What’s A Mother to Do?

Today, I’ll be looking at three different passages of scripture. The main one will be 1 Kings 17. I’ll also discuss Luke 4 and Matthew 6. I’ll begin with Matthew 6.

Many times, a mother will ask herself, “What’s a mother to do?”

My wife worried, but our daughter was ok.

When our second child was about 2 years old, my wife was preparing a salad. She was tearing off the bits of lettuce that were browned and not edible. She heard a noise, turned around, and discovered our daughter eating the scraps. We panicked a little, but she was fine.

I heard of a mother who went into her child’s room and found that the child had “decorated” the walls with crayons. In a flash of insight, the mother grabbed an empty picture frame and framed the child’s artwork, and just left it there.

I want to tell you about a mother who was in dire straits. She was wondering what she was going to do.

Matthew 6:25-34

25 “Therefore, I say to you, take no thought about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they do not sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? 27 Who among you by taking thought can add a cubit[a] to his stature? 28 “Why take thought about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: They neither work, nor do they spin. 29 Yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. 30 Therefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is here and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore, take no thought, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 (For the Gentiles seek after all these things.) For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you. 34 Therefore, take no thought about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take thought about the things of itself. Sufficient to the day is the trouble thereof.

History Lesson

First Kings chapter 17 tells us about a woman who was in dire straits. The economy was very bad. She lived in ancient Israel. The time was after David the great king and his son Solomon. Solomon’s son Rehoboam was the successor. He went to the counselors and asked what he should do for the people. They gave him some good advice, telling him that his father had gotten pretty harsh in his old age. They recommended that Rehoboam help the people and they would love him forever.

However, he went to some younger people and was told that if he gave too much to the people, they would take advantage of him.

So he followed the counsel of the younger people and announced that things were about to get much more difficult under his reign. Ten of the 12 tribes decided they would not go along with that and left.

What had been a united kingdom was now split between the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. The northern kingdom kept the name Israel. The southern kingdom went by Judah.

The prophets came and said that if they didn’t repent, they would be taken into captivity. That did happen later. The Assyrians came and took the northern tribes into captivity and they pretty much disappeared. You don’t hear about them much anymore. If you’ve heard of the “ten lost tribes of Israel”, it’s most likely about those tribes taken by the Assyrians.

What remained was Judah. Jerusalem was in that country. That’s where the main Jewish temple was. Assyria’s power began to wane, so Babylon came in and took Judah captive. So, in the end, they all wound up in captivity, just as the prophets had said.

Before the captivity, there was a series of kings. All the kings of the northern kingdoms, beginning with Rehoboam, rebelled against God. He created idols such as golden calves, for them to worship. In the Bible, it says that the nation continued to do evil in the sight of God.

The southern kingdom had a mix of both good and bad kings. King Ahab was known as the worst king ever. The mother in our story lived during his reign. There was a drought and famine in the land, so food was very scarce.

What’s A Mother to Do?

The mother’s problem was that she was alone. She had a son, but she was a widow. She was doing her best to make ends meet.

One day she was out gathering twigs for a fire. She had looked at her food supply and discovered that she had only enough left to make one meal for herself and her child.

Then a man of God came along. It seemed to the woman that it was just a chance encounter. In their culture, they were supposed to care for strangers and travelers. The man asked for a drink and the woman obliged. As she turned to get it, the man asked for a piece of bread as well. The woman was devastated. She told the traveler that she had enough supplies for one bit of bread for her and her son to eat and that they would then most likely starve to death.

What's a mother to do? She barely had enough for her son and herself. — What’s a mother to do? She barely had enough for her son and herself.

You may think that this man of God took pity on the woman and told her to keep the bread for herself and her child. He did not. He told her to go ahead and make the bread and bring it to him when she brought the drink.

What’s a mother to do? She’s gotten instruction that seems to make no sense, and goes against her every instinct!

Sometimes, God does that with us. Sometimes while you’re reading the Bible, you will come across something that doesn’t seem to make sense. Why? Because we’re thinking in the ways of the world. We don’t know what the future holds, but God does.

