Triumph to Tragedy to Glory!

In my last post, I talked about Triumph to tragedy to what? “Victory” is what all of us who know the Lord want to say.
Today I’m talking about triumph to tragedy to glory.

Sermon video

Luke 24:1-12

24 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 But when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were greatly perplexed concerning this, suddenly two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 As they were afraid and bowed their faces to the ground, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen! Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered His words.
9 And they returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. 11 But their words seemed like fables to them, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb. Stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves. He departed, wondering in himself what had happened.

John

John was a passenger in the car. They had been up quite a while, and it was dark. He began to doze off, then he’d raise up. Then he’d doze off again, and then sit up again. Then, all at once, he heard a gasp from the driver, and then it became sort of a shriek. John woke up and saw that they were quickly approaching a tree. He saw the windshield shatter before his eyes. After that…something happened.

Previous Blog Post

Today I want to talk about the triumph first, the tragedy, and then the glory. In my last blog, I talked about the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. That was a wonderful thing. The crowd cried, “Hosanna! Glory to God in the highest!”

Accused and Tried

But He knew the rest of the week was going to be different, and it was. It became a tragedy.

Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was taken before the High Priest where a fake trial was held. He was found guilty of blasphemy. They did not have the legal authority to put Him to death, which was their ultimate goal. So, they took Him before Pilate, who was a representative of the Roman government.

Pilate completed his investigation and said he found no fault in Jesus’ actions. He washed his hands and said he was “innocent of this man’s blood.”
The crowd cried out and said, “His blood be upon us and upon our children!”
Pilate said, “Yes! His blood WILL be on you, and on your children.” Then he caved to the pressure, turned, and gave the order to crucify Jesus.

Scourged and Crucified

So, they took Jesus and hung Him on a cross between two thieves. It was an innocent man hanging between two definite criminals.

It wasn’t just a man, however. People had seen Him perform miracles. Although they understood that He was fully man, fully human, He was also the divine Son of God.

Jesus was whipped before being crucified.

Before being nailed to the cross, he had been whipped with a cat-o-nine-tails. His flesh was torn from his body and hung in ribbons. One scripture says that it couldn’t be recognized as human flesh. It was the most horrific physical suffering we could imagine. It was so graphic that one movie that was made about the crucifixion had to receive an “R” rating due to the violence. Even though that depiction was awful, the reality was even worse.

More Than Physical Suffering

As bad as the physical suffering was, He also suffered spiritually. He who knew no sin became sin for us. (2 Corinthians 5:21). The wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23), and that’s what Jesus did…He died. Because He was the Son of God, His death was different from any other death.

We’re all aware of physical death. That’s what we see at funerals. But there’s also spiritual death. It’s much deeper. It’s when we’re separated from God. But you don’t have to be separated from God because Jesus died the death that we deserve. We don’t have to be separated from God. He offers it as a free gift to mankind. I pray that if you’ve never accepted that gift you would do it before this day is over.

A Different Kind of Death

A lot of people die, but their death doesn’t count to me. Of all the funerals I’ve attended, those people’s death didn’t count to me. But because Jesus was the Son of God, His death was sufficient to pay the penalty for all of our sins. He didn’t have to pay the penalty for His sins because He had none. The only way He could “have” sin was for it to be taken from us and, in a way I don’t understand, be placed on Him. So, He became sin and suffered the ultimate penalty of death.

Confused Spiritually?

If you’re in a spiritual state of confusion and you wonder where you are, the thing you need to do most is to not leave that up to doubt and come to Christ. It’s the same answer whether you don’t know Him or you do.

Regardless of your previous church experience, do you know that you know if you were like John in that car wreck, you would go to Glory? If you don’t, there’s no need for you to be in that state. Before this day is over, you can get in contact with me via this blog and I will pray with you. Your prayer is how you will receive the gift. You can go to sleep tonight knowing for sure!

Glory!

So, it’s tragedy to triumph to what can be glory. In the case of Jesus, it was, indeed, glory. The scripture above tells the story.

The women were going to the tomb to prepare Jesus’ body with oils and spices. They were concerned because they knew there was a large stone blocking the entrance and wondered who would roll the stone away. It is believed that it weighed between one and a half and two tons.

It turned out that they didn’t need to worry. When they arrived at the tomb of Jesus, two angels were there and had rolled the stone away.

The Bible tells us that there were Roman guards as well as temple guards watching the tomb. History says it may have been as many as 16 in total. Four at a time would stand at the mouth of the tomb while the others would patrol the rest of the area around it.

They took turns guarding the entrance so no one would fall asleep. If one did happen to fall asleep, the sentence was usually death.

The Rest of the Story

In order to get the whole story, it’s necessary to read all 4 of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). But the Bible tells us that a great earthquake came and the guards were “like dead men” – they were asleep. They didn’t even see the stone rolled away.

After Jesus rose from the dead, those who wanted Him crucified went to the Roman guards and instructed them to tell people that the disciples had come and stolen the body. The guards feared that they would be put to death, but the Jewish leaders assured them that they had great influence and would pay off the leaders to save the Roman soldiers from execution.

That’s the story that was circulated. But, that’s not what happened. Jesus did die, and He was in that tomb, but He rose again, victorious over death.

When the women went and told the disciples, Peter and John ran to the tomb. John arrived first, and when Peter arrived, he looked inside, and then he went in. He found the grave clothes lying in a pile. But the napkin that had covered His face was folded by itself. (John20:7) Jesus had been dead, but now He was alive! It was unimaginable!

Miracles

They’d seen all kinds of things that defied the mind of man. There was the time when 5,000 men, plus women and children, needed to be fed. A collection was taken up, and they got 2 loaves of bread and 5 fish. Jesus was able to feed that entire crowd with that, plus leftovers!

Another time, the disciples were out in a boat. There was a storm on the water. They looked off in the distance and saw Jesus walking on the water. It defies the mind of man. How could He do these things? He was God in the flesh!

But the greatest miracle of all had just taken place. Jesus died, willingly laying down His life. They did not take it from Him. It was His choice. Then, He rose Himself from the dead with the power of the Father.

Proof

To make sure that we “got” it, He appeared to the disciples. The first time He did that, Thomas wasn’t with them. The others tried to tell him that they’d seen the risen Savior, but he refused to believe until he could put his hand in Jesus’ side where the spear had pierced Him and feel the prints of the nails in His hands and feet (John 20:24).

The next time Jesus appeared, Thomas was with them. Jesus turned to Thomas, who fell at His feet and cried, “My Lord and my God.”

He arose victorious!

So, you have the triumph of the crucifixion and the glory of the resurrection.
Think about John. The windshield shattered in front of him. He heard a loud crash. He was about to go through the windshield, but all at once, there was no pain, just comfort. There was bright light all around. Angels? Maybe. I know this: it was good. His body was mangled and would have to be buried.
Triumph to tragedy to glory.

Your Gift

That is how it would be if you’ve accepted the Lord’s free gift of salvation. Isn’t it a wonderful and marvelous thing?

We can’t do enough to be good enough. We can’t do enough to make up for all the wrongs that we’ve done in the past. We can’t do enough to erase all the resentments we’ve had in the past. We can’t take care of it ourselves. But Jesus did. He paid it all.

For those who accept His free gift, it doesn’t matter if they die in a car wreck or if sickness ravages their health, they will go on to Glory.

Paradise

Jesus was crucified between two thieves. We know that after He died, He went to what He described as paradise.

Jesus was hung between 2 common criminals.

The thief who was crucified next to Him said, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” The other thief reviled Jesus but the first one said, “He (Jesus) is innocent. You and I are guilty.” Jesus turned to the first one and said, “Today, you will be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)

So, Jesus rose again. He arose in a body that could be recognized. When He appeared to His disciples, they knew who He was.

More Proof

He asked them for some fish, and they gave it to Him and He ate it (Luke 24:41-43). That showed that it was a physical body, not just a spirit. It wasn’t a mass hallucination, it wasn’t a hologram, it was a physical body. The disciples saw it.

Two people were walking on the road to Emmaus and Jesus appeared to them and walked with them for a while. It took them some time, but they finally figured out who He was and recognized Him.

They recalled how He spoke about the Old Testament prophecies and how they pointed to Jesus coming, dying, and rising again. They asked, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us while He talked to us…” (Luke 24:13-35)

Because He disappeared from their sight. Yes, it was a physical body but it did some amazing things. He walked through walls, appeared inside, and appeared inside.

Our Hope

He is the first fruit of the resurrection. That’s why you and I can know that when we face death, we’ll rise again, just like Jesus did. We’ll have a new body.

John entered into Glory. What can it be for us?

We will have a resurrected body someday. It will be like the body that was described of Jesus. It will be amazing.

Healing Still Happens

Just think about all the pain and suffering that you see people going through. Sometimes, God will take someone who has a terrible illness and He will heal them.

When Jesus was on Earth, they saw it all the time. Now, it happens in answer to prayer. Healing on Earth doesn’t happen for everyone, and some people get hung up on that.

But I know that sometimes, God does things that amaze the medical community. I know people have had imaging done, and on those images there are tumors. Then they go back to the doctor and more imaging is done and the medical staff says they can’t explain it, but the tumors are gone! That does happen sometimes. God does that.

What Does Your Future Hold?

But, the simple fact of the matter is, unless Jesus comes back, we’re all going to die at some point. After this will be the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). If you’ve accepted that free gift of salvation, you just sail right on through. If not, you don’t have that promise.

So will it be triumph to tragedy to glory or will it be triumph to tragedy to worse tragedy? Those are the only two options we have.

New Bodies

The Bible says that when Jesus comes back, the dead in Christ will rise first, and those of us who are Christians and are still alive will be caught up with Him in the air and will forever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4: 13-17)

Those bodies are going to be fully realized, resurrected bodies just like Jesus has. What happens between now and then? I don’t have all the answers, but we know some things from scripture.

A Conscious Experience

One thing is: The thief who was on the cross next to Jesus was later with Jesus in a conscious experience.

We know that Jesus talked about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. Jesus said that they died, and the rich man, being in torment in conscious existence, lifted up his eyes and saw that Lazarus was being comforted. (Luke 16:19-31)

We Will Be With Jesus

Between now and when the Lord comes back and the bodies are brought out of the grave, something happens, but I don’t know what.

What I do know for sure is that God is good and Jesus is good. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8) Whatever “state” that is, it will be wonderful!

Then when the Lord comes back and we rise with Him and “pick up” our resurrected bodies, we’ll be free from pain and disease. The more time that passes, the more I understand that and am thankful for it. There will be no more pain, crying, sorrow, or death. (Revelation 21:4)

I’ve talked about the triumphal entry, the tragedy of Jesus’ crucifixion and death, but the glory of His resurrection!

Do You Know That You Know?

The story of John is based on actual events. There have been people who were in car wrecks and lost their lives. But because they had accepted Christ’s gift of salvation, they entered into Glory. For the ones who hadn’t done that, it’s more tragic.

Earlier, I asked the question, “Do you know that you know?”. It’s not about being self-righteous and thinking “I’m going to Heaven because I’m so good.” No one is good enough without Jesus. If you want the Biblical description of our own “goodness”, it says our good deeds are as filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6) It is the same for all of us.

So, if you can’t get to Heaven based on your own goodness, how do you get there? It’s based on the goodness of God.

As I’ve said before, the wages of sin are death. Every one of us has sinned. We became sinners by choice. We rebelled against a holy God and wanted to go our own way. We all deserve death. That’s why Jesus died.

