which is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second one is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39)
Pressed Down, Shaken Together, and Running Over
That’s the positive side of the verse in Proverbs. The Bible says that what you sow, you reap. (Galatians 6:7) If you sow good things, you will reap good things. If you give, it will be given to you with good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. (Luke 6:38)
Running over
We had a friend who told of how he had moved to a new community and they arranged for a trash pickup. The first week, something went wrong, and the trash wasn’t picked up.
My friend checked and figured they could get by another week until the pickup came. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, and he climbed on top of the trash pile and began to jump on it to compact it and make some more room.
However, the following week, the trash service forgot again. He climbed up on the pile and began to jump to compact it even more. It was then that the verse, “pressed down, shaken together, and running over” came into his mind.
Haman
On the negative side, if you try to dig a pit to bring harm to someone else, you will fall into your own pit. If you have a boulder set to ambush someone, be careful because it may roll down on you.
The story of Haman, beginning in Esther 3, tells how Haman was jealous of Esther’s cousin, Mordecai. Haman had a gallows built with the intention of seeing Mordecai hanged on it.
Through a series of events, it was discovered that the wicked one was actually Haman. The king was so enraged that he ordered Haman to be hanged on the gallows he himself had built!
Be careful what you do. It can come back to you. Good can come back good, but evil can come back evil.
Payday, Someday
Dr. R.G. Lee (1886-1978) was the pastor of Bellview Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Lee was a very well-known Southern Baptist preacher and preached all over the country.
Dr. R.G. Lee
He had a sermon that was very well known. It was often requested that he preach it. I read that he had preached this sermon over 1,000 in his lifetime. It was called “Payday, Someday.” (I borrowed the title.)
I’m going to share some ideas from that sermon with you, but I’m going to put my own take on it.
I’m going to tell you about 2 modern characters, 4 Biblical characters, and the day to come.
Nick
There was a man named Nick who lived in the 1960s. As he was growing up, he wasn’t doing well. In fact, his parents had a difficult time raising him. It was so hard, in fact, that they sent him from Puerto Rico, where he was born, to New York City to stay with relatives.
While living in NYC, he began to run with crowds that were similar to the ones he ran with when he lived in Puerto Rico. He discovered the street gangs in New York. Before long, he had become a member of one of them.
It wasn’t long before Nick joined a gang.
The gang was involved in all sorts of illegal activities, including drugs. The gangs would fight one another. They made homemade guns. They killed members of rival gangs. Nick had killed people and narrowly escaped death himself.
At the same time, there was a ministry in New York that wanted to try to help the gang members and drug addicts, and other youth in crisis. They decided to rent out a building and have a church service. They used school buses to go around and pick up the various gang members. They didn’t realize that they were putting together two gangs that fought against each other. At least two rival gangs were at that church service that night.
The kids were making a mockery of the service. During a solo, some of them began to dance in the aisles…not in the Biblical way! But they heard the Gospel.
Nick was one of the people in attendance that night. He had heard the Gospel and had a decision to make.
Tom
Next, we have Tom. Tom wasn’t involved in drugs or gangs. He just lived a regular life. But Tom needed Jesus just as much as Nick did. How do I know? Because everybody needs Jesus that much! Seven years old or seventy years old…everyone needs Jesus.
Tom had been invited to church and he occasionally went. He had heard the Gospel. He even understood the Gospel. He was like the man that Paul spoke to in Acts who told Paul to go away and he’d call for him later. (Acts 24:25)
“Tom” could be anyone.
Tom didn’t want to change his life or his friends at that time. He said he’d do it later.
Those are the two modern-day people. Now I want to talk about the four from the Bible.
Naboth
The first is Naboth. His story is found in 1 Kings 21:1-16. Naboth owned a vineyard. He was a good man. He had been schooled in the law of the Hebrews. The law said that they could not sell land with the idea of it being a permanent sale. The land would come back to them after a period of time.
Naboth was committed to upholding that.
Ahab and Jezebel
At that time, Ahab was the king of Israel. He was the son of Omri, one of the most wicked kings that Israel had ever had. Ahab was actually worse than his father.
Ahab’s summer palace was located right next to Naboth’s vineyard. The king asked to buy the vineyard, but Naboth refused, as a permanent sale of the land went against scripture. Ahab was very upset and returned to the palace.
Ahab’s wife was a woman named Jezebel. She was not of Jewish descent. She was a foreigner and worshiped Baal. She was very dedicated to her religion and would do anything she could to take out the competition.