The man of God was named Elijah. He gave the woman the instruction and she was supposed to follow it.

What’s a mother to do?

A mother, and everyone else, needs to have her ears attuned to hearing God speak to her. Keep your mind open when reading the Bible. If the Scriptures say it’s wrong, it’s wrong. No discussion is needed.

It doesn’t matter how you try to rationalize it, if it seems too harsh, or if it doesn’t make sense to you. If God says it’s wrong, it’s wrong!

Now, I do believe in a certain amount of tolerance. I won’t kill you for your opinion, and I certainly hope you won’t kill me for mine.

But today, there seems to be a movement that says, “I can have my opinion, but you can’t have your (BIblical based) opinion.” That’s not tolerance.

For me, on this Earth, the only one who can get me to change my opinion on Biblical matters is God.

Obedience and Miracles

Back to our mother: Elijah told her to do as she said, to make the bread for herself and her son, but first, bring him some of it. She was in a quandary. She wrestled with the idea of just leaving the man standing there instead of feeding him as he’d asked. She made the decision to do as he had asked.

She reached down into the flour barrel, and a few grains fell out of her hand. She thought maybe there was a little more than she had thought. Then she poured the oil and noticed she had a few more drops than she had realized. But there wasn’t enough to make another cake. She went ahead and made the cake and took it to Elijah.

Feeling hopeful, she reached back into the flour barrel and found that there was enough to make a cake (bread)for herself and her son. She discovered the same thing with the oil. That in itself was amazing.

The next day, however, she went back to check the supplies and found that there was enough flour and oil to feed them that day. The next day was the same, and the next, and the next! God provided for that widow and her son.

Luke 4:24-27 mentions the widow:
24 He also said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you truthfully, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were closed for three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land. 26 Yet to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, a city of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. But none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

So out of all the people in need during that time, the one widow heard and obeyed, and was given a miracle. Why was it only her?

I don’t know.

What I do know is that God is good all the time. I know that the Apostle Paul had seen countless miracles. It’s called a miracle because it doesn’t happen all the time. If it happened all the time, it would just be something we expected. A miracle is when God does something unusual and supernatural. He did that for the widow.

What Are We to Do?

Now it comes to what are we to do?

We are to look for God and listen for God all the time in our lives. We are to watch for the miracles and when they happen, rejoice and testify about them.

Maybe you’re like Paul, who had an infirmity of the flesh. Three times he asked God to remove it from him, and probably thought He would, but God did not remove the infirmity. However, Paul continued to praise and serve the Lord.

Sometimes God does something miraculous, sometimes He doesn’t. But he told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

So what’s a mother to do? What’s a person to do when in dire straits?

First of all, you pray and look for God to work. When you see Him working, allow it to happen. But, you also need to trust God when you don’t understand what’s going on.

Another Miracle

After the blessing of the flour and oil, the widow came to a point where she didn’t understand what was going on. After some time, her son became very ill. It looked like he was near death.

The widow's son became very ill. — The widow’s son became very ill.

So the widow sent word to Elijah that her son was gravely ill. She asked if he was just going to continually remind her of her sin. She sarcastically spoke to Elijah. He ignored her sarcasm and asked that the child be brought to him. She carried her son to the prophet and he took him to an upper room and began to pray. Three times he asked God to bring the child’s soul back. After the third request, the child began to breathe again. Not only was he breathing, but he got up and was well.

She had trusted God with the food, and He provided. God had healed her son.

What’s a mother to do?

Listen to God to see where He’s going to work. Read and believe Scripture. Trust God in the everyday things of life.

The Final Action

There’s one other part of the mother and son’s story. It’s not written in 1 Kings 17 but I know that it happened. At some point, they both died. I believe that the woman trusted God, and at her death, she went to be with Him. I also like to think that she told her son the story as he grew, and he came to trust God as well. If he did, he also went to be with God in the end.

So, the most important thing that ANY person can do is to know that you know that if death comes your way, you’re ready to go and meet the Lord. It will be a wonderful thing for you. It will be a time of joy, with no pain or suffering.