His Death is Sufficient

He died, and it is sufficient for all of us. That’s why it is the gift of salvation. We didn’t earn it and we don’t deserve it. But we do have to accept it.

$100

Imagine if I had a $100 bill for each person reading this. Imagine if I offered one to you. Maybe someone reading this works for a bank and wants to verify the authenticity of the bills.

After examination, our banker friend confirms that they are genuine $100 bills. Now, all you have to do is come and get it. It’s all been proven to be real. Are you going to accept it?

A little boy with no inhibitions may run and get the first one. There may be some who will scoff at the offer, and insist that the bills are counterfeit, stay where they are, and miss out on the gift.

Good News

Here is a free gift. It’s called the Gospel. The word “gospel” means good news. It’s unbelievable for some. They may say, “God wouldn’t accept me.” The unbelievable news is that your sin has already been paid for. Salvation is there. Will you come and get it?

How do you do that? By faith. The Bible says the word of faith is near you, even in your heart. If you believe that Jesus died and rose again. (Romans 10:8,9) That’s exactly what I’m talking about here.

Faith

That’s what Easter is all about: That Jesus died and rose on the third day. If you believe that these things are fact, you are very close to salvation. The word of faith is near you. That’s the doctrine.

The other thing you need to do is, with child-like faith, come to Jesus and say, “It’s almost beyond belief that I could be saved. It’s almost beyond belief that You would love me that much. It’s almost beyond belief, God, that You would give Your Son for me. But it’s true, and I believe it.” You’re SO close!

The Bible says that all who received Him, to them gave He the power to become the children of God. (John 1:12) To get the $100, you have to receive it!
Many will come and receive it, but some will say, “There’s some catch to it. I don’t believe it.”

Facts

That’s the reality of it. That’s a fact of history. There was a man named Jesus who performed miracles. There is eyewitness testimony of them!

There are eyewitnesses who saw Him alive after he was crucified.

The disciples all saw the resurrected Jesus.

There were 500 people at one time that saw Him after the resurrection.

These are all facts of history.

It changed the disciples’ lives. In fact, they all gave their lives for Christ, because they believed they would live again.

You Can Have the Glory!

You just have to believe it by faith. Come and confess your sins and call upon the Lord. The Bible says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13) That’s how you walk up and get the $100.

If you’ve never been saved or if you’re not sure about your salvation, the answer is the same. If you have some doubt and aren’t sure if you ever really accepted Jesus Christ as your savior, or if you know you never have, the answer is the same.

It’s all about Jesus & His death. It is because of what He’s done that we can be sure! Not for any other reason.

If you’ve come to a point in your life where you’ve wandered away from God, just go back to Him. Follow the Lord and He will come into your heart and life. It will be tragedy to glory!

April 13, 2022April 13, 2022

Tragedy to Triumph to What?

Many good stories tell of someone going to a high point, then plummeting to a low point. Hopefully, they rise again. A lot of times, they rise even better than before.

Sermon video

You may have heard of Dave Ramsey. He became a millionaire at a young age, but then he lost it all. He managed to claw his way out and once he did, he made a vow that he would never be in debt again. Since then, he’s become a financial advisor and helped many people overcome financial struggles. He has a book called “The Total Money Makeover,” and has a course called “Financial Peace University”

Not all stories have happy endings, however. That’s a tragedy.

Today, I want to discuss three such stories today. The first one is from history, the second one is about our Nation, and the third is about our own personal history.

Matthew 21:1-11

21 When they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, “Go over into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. ³If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them.’ And he will send them immediately.” ⁴All this was done to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying: ⁵“Tell the daughter of Zion ‘Look, your King is coming to you, humble, and sitting on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” ⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their garments on them, and He sat on them. ⁸A very large crowd spread their garments on the road. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went before Him and that followed Him cried out: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” ¹⁰When He entered Jerusalem, the entire city was moved, saying, “Who is He?” ¹¹The crowds said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

In Luke, this account says that some of the Pharisees were angry at what the crowd was saying and told Jesus to rebuke them. Jesus’ reply was, “I tell you, if these should be silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” (Luke 19:28-40)

Jesus accepted the praise of the people, as was His right. He was God in the flesh.

Triumph

The triumphal entry as it is sometimes called, or Palm Sunday, was a great day. But we know that it wouldn’t continue. The celebrating would end. The week would go downhill after that.

Tragedy

One of Jesus’ disciples betrayed Him, and He was falsely accused and arrested. He was taken before Caiaphas, the High Priest, and accused of blasphemy. Caiaphas didn’t have the power, legally, to put Him to death, so He was taken to the Roman authorities, a man named Pilate. Even though Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, he allowed himself to be swayed by the crowd.

First Pilate thought that the crowd would be satisfied if he had Jesus scourged with an instrument called a cat-o-nine tails. He did so, and the flesh was ripped from Jesus’ body. The Bible says it was unrecognizable as human flesh.

That was not good enough for the Jewish leaders. They continued to incite the crowd. Pilate said he would release Jesus to the crowd, but, at the urging of their religious leaders, they said, “We have no king but Caesar. Give us Barabbas!”

The death of Jesus was seen as a tragedy by his followers.

Barabbas the murderer was set free, and Jesus was taken to Calvary and crucified. The wages of sin is death, and on the cross, Jesus truly died for our sins. He took our penalty upon Himself and He paid it.

All of His disciples, not just Peter, forsook Him and fled. It was a dark time in history.

Glorious Victory!

It was a dark Friday, but Sunday was coming! We saw the triumphal entry, the tragedy of death, and then what? The victory of the resurrection. Death could not hold Him and He rose on the third day.

That is history. The two other stories are still being played out.

The United States of America

God brought our forefathers to this Nation and has protected us. Many good things have happened throughout our history.

In my sermons, I’ve been referring to a book called “100 Bible Verses that Made America” by Robert Morgan. One of the verses I spoke about was John 8:32, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

In the 1630s, many people were fleeing England and the Church of England. The church had already separated itself from the Catholic church. Many people wanted to reform the church as it had become abusive.

Reforming the Church of England

There were two schools of thought on how to reform the church. One group said it was too far gone, and they needed to, more or less, start over with new people. The group wanted to gather like-minded believers together and practice Christianity as they felt the Scriptures instructed.

The other group was reluctant to leave the main church. For whatever reason, they wanted to stay and reform it from within.

Both groups angered some people and were persecuted. The ones that pulled away from the Church of England were persecuted for doing that, and there were power struggles with the group that chose to stay. But both were persecuted by the government.

Then they heard about a New Land. A place where there weren’t a lot of set traditions. A New World where they could explore new possibilities.

So, in the 1630s, they began arriving in America by boatloads. Many of those who were coming were the descenders and the ones who had been forced out of the church. Many of these new arrivals were pastors, theologians, and Bible scholars. Once they arrived in America, they decided to establish a school.

As explained in the 1643 booklet, “New England’s First Fruits,”
“After God had carried us safely to New England, and we had builded our houses, provided necessaries for our livelihood, reared convenient places for God’s worship, and settled the city government; one of the next things we longed for and looked after was to advance learning and perpetuate it to posterity; dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to the churches, when our present ministers shall lie in the dust.”

One of two tablets flanking The Johnston Gate, an entrance to Harvard Yard

They wanted to establish education. They wanted to establish it for the ministry. They wanted to start a Christian school. But they also felt it was very important to educate the children.

This is good! This is a triumph. However, we also have tragedy within our education system.

John’s Triumphs & Tragedies

John was born in 1607. He was the son of a butcher and a restaurant owner. By the time he was 18 years old, the bubonic plague had destroyed many members of his family. Only John, one brother, and his mother survived.

Somehow, his mother was able to gather enough funds to send him to Emmanuel College, which was part of Cambridge University. After studying, John was ordained as a dissenting minister. So, he’s had some tragedy and now some triumph.

In either 1636 or 1637, John married a woman named Ann Sadler. The next year, they made the decision to go to America. After arriving in the new country John became an assistant pastor in Boston. He had the excitement of being in a new nation but still had some perils. It was discovered that he had tuberculosis, and he died in 1638. He was young; just over 30 years old.

Although young, John did something that would have a lasting impact on America. In fact, it still has an impact today. He left half of his property and his library of 300 books (my kind of man) to a new college that was going to be developed. They were so grateful that they named it for him. John’s last name was Harvard.

About 100 years later, there was a fire that destroyed all but one of those books. One student had checked a book out of the library. The title was, “The Christian Warfare Against the Devil World and Flesh and Means to Obtain Victory.”

Harvard University’s History

The college was named after John Harvard in appreciation for his generosity. The doors were opened, and a student handbook was published.

“Laws and Statutes for Students of Harvard College” read in part, “Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, (John 17:3)
“Seeing the Lord only giveth wisdom, let everyone seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seek it of Him.” (Proverbs 2:3)
“Everyone shall so exercise himself in reading the Scriptures twice a day that he shall be ready to give such an account of his proficiency therein, both in theoretical observations of the language and logic and in practical and spiritual truths as his tutors shall require according to his ability. Seeing the entrance of the Word giveth light, it giveth understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130)

Harvard Today

That is how Harvard University was established. It began with triumph, but it’s gone to tragedy. Today, Harvard stands for universalism. Back then, it was for Jesus Christ: the only way to Heaven, the only One who gives true Light of the World. Scriptures used to be found all throughout the handbook. Today, they describe themselves as being very inclusive, having diversity of all types, and “, especially religions.”

That means that Christianity is good. But so are Hinduism, Buddhism, and all other religions on the same plane. Sometimes Christianity is criticized for being exclusive by saying there’s only one way to Heaven. However, Judaism is also exclusive; they say (correctly) there’s only one God. Muslims are very exclusive as well.

But, Harvard says they’re all alike. They have an inscription that says, “Facing death without religion.”

I have news for you. If you face death without a certain “religion,” Christianity, there’s no Heaven for you.

The term religion has gotten a bad reputation in past years. While Christianity is a religion, what I’m talking about is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He’s the one who died for our sins and rose again and sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us.

Harvard would do well to return to its roots, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.

Education Today

Even in the lower levels of schools, like grade school, junior high, and high school, references to God are not allowed.

In a city not far from me, Carbondale, Illinois, a substitute teacher once wrote a question on the board. I can’t recall what the question was, but the answer was “God.” Even though he didn’t write it out, even the suggestion of God was enough to get him into all kinds of trouble.

Then there’s relativism. It’s almost a crime to criticize or condemn a group of people who adopt a certain lifestyle or adhere to a certain belief; unless it’s Christianity. At Harvard, you can’t say anything about any particular group, unless it’s Christians.

Secularism is also rampant in schools. Critical race theory. Now, critical race theory is something that, as an idea, is a good thing. Racism in any form is bad and should not exist. But it takes things too far when it says that people of a certain background should be ashamed and need to apologize for something done hundreds of years ago. Everyone should understand that they have worth to God, regardless of their ethnic background.

There is sex education in schools today. While I have not seen any of the materials myself, I have heard that they are nearly pornographic in nature.

Confusion in the Land

Thanks to the great educational institutions of today, we can’t even decide what is a boy and what is a girl. You may doubt this is true but we have a new Supreme Court Justice who says she can’t define what a woman is because she’s “not a biologist.”

There is a school where some students are “identifying” as dogs and cats. People who tell them they are not a dog or cat can get in great trouble. It’s crazy! It’s a tragedy.

Public education is not what it used to be.