Upon his return to the palace, Ahab went to his bed and pouted and refused to eat. His wife went to him to find out what was wrong. He told her about his conversation with Naboth and his refusal to sell the vineyard.
Ahab wanted Naboth’s land.
Jezabel said, “Aren’t you the king of Israel? Get up and eat something. I’ll get that vineyard for you. I just need to borrow your ring.”
So Jezabel, pretending to be Ahab, wrote a letter to the elders and nobles in Naboth’s city. She instructed them to proclaim a fast on a certain day. On that day, they were to bring Naboth to the seat of judgment for a trial. The charge was blasphemy, which was punishable by death.
The day arrived and the elders and nobles did as they were instructed. Naboth was put on trial. Jezabel had hired two “sons of Belial” to bear false witness against Naboth. (Belial is another word for the devil.)
Before he even had a chance to defend himself, he was taken out of the city and stoned to death.
Elijah
The fourth BIblical character is Elijah. He was a spokesman for God and had said that it wouldn’t rain until Elijah said it would. (1Kings 17:1) So, Ahab already hated him. Because of that, Elijah had gone into hiding, which further enraged Ahab. When Elijah, alone, went up against 450 prophets of Baal and won, that angered Jezebel. (1 Kings 18:16-40)
Elijah heard what had happened to Naboth and he met with Ahab. He told Ahab that the dogs would lick up his blood in the place where he killed Naboth. He also said that dogs would consume his wife, Jezebel.
Ahab returned to his palace. He and Jezebel would sometimes eat food that came from Naboth’s lands. After a time, when nothing happened to them, Jezebel began to mock what Elijah had said. She believed nothing would happen to them.
Payday Always Comes
With God, there’s always a payday. It’s just not always on Friday.
Ahab and Jezebel lived on happily for 3 years.
Then the king of Judah came to visit Ahab and the two decided to go to war in an effort to claim some land. Ahab planned to go into battle in disguise; wearing the disguise over his royal armor.
The captain of the opposing army instructed his men to only go after Ahab, no one else. Because Ahab was in disguise, no one could find him. Finally, a soldier shot an arrow randomly into the air. It went into an opening in Ahab’s armor and wounded him. They made their way back in the direction of the palace. Ahab’s blood was pouring from the chariot, and, just as prophesied, dogs licked it up in the very place where Naboth died.
It happened exactly as Elijah had prophesied
Jezebel, however, still lived. She lived through many kings. Then, King Jehu came into power. He came to the wall of the palace where she was and asked if any within were on his side. There were some, and he ordered that Jezabel be thrown from the wall. He trampled her with his horse.
When they later went to bury her, all that remained was her skull, feet, and palms of her hands. The dogs had eaten the rest.
There’s always a payday.
Chief of the Kangaroo Court
Dr. Lee said that he would sometimes receive hate mail. One of the letter-writers would sign the letters “The Chief of the Kangaroo Court.”
One day while sitting at home, a nurse from a Memphis hospital called Dr. Lee and said that a man was requesting his presence. He refused to give his name to the hospital, but said to tell Dr. Lee that he was the “Cheif of the Kangaroo Court.”
When he arrived at the hospital, Dr. Lee encountered a young man with the wildest, weirdest eyes he’d ever seen. The man may have been large at one point, but his boy was ravaged by disease.
He said to the man, “Hello.”
“Howdy do?” he answered.
“Is there something I can do for you?” Dr. Lee asked as kindly as he could.
“No. Nothing! Not a thing. Nothin’ ‘tall! — unless you throw my body to the buzzards when I am dead — if the buzzards will have it!” he said.
Then his voice lost some of the snarl — and he spoke again. “I sent for you, sir because I want you to tell these young fellows here something for me. I sent for you because I know you go up and down the land and talk to many young people. And I want you to tell ’em, and tell ’em every chance you get, that the Devil pays only in counterfeit money.”
R.G. Lee would have loved to lead that young man to the Lord, but it wasn’t to be. He sat by the bedside and two hours later, the young man died.
There’s a payday coming someday.
Eternal Consequences
Back to Tom. He had said, “Someday, I will come to to the Lord. I will get saved someday when I’m older.” Before that “someday” came, Tom had a stroke. Pastors came to visit, but Tom was unresponsive, unconscious. Payday had come for Tom.
David Wilkerson and Nicky Cruz
Nick, better known as Nicky Cruz, heard David Wilkerson preach and gave his life to the Lord the night of that service, as did another gang leader. Several members of the gang followed in their footsteps and became Christians,
Payday is coming someday!