What’s a mother to do? Trust God. Most of all, make sure you’re ready! How?

Believe in the promises that are in God’s Word. I’d be glad to show you some. You can contact me here and I can share them with you. I’m not asking if you’ve attended church, or even said a prayer once. Do you KNOW that you’re ready to meet God?

May 3, 2022May 3, 2022

Easter is Real! You Received the Gift. Now what?

Easter is real.

Sermon video

Saul, a man in the first century, had a problem. He thought he was right, but he wasn’t. He was sincerely deluded. He needed to change his mind, which is another way to describe repentance, and Saul needed to repent!

On his way to Damascus, Saul met a guide. The Lord Jesus Christ came into his heart. It actually knocked him off of his horse! Do you think that got his attention?

Attention Grabber

Sometimes God needs to get our attention

It’s kind of like the farmer who had the mule. He talked to his neighbor, also a farmer, and the neighbor said, “How do you get your mule to do what you want him to do?” The other farmer said, “You have to be gentle with him.” His neighbor said he’d give it a try. A few minutes later, the first farmer climbed up into his wagon and gave the mule the “go” command and snapped the reins. The animal just stood there. The farmer climbed down from his seat, grabbed a 2×4 and whacked the mule between the eyes. The neighbor, having seen all this, said, “I thought you said you had to be gentle with him.” The other farmer answered, “Yes, but you have to get his attention first.”

Saul/Paul

That’s the way it was with Saul as he was going along the road: God had to get his attention so He knocked Saul off of his horse. He was also struck blind and would not remember that day, nor the next two.

A man named Ananias had gotten a word from the Lord that God had been working in Saul’s life so he came and prayed for him. Saul’s blindness was taken away.

That day, Saul’s name was changed to Paul. He was the apostle Paul and was to be Jesus’ messenger to the Gentiles. The word apostle means a messenger. Think of it as our modern-day missionaries.

Easter is Real!

I know sometimes we’re told the history of the word “Easter” has to do with Ishtar and pagan religions. But that is NOT what we worship. Christians redeemed the day. They took a festival that was not honoring to God and decided to turn it into a celebration of Jesus. That’s why we celebrate the resurrection when we do.

For those of us who are Christians, that overshadows the former pagan celebrations. Even those who are students of history, when they hear the word “Easter,” the first thing that comes to mind is the celebration of the resurrection.

Christmas also had pagan festivals going on during that time. The church came in and decided to remember the birth of Jesus. Although they didn’t know when He was born, they knew that he was born, so they decided to use that day to remember His birth and the reason for it. God became flesh. That is the meaning of the word Emmanuel: God in the flesh.

Easter is real because it reminds us of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Luke 24:4-7

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.’ ”

That’s Easter. That’s why we celebrate. Because of that, we can understand that we have sinned, that we need a Savior, and Jesus offers a gift.

Matthew 28:5-6

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid. For I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here. For He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay

That’s why we worship. That’s why we worship on Sunday: the first day of the week. It’s the day when Jesus was resurrected. Easter is a remembrance of the resurrection for us. It’s a reminder of what Jesus did for us.

Facts!

There is a lot of proof of the resurrection of Jesus. The angel told the women to see where He had been. Peter and John went later and looked. (John 20:4) They all saw the empty grave clothes.

He appeared to the disciples twice, once when Thomas wasn’t with them, and again when he was.

Thomas had said that he needed to see the nail prints in His hands, and touch the wound in His side. But when Thomas saw the risen Savior, he knelt down and said, “My Lord and my God.” (John 20:24-28)

Easter is real — Several saw the empty tomb

So you have the empty tomb, seen by many people. Several people who knew Jesus well testified to the fact that He was no longer in the tomb, He indeed is alive!

You’ve Received the Gift

You received the gift.

Saul met the living Christ, and the living Christ called him to action and he was called to be the apostle to the Gentiles. He received the gift.