To What?

Will the morality and common sense of yesterday be recovered? I don’t know. Will Christian schools, such as Harvard once was, revive? Will there be a return, in the educational system, to Christianity?

These issues have, however, caused some parents to pay more attention. Some families have made the decision to home-school their children. I do realize that’s not an option that everyone has. That’s a bright spot in all this mess.

But our school system began with Christianity. It’s gone downhill since. Which way will it go? Will it continue its decline or go back to the way it was? I don’t know. It’s up to each individual family to decide, and figure out what sacrifices they want to make.

Our Personal Story

Now we come to the third story: our own personal one. We’re all members of the human race. When Adam and Eve first sinned in the Garden of Eden, the human race was condemned to live in sin. With the first brothers, Cain and Abel, there was a murder, because sin had entered the world. It has been passed down from generation to generation ever since.

But, each one of us since has chosen to sin. At some point, we decided we wanted to go our own way and disobey God. That’s a tragedy. But, a tragedy, and then what?

If you ignore the message in the first story, where Jesus went to the cross, died, and conquered death, it will be an eternal tragedy. Revelation 20:14 says that Death and Hell will be cast into the lake of fire.

But, if you accept Jesus as your personal Savior, the tragedy turns to triumph and you will end up in Glory! Jesus made triumph possible for all of us.

Janet’s Story

I asked a member of my congregation to give a testimony during a recent service. You can watch it at the end of the video above. Her name is Janet.
“Good morning. Brother Randy asked me to give my testimony about our life before Christ, during Christ, and after.
“I’ll tell ya, before Christ, you know, you’re going along and you think everything’s wonderful because you made the plans, you designed your life. It was going pretty good, I thought, and Roger thought.
“I was 27 years old, and we had a baby. We had Adam, and he was 3. Neither one of us were really raised in church, and so you can see where that’s going. But, anyway, we decided that we would split our ways because I lived in a house with a lot of alcohol and a lot of fighting and a lot of, not really abuse, but it was abuse. It would, these days, be considered abuse. Anyway, we lived through that and we ended up agreeing that we would get a divorce, and that would be best.
“Well during the divorce, I had a good year. I thought, ‘I’m sailing through.’ I’m not thinking about the Lord, I’m not thinking about Jesus, God because it wasn’t in me. I didn’t have the Holy Spirit. I didn’t have any guide but my own self.
“About a year went by, and I was in a movie theatre, I was dating someone. Very nice man, he didn’t drink. That was my number one thing – he couldn’t drink. So, we were sitting there and I thought, ‘Everything’s wonderful. It’s great. I’ve got this really nice man.’ and all of a sudden, a voice spoke to me in that movie theatre in Carbondale. It was God.
“He said, ‘Get up and go back to your husband.’ I looked around because I thought, ‘Somebody is talking to me. Who is it? Somebody knows me here.’ I looked around but nobody was standing looking at me.
“I’m giving you a short version of this, but God – once again, I’m a hard-headed person Roger will probably “amen’ to that – but I have to be told twice sometimes. So if you ask me to do something I might forget or I might not do it so you have to tell me twice. But God, in His great mercy, said it again. Just a little bit more bolder, but not mean or anything, He said, ‘Go back to Roger. I want you to get up and go back to Roger.’
“And I’m telling you, my body lifted out of that seat without my hands pushing my body up, I stood up, I ran outside and I began to cry. The person I was with came out there and said, ‘Are you ok?’ And I said, ‘No, I’m really not. I need you to take me home. I need you to not talk to me. I’m going to look out the window and I don’t ever want to talk to you or see you again after today. And he just was beside himself.
“You know, you can’t explain God. God is God and He will do what He wants to do in your life. And it’s best that you surrender if you’re fighting something. It doesn’t have to be what I went through but, you know, don’t fight it, because He knows best.
“So, he took me home – it wasn’t the end of him – him and Roger had to have a little talk. He thought he was the man for me, Roger thought he was the man for me, and God knew Roger was the man for me, so you see the point.
“But, anyway, during the time after I accepted…I went home, knelt by my bed, and cried my eyes out all night long. And these verses are the ones I had marked in another Bible that I had read when I calmed down from crying. It’s in Jeremiah (29). It says, ‘For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not evil. To give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me and I will listen to you.’
“Well I had already cried and I had already prayed for hours. I didn’t think my body could do that. ‘And you will seek me and you will find me when you search me with your whole heart.’
“And I’m telling you, I never searched for something so much in my life. I’ve lost a ring before with a diamond in it. I’ve lost a watch before. I’ve lost things that doesn’t even touch the value of Christ.
“But that day I cried out to Him, I prayed and He heard me and He listened and He kept His promise to me.

Janet's prayers were answered. — Janet’s prayers were answered.

“Well the next day I woke up and I said, ‘I’ve got to go see Roger.’ And he was living in his own house in town and I was still in the country and I went, knocked on his door and I think he seen me that he didn’t come to the door.
“Anyway, don’t blame him. Anyway, I went in and I said.’Roger, I really need to have a talk with you. This is serious.’ And he looked at me like I was crazy. And we went to the kitchen table and we sat down and I said, ‘I want to tell you something. The Lord grabbed ahold of me last night and He told me to come back to you.’ I go, ‘Now in my own self, I didn’t want to, but when He spoke to me, I wanted to. And I’m here and I want you back, and I want a marriage that God wants and I want what He wants.
“Well, you know, it don’t happen like it does in the movies. He said, ‘No. I don’t know. I’ll have to wait.’ He kept saying no and I wouldn’t leave until he said maybe. So, the maybe was ok and I left and prayed and prayed and prayed.
“I think a couple of weeks went by and it was around Christmastime and he showed up. And we had a pot roast and stuff together and God began to work and to mend things.
“In that time I had gotten saved and I went to the church down the road and I gave my heart to the Lord. I didn’t tell Roger nothing about that, but I just began to give my heart to the Lord and just cried out for Roger.
“I went to the altar every Sunday and then, I don’t know, you can ask him, maybe it was a year, he showed up. He sat on the back pew with knuckles gripped – he was not going to the altar. I was just thankful he was hearing the Word of God.
“I went down and prayed even though he was there and I cried out and I said, ‘Lord, it’s got to change. I want him back and I want him in my house but I don’t want this same life. I don’t want to go back to the old ways. I want You and I want to move forward for You.’
“So I was down there crying, and crying, and crying, and the preacher’s wife put her hand on my back and whispered, kind of like God did, and said, ‘Janet, you don’t have to pray no more.’ I looked at her like she was crazy and I said. ‘What?’ She said, ‘You don’t have to pray no more. He’s here”
“I looked over there and he was squalling like a baby.

“I’m telling you, I had an experience with God I’ll never forget. It changed my life. I was in captivity. I mean, I was in a bad place and I thought it was a wonderful place. But the devil deceived me. He made everything look good. So if I’d had my way I’d be in Hell, if not now, sometime down the road I would be. My kids probably wouldn’t have been saved, I wouldn’t even have Shelby. You know, I just give God all the glory today because He does know what path He wants for us. He does know what’s best for us. We’ve got to get ourselves out of the way and let Him do His work in us. And listen to that still, small voice because He does speak. He still speaks to people, I know,
“I love you all and I just wanted to share that with you.”

Which way will it be for you? There’s tragedy because we’ve all sinned. But will it be continued tragedy for you, or will you choose to live in Glory?

March 1, 2022March 1, 2022

Hope for the Journey

The darkness was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Waves hit the side of the ship. They were hitting so hard, it felt like sledgehammers were pounding on the side of the ship.

The storm was getting rough. — The storm was getting rough

They were in an area that wasn’t very tall: In fact, it was just a little over five feet tall. Children could stand up, but the adults had to lay down or crawl on their hands and knees for the most part.

The storm was worsening outside. It was so dark. Then they heard the water come over the side of the ship, and before long, it came through the hole and they were all drenched.

Sermon video

A History Lesson

About 402 years ago, Henry VIII had pulled out of the Catholic Church and established his own church: The Church of England. (We know it as the Epispicol Church today.) That was an opportunity for people that were concerned with the corruption in the church.

Now some of the people just wanted to continue on with their traditions and their formal church services just like they always had. the prescriptions, There were others, though, that were concerned about some of the things that were going on and how the church was becoming corrupt. They saw it as an opportunity to reform and purify the church so they became known as Puritans.

So you had one group going along with the status quo, just like it always had been another group that wanted to change for the better where they could worship God from their hearts. There was another group of Puritans who said, “It’s hopeless. We’re not going to be able to do it with them. We’re not going to make it with them”. So, they decided to pull out. The congregations that did were called Separatists.

They were both Puritans, but there were those within the church and there were the Separatists

The group of separatists started getting pressure. The government did not like what they were doing, and the established church did not like what they were doing. Some of the Reformers within the church were sympathetic towards them, but not enough. Finally, they had to flee, so they went to Holland.

When they got there they had a pastor named John Robinson. Their church grew to three times the size it was when they first got there. Then they heard about the New World, land of opportunity. They said, “Some of us can go there.”

Even though they had gone to Holland and God was blessing their church with growth, they were concerned about their children, being assimilated into the culture that they were in.

Then they heard about this new place they could go where they would be starting from scratch, without any previous ties or conditions. It would all be up to them. They wanted that opportunity. They wanted to come to the land of the free.

Pastor Robinson envied them so much. He wanted to go but he knew that he had to stay with the congregation that would be left behind.

So on one particular day, they all gathered together and went over to a place called Delfshaven and had a day of fasting and prayer. Then they send them on their way.

So they sailed to the coast to Southampton and they got on what Robert Morgan called “a creaky little ship” known as the Mayflower. That was the group I was describing at the beginning.

The ship was barely as long as a football field. At its widest point, it was 25 feet wide, and it was just an area of about 15 feet where it was that wide, and then it narrowed toward the ends.

It was dark, they had storms, the water got in part of the time, and they had some other passengers on the ship that nobody wanted: cockroaches and rats. And so ` They were on an area that they called the gun deck. BUT, they never lost sight of God.

Every day they would read from the scriptures. They might sing, they might have somebody expound on the scriptures, somebody may have preached. But every day they read the scriptures.

On September 16, 1820, they came to Psalm 107. A portion of this Psalm was spoken by those who were on dangerous voyages but rejoiced because their God controls the elements and knows how to guide them to safe harbors and their desired haven.

Psalm 107:23-31 (NIV)

Scripture for today's post — The scripture for today’s post

²³Some went out on the sea in ships;
    they were merchants on the mighty waters.
²⁴They saw the works of the Lord,
    his wonderful deeds in the deep.
²⁵For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
    that lifted high the waves.
²⁶They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
    in their peril their courage melted away.
²⁷They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
    they were at their wits’ end.
²⁸Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he brought them out of their distress.
²⁹He stilled the storm to a whisper;
    the waves of the sea^[b] were hushed.
³⁰They were glad when it grew calm,
    and he guided them to their desired haven.
³¹Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

The last part of verse 30 says “He guides them to their desired haven.” They arrived at a safe haven known as Cape Cod.

Then they decided to get back on the ship. When they got back on the ship, they were preparing to start a colony for England, in Northern Virginia. They decided that before they did that they needed to seek the Lord and establish a form of government

So while they were still on the ship, they wrote a formal binding agreement, known as the Mayflower Compact. It was signed on November 11, 1620.

“In the Name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten … having undertaken for the Glory of God, and the Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honor of King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and of one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick.

