To Show His Strength

Our problems can be opportunities

to discover God's solutions.

Although it's God's desire to reveal His power to us, we seldom give Him the chance.

We're like the accountant who was told by his boss to falsify company records. Afraid of being fired, he chose to comply - even though as a believer in Christ he knew he was lying and breaking the law. Worse than being out of the job, he ended up in jail. He missed the opportunity to trust God and give Him a chance to show his power.

I'm afraid we're not much different. We're like King Asa, a good king who foolishly chose to make a treaty with Ben-Hadad rather than trust God. Asa had reason to worry - Judah was at war with Israel. But Hanani the prophet told Asa, "Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped". As a result, the rest of Asa's reign was plagued by war.

God continues to show Himself strong to those who remain loyal to Him. Whenever we rely on a crooked boss or a clever scheme or a pack of lies, we are headed for trouble. But if we stay true to God when we're under fire, we give Him the opportunity to show us His power.

A Promise Kept

When you give your word,

keep it.

A close, long-time friend died after a 6-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. A few days after her death, my wife and I attended a wedding. As the bride and groom exchanged their vows, I pondered the whole matter of promising. It was beautiful to witness two excited young people in their twenties pledging their lives to each other. But it was profound to remember the faithfulness of our recently departed friend. She and her husband had kept their wedding vows for more than half a century, even when the final years were darkened by her memory loss and decline.

Lewis Snedes wrote, "Some people still make promises and keep those they make. When they do, they help make life around them more stably human. Promise-keeping is a powerful means of grace in a time when people hardly depend on each other to remember and live by their word."

Psalm 15 proclaims the qualities of the steadfast, God-honoring person who enjoys fellowship with our promise-keeping Lord. This individual keeps his promises even when it hurts.

Our most important commitments are fulfilled one day at a time. "I do." "I will." "You can count on me." There is power in every promise that is made and kept.

Little Things

The Lord uses smal tools

to perform large tasks.

Moses had been commissioned by God to lead the Israelites out of bondage. But he was apprehensive about the Egyptians, and even his countrymen, would react. So the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A rod," Moses answered. Then God said to him, "You shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do signs." Great miracles were accomplished with that rod when Moses obeyed the Lord. It was insignificant in itself, but it became a powerful instrument when committed to the Lord.

J. W. Johnson, writing on this theme, imagined the following conversations: "What is that in your hand?" asked the Lord. 'A sling,' said david. 'It is enough; go up against the giant,' and the great Goliath fell before the shepherd boy...... 'What is that in your hand?' 'A pen,' said John Bunyan, as he spoke from the srches of Bedford Prison. 'It is enough,' and he wrote the story Pilgrim's Progress, which will live while the world endures.

Don't tell yourself short. If God has called you to a task, He'll equip you for it. He merely asks, "What is that in your hand?" Use what He has given you, and you'll see what He can do with little things. -RWD

Memorize It!

When the Bible becomes a part of you,

you'll be less likely to come apart.

Before the choir began to sing an anthem of praise, Cindy quoted the first Bible verse she had ever memorized. It was inspirational for our congregation to hear her repeat from memory that passage from the Psalms.

At the same time, in another part of the church, adult workers were listening to more than 50 children recite verses they had memorized. They were involved in a Scripture memory program designed to hide God's Word in their hearts for a lifetime.

I remember when I first became a believer as a teenager. A godly woman was conducting a similar memorization program in our little church. I learned 110 verses and won an award - a book that told the story of the Bible.

I no longer have that book, but I am still carrying the best prize - those precious verses. When I need them - while visiting a sick friend, while making an important decision, while going through difficult days, while I'm talking about or writing about the Lord - the Holy Spirit brings the appropriate verses to my mind.

The psalmist referred to hiding God's Word in his heart. We do that by memorizing it. Then it's always there, even when we don't have a Bible. -DCE

Let The Healing Begin

To see beyond earth's shadows,

look to Christ the Light.

What gose through the minds of people whose lives are torn apart by a tragedy like murder? What keeps them going when a cherished loved one has been gunned down?

For Mae Allen, the answer is prayer. Her husband Jimmy, a small-town Virginia jeweler, had a loyal clientele and reputation for fair treatment of his customers. He was shot to death in his store 15 years ago, and his murderer is still unknown.