The gift is there because Jesus paid the penalty. You and I are all under the penalty of death. The penalty is being separated from God. If you end this life in that state, you will stay that way forever. That’s why it’s so important for everyone in this life to understand that salvation is a free gift. Accept it now!

If you’ve accepted the gift, even in the valley of the shadow of death, you will fear no evil, for you know that God is with you. His rod and staff will comfort you. (Psalm 23:4)

Any Christians who have faced death, if it had come, we would have just slipped on over into Glory. It’s a wonderful thing to know that!

Jesus offers the gift, and you receive it by faith. You come as a little child and receive it by faith.

But then, what happens? You have joy and hope for the future, but something happens in that moment.

Now What?

2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new.

Christ came into your life. You have new things happening; some that you may not understand. You have new desires.

The Bible tells us that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. (Psalm 37:4)

There are 2 different ways of looking at that verse. One way is that we have certain things that we would like, or desire. We would ask our Heavenly Father for those things and He would not turn us away, He loves us, He delights in us, and He gives us what we desire.

But sometimes, our desires change. What we wanted before we don’t want anymore because we delight ourselves in the Lord and He gives us the desires of our heart.

I think both of those are true. You can find scriptures that tell you that if you pray and ask God for things, he will give them to you. (Matthew 7:7-8)

God comes in and works in our hearts. He makes a new creature out of us, and there is a change that comes into our lives. The change may be in our attitudes, our speech, our actions, or where we go. We may have immediate victory over something.

I know a man who was heavily addicted to cocaine. He prayed for God to remove the desire for the drug away, and even after several years, that man’s desire is still gone!

I know others who suffered with addiction, and the Lord came into their lives, but they still struggled with the addiction. They endured and struggled through the addiction. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. (Matthew 24:13)

I don’t know how God chooses how He does what He does, but I do know that sometimes He wants us to learn something. He wants us to grow and not be exalted above measure.

Paul had an affliction; the Bible doesn’t tell us what it was. He called a “thorn in his flesh” he asked 3 times for the Lord to remove it, and God chose not to. Paul may have wondered why. He came to the conclusion that it was so he would not be exalted above measure. God told Paul that His grace was sufficient. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Easter is real. You received the gift.

Come As You Are

You can come just as you are. You don’t have to go out and make amends to people you have wronged and then come. You can come right away, just as you are, but you won’t leave the same. If you really meet Christ, you won’t leave the same as you came. There will be a change.

For some, it’s a dramatic change. For some, it’s less. But no matter what, there is a change, because you have met the living Lord. You’ll begin to experience the change as you travel along in your Christian walk.

Easter is real. You received the gift. Now what?

Realize that there is a change going on and you need to nurture the new creature that you are becoming.

How do you do that?

Well, if you’re a baby in Christ, you need to be fed. How do babes in Christ get fed? By the Word of God. That’s how Jesus speaks to us. We allow Him to speak to us and we listen to Him. Not only that, though.

We have the wonderful privilege of speaking to God. Some new Christians may be unsure about prayer. They’ve never done it before and aren’t really sure how to do it.

Praying in public is one thing. But you need to find a quiet place where it’s just you and God, where you can talk to Him. If you’re mad, tell Him that! He can handle it, and may just come back and straighten you out. Ask Him for help. Just talk to God.

Some people use Elizabethan English in their prayers. It’s beautiful and from the heart. Even though I’ve been a “man of the cloth” for many years, I just speak to God using my regular words. It doesn’t matter if you use big, flowery words or simple ones. Just speak to Him in a way that is meaningful to you.

Acts 1:1-8

This passage was written after the resurrection. It’s believed it is Luke who wrote this because it’s addressed to a man named Theophilus and the Gospel of Luke mentions a man of the same name. (Luke 1:3)

The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day when He was taken up, after He had given commandments (one of which was 18 Then Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. {Matthew 28:18-20}) through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He presented Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, appearing to them for forty days, and speaking concerning the kingdom of God. 4 Being assembled with them, He commanded them, “Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, of which you have heard from Me.[a] 5 For John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. 6 So when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or the dates, which the Father has fixed by His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Easter is real! Jesus rose from the grave. He conquered death. You received the gift by faith. Then you began to grow in Him and He makes a new creature out of you. Be sure to talk to God and listen to Him.