This document became the foundation for our representative form of government.

As we look a little deeper into this Psalm, we will realize that we need to be glad when God gives us a noble cause, and two other thoughts on this passage of Scripture.

Be Glad When God Gives You a Noble Cause

If you are a Christian, God has given you a spiritual gift. You may not know what it is, but I know you have one because the scripture says you do. You can read in several places in Scripture about these spiritual gifts and if you combine them all together, there are about 19 that are listed in Scripture. (Romans 12:6-8, I Corinthians 12:8-10, I Peter 4:11) They are probably representative that’s probably not a complete list.

But it is something that God gives you the ability to do. Sometimes it’s an ability to do something you didn’t have the ability to do before. You know that’s a spiritual gift when it comes. Other times He takes things that come naturally to you and helps you use that for His Glory. Be glad when God gives you a noble cause.

He has given you a noble cause if you are a Christian, You need to figure out what that is. You ask “How do you do that?” You pray, first of all, and listen to that still small voice within.

There are a couple other things you can do. Ask around and see if there’s a need. Somebody may come to you and say would you teach a Sunday school class and you may say, “I don’t know if I can do that or not.” You may wind up doing that and God may confirm it for you. Or, God may confirm that it is not your gift. So you continue to seek and follow God’s leading.

One of the other things you can do is to study the Word. Stay in the Word and it will begin to speak to you and become personal to you, Just like the passage in Psalm 107 became a personal Word to those Pilgrims in the storm. They needed hope, and they got hope. It was God who made the waves go up and down and He knew how to take them to their desired haven, and He indeed did take them there.

God gives you a purpose for your life. It’s really difficult going through life without purpose. People who go through life without purpose and meaning get caught up in trying to numb the pain and get involved in alcohol or illicit drugs.

But you have a purpose. Live according to the purpose and be glad for it.

Don’t Expect Carying Out This Cause to be Easy

The second thing is: don’t expect carrying out that purpose to always be easy. Sometimes it is. Jesus said, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30) Sometimes He does make it that way, not always.

I know some who have gone through difficult times serving the Lord, Others question them asking how they made it through. Here in the dark moments, they were expecting God to take them through.

One of the reasons why it’s not easy is because Satan doesn’t want you to do the work of God. You may run against the brick walls that Satan throws out. Not only brick walls but fiery arrows that come towards you and all kinds of opposition. But greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. (I John 4:4) You might face satanic opposition.

There are other things that make it difficult, and that is just living in this old world. It rains on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45). We just have some troubles going on in this world. You have times when the opposition of Satan is going on around you and people are being influenced by that. Maybe not you or your immediate friends, but still it affects the whole world.

We experience hardships just by living in this world.

But then we realize that God commands the waves. This passage of Scripture says that they’re going up to the heavens and back down to the depths. Those travelers were experiencing that for real. The passage says they reeled to and fro and they staggered like a drunk man, and their soul melts and they come to their wit’s end.

God Will Bring You to Your Safe Haven

The first thing is to be glad that God works in our lives. He gives you direction. You don’t need to know what the end is going to be, all you need to know is the next step. When you’re pretty sure about the next step, then you take it. Then look for the next step and the next step. Eventually, it will work out.

Sometimes you go along you don’t see very much very clearly. Right now, we see through a glass darkly but one day, we will have the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 13:12) One day we’ll understand all these things that we didn’t understand here in this life.

It says in Scripture that their hearts melted and they cried out to the Lord in trouble. We don’t usually want the difficulties when they come, but after we’ve gone through them, we are thankful, because they drove us closer to God. They helped us to realize our need for a Savior, and they drove us to accept Him as our Lord and Savior.

So they cry out to the Lord in their time of trouble. Then God brings them out of their distress, and He calms the storms and the waves get still and they were glad because of the quiet. Then He guides them to their desired haven.

Sometimes we have a little problem going through this life here because God doesn’t always pay on Friday.

Robert G. Lee was a preacher in Memphis, Tennessee, and he preached a famous sermon over and over again. . It was called Payday Someday, But Not Always on Friday, and Not Always on Our Timetable.

When we’re in the dark times of life, that’s when we need to trust God. Trust Him with what we have here and then in the next steps, and He will take us through that.

We were in a lean time of life. We were asking God where He wanted us to go and what He wanted us to do next. Many of my friends were out finding good jobs and were making a lot of money. We were just trying to figure out what we were going to do. and what our next stop was going to be. It was a difficult time. Rhonda came across the verse and it said even though the stalls are empty, I will praise the Lord. (Habakuk 3:17).

I just want to tell you, she never complained one time. She never said anything about me out and getting a higher-paying job.

God has seen us through the dark times. We have 50 years of proof. God sees the safe haven and can take you there.

It might never end up looking really good here in this life. Lazarus ended up being a beggar all his life. There was a rich man and it looked like his life was really good. Both of them died. The rich man ended up in hell. Lazarus, the Bible says was in Abraham’s bosom, which is also described as paradise.

Later on, the rich man looked up and asked for pity, and for just a drop of water because he was in agony. He was told, “In your lifetime you had good things, and now you are tormented But Lazarus, in his lifetime, had the evil and now he is comforted. ” (Luke16:19-31)

I just want to tell you that God will see you through. I don’t want to be completely gloomy about this because I’m not saying that all of us have to be Lazarus. This whole earthly existence won’t be like that. Many times God will turn things around & will give you things that just bring joy to your life.

Dave Ramsey is a good example. He went bankrupt and came back and then he learned how to do better. Some of the gospel groups that we really like, The Cathedrals, for example. They made it to the top, but there were a lot of years when it was really tough. God can take you to your safe haven. Hopefully, you’ll experience the good part here in this life.

But even if you don’t, you could spend eternity in joy compared with this little dash here on this earth.

So what you need to know is that you know that you know that you know that if you were to pass from this life, you will have the assurance that you would go to Heaven. Heaven would be your safe haven.

Be glad for what God is doing for you. Be glad for God’s purpose for your life. Persevere when it is not easy. Most of all, come to the place where you know that you would go to Heaven.

February 23, 2022February 23, 2022

A Word Fitly Spoken

Today I want to talk about a word fitly spoken as found in Proverbs, Chapter 25. Verses 11 through 13.

Sermon video.

First, I want to tell you a little story from my own life when I was looking for a word to be fitly spoken.

A Personal Story of FItly Spoken Words

I was student teaching in Benton, Illinois and my supervising teacher told me that they were going to have a prom and told me I had to go. He also told me I could bring someone if I wished.

I had met Rhonda (my wife) a few months before and decided maybe I’ll see if she would go to the prom with me.

I was afraid, however, that if I called her, it would be too easy for her to say no over the phone. So I had a strategy: I was going to go in person and be standing right there and see what happened. She would have to tell me no right to my face.

So I talked to the supervising teacher he said it would be fine. I could go up to Rend Lake College, and if I ended up being late coming back, that would be all right. He understood what was happening. I was so thankful for that.

I had my plan to go and talk to her face to face. The first problem, once I got to the campus, was how to find her. There is a place there called the “South Oasis.” and I thought they may be hanging out there, so I headed that way. Sure enough, there she was, along with all our friends and many folks that I knew from Ten Mile Baptist Church.

It had occurred to me that somebody would say, “Well, hi, what are you doing here? I did not want to say in front of everybody that I was there to ask Rhonda out. I don’t know what I said. I waited for some time, but I never could get Rhonda by herself. Then I heard the bell ring and I thought, “There goes my dream.” But, fortunately, Rhonda was the last one going inside. I tapped her on the shoulder and said, “Can I talk to you for a minute?” She said yes and we went over a little way where nobody was around.

Looking for an encouraging word. — I was hoping for my own encouraging word.

Finally, I stammered and out that there was going to be a prom and would she go with me. I was waiting for that word to be fitly spoken which would have been, “Yes.” But instead, there was this little pause. I’m sure it was just a second, and then her mouth dropped open and she said “I’m shocked!”

I asked, “Well, does that mean yes or no?” I wanted to make sure. She said “Yes, yes.”

There it was, a word that was fitly spoken!

Encouraging Words and Discouraging Words

Have you ever had someone who believed in you? It could have been a teacher or a family member. Have you ever had someone say something that just discouraged you? Maybe someone even kept you from trying to do something that you should have done?

Proverbs 25:11-13 (MEV)

¹¹A word fitly spoken
is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
¹²As an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold,
so is a wise reprover to an obedient ear.

¹³As the cold of snow in the time of harvest,
so is a faithful messenger to those who send him,
for he refreshes the soul of his masters.

I want to talk to you about a loving example of God’s words, correcting words, refreshing words, and words fitly spoken in general.

God’s Words

First of all, think about God’s words. We open the Bible up and it says, “In the beginning,” (Genesis 1:1) we move over to the New Testament and we go to the fourth Gospel, and it starts with, In the beginning.” (John1:1)

The Gospel of John says “In the beginning was the Word {capitalized}, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”

Go down to verse 14 and it says “The Word {again capitalized} was made flesh and dwelt among us, {This is talking about the Living Word, not just letters on a piece of paper.} and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten Son of the Father full of grace and truth.”

There’s the clue, “the only begotten Son of the Father,”

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” This is a story about Jesus. The word “words” represents other things.

The Word is the divine expression of the Father. Jesus said, “If you want to know what the Father is like, look at me and you’ll find out.” (John 14:7)

The Words of Creation

At the beginning of the Bible, we read “In the beginning, God created the heavens of the earth.” (Genesis1:1) Then he started the sentences with the words “Let there be.”

So you have let there be light, let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let us separate the waters from the waters. Then God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so. Then God said Let the earth produce vegetation, plants, and so forth. And God said, Let there be lights in the heavens, to separate the day from the light and it’ll be for seasons. Then He says, Let the waters swarm was swarms of living creatures and then God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures. And God said, “Let us make man in Our image.”(Genesis 1: 2-26)

In all those earlier ones. He just said, “Let there be” and it was. “Let there be light,” and there was light. Let these things happen and they happened.

It didn’t take billions of years to happen, either. I believe He spoke and it immediately happened.

So you have the words of God.

Word of God

We also have the Word of God. We have the Bible. As we read, we read the story of God’s workings with people.

We have the story that goes out to the people in the Old Testament. There is Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the 12 sons of Jacob. Much of the Bible is about that.

In the New Testament, it tells us holy men of God spoke as the Holy Spirit moved upon them (2 Peter 1:21), and they wrote it down. Moses wrote, so we have the writing way back there in history. We have the words.

The Bible says that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). In other words, we have the words of God-The Word; the Bible. As apples of gold, you have a Word that is fitly spoken.

Precious Words

We have the illustrations mentioned in verse 11. It says, “A word fitly. spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Other translations may say in pictures or it may say that it is in a basket.

In trying to figure out what the “pictures” are they said it was like an engraved picture, and the picture can be engraved in settings of silver. Then another said it was like an ornamental basket that was made out of silver that had representations of apples fashioned out of gold. Sometimes the metal was sort of like silver lace you could see through as it said on the table.

The passage talks about precious things like silver and gold. Wherever people get married they have a wedding ring that represents the union between a man and a woman. The ring does not have to actually be gold, of course. It represents a commitment.

When you get ready to buy those wedding rings, you want to get the best. It’s something that’s precious.

“As apples of gold in settings of silver, so is a word that is fitly spoken.”

Correcting Words

There are also correcting words, as it says in the next verse. “As an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover to an obedient ear. “

A wise reprover, rebuker, or one who gives correction.