If we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, at the end of our life when that payday comes, it won’t be a bad one, it will be a wonderful one. All wrongs will be made right. Maybe not in our timeline, but it will happen.
What will your payday be?
What is the way out for us as humans? It’s simply the fact that God loved us so much that He sent His Son to this world to be crucified. Jesus had the weight of all the sins of all the world, past, present, and future, put upon Him. The answer for your payday is what you have done with Jesus. Have you accepted Him as your Lord and Savior? Or, like Tom, are you putting it off until a more convenient time?
Payday is coming. I hope you’re ready. If you’re not, I invite you to come to Jesus.
Jay Austin was, on the surface, a successful used car salesman. Unfortunately, his sales techniques were less than honorable. He made promises he couldn’t keep, cheated people, and said whatever was necessary to make the sale.
Sermon video
Jay’s Problem
Two of his employees had learned well how to use those same dishonest techniques.
Jay needed money!
As I said, it looked like he was doing well on the surface. He was moving a lot of cars and bringing in a lot of money. But he was buried in debt.
One day, the bank called him and requested a meeting. Jay was told that he had 30 days to pay off his loan or the bank was going to foreclose on the business.
Not only were there problems with the business, but there were struggles going on within his family as well. He was too proud to admit it was his fault. He wanted to blame others for his problems,
But his wife and son both knew that they could not trust his word when he said he was going to do something. They knew about his dishonesty. He pridefully tried to cover it up. Occasionally, he would attend church with them, but not often. Other times, he mocked the idea of going to church.
But the bottom was dropping out. It looked like he was going to lose his business. But his wife had been praying for him.
On the Right Path
A televised sermon changed his life.
One day, he saw a church service on TV. He decided that his way of doing things wasn’t working, so he confessed to the Lord. He admitted his dishonesty, and his lack of support for his family, and told God that he wanted to change.
He thought he was done, that God would be merciful and he could move forward from that point.
But something happened inside of Jay because he really had changed. He realized that he couldn’t continue with his dishonest business practices. Would the Lord rescue him?
Psalm 37:1-5
(KJV) Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Scriptures for the blog.
Proverbs 3:5-6
(KJV) 5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Lean Not on Your Own Understanding
So Jay started off by following the steps in the passage in Proverbs. He told God that he didn’t know how, but he was going to quit cheating people and instruct his employees to stop as well.
Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” The Bible says that the greatest commandment is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”(Matthew 22:37) With everything within you.
You can come to Christ just as you are, but if you really meet Him, you don’t leave the same as when you arrived. Something starts working in your life.
The Bible says that there’s a change and we start to bear fruit. It also says that some do better than others. Some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, some a hundredfold.
Sometimes the change is obvious and immediate. People see the change and want to know what’s happened. Other times, depending on past challenges, the fruit takes longer to ripen.
Lean not on your own understanding.
Trust God
Jay was trusting God with all his heart. But he didn’t know how to glorify God in bringing in money. His former practices of lying and scheming weren’t going to work anymore.
His employees were doubtful. They knew that there wouldn’t be as much money coming in as before. They also realized that they’d be losing money on their commissions. That was a big concern for them. They didn’t want to go along with this new plan, but Jay pushed for them to be honest.
If it happened that they were not honest, Jay would go to the customer himself and make it right. He continued his new practice of being honest. In some cases, he realized he had to go back and return money to some former customers.
Even though he had 30 days to come up with the money for the bank, he continued in his new course of honesty. He had made a commitment to God and intended to honor it. He decided to not lean on his own understanding.
That’s something we all need to do. Our understanding is shaped not by the Bible, but by the world. That’s why it’s so important to study the Scriptures. It ought to become a part of our lives. We need to get away from our own understanding and into God’s understanding.
Study the Scriptures to learn the mind of Christ.
When you become a parent, you have this tiny human who has been given to you, and it dawns on you that this is an enormous responsibility. Where’s the instruction manual? What you do is fall back on what you know, what you have seen, or how your parents raised you. That can be good. Your parents may have been instructed in the ways of the Lord and had the mind to follow Him.
But maybe you had parents who didn’t follow God’s leading and just muddled through and didn’t make good decisions.
Then there are parents who the world may say that they have no business being parents. Then your resolve will be not to be like your parents. The problem there is that you keep focusing on them and whatever you focus on affects you. So lean not on your own understanding but lean on the promises of God.