Go and Tell

Then He said “When the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be My witnesses.”

Go and tell someone what the Lord has done for you. That’s the very next step after receiving that gift.

Many times, we will receive the gift of salvation in church, so that’s easy. People will go forward at the end of the service and pray, and will either say themselves that they’ve accepted the Lord, or ask the pastor to do it for them.

Everyone in the congregation rejoices. But it’s not only them. The angels in Heaven rejoice as well. (Luke 15:10)

Go and tell someone! One of our grandchildren once called us, excited to tell us that they had accepted the Lord. I’m so thankful for that.

Baptism

The next step, after telling someone…or everyone…is to be baptized. That’s a symbol of the change that has taken place in you. It’s representative of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. You were buried with Him, and rose again to walk in newness of life.

The Holy Spirit

The Bible says that when you receive Christ, you receive the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 12, 2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 1:13) The apostles received it on the day of Pentecost. There was a Great Power that came through them. (Acts 2:1-3) Christ will empower you to tell your story to others.

You have friends who don’t know this wonderful Truth that you know. You can tell them, in your own words, that Easter is real. Tell them that there was a time in your life when you didn’t know Christ, and then you came to Him and the story of what that was like for you. Tell them how it’s been different, how God made a new creature out of you.

Go and tell someone what the Lord has done.

The apostle Paul changed his name (to Paul, the Greek version of Saul) since he was going to preach to the Gentiles. He faced many obstacles. The persecutor became the persecuted. At the end of his life, he wrote, “I have fought a good fight. I’m ready to be delivered.” (2 Timothy 4:6-8) The day came, and Paul went to be with Jesus.

Paul avoided the terrible destination that he was formerly headed to.

As Saul, he really thought he was doing what God wanted him to do. He thought he really knew the Father. But Jesus said if you really know the Father, you would know Me. If you really knew the Scriptures, you would know who I am. (John 14:7-14)

Saul/Paul was changed and successfully established many churches. Many say that he’s one of the greatest preachers who ever lived. When his life ended, he entered into Heaven and eternity and met the One who knocked him off his horse on the way to Damascus. He met Him and got to talk to Him. Maybe he thanked God for getting his attention.

It’s Your Turn

Have you ever accepted Jesus as you Lord and Savior? If you haven’t, I invite you to do that today. You can reach me at the contact information on this blog and I will be happy to tell you how. The Bible says that if you, by faith, receive Him, you will become a new creation.

April 26, 2022April 26, 2022

The Surprising Foundation for America

Thomas had to prepare another sermon for another midweek service. He had the intimidation that came with having to do something at least once a week, and sometimes more than once weekly.

Sermon video

Every preacher will know what I’m talking about. Sometimes the hardest thing to discern is what God wants us to talk about.

There’s an old joke that says every preacher knows what it’s like to be sitting on the front row on Sunday morning, flipping through a songbook, trying to find a sermon.

First of all, that’s the wrong book to be flipping through. Although, I have gotten a sermon from a song sometimes.

But Thomas was working on the sermon and was able to go to the guide. The guide of course is the Scriptures. Like he had done many times in the past, Moses was going to guide Thomas. God called him to apply the scripture for the midweek service, not the (as we think of it) big Sunday service.
Thomas probably thought, “I just have to try to get through it.” So, he spoke on Deuteronomy chapter 1.

The Surprising Foundation for America

But what came as a result of this was the surprising foundation for the United States of America. Not only did he find something that would help him have the midweek sermon, but he also found something that would affect the United States of America.

As you read on, you’ll realize that Thomas was going to be instrumental in the establishment of a town. You’ll also see the significance of the scripture from Deuteronomy that he spoke on in that midweek service; not only in Moses’ time but also in Thomas’ time and our time. The fact is that this sermon that he came up with contained the surprising foundation for America.

So Thomas went into the book of Deuteronomy, the first chapter, and focused on verse 13.