That works well when you have somebody who has an ear to receive the correction. There are some people that, if you try to correct them, you might have a fight on your hands. You might experience that with children.

But it works best both for them and for you if they have an ear to hear the correction. They have to have an obedient ear to receive that.

Billy Graham’s Words

Billy Graham was a famous evangelist. He preached all over the world and had an audience with at least five presidents, maybe more. He was flying one time and there was a salesman sitting next to him. The salesman was using what some people would call “colorful” or inappropriate language. It seemed like he couldn’t help himself; everything that came out of his mouth was either vile or swearing. Even after he found out that Billy Graham was a minister, he just continued to spew it out.

Reverend Graham asked him, “Do you get paid for all that swearing that you do?” The salesman replied, “No. I do it for nothing. Why?”

The Reverend responded, “Well, you work cheap. You throw away your character, you bring pain to your friendships, you hurt your family, you break the Lord’s commands and you even put yourself in danger. You work really cheap.”

I don’t know if this man heard with an obedient heart or not, but he did receive a correcting word that day.

Words for a Young Basketball Player

There is a gentleman named James Malinchak who is a public speaker. He’s well known for public speaking and he’s written some books. After a while of public speaking, he became a millionaire. He was chosen to be on an episode of ABC’s show “Secret Millionaire.”

When Mr. Malinchak was in high school, he was a basketball player, and actually got a scholarship to go to college. He had to quit due to an injury.

Be receptive to instruction. — Be receptive to instruction

But, back in his basketball days, he was working really hard. He had a basketball goal in his yard. One day, his neighbor came up to the fence and was standing there watching.
James was missing a lot of baskets and his neighbor said, “I can help you with that.”
James thought, “Who is he?” and asked, “Did you play basketball when you were in school?”
The neighbor said, “No.”
“Are you a coach or something?”
Again, the man said, “No.”
So James shot a couple more times, and then, out of curiosity said, ” Okay. Tell me how you can help me.
He said, “You’re putting your elbow way out. Pull your elbow down and you’ll have the better straight shot at the basket.”
Well, James tried it and he started making more baskets.

When you get a correcting word you need to have an obedient ear for it to really work.

Words for King David

We know the story of how King David fell into sin. The Bible tells us that he was a liar, an adulterer, and he was responsible for a murder. He’s often called a murderer, but he actually set it up for a man to be killed.

So here’s David, and he’s God’s king, and he’s done all of this. Of course, he thinks at least hidden but he hasn’t. A course of people in the palace knew about it, and I’m sure the word spread through the countryside.

The prophet Nathan received word from God telling him to go talk to David. King David could have had Nathan put to death, but the king had an ear to hear.

David's correction. — David’s correction.

Nathan came and snuck up on David with a little story about a lamb. He told a story about how somebody took this person’s only lamb. David was angry about that! Then Nathan turned it around and said, ” You are the man.” Then David realized he was talking to him. He had violated another man’s wife. But he could be forgiven, and he was forgiven. (2 Samuel 12)

But suppose he hadn’t had an obedient, willing ear. If he had rebelled against Nathan, there’s no telling what the rest of the story of the life of David would be. But he repented of the sin and God forgave him, and his kingdom forgave him.

David is known as being the greatest earthly king of Israel. (We all know that in the spiritual aspect Jesus is the greatest king) He was forgiven because he was willing to hear.

Refreshing Words

Then there are refreshing words, according to the next verse.
As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to those who send him, for he refreshes the soul of his masters.

The time of harvest could be hot times, especially in the Summer harvest, but even in some of the Fall.

The cold of snow at harvest. They had ways of preserving the snow. Of course, now we have refrigerators and actually even make ice now. But they were able to bring the snow.

When you’re out working hard on a hot summer day, and you wipe the sweat from your brow and you’re a little bit parched. Then somebody brings you a good cold glass of ice water. Snow at harvest was for refreshing.

A faithful messenger refreshes his masters. So we have refreshing words.

You may go throughout your day and you may come across 30 people. Several of them may just talk about the weather and other things that are not of much consequence. There may be 19 people who come along and really compliment you on something. That makes you feel good when they do that and it motivates you. Then you may have one person give you some harsh criticism.

That night when you go home, what do you remember? You should remember the compliments but it’s awful hard to because of that one word of harsh criticism.

Well, we should have words that are refreshing words.

There’s a sign at a local restaurant that reads: We do not repeat gossip. And then it finishes: So listen closely the first time.

A man named James L Sanders said his mother could be really exasperating. Sometimes when people are upset with other people they will vent about something. Sometimes they will do it in a criticizing way and put the person down. He said his mother is really good. When somebody was doing that, she would listen to the conversation, just waiting for her moment.

When there was a lull in the conversation, then she would be empathetic, she would say “I understand that…. ” But then she would say, “But are you aware that (the person being criticized) makes pies and takex them to the other ladies in the neighborhood?

There wsa a critical conversation about some man. and she said, “I understand what you say. But are you aware that he took a day off from work to go help a neighbor?”

She had refreshing words to say.

There was a lady who was known for being positive all the time. She would always manage to work the word “yes” into the conversation. One day her daughter came over to her house and they were getting ready for lunch. Her daughter looked in the freezer and she said, “Mom, do you have any ice cubes? ” The mother replied, “Yes. They’re not frozen yet.”

She was positive. Always be positive as much as you can.

I’m told that in the Civil War, there was a general his name was Jeb Steuart. Toward the end of the war, Jeb Steuart was preparing for a charge by forces that were several times greater than his. The captain looked to general Steuart and saw a smile on his face. General Steuart realized that the captin was wondering what was going on and so he answered the question he saw in the captain’s eyes. He said, “When you fear God, you don’t have to fear anything else.” A refreshing word to that Captain that was in battle.

So we have we have these words that are like apples of gold in settings of silver. We have correcting words that we ought to be willing to hear when they come our way – when it’s true. If it’s not true, ignore it. If it is true, do something about it.

Concluding Words

Do you realize you have sinned? Do you wonder if there’s any hope that God will forgive you?

The Bible tells us that even though we’ve all sinned and come short of the glory of God, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. (Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23)

If you’ve never accepted the gift of salvation, you can do that today. You can reach out to me, and I will show you how.

God bless you . Have a wonderful day.

November 19, 2021November 19, 2021

Halloween: Fun, Fear, and Hope

“In the United States (and other countries), Halloween has become one of the most popular unofficial holidays. On the upside, retail sales boost the economy around this holiday” (Bodie Hodge – Answers in Genesis). – second only to Christmas!

“On the downside, the holiday has become a time of increased crime in many places (especially arson and other acts of violence) on Halloween night as well as the night before. Even the author’s house was robbed one Halloween by forced entry. So, although the retail industry loves Halloween, many police officers and insurance companies dread it! Of course, there is also a tremendous amount of occult activity associated with this holiday.

“Kids and even many adults love getting dressed up for Halloween.” Of course, they love the candy too. It’s just innocent fun, isn’t it—or is it? (Hodge)

Sermon Video, Ezra Church of God

A Little History Lesson

“The holiday, though, has roots reaching much further back. As for the origin of Halloween, some researchers claim that the holiday can be traced back about 2,000 years to the Celts of Europe, who occupied parts of Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France. They held a pagan festival called “Samhain” (pronounced “sow-in”) that celebrated, more or less, the honor of the dead and involved the offering of large sacrifices of crops and animals.” (Hodge) You may have heard of the Druids. They were the pagan priests.

Many cultures observe a “Day of the Dead”. This celebration is very widespread and may have come even before the tower of Babel.

In 600 A.D., Pope Boniface IV started a holiday called “All Saints Day”. Originally, it was held in the spring. Pope Gregory III moved the date to November 1st. Perhaps it was to provide a Christian celebration as an alternative to the pagan celebration. Then, after the Reformation, reformers dubbed October 31^st “Reformation Day.”

Fun

Halloween can be a fun time for children and adults alike.

Many people observe many fun activities around the time of Halloween: Hot dog roasts, hayrides, costume parties, sometimes not usually trick or treat – at least not the “trick” part, but some mischievous fun.

Rhonda (my wife) and I have been in churches that had Halloween parties, some that were completely opposed to any type of celebration around that time, and some that had alternative activities like fall festivals.

For many years, our focus was upon Rusty’s (our son) birthday and didn’t engage much in the other activities. Of course, if people came to our house dressed up, we would give them candy.

Fear

As we move from the fun to the fear we can see the bridge of superstition to real evil. Superstitions about ghosts, demons, monsters abound during this time. Those who celebrated the pagan festivals in the past thought the day was a bridge between the living and the dead.

This can move us from superstition, which is imaginary, to real evil.

There are definitely real forces of evil in this world. Demons and demonic activity are very real.

African cultures are familiar with evil spirits, and it seems to be more than superstition. Missionaries report seeing evidence of demonic activity.

The Bible mentions demons several times. It also talks about demon possession. For example, the Gadarene demoniac and Mary Magdalene.

There are real Satan worshippers. Some of them have been deceived by Satan. While they may talk about worshiping Satan, many of them today are really just secular humanists with an absence of God.

There are also the “old school” Satanists who seek to call evil spirits, perform incantations, and the like.

It has been alleged that some very high-level people have been involved in Satanic rituals.

The Bible speaks of Satan and his angels. Satan has an angelic origin himself. At any rate, he has a desire to be like the Most High and to displace God. Satan is pleased when people begin to dabble in the occult.

Often, people begin to explore Satanism because of a desire for power. But we can submit to God and resist the devil!

I Peter 5: 5-11 (WEB)

⁵Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, to subject yourselves to one another; for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. ⁶Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, ⁷casting all your worries on Him, because he cares for you. ⁸Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ⁹Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing that your brothers who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings. ¹⁰But may the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. ¹¹To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

The Devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. While a true Christian is not going to actually be possessed, Satan can still bring a lot of temptation to your life. He can bring oppression.

Don’t give Satan a foothold! Resist the little things. Remove bitterness. Fast and pray.

Revelation 20:1-15 (NKJV)

Satan Bound 1,000 Years

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ²He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; ³and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

The Saints Reign with Christ 1,000 Years

⁴And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for ^[a]a thousand years. ⁵But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. ⁶Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Satanic Rebellion Crushed

⁷Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. ⁹They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where^[b] the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The Great White Throne Judgment

¹¹Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. ¹²And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before ^[c]God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. ¹³The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. ¹⁴Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second ^[d]death. ¹⁵And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Hope

What about those who have never accepted Christ? If you haven’t accepted Him, right now, you’re traveling with Satan and his angels, and you’re headed to the same destination as they are. Verses 1-10 above tell us this.

Here is the hope! Jesus loves you so much that He went to the cross to pay the penalty for your sins.

That’s how you resist Satan’s temptation. The Bible says Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). You can come to Christ. I am sure about that! God said that He so loved the world that whoever believes in Him will be saved. God is not willing that anyone should perish. More than anything, He wants you to come to Him. But, you have to take that step. Otherwise, you will wind up with the Devil and his minions. If you don’t receive Christ, you will die twice; once physically and once spiritually. But, if you accept Him, you only die once, and then live forever.

October 26, 2021October 29, 2021

Serving God in Difficult Times

Have you ever made yourself do something that’s really hard?
I had an email that I needed to send because I had to talk to someone about an issue. I was dreading sending it and the response. I put it off for about 3 weeks.