Good News/Bad News
A local news outlet decided to do an undercover investigation of used car dealers. They sent a reporter in to pose as a potential employee. The employees who weren’t happy with Jay’s new system got fed up and left and began working for a competitor.
The news outlet went and interviewed the two and they told stories of how Jay used to run his business and how dishonest he used to be.
So the report came out. It wasn’t good. Jay told God, “Lord, I’m trusting you. I’m changing my life. I don’t understand how this is going to work.”
How to Know That You Are Making Good Decisions
Years ago, in the first decade of our marriage, we were living in Georgia. We had several decisions to make. Our desire was to always be in God’s will.
A flyer came to our house about a conference that was going to be in Atlanta. One of the bullet points was “how to know you’re in the will of God.” While I was looking at the new material, that one point really stood out to me.
That one session was the main reason I went. It was a week-long conference. Day after day, they didn’t cover that one topic. Finally, Thursday night was the day for the “Will of God” session. He spoke for 30 minutes or so on most of the advertised topics, but when he came to this one, he was running short on time, and he only spoke on it for a few minutes, probably only two or three; however, it was long enough and I got the answer I was seeking. It was the verse, “In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:6)
Make Christ Known
The speaker said to make Christ known in every area of your life. Acknowledge that He is the Miracle Worker, the One who cares for you and loves you. If in all your ways, you are trusting Him, He will direct your paths.
That may not seem like a very “deep” answer, but it’s served me well for 40 years. When you continue to do this, you begin to develop a sense of when God is speaking to you. You’ll feel a little tug on your heart, mind, or spirit. It may not be thunder and lightning, but there’s that little tug you feel and know that it’s Him speaking to you.
If you acknowledge Him in all areas of your life, you can trust that He will direct your paths.
Does that mean that you’ll always make perfect decisions? Probably not. But the Bible covers that as well. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
Results of Change
So, the report had been released. In it, Jay’s former employees talked about how unfair and dishonest he had been in the past. It didn’t look good.
Then, people started speaking out. They talked about how Jay had come to them, admitted his dishonesty, and made things right. They told of how he’d given money back and apologized to them.
Jay’s commitment to God was successful.
Psalm 37:4 says that if we trust in God, He will give us the desires of our hearts. Sometimes, though, we don’t get what we want. One clue may be in James 4:3 where it says, “you have not because you ask not.”
Another reason we don’t always get what we want is that what we want may not be good for us. We ask amiss, and God, in His wisdom, says no, because He knows what’s best for us.
Good Things
I believe that God delights in giving us good things.
When we lived in Georga, I was the principal of a Christian school and we had weekly staff meetings. They were different from any I’ve been in before or since. We’d start off by spending up to 15 minutes strategizing what we could do to make things better. We then went around the table and each prayed. I remember one particular woman who was a prayer warrior. She and another lady decided her son needed a good wife. They began to pray and that son now has a wife and children.
Another time, I recall her praying that God would meet the needs of my family. The school wasn’t able to pay much, so she prayed that our needs would be met. She prayed that God would give us something that would simply bring us joy. Her prayers were answered time and time again.
Prayer warrior
Her husband was a dairy farmer, and they were audited by the IRS. While most people would have been nervous, they were completely at peace. They got their tax professional, went to the audit, and wound up getting money back!
Around that time, Rhonda was expecting our second child (Ralanna). We had decent health insurance, but it didn’t pay everything. We were going to have to pay some of the medical expenses out of our own pocket. Those people got that money back from the IRS and paid those bills for us. We say that Ralanna is their baby as well as ours. 🙂
God will give you miraculous things. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him. Trust in Him. Delight in Him and He will give you the desires of your heart.
I mentioned that sometimes we ask God for the wrong things. Once you get closer to Him and get to know Him better, the things you ask for begin to change and you start asking for proper things.
Delivered!
I recently heard a man testify that God was blessing him in his business. But, he was a functional addict. Like Jay, it looked like the man was doing well on the surface. But he was an alcoholic and was addicted to cocaine and ultimately to crack cocaine.
He really wanted to serve God. One night he prayed for deliverance from his addiction and that the desire for the drug would be taken away.
When he woke up the next morning, the desire was gone! Many years later, it has not returned.
Delight yourself in the Lord and He’ll give you the desires of your heart. If your desires are wrong, He’ll tell you as long as you acknowledge Him in all ways.
Back to Jay. The negative news report had come out, but then so many people came and spoke about all the good things he had done. Because of the positive reviews, more and more people started going to his business to buy their cars. By the end of the month, enough money had come in that Jay was able to pay the bank the money he owed them.