On that cold winter afternoon, Jimmy Allen's grandchildren were deprived forever of their loving Grandpa. Jimmy and Mae Allen's 38-year marriage was cut short. And their daughter Vickie Fuquay, the mother of two of their grandchildren, had to depend on her mother's comforting words to help her face the future without bitterness.

Mae Allen told Vickie, "Before you go to bed tonight, pray for the man who shot your daddy. The fact that he did this shows he doesn't know Jesus." Pray for a killer? It's not the natural response to such a tragedy, but it was the best way to let healing begin.

Anytime someone wrongs us, let's search for the Godly response. Praying for that person is perhaps the best medicine for a wounded heart. -JDB

A Godly Confidence

You can be confident about the future

if you walk with God in the present.

As I spoke with a friend who had just learned that his cancer had returned, I commented on his remarkably upbeat attitude. He responded by saying that the Lord alsways gives His people the inner strength they need to face each trial. My friend likened what the Lord was doing in his life to a car owner who makes sure that the tires have enough air pressure to enable them to carry a heavy load and roll safely over the big bumps on the highway. He expects the Lord to give him exactly what he needs to face each test until He brings him safely Home.

This wonderful assurance is enjoyed by believers who live in obedience to the Lord. In Psalm 41, David said that the person who "considers the poor" is blessed with the awareness of the Lord's presence in his time of illness. In verse 12, David referred to his integrity as he spoke of his confident anticipation of God's future blessing. Was he saying that his kindness and integrity earned God's favor? No, David saw himself as a sinner in need of God's gracious forgiveness. But his awareness of God's presence now and his assurance about the future were tied to his obedience to the Lord.

Godly conduct does not earn God's favor, but it does give us a foretaste of heaven in the here and now. -HVL

The Only Way

Only one road leads to heaven -
Jesus Christ is the way.

A man I used to work with described his religious beliefs this way: "God and I have our own thing going.  I get up on a Sunday morning and enjoy the day in my own way. A pot of good coffee, the Sunday paper, a walk around  my yard - it's my way of knowing that everything's right with me and my Maker."

It may sound appealing to believe that we can have our own way of making things right with God. We may like the concept of an individualized faith that is tailor-made to get us to heaven. It fits right in with this day of tolerance for everyone's personal choices.

But there is one problem: The Bible makes it clear that there is only one way of salvation - faith in Jesus Christ.

There is only one true faith. There are not multiple paths to heaven, but one way. Our trust in Christ makes us part of a body of believers with a common faith that centers squarely in Him.

Of course, that common faith is also an individual matter. We must personally trust in Christ as our Saviour from sin. Everyone must come to Him the same way - the only way - by faith in Jesus, God's Son. -DCE

Willing To Change

 Religious activity is no subdtitute

for an obedient heart.

A recent news feature chronicled the growing search for stress relief through spas, massage, pills, and exercise tapes. The craving to ease tension has spawned an entire industry, including walk-in backrub  stores in shopping malls across the country. The report ended by saying, "Although people will pay to fix their stress, they are not about to change the lifestyle that is causing it."

No matter what the problem, our initial response is to treat the symptoms rather than the cause.

During the days of Isaiah, God's people were not experiencing the Lord's blessing. They went through the motions of worship and couldn't understand why God wasn't noticing their religious efforts. But while they were fasting, they were also exploiting their workers and fighting among themselves. Isaiah condemned their hypocrisy and told them they needed to change. If they would free the oppressed, share with the hungry, house the homeless, and clothe the naked, God would bless them with healing, answered prayer, guidance, strength, and joy.

Religious activity is no substitute for an obedient heart. With God's help - and a willingness to change - we can eliminate the root problems, not just the symptoms. -DCM

Tiny Evils, Big Fall

A big fall begins with

a little stumble.

It started as a seedling on the slopes of the Colorado Rockies some 500 years ago. For centuries it had stood tall, enduring violent winds, lightning strikes, blizzards, even avalanches. Now, however, the once-towering tree is just a mound of decaying wood.

What caused its demise? A horde of beetles had attacked it, gnawing away until that skyscraper of nature surrendred to those tiny pests and toppled over.