Difficult Tasks

I have a room full of books, literally. Rhonda and I went down to Nashville, Tennessee, a few weeks ago and took along several books that I was hoping to get rid of. There’s a store in Nashville called McKay’s Books. They will take your used books and either give you credit or cash for them. We brought a lot of books, hoping to make a couple of hundred dollars. Well, the store wound up only taking about 7 of the books we had brought, but it was enough for me to be able to get another book. It’s called, The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins.

The author of "The 5 Second Rule" got her inspiration from watching a rocket launch.

Mel had a problem getting out of bed in the morning. Her alarm would go off and she’d just procrastinate about getting out of bed. One day, she was watching a rocket launch and heard the countdown, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, LIFTOFF”, and it gave her an idea. The next morning, when her alarm clock rang, she did a mental countdown, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1” and jumped out of bed.

Back to the email: I sat down at the computer and said, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1” and started typing. Then I did the same when it was time to hit send. The response wound up being great!

About the Prophet and Chapter 25

Jeremiah was a prophet in the Old Testament. By the time we get to Jeremiah 25, he’d been preaching for 23 years. He was called upon by God to give an unpopular message. I don’t know if he did a mental countdown, but he may have taken a deep breath and just delivered the message as God had told him to.

In chapter 25, we’re going to look at some names and terms. Then we’ll look at four actions we can take. These actions will help with serving God in difficult time. The first one will help us make sense of an increasingly difficult world. Do you know what I mean? The second will help us gain a measure of peace in an increasingly difficult time. The third one will help us maintain a right relationship with God, and the fourth one will help us be ready for the end of time if it happens in our lifetimes.

Jeremiah 25

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: 3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty-three years the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened. 4 The LORD has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. 5 They said, “Turn now (repent) again everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and to your fathers forever and ever. 6 And do not go after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and provoke Me not to anger with the works of your hands, and I will do you no harm.” 7 Yet you have not listened to Me, says the LORD, that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own harm. 8 Therefore thus says the LORD of Hosts: Because you have not obeyed My words, 9 I will send and take all the families of the north, says the LORD, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations; I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of laughter and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones (bad economy), and the light of the candle. 11 This whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. (The message is “If you don’t straighten up, you’re going to go into captivity!” 12 It shall come to pass when seventy years are finished that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, says the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. 13 I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them. And I will recompense them according to their deeds and according to the works of their hands. 15 For thus says the LORD God of Israel to me: Take the wine cup of this fury at My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. 16 They will drink, and totter, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. 17 Then I took the cup from the hand of the LORD and made all the nations, to whom the LORD had sent me, drink: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and the kings and the officials, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his officials, and all his people; 20 and all the foreign people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines (even Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod); 21 Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon; 22 and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are beyond the sea; 23 Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair; 24 and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the foreign people who dwell in the desert; 25 and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes; 26 and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the earth which are upon the face of the earth, and the king of Sheshak shall drink after them. 27 Therefore you shall say to them, Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Drink and be drunk and spew and fall and rise no more because of the sword which I will send among you. 28 It will be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you will say to them: Thus says the LORD of Hosts: You shall certainly drink! 29 For I am starting to bring calamity on the city which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished. For I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, says the LORD of Hosts. 30 Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:
The LORD will roar from on high,
and utter His voice from His holy habitation;
He will mightily roar against His fold.
He will give a shout, as those who tread the grapes,
against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 A noise shall come even to the remote parts of the earth,
for the LORD has a controversy with the nations;
He shall enter into judgment with all flesh.
He shall give those who are wicked to the sword,
says the LORD.
32 Thus says the LORD of Hosts:
See, disaster shall go forth
from nation to nation,
and a great whirlwind shall be raised up
from the remote parts of the earth.
33 The slain of the LORD on that day will be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They will not be lamented or gathered or buried. They will be as dung on the ground.
34 Howl, you shepherds,(leaders) and cry;
and wallow in the ashes, you leaders of the flock.
For the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished;
and you will fall like a choice vessel.
35 The shepherds will have no way to flee,
nor the leaders of the flock to escape.
36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds
and a howling of the leaders of the flock shall be heard,
for the LORD has devastated their pasture.
37 The peaceable habitations are cut down
because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
38 He has left His lair as the lion;
for their land is desolate
because of the fierceness of the oppressor
and because of His fierce anger.

Unpopular Message

The message in this passage was delivered by Jeremiah, and it was definitely unpopular. The message was that judgment was going to come (remember I drew your attention to “turn now” meaning repent, Babylon, all these surrounding nations, and the shepherds, or leaders) and that God wasn’t going to put up with what they were doing much longer. They didn’t learn from their brothers and sisters from the North and continued to worship false gods. Moses had warned them against doing this years before.

In speaking about the passage above, evangelist G. Campbell Morgan said, “It described the processes of the Divine procedure in judgment in enlarging circles. First, there would be the judgment of Judah, Babylon being the instrument. Then would follow the judgment of Babylon by many nations. Then the judgment of the nations shall follow. Finally, the whole earth will be involved.”

There Can Be Increasingly Larger Areas of Judgement

In Jeremiah, it started with Judah, then went to Babylon, then many nations, and then goes to the entire earth. The longer you go, the worse the judgment can become. Judgement makes it difficult, but we can be serving God in difficult times.

There was a time in this nation when, if you held up a Bible, people, even if they weren’t Christians, would know what it was. They would say, “That’s The Good Book”, or “That is God’s Word”. Now, there are many who will not say that or are “offended” by the mere mention of the Bible. As we go further into judgment, it’s going to get worse.

The Bible has explained it all, we just need to watch for the signs. — The Bible has explained everything perfectly.

Scripture is written in such a way, I was told, that in every generation, people could think that Christ’s return was imminent. When Paul wrote First Thessalonians, they thought Jesus was returning right away. So much so that some quit their jobs and sat and waited for His return. That prompted Paul to write another letter, Second Thessalonians, and instruct them to “occupy until the Lord comes.” (Chapters 2, 3) We don’t know when He’s coming, but it could be any time.

A woman I knew who was in her 90s said they had been saying her whole life that He was coming, and it hadn’t happened yet. It’s been nearly 2,000 years and Jesus hasn’t returned yet…but He is and it could be today!

Watch for Judgement

Although we may not like it, we can at least understand it. We can understand that people are bringing things upon themselves. If we were to repent, things could get better. Just like if the people that Jeremiah was preaching to had repented, they could have been spared. But he knew they wouldn’t, so he told them they were going to go into captivity for 70 years, and they did. They were going to be serving God in difficult times.

The countless victims of the Holocaust probably thought the end was near, and Christ would surely return soon. But He did not.

I believe that the reason is that God has been longsuffering is that there are still some who need to come into the fold.

Watch for judgment. One of these times, it’s going to be the final one!

Serve God

I believe we live in the best Nation in the world. But I’m concerned, as many are. I’m concerned that there are 300 people being held without being charged.

When my church decided to return to live services, we left it up to the individual if they wanted to wear a mask or not. It’s their choice. Just be respectful of their decision.

Getting the vaccine is also a choice. Some have decided to do it, while others have decided against it. Some are still doing research. I’m concerned about the mandates. The mandate nearly shut down the Nation when so many flights were canceled due to pilots pushing back against mandates. It feels very oppressive. At this point, the vaccine is still experimental.

As an adult, if you got the vaccine, that’s great, it was your choice. If you haven’t been vaccinated, again, great, it’s your choice. My concern is for the children. Long-term effects are still unknown, and I don’t want the blood of the children on my hands.

According to the statistics, there’s very little likelihood that children under 20 will have a serious illness as a result of contracting COVID. But what our government is wanting is to take minors and force them to have something put into their bodies that is still experimental with unknown long-term consequences.

I’ve seen microscopic slides that show living organisms in the vaccine. Fetal tissue is used in the vaccine. Some young people who have received the shot have developed myocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart. There have been over ¾ of a million adverse effects reported.

This is not meant to scare you. We’ve all made the best decisions that we could with the information we had.

This is all to say that the government is getting to the point where they’re saying, “We’re going to make you do this.”

Jeremiah warned the people that they would come under an oppressive government. He told them to make the best of it. However bad, good, oppressive it is, do the best you can with where you are. If God leads you to take a stand, and you’re punished for it, know that He will be there. It may be that we will be called to be serving God in difficult times.

Repent when Necessary

Repentance is a requireent. — Repentance is required!

Even during all of this chaos going on, some people will turn to God. I have heard that, right now, the countries with the fastest-growing churches are Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Praise God!

We can be concerned about the state of our nation, and complain, or we can do the best we can in our circumstances. Repent where you need to repent. This is a good time for all of us to examine ourselves and see what areas of our lives need to be confessed and changed. Our repentance will help us with serving God.

There WILL Be a Return!

For the people in Jeremiah, it would be a physical return to their land. For us, Christ will return. There have been different viewpoints about the timeline throughout the years. Some think that we’ll meet Jesus at the beginning of the Great Tribulation, some think it will be halfway through, and still others think it will be at the end. But everyone agrees that there will be a kingdom where we rule with God. (Some think it will be on the new earth, others think in heaven.)

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptable, and we shall be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:52 — It could happen today!

So, what we need to do is be ready! Regardless of what happens when, if you know Christ, you’ll be all right. If you don’t, you’re on dangerous ground. The certainty of Christ’s return will encourage us when it comes to serving God.

Watch for judgment. Serve God anyway. Repent when necessary. Watch for the return of Christ.

We don’t know when He will return but we do know that He will, and his return is closer today than it’s ever been before.

God bless you!

October 5, 2021October 5, 2021

Edification Mistakes Christian Family Members Make – Part 4

This is the fourth and final post in the series on mistakes that Christian family members make, when dealing with one another, without realizing it. In the first part, I discussed the mistake of not knowing how fragile your family members are. You can read the first post and watch the video here. The second post addressed the importance of encouraging words. Read part two here. In part three, I talked about understanding how general attitudes of encouragement benefit the entire Christian community. See that post here.

In this final post, I will explain how examples of encouragement can benefit others.

The Teacher and Teddy

In 1974, a lady named Elizabeth Silance Ballard wrote a story that appeared in “Home Life Magazine”.

On the first day of school, the teacher looked at the fresh faces of her fifth-grade class. Smiling, she told them, “I love each of you the same!” But in her mind, she knew that wasn’t true. She looked to the back row and saw Teddy Stoddard slumped in his seat.
As the school year progressed, she somewhat enjoyed putting the big red “X” on incorrect answers and the big “F” on Teddy’s papers. He just wasn’t a good student.

The teachers were required to go through notes from their students’ previous teachers. Teddy’s teacher began reading:
First Grade: “Teddy is such a delight to have in class. He is so excited about learning.”
Second Grade: “He is a delightful young man. He’s so cooperative and so cheerful when coming into school.”
Third Grade: “Teddy is having a little trouble. His mother is very sick.”
Fourth Grade: “Teddy is having trouble focusing. He is never happy. His father seems disinterested.”

The teacher’s heart changed that day. She showed up to class the next morning with a new view of Teddy. She began encouraging him and cheering him on. She soon discovered that her pledge to love each child the same was still untrue because she had come to love Teddy the most.
Christmas time came around, and all the children brought beautiful gifts for the teacher. They would get so excited when she came to each gift. Then it came time to open Teddy’s present. It was poorly wrapped in plain brown paper. She opened the package to discover a rhinestone bracelet with a few stones missing and a small, half-empty bottle of perfume.
The students all began to laugh, but the teacher stopped it with the action of taking some of the perfume and applying it. Later that day, Teddy came to the teacher and said, “Thank you, Ms. Thompson. You smell just like my mother.”