Jay’s Story
A little disclaimer: The story of Jay is based on a movie written by the Kendrick brothers. You may recognize their names from movies like Facing the Giants, Fireproof, Courageous, War Room, and several others. The story of Jay Austin can be found in their first movie, Flywheel. (You can Google some interesting trivia about the movie.)
Flywheel Movie
Flywheel is actually my favorite of all the movies they’ve made.
In Closing
How do you know that you’re making good decisions? Are you acknowledging Him in all your ways? If you are, you can trust that you’re making good decisions. You can also trust that if you aren’t, God will let you know.
Today, I’ll be looking at three different passages of scripture. The main one will be 1 Kings 17. I’ll also discuss Luke 4 and Matthew 6. I’ll begin with Matthew 6.
Many times, a mother will ask herself, “What’s a mother to do?”
My wife worried, but our daughter was ok.
When our second child was about 2 years old, my wife was preparing a salad. She was tearing off the bits of lettuce that were browned and not edible. She heard a noise, turned around, and discovered our daughter eating the scraps. We panicked a little, but she was fine.
I heard of a mother who went into her child’s room and found that the child had “decorated” the walls with crayons. In a flash of insight, the mother grabbed an empty picture frame and framed the child’s artwork, and just left it there.
I want to tell you about a mother who was in dire straits. She was wondering what she was going to do.
Matthew 6:25-34
25 “Therefore, I say to you, take no thought about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they do not sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? 27 Who among you by taking thought can add a cubit[a] to his stature? 28 “Why take thought about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: They neither work, nor do they spin. 29 Yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. 30 Therefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is here and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore, take no thought, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 (For the Gentiles seek after all these things.) For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you. 34 Therefore, take no thought about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take thought about the things of itself. Sufficient to the day is the trouble thereof.
History Lesson
First Kings chapter 17 tells us about a woman who was in dire straits. The economy was very bad. She lived in ancient Israel. The time was after David the great king and his son Solomon. Solomon’s son Rehoboam was the successor. He went to the counselors and asked what he should do for the people. They gave him some good advice, telling him that his father had gotten pretty harsh in his old age. They recommended that Rehoboam help the people and they would love him forever.
However, he went to some younger people and was told that if he gave too much to the people, they would take advantage of him.
So he followed the counsel of the younger people and announced that things were about to get much more difficult under his reign. Ten of the 12 tribes decided they would not go along with that and left.
What had been a united kingdom was now split between the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. The northern kingdom kept the name Israel. The southern kingdom went by Judah.
The prophets came and said that if they didn’t repent, they would be taken into captivity. That did happen later. The Assyrians came and took the northern tribes into captivity and they pretty much disappeared. You don’t hear about them much anymore. If you’ve heard of the “ten lost tribes of Israel”, it’s most likely about those tribes taken by the Assyrians.
What remained was Judah. Jerusalem was in that country. That’s where the main Jewish temple was. Assyria’s power began to wane, so Babylon came in and took Judah captive. So, in the end, they all wound up in captivity, just as the prophets had said.
Before the captivity, there was a series of kings. All the kings of the northern kingdoms, beginning with Rehoboam, rebelled against God. He created idols such as golden calves, for them to worship. In the Bible, it says that the nation continued to do evil in the sight of God.
The southern kingdom had a mix of both good and bad kings. King Ahab was known as the worst king ever. The mother in our story lived during his reign. There was a drought and famine in the land, so food was very scarce.
What’s A Mother to Do?
The mother’s problem was that she was alone. She had a son, but she was a widow. She was doing her best to make ends meet.
One day she was out gathering twigs for a fire. She had looked at her food supply and discovered that she had only enough left to make one meal for herself and her child.
Then a man of God came along. It seemed to the woman that it was just a chance encounter. In their culture, they were supposed to care for strangers and travelers. The man asked for a drink and the woman obliged. As she turned to get it, the man asked for a piece of bread as well. The woman was devastated. She told the traveler that she had enough supplies for one bit of bread for her and her son to eat and that they would then most likely starve to death.
What’s a mother to do? She barely had enough for her son and herself.
You may think that this man of God took pity on the woman and told her to keep the bread for herself and her child. He did not. He told her to go ahead and make the bread and bring it to him when she brought the drink.
What’s a mother to do? She’s gotten instruction that seems to make no sense, and goes against her every instinct!