The Significance in Moses’ Time

Before getting into the scripture, let me give you the back story.

Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, had asked what Moses did all day. He went on to observe the day-to-day work that Moses did. He would go to a tent, and the people would line up and, from morning to evening, bring him their problems and disputes that they had with their brethren. Moses spent all day judging those matters.

Jethro was able to tell Moses that what he was doing wasn’t good. He said Moses was going to wear himself out. (Exodus 18:13-18) I’ve heard people say, “I’d rather burn out than rust out.” But, either way, you’re out.

God will give you discernment in learning how to balance your life so you can continue to minister for another day.

That’s what Jethro advised Moses to do. He told Moses that he needed to get some help. That’s exactly what Moses did. (Exodus 18:19-26) He wasn’t able to bear all the complaints and problems, so he chose wise people to come and help. If the matter was more difficult, the people would be sent to Moses. He heeded the word of his father-in-law, and God allowed it to be good.

That’s what Moses was talking about beginning in verse 9 of Deuteronomy chapter 1.

In verse 10, Moses makes mention of the number of Israelites. Conservative estimates say that there were between 1.5 and 2 million people making the trek through the wilderness.

Although he doesn’t yet know it, Moses is coming to the end of his life. He may have felt it but didn’t know it. He knew that Joshua was going to be his successor, and wanted the situation to be good when he handed it over to him. In verses 11 and 12, Moses says, “May the LORD, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times more numerous and bless you, just as He has promised you! How can I myself bear your load and your burden and your strife?”

When Jethro first suggested that Moses get some help, Moses was able to choose the people on his own, because he knew them all. Now, the Nation had grown so large that he wasn’t able to make the decisions on his own. That’s why, in verse 13, he said, “Choose wise, discerning, and knowing men, among your tribes, and I will appoint them as leaders over you.”

This is something that has become the foundation for the United States. It has made us one of the greatest countries in the world. It has made us one of the happier countries in the world because we focus on freedom: The freedom of people being able to choose our own leaders.

So Moses told the Israelites to choose “wise, discerning, knowing men” and he would confirm them as leaders.

In verses 14-17a, Moses goes on to say, “You answered me, and said, ‘The thing which you have said is good for us to do. So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and well-known men, and appointed them as leaders over you, leaders over thousands, and leaders over hundreds, and leaders over fifties, and leaders over tens, and officers among your tribes. I charged your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the issues between your countrymen and judge righteously between every man and his fellow countryman, and the foreigner that is with him. You shall not show partiality in judgment, but you shall hear the small as well as the great. You shall not be afraid in any man’s presence, for the judgment is God’s.’”

This is how it works when you have a proper judge. He (or she) seeks the wisdom of God. We know that there are unjust judges because, in the New Testament, Jesus spoke of one. (Luke 18:1-8)

But here, Moses said how they are to be great. Verses 17-18 say, “’ You shall not be afraid in any man’s presence, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring it to me, and I will hear it. At that time, I commanded you all the things you should do.’”

Moses was going to wear himself out. His father-in-law told him he needed to divide up the responsibility and have the other leaders find capable men to take care of things. Then, it was getting too large for Moses to go himself and pick out men from the different tribes so he spoke to each of the tribes and said, “You get together, you choose people; honorable and noblemen, and then I will appoint them (so he still had final say) as leaders over you.”

Moses led the children of Israel through the desert for 40 years.

What you see here in this passage of scripture is the basis of a phrase that’s used in the U.S. and not much anywhere else in the world. It’s called the consent of the governed.

In the United States, we have the privilege of being able to choose our leaders. We have the privilege of being able to elect representatives who are supposed to represent us and make good, righteous, Godly laws. That doesn’t always happen, but we can at least make an attempt.

We have the choice to allow people to stay in power or not.

Moses was setting up the system of government with instructions for judges. He did that to help himself and also to help Joshua, who would succeed him.

The Significance in Thomas’ Time

Let’s go back to Thomas. He is an actual person in American history. His name was Thomas Hooker. He was a preacher. In fact, he was deemed to be one of the best preachers of the 17th century.