The next year, Teddy was not in her class, but she got a note saying, “My grades are doing better. You’re still the best teacher I’ve ever had.”
Two years later, she got another note from Teddy: “I’m graduating 8th grade. You’re still the best teacher ever.”
Four years went by, and Teddy sent another note. “I’m graduating high school this year. I’m in the top fourth of my class!”
Another four years, and another note. “I am graduating from college!”
The next note read, “I have graduated from medical school!” Signed, Theodore Stoddard, M.D.

In time, another letter from Teddy came. “I am getting married in 3 months. I would like for you to come and sit in the spot reserved for the mother of the groom.”
The teacher gladly accepted and sat proudly in the place of honor.

The story of Teddy and the teacher is fictional, but elements of it are taken from real-life events. The author of the story had taken pecans she had picked up to her teacher, and rather than allow the kids to laugh, the teacher made a big deal of it. The rhinestone bracelet aspect came from another family member’s experience.

It’s also true that encouragement goes a long way, and discouragement can rip us apart and destroy us.

I pray that the Word of God encourages you. I pray you encourage one another. I pray husbands and wives encourage each other and children do as well.

Thank you for reading. I hope that I have encouraged you. Please check out my other blog posts at Randy’s Blogs and don’t forget to follow me on YouTube and Rumble.

September 27, 2021October 29, 2021

Discover God’s Hidden Treasures for Your Life

Proverbs 25:1-5
“These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied. It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, so the heart of kings is unsearchable.
Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel; take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness.”
A proverb is a short saying full of a lot of truth

The first thing I see in this passage is that God has placed many wonderful things in this universe for us to discover. He has hidden some things from us, but that is His prerogative.

God’s Hidden Treasures in Science

Sometimes people think that there is a contradiction between science and the Bible. That’s not the case. Not if it’s true science and true Bible. True science discovers the truth and the Bible is the ultimate truth. The Bible isn’t a textbook on science but when it speaks on matters of science it’s accurate because the Bible is infallible.

Our understanding of science has changed over the years. For example, I was always taught that an atom was the smallest part of matter. Then they discovered protons, neutrons, and electrons, so those were smaller parts. Now they’ve discovered what are called quarks. Those are smaller than atoms.

Then it was found out that if they split the atom, a tremendous amount of energy would be released. It was a concern, at first, that there would be a chain reaction and if an atom was split, that chain reaction would go off all around the world. Of course that wasn’t the case, but we do have atomic bombs and there are chain reactions, but they stop before going across the entire planet. The atom bomb that was dropped to end World War 2, it is said, is as small as the detonator of the weapons we have now. It’s amazing to me that men have this understanding.

The first understanding was similar to the solar system. It was a planetary model with the nucleus in the center and the electrons and such around it. That’s what I was taught in grade school.

Another model of an atom is a bunch of dots. The dots are where the atom “might” be and the electron “might” be.

So there are all these different models.

The question is how does science come together to agree on anything? The solution is scientists and mathematicians have done enough experimenting and computing and figuring to find out what works. The equation will work for one situation, but not the other.
Our understanding has changed. Scientists are trying to find out how God makes things work.

The Bible tells us in Colossians that all things are held together by Him.

There are things that God has hidden and put it out there for us to find. It’s the glory of God to hide a matter, and it’s the honor of man (or woman) to search out a matter.

God’s Hidden Treasures Unexpectedly Found in Scripture

There was once a man who asked “What can I do with this seeming waste of time?” He was suffering from a serious injury, lying flat on his back. Earlier in his life, when he was 19, his father wanted him to choose a certain career path. But the young man wanted to go to sea, and so he did. He became known as a brilliant oceanographer. His life became boring, however, and then he was involved in a stagecoach accident where he broke his right leg. He wasn’t able to be active, and he was relegated to working in an office. He began keeping maps and charts, and life was dull.

While recovering from this injury, he asked his son to come read to him. His request was that the son read the Bible. The son read from Psalm chapter 8 and he read “Whatsoever passes through the paths of the seas…”
The oceanographer had a thought, “paths of the seas.” No one had ever realized before that the sea had paths. This is one of the glories that God had concealed that the man discovered. The man was in bed for a long time and began to think about the paths of the seas. His name was Matthew Fontaine Maury.

Once Matthew recovered, he took God at His word and began searching for the paths mentioned in Psalms. He began experimenting. He took some bottles, added some weight so that they would stay underwater, but not completely sink. He put instructions in the bottles, asking the person finding it, to let him know when and where the bottle was found. Through this process, he discovered how long it took to get to a certain place. He noticed patterns and that is how we now have names and locations of the currents in the oceans.

One is the Gulf Stream Current. It’s about 50 miles wide and 3,000 feet deep. The rate of flow is measured by volume per second and is about 1000 times faster than the Mississippi River. Many ocean vessels ride this current in order to save valuable shipping time.
Maury’s discovery of ocean currents took 3 weeks off of trips between the continents. All because he decided to search out the Paths of the Seas mentioned in the Bible.
In the town of Richmond, Virginia, there was a statue erected to honor him. The inscription on the plaque read “Pathfinder of the Seas”.

The discovery of ocean currents changed shipping practices

We should search for the hidden wisdom of God. We grow during the process of searching. We don’t have to make the mistakes of others. Biblical principles will work in many areas of life.

God’s Hidden Treasures Discovered through Making Mistakes

What did the man who had everything conclude about his life? He was raised in a palace. His father had died, and he was now king. God asked him what he wanted, and he told God he wanted wisdom. God said since he had asked for wisdom and not riches, He was going to bless the king with both. So the king had wisdom from God, great riches, visiting dignitaries, like the Queen of Sheba.

Then the king began to do things for political gain. One of the things he did was participate in arranged marriages with women from other countries. Some of those women worshipped false gods, and the king (Solomon) worshipped the one true God.
However, Solomon went astray and began worshipping the false gods of his wives. He quickly learned what life was like without God in the picture. Even though he knew God to begin with, he started wandering around in the world and had to learn some lessons. There are Christians today who do that same thing!

So, Solomon had a testimony about his experiences and wrote it down. Those writings became the book of Ecclesiastes. He finally came to the conclusion that man should fear God and keep His commandments. We need to search out the wisdom of God.

Wise friends are key to making good choices

We also need to surround ourselves with the kind of people who will inspire us to righteousness. The wrong friends can lead us down the wrong road, and the wrong counselors can lead us to many mistakes.

People in positions of authority can’t possibly know everything and read everything. So, they assign people to investigate things for them. When they have good council and good counselors, they will make good decisions. When they have bad counsel and bad counselors, they will most likely make bad decisions.
Good friends and good counselors will inspire us to righteousness. How many times has there been a young person who was “on the fence” about serving God, and have met up with someone who is on fire for God? They were then inspired to serve or inspired to righteousness.

There was another king once, and he asked, “What shall I do?” He, too, was raised in a palace and became king when his father died. He was Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. He was fearful of ruling so he went to his father’s counselors. They were older men and they gave their advice. They said that Solomon had, toward the end of his reign, put a heavy load on the people and was very stern. The counselors advised the new king to “lighten up” and be less strict than his father had been. They said that if he did that, the people would be so grateful they would serve him forever.

Rehoboam didn’t listen to the wiser older men, and instead gathered some younger men and asked their advice. The younger men advised him to be stern and strict with the people. He listened to the younger counselors. The people were hopeful that this new king would be kinder, and when he wasn’t, the people rebelled. The ones who lived in the northern part of the kingdom rebelled especially hard, and they pulled away and named a man called Jeroboam as their king.

Rehoboam was trying to decide if he should take his army and attack the northern kingdom. A prophet named Shemaiah was sent by God and told Rehoboam not to attack. God told them to go home because He had caused the incident to happen. Rehoboam heeded the word of God and he was able to rule for another 16 years.

How does all this relate to us today? We need to realize there are many wonderful things that can be discovered by studying God’s word. Look at all that Matthew Maury accomplished by reading God’s word and following the signs.

A man named David Barton with an organization called Wall Builders said our American system of government has three branches, and those come from a verse in Isaiah.

Many things can be discovered by searching out the word of God. Commit yourself to Christ, and after that, commit yourself to reading or listening to God’s word daily. Commit to associating yourself with the right friends. The right friends can build you up, and take you where you need to go. The wrong friends can pull you down and lead you to destruction.

September 7, 2021October 29, 2021

The Crush of Guilt and The Delight of Deliverance

“Some say that I am mad, but, really, what’s happened is that I have a sharpening of my senses.” – The Telltale Heart- Edgar Allan Poe

The narrator of the story had been commissioned to be a caretaker for an older gentleman. The caretaker had actually begun to become mentally disturbed. His charge had an eye that the caretaker referred to as “The Vulture Eye”. It disturbed him greatly. It got to the point that he wanted to get that out of his life. In the story, he goes in night after night, carrying a covered lamp. He slowly opens the door to the man’s room, he doesn’t have the light on outside the room, and it’s completely dark. He goes to the man’s side and sees that his eyes are closed and he is asleep. This goes on for many nights.

Then, one night, the caretaker enters the older gentleman’s room and makes some sort of noise, and the older man wakes up. He looks around and says, “Who’s there?” The caretaker places the cover back over the lantern as he sees the “Vulture Eye”. In his insanity, he smothers the older man with the blankets. As he is in the process of this crime, the older gentleman cries out.

Shortly after, there is a knock at the door. The caretaker opens it to find a few police officers. His thought process is written out for the reader to see.

“I’m not really mad. I just have heightened senses. I can hear things more clearly than I did in the past.”

He covers up his crime pretty well. The police relax and decided to stay for a bit.

The man begins to wonder why they are staying so long.

Then, in his mind, he begins to hear a sound: a thumping. It’s a heartbeat. You see, after he had killed the old man, he buried him beneath the floorboards of the very room in which they were sitting. The heartbeat is all in his mind.

He keeps thinking to himself that he has these heightened senses. But, the beating becomes so loud that he begins to wonder how the others in the room cannot hear it. Finally, the man breaks down and confesses. He tells the police to tear up the floorboards, and they find the body of the older man.

It was the sense of guilt that the man in the story had. How to deal with a guilt is topic that can apply to all of us.

Guilt Has Mental and Physical Effects

Many people experience the effects of guilt. It can lead to insomnia, worry, shame, depression, ulcers, arthritis, and even hardening of the arteries. Medication is sometimes required to help with the effects of guilt. Learning how to deal with guilt can help all of us in this area.

Pastor Rob Blank went to visit a 14-year-old boy who was in a catatonic state. He was in the hospital room, and a nurse came in and said she thought the boy’s problem was (video freezes). Pastor Blank then told the nurse that he was the boy’s pastor. Embarrassed, the nurse left the room.

The pastor then went to the boy and began to speak to him. He read scripture and shared the plan of salvation. Suddenly, the boy began to speak. He wasn’t speaking to the pastor, however. He was praying! He confessed his sin to God and accepted Jesus as his Savior. There was an immediate change in his life. He sat up on the edge of the bed with his feet dangling over the side. The nurse came back in and could not believe what she saw. The young man had the effect of guilt that was in his life. However, when he confessed his sins and fully accepted Jesus, he was healed of his guilt and was healed physically in a dramatic way.