Sometimes, God does that with us. Sometimes while you’re reading the Bible, you will come across something that doesn’t seem to make sense. Why? Because we’re thinking in the ways of the world. We don’t know what the future holds, but God does.
The man of God was named Elijah. He gave the woman the instruction and she was supposed to follow it.
What’s a mother to do?
A mother, and everyone else, needs to have her ears attuned to hearing God speak to her. Keep your mind open when reading the Bible. If the Scriptures say it’s wrong, it’s wrong. No discussion is needed.
God’s voice to us
It doesn’t matter how you try to rationalize it, if it seems too harsh, or if it doesn’t make sense to you. If God says it’s wrong, it’s wrong!
Now, I do believe in a certain amount of tolerance. I won’t kill you for your opinion, and I certainly hope you won’t kill me for mine.
But today, there seems to be a movement that says, “I can have my opinion, but you can’t have your (BIblical based) opinion.” That’s not tolerance.
For me, on this Earth, the only one who can get me to change my opinion on Biblical matters is God.
Obedience and Miracles
Back to our mother: Elijah told her to do as she said, to make the bread for herself and her son, but first, bring him some of it. She was in a quandary. She wrestled with the idea of just leaving the man standing there instead of feeding him as he’d asked. She made the decision to do as he had asked.
She reached down into the flour barrel, and a few grains fell out of her hand. She thought maybe there was a little more than she had thought. Then she poured the oil and noticed she had a few more drops than she had realized. But there wasn’t enough to make another cake. She went ahead and made the cake and took it to Elijah.
Feeling hopeful, she reached back into the flour barrel and found that there was enough to make a cake (bread)for herself and her son. She discovered the same thing with the oil. That in itself was amazing.
The next day, however, she went back to check the supplies and found that there was enough flour and oil to feed them that day. The next day was the same, and the next, and the next! God provided for that widow and her son.
Luke 4:24-27 mentions the widow: 24 He also said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you truthfully, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were closed for three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land. 26 Yet to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, a city of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. But none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”
So out of all the people in need during that time, the one widow heard and obeyed, and was given a miracle. Why was it only her?
I don’t know.
What I do know is that God is good all the time. I know that the Apostle Paul had seen countless miracles. It’s called a miracle because it doesn’t happen all the time. If it happened all the time, it would just be something we expected. A miracle is when God does something unusual and supernatural. He did that for the widow.
What Are We to Do?
Now it comes to what are we to do?
We are to look for God and listen for God all the time in our lives. We are to watch for the miracles and when they happen, rejoice and testify about them.
Maybe you’re like Paul, who had an infirmity of the flesh. Three times he asked God to remove it from him, and probably thought He would, but God did not remove the infirmity. However, Paul continued to praise and serve the Lord.
Sometimes God does something miraculous, sometimes He doesn’t. But he told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.”
So what’s a mother to do? What’s a person to do when in dire straits?
First of all, you pray and look for God to work. When you see Him working, allow it to happen. But, you also need to trust God when you don’t understand what’s going on.
Another Miracle
After the blessing of the flour and oil, the widow came to a point where she didn’t understand what was going on. After some time, her son became very ill. It looked like he was near death.
The widow’s son became very ill.
So the widow sent word to Elijah that her son was gravely ill. She asked if he was just going to continually remind her of her sin. She sarcastically spoke to Elijah. He ignored her sarcasm and asked that the child be brought to him. She carried her son to the prophet and he took him to an upper room and began to pray. Three times he asked God to bring the child’s soul back. After the third request, the child began to breathe again. Not only was he breathing, but he got up and was well.
She had trusted God with the food, and He provided. God had healed her son.
What’s a mother to do?
Listen to God to see where He’s going to work. Read and believe Scripture. Trust God in the everyday things of life.
The Final Action
There’s one other part of the mother and son’s story. It’s not written in 1 Kings 17 but I know that it happened. At some point, they both died. I believe that the woman trusted God, and at her death, she went to be with Him. I also like to think that she told her son the story as he grew, and he came to trust God as well. If he did, he also went to be with God in the end.
So, the most important thing that ANY person can do is to know that you know that if death comes your way, you’re ready to go and meet the Lord. It will be a wonderful thing for you. It will be a time of joy, with no pain or suffering.
Invite Jesus into your life today.
What’s a mother to do? Trust God. Most of all, make sure you’re ready! How?
Believe in the promises that are in God’s Word. I’d be glad to show you some. You can contact me here and I can share them with you. I’m not asking if you’ve attended church, or even said a prayer once. Do you KNOW that you’re ready to meet God?