Thomas’ background was: he was born in 1586 in England. He went to Cambridge University. Many early leaders of the United States went to Cambridge, came over to the US, and were preachers who formed the basis for the United States of America.

Some people want us to forget that. Some people want us to cancel that out of our minds. Some people want to shout about the separation of church and state. Well, the phrase separation of church and state is not in the Constitution.

In fact, the first amendment to the Constitution guarantees us freedom of religion. It gives us the freedom to exercise our religion. If someone were to say you could only meet together during church services, that is a violation of that right. That is not free exercise.

Perhaps I want to go visit a Christian friend at his home and have a Bible study. That’s free exercise. But if someone tells us we can’t do that, it’s not the free exercise of religion.

Thomas Hooker became a pastor. If you recall, the Church of England had pulled out of the Roman Catholic Church. Many preachers and Bible scholars saw that as an opportunity to return the church to the principles of God’s Word. It was called the Reformation during that time. They were trying to reform the Church of England.

Some of them thought it would take too long, so they began to form small congregations in different areas. It was like forming several small independent Baptist churches, or several Churches of God. There was no hierarchy dictating what they could and could not do. Those people were called Separatists, but they were part of the Puritans.

There was another group that decided to be patient and change the church from within. The ones who tried that often ran into trouble.

Both groups began to get pressure from the government. They didn’t want them to be out from under their control, so they had to flee.

In the case of Thomas Hooker, he fled to Holland. It’s said that he had to disguise himself in order to leave. But, he and his family, like many others, got on a ship and came to America.

They came to a place where they had the opportunity to worship God according to the dictates of their hearts. It was a blank slate, a new land. It was a time of opportunity to figure out new ways to do things and ways to govern fairly. Aren’t you glad?

Now, I may have fictionalized the part about Thomas having the consternation about the sermon, but it absolutely was a midweek service. It absolutely was based on Deuteronomy 1:13. That verse, again, says, “Choose wise, discerning, and knowing men, among your tribes, and I will appoint them as leaders over you.”

In 1633, Thomas became a pastor near Cambridge, Massachusetts. Three years later, he, his wife, and 100 men from their congregation went south to establish a town. You’ve probably heard of it: It’s called Hartford, Connecticut.

The midweek service was in 1638 and he found the passage of scripture. I don’t know if he had a manuscript of the sermon, but if he did, it did not survive the passage of time. There was a man who took notes and had 13 short paragraphs. It is said that he took notes in shorthand. The note taker was Henry Wolcott, Jr. He wrote out the key points of Thomas’ sermon.

The first one was, “The choice of public magistrates belongs unto the people by God’s own allowance.”

The second one: “The privilege of election which belongs to the people must not be exercised according to their whims but according to the blessed will and law of God.”

Number three: “Those who have power to appoint officers and magistrates have it in their power also to set the bounds and limits of the power and places unto which they call them.”

Four: “Because the foundation of authority is laid firstly in the free consent of people.”

So, they decided they were going to establish the government of Hartford, Connecticut, and use the above principles in doing so.

Just a year later, in January 1639, they began setting up the constitution for Connecticut. These principles, “the consent of the governed:”, and the subsequent constitution paved the way for other colonies as they were establishing their constitutions.

Later, those same principles were the foundation for the establishment of the Constitution of the United States of America.

Today, Connecticut is known as “The Constitution State.”

That midweek service changed the course of history.

The Significance in Our Time

This is not only a piece of our history. It’s significant in our time as well.

We have the importance of free and fair elections. No one has to know how you vote. We still have secret ballots.

While some in power may overstep their authority, we do still have the consent of the governed.

During a mandated business shut down, one of the local restaurants where I like to go for coffee shut down for a brief period. The next time I checked, they had a sign on the door stating that they were going to remain open and gave the number of their attorney. I’m thankful that they chose to stand their ground against over-reaching governmental interference.

You may be thinking, “Aren’t Christians supposed to be good citizens? Aren’t we supposed to be obedient to authority?”

YES!