Psalm 32:3-4

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried upas by the heat of summer. Selah

This is a Psalm of David. Many scholars believe that this was written after his sin with Bathsheba. To David’s credit, it’s amazing to me, with all the cover-ups that we can see going on in the political world, how David, being a king, could have completely kept this story under wraps. Instead, when Nathan came and confronted David with his sin, he not only confessed to God, he wrote it down and we are able to read it many centuries later. The entire kingdom became aware of his sin, and yet he confessed his sin. So David knew what it was like to have the feeling of grief. When he was keeping silent, it was like his bones wasted away and he had a groaning going on within his heart. Day and night he felt God’s hand heavy upon him. Then he started losing his strength. He said, “My strength was changed into the drought of summer.”

Psalm 32:9

Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.

In this verse, David is referring to those who continue on in their sin and guilt without confessing it. It’s like a horse or mule without a bridle. They would have to be restrained and controlled with a bit and bridle to get them to do what you wanted them to do. But whenever a person realizes his or her guilt and is willing to come to God, then they can come and repent.

Psalm 32:10^a

Many are the sorrows of the wicked

Guilt has an effect on people mentally and physically.

People Try Different Ways of Coping With Guilt

Most of these coping mechanisms do not have lasting benefits. Learning how to deal with guilt is something that all of us try to learn.

One way is called escapism or trying to put it out of their minds. They attempt to distract themselves with things like work or entertainment.

Many people try to escape using alcohol, as it dulls their pain. While serving as a chaplain at the VA hospital, I once had a gentleman tell me that he began using alcohol to help dull his pain, and then it got a grip on him and he became addicted.

Alcohol can be something people use to cope with guilt.

Another way of coping is rationalizing. We want to rationalize our sin in order to make us feel better. In that process, there is the placing of blame. We may say, “I did this because of something traumatic that happened to me in my past.” Certainly, people go through traumatic events, but we are responsible for how we handle those events; for what we do, and how we handle those events.

Then, there is the idea of calling guilt – all guilt – “false guilt”. There is such a thing as false guilt. That is when someone feels ashamed of something that they are not guilty of or haven’t done at all. There can be some things that people would try to lay upon other people that aren’t really wrong in relation to God’s law. Some cult members experience a kind of false guilt.

The good news is that the truth can set them free from false guilt! When they learn that what they’ve been told is wrong; that what they’ve done isn’t a violation of God’s law, and the truth sinks in, it will set them free.

The trouble in today’s world is that all guilt is labeled as false guilt, and that sin is not really sin. A few years ago, a doctor wrote a book entitled “Whatever Happened to Sin?”. It said that we don’t call sin-sin anymore, but use different names.

There is false guilt, and there is true guilt. Calling all guilt false is not helpful, because true guilt is a real thing. That occurs when God’s law is violated. When God is disobeyed, that is true guilt.

Escapism may take care of the guilty feeling for a time. Rationalizing and placing blame may get rid of it for a while. Labeling it false guilt may help people feel better for a little. But none of those are true solutions, and will not work long-term.

We’ve discussed the effects of guilt and how people try to cope. Now, let’s look at the one sure way to eliminate true guilt.

The One Sure Way to Eliminate True Guilt

A couple of farm boys were in grade school. They were visiting with one another and decided to make some corncob pipes. They used the cob as the bowl and some vines as the stem and were going to smoke corn silk. After they had made their pipes, one boy went home. He checked around to make sure no one was home and went to seek out a place to hide his new pipe. He looked in the barn and decided that wasn’t a good hiding spot. Then he went to the shed, but wasn’t happy with that area, either. Finally, after finding a temporary hiding place, he went up toward his house, thinking he could hide the pipe inside.

What the boy didn’t notice, however, was the rest of his family sitting in the car, watching him wander around the farm searching for that perfect hiding spot.

He had a desire to hide his pipe.

People have a desire to hide or cover their guilt. The Bible says that it is the glory of kings to cover a matter, but it is even better to have that sin completely forgiven and to have it not only forgiven but, in the sight of God, it is gone; buried and forgotten!

Psalm 32:1-2, 5-8, 10-11

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.
You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

True guilt can be taken care of. If this was written after David’s “great sin”, then it’s easy to see how wonderful it was that he had said within himself, “ I will confess my transgressions to the Lord” and he knows that God forgave him.

Sin can be forgiven. There is such a thing as false guilt. If you’re experiencing that, find out the truth and let it set you free. There are things that are not violations of God’s law; let the truth override that. But there are areas where we truly are guilty. The Bible tells us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God and that the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ or Lord.

If we come to Him in the time He may be found, (when we still have breath, are still alive) and realize that we have sinned, we can come to a loving God, be forgiven, and reap all the benefits that were mentioned in Psalm 32.

A man was speaking to Doctor S.I. McMillen about his physical well-being. He began to tell the doctor about things that were going on. He told the doctor, “If people knew the things I have done, I would be in prison right now.” The doctor realized that he would not be able to fix this man’s problem with a pill. He spoke to his patient about Christ, and the man accepted Jesus as his Savior, and his physical ailments went away.

There is man’s way of trying to deal with guilt, and then there is God’s way. God sent His son to die on a cross for our sins. If we accept His Son, we enjoy all the rewards of forgiveness. This the true way to learn how to deal with guilt.

If you are not a Christian, realize that you are guilty before God, but accepting Jesus as Savior will erase that guilt with the shedding of His blood. Accept this free gift and call upon the Lord!

If you are a Christian, you may have come to a place in your life where you are experiencing true guilt, like Peter, who denied the Lord three times. He knew he was guilty. Jesus spoke to Peter and forgave him. Christian friend, if you have some guilt, the answer is the same; come to Jesus and confess your sins. The Bible says if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Aren’t you glad that your sin is forgiven, and covered, and removed and God will remember it against us no more?

September 3, 2021October 29, 2021

The Ultimate Challenge

This challenge is for husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church.

I have a little box at my home. It has engraving on the top that reads, “Everything Men Know About Women”. When opened, the box is revealed to be empty.

Doris and Maurice

Doris and Maurice went to visit the doctor. Maurice was having some physical problems. They appeared to be very serious, and Maurice was wondering if he was going to survive. Doris went in to speak with the doctor, who began explaining that Maurice was overworked and extremely stressed. It was so bad, in fact, that Maurice may not make it! But, the doctor, said, there is hope. Eager to help her husband, Doris asked what could be done. The doctor said, “For the next six months, you must do these things daily, without fail. In the morning, greet him with a big kiss. Tell him good morning and wish him a good day. Then, go make him a nice breakfast. After breakfast, encourage him to go sit and relax. Throughout the day, don’t bother him with chores or problems around the house. In the evenings, prepare his favorite suppers. When he’s finished eating, guide him to the television, give him the remote, and encourage him to watch all the sports he wants. Do all this, and after six months, your husband will be fully recovered.” Sitting in the car after leaving the doctor’s office, Maurice asked Doris what the doctor had said. She looked at her husband and told him, “He said you’re going to die.”

Here, though, the shoe is on the other foot.

The Scriptures – Husbands Love Wives

John 15: 13 ~ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (NIV)
Ephesians 5: 25-32 ~ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkles or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies, just as Christ does the church – for we are members of His body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you must love his wife as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband.

For a Cause – Husbands Love Wives

I want to begin by saying that people are willing to give their lives for a cause. We’ve got military members all over our country who have given their lives for a cause.

In the Bible, there is the account of Ester. Haman came and told the king that some people who wouldn’t bow down, and wanted to have them executed. He was looking to exterminate the whole Nation of Israel. Ester was in the harem of the king, and her uncle Mordecai came to tell her of Haman’s plan. Even though the king had not sent for her in 30 days, Ester went to him, at great risk to herself. The king was merciful, and Ester saved her people.

Then there’s the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In the town they lived, there was a huge statue. The people had been commanded to bow down and worship the statue whenever the music played. These three men refused. King Nebuchadnezzar asked if they would bow, and they said no. He asked if they thought their God would deliver them. Their response was, “We don’t know if He will or not, but we will not bow down.” So the furnace was heated. In his anger, the king ordered it to be heated 7 times hotter than usual. It was so hot that the ones who put the 3 men in died from the heat. While watching from a safe distance, the king looked into the furnace and saw FOUR men walking around inside. The fourth was the Son of God!

Daniel was told he could not pray to any other god other than the “official” god of the kingdom. Daniel didn’t change his ways, though. He still prayed, daily, to the true God. He didn’t do it in secret, but where anyone could see him. He, too, was brought before the king. He was thrown into a den of hungry lions. An angel came and shut the mouths of the lions. The next morning, the king approached the lions’ den and asked if Daniel’s God was able to save him. Daniel replied that He had, in the night, saved him from the lions jaws.

I recently saw an advertisement for a western film starring Audie Murphy. He was an actor, yes, but he was also one of the most decorated soldiers in World War II.

These stores all tell of people who were willing to die for a cause they believed in.

A Command for Husbands (and Wives)

In the passage in Ephesians, Jesus is speaking to husbands, telling them to love their wives as Christ loved the church. How much did He love the church? He died for it!

As husbands, this isn’t always an easy thing to do. It’s even more difficult when there isn’t encouragement coming from the other side. There’s a responsibility for the wife, also. The same passage in Ephesians says that a wife is to respect her husband. Sometimes, men will not do things in the home, but will drop everything to help the widow lady next door. The wife wonders why he would do that? It is possible that the neighbor is appreciative and thankful while the man receives no recognition in his own home.

The command is there regardless. Just like the command for the wife to respect her husband is there. Even if the husband doesn’t do what he’s supposed to, the command is still there.

The ultimate challenge is this: Husband, love your wife so much that you would die for her. Romans 5:8 says that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That’s why we should do it.

Daily Decisions

We make daily decisions. Maybe you’ve been selfish in the past, and maybe you’ve failed. Don’t let past failures hinder you. Remember, every day you wake up is the first day of the rest of your life. The failures of yesterday are gone. It is a new opportunity to get it right. You can repent of past failures and make a decision to live for God.

Is your marriage not a cause worth fighting for? Some people may think that it would be better to “throw in the towel”.

I’m not a marriage counselor, although I sometimes preach about it and write about it like I’m doing here. I had a friend who came to me and said he and his wife were having some struggles and he wanted to come talk to me. I agreed to speak with them for a span of 6-8 weeks. I didn’t want it to go on endlessly. I His wife was close with my wife and would talk to her sometimes, as well. There were times when the wife was discouraged and talked of divorce. My wife told her that she didn’t realize the impact of what she was contemplating. The finances would suffer, the children would suffer, and they would both be lonely.

If you’ve been down this road and have gotten divorced, I’m not looking down on or judging you. You may have handled it better than I could have.

What I am saying is that your marriage is a cause worth fighting for! Even if the sides aren’t “even”. Wives, respect your husbands even if he doesn’t love you like he should. Husbands, be willing to lay down your life for your wives, even if she doesn’t respect you as she should.

We’ve heard stories about people who have seen a child in the path of an oncoming vehicle, and that person pushed the child to safety while losing their own life. That’s because they were willing to die for that child; that cause.

The time may come when we have to take a stand for religious freedom. Will we be willing to give our lives for that cause? How far would we be willing to go? Would we be willing to be put in jail? Throughout history, God’s people have taken a stand regardless of the consequences.

I pray that this will be a new challenge to each of us. Let the yesterdays of marriage be gone and make this the first day of the rest of your marriage. It is time to be willing to stand up and give your life for that cause.