We are supposed to be obedient to legitimate authority over us. We do not have to be under the hands of tyrants or tyranny. I hope that we have the strength of character to stand. The Bible says, “…having done all to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13b)
We have the freedom to be able to disagree. We should have the freedom to be able to disagree and debate.

There is the force of medical things. It’s amazing to me that I can turn on the TV and see an advertisement for some drug. The commercial will begin to expound on all the benefits of the medication being advertised and that will go on for about 30 seconds. Then, all at once, a laundry list of possible side effects will begin playing.

Now we have a drug that is authorized for emergency use, and we ought to have the right to decide whether or not we want to take it. There are a plethora of problems with this drug that we’ve not been told about.

The CDC website says that people have been permanently disabled, over 150,000 hospitalizations, and over 5,000 miscarriages as a result of this new medication.

It all comes back to the consent of the governed.

We live in a free land, and a free country

I don’t know what the future will hold, but I’m concerned about what we allow to start happening.

A man was camping in the Arabian desert. After he got set up and started to relax, he heard a noise outside the tent. He looked and saw a camel loitering outside. He shooed the camel away, but soon it was back. He did this again and again but finally got tired of getting up. He allowed the animal to just put his head inside. He patted the camel’s nose, and before long, the whole camel was inside the tent.

To keep the camels out of the tent, it’s going to take people who have the courage to stand.

So, let’s stand for freedom. Let’s stand for the Constitution. It’s not a perfect document as it was written by imperfect men, but notice the foundations from scripture that were put into the early constitutions. Let’s be careful when our liberties are in danger.

Corrie Ten Boom had her liberties taken away and spent time in a concentration camp. She was freed as a result of a clerical error. Later on, she came face to face with one of her captors.

She had gone to church after church speaking about forgiveness. The man approached her and she recognized him and knew she had said that she had to forgive. He told her that he had been a guard where she was imprisoned. He said that God had forgiven him, and he asked if she could as well. Fighting her personal will, she reached out her hand to shake his, and she felt the forgiveness come.

I hope that we never get to the place where we would be taken captive. We have the consent of the governed. It’s been said that we’ve been given a republic, it’s up to us to keep it.

The fundamental ideas of Connecticut, inspired by the words of Deuteronomy 13:1, preached by Thomas Hooker, said in it’s opening preamble, “For as much as it hath pleased Almighty God by the wise disposition of his divine providence so to order and dispose of things that we the Inhabitants and Residents of Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield are now cohabiting and dwelling in and upon the River of Connectecotte and the lands thereunto adjoining; and well knowing where a people are gathered together the word of God requires that to maintain the peace and union of such a people there should be an orderly and decent Government established according to God, to order and dispose of the affairs of the people at all seasons as occasion shall require; do therefore associate and conjoin ourselves to be as one Public State or Commonwealth; and do for ourselves and our successors and such as shall be adjoined to us at any time hereafter, enter into Combination and Confederation together, to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus which we now profess…”

The Most Important Consent

You and I may debate some topics, and we may not always agree, but there is one area where it’s important that the consent of the governed takes place: That is, that God loved us so much that He gave His Son so we could be forgiven of our sins. He gave His Son so that we could experience salvation.

When we accept that free gift of salvation, we accept Jesus as One who is the Lord and Ruler of the universe. He has the right to rule and reign in all our lives. When we become His child, we consent to be governed by Him.

The most important consent to being governed is to consent to be governed by the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you’ve never accepted Him as your Savior, I invite you to come to Christ today. As I’ve mentioned before, the gift is free. You can receive it by faith. When you do, you will become a new creature. Your life will be changed. The former things have passed away.

Some of the things you liked before, you won’t like anymore. Some of the things you didn’t like before you will begin to like. Some of your friends may not like the changes taking place in your life and you may lose some of them. It’s OK because the best friend you could have is Jesus.

The best decision you could make is to place yourself under His authority and allow your life to be governed by Him.

If you want to know how to accept that free gift, please use the contact information on this blog page to reach out to me. I would be thrilled to help you.

April 19, 2022April 19, 2022

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.