That's also the tragic story of many Christians. For long years they stood tall for God. They resisted temptations, weathered crises, and were bold in the strength divinely provided. But little sins began to eat away at their lives - little lies, little compromises with greed or lust, sins that gradually eroded their character. And suddenly they fell.

Song of Solomon 2:15 states, "Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines." This colorful Old Testament verse should sound a loud alarm in our consciences. we must not tolerate the little evils that eat away at the roots of our lives. Otherwise, our once-strong witness for Christ will become a silenced casualty of sin. Let's confess those "tiny" evils to God now, before they lead us to a big fall. -VCG

The Tale Of The Kite

Only when we are grounded in God's word

can we rise to new heights.

Once there was a kite that loved to fly high. Nothing made it happier than to be caught in a stiff breeze that would send it soaring upward, far above the grassy meadows below. It loved the feel of the wind and the faraway view.

But gradually the kite became dissatisfied. Wouldn't it be wonderful if it could fly even higher that its string allowed? It could think only of sailing so high that the houses became dots far below. So it tugged and tugged on the string, hoping to break free.

Then one day the string snapped! For a moment the kite was ecstatic as it leaped skyward. But then it began to tumble and spin out of control, and soon it crashed to the ground below.

Unfortunately, we are sometimes like that kite. We wan to go places and do things that are morally out of bounds. We tug against the lordship of Christ and the truth that we are to live Him. We tell ourselves that if only we could get free, we would be happy. But like that kite, we would crash.

Jesus died and rose from the grave to give us true liberty - freedom to soar safely within the bounds of His law and the constraints of His love. -DCE

Don't Just Sit There

Christians should be on the frontlines,

not the sidelines.

A well-known coach was once asked, "How much does college football contribute to the national physical-fitness picture?"

"Nothing," the coach replied abruptly.

"Why not?" the startled interviewer asked.

"Well," said the coach, "the way I see it, you have 22 men down on the field desperately needing a rest and 40,000 people in the stands desperately needing some exercise."

A similar situation exists in many churches today. When you compare the members who merely attend with those who actively participate, you often find a rather pathetic situation. It's not unusual to have a small group of diligent Christian workers struggling "down on the field" while others in the congregation are acting like spectators, "sitting on the sidelines, eating hot dogs and popcorn."

God's strategy for the accomplishments of His program is not like a sports event. It does not call for the job to be done only by the "professionals." In the game of life, all believers have their own positions and spiritual gifts that they must exercise "for the profit of it all."

My friend, if you've been sitting in the stands, you're badly needed down on the field! -MRD II

Daily Bread

Only Christ "The Living Bread"

can satisfy our spiritual hunger.

Bread has come to be regarded as something less than what it was in Bible times. We don't usually think of it as a symbol of life's necessities. In Jesus' day, however, bread represented nourishment in all its many forms.

This helps us understand why the Lord told Israel to put bread in the holy place of the Tabernacle - His "house of symbols." There in that first room, 12 loaves were to be displayed on a golden table "before the Lord". These loaves reminded Israel that God always provides for His own when they come to Him on His terms. The bread reflected God's promise to provide for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

For the Christian today, bread may represent food, the Bible, Jesus Christ, fellowship, and the many provisions God has made for our spiritual and physical needs. He cares for us and He's ready to feed us. But His offer is not unconditional. He promised to provide daily "bread" for those who in obedience have separated themselves to live and eat from the hand of God. Yes, the Lord cares for those who willingly receive their physical and spiritual food for Him - on His terms. -MRD II

Strong Convictions

Take a stand for Christ

or you'll fall for anything.

During an interview, a former network news anchorman sait that a "doctrinaire" person cannot be a good news reporter. He then defined a doctrinaire person as someone who has deep convictions of absolute truths in the areas of politics or religion.

If he meant that a reporter should present the truth in an objective manner, unaffected by personal biases, I would agree. But if he meant in a more general sense that we must not bring convictions of right or wrong to discussions of politics and religion, I would strongly disagree. After all, none of us would have political or religious freedom were if not for men and women who had convictions they were willing to die.

In the Old Testament, young Queen Esther was convinced that God had placed her in the place to be His instrument for the preservation of her nation. Because of this, she risked her life by approaching the king without an invitation. Since then, millions of believers have taken similar risks, and many have died for their faith.

It is not a virtue to be stubborn over minor issues that are not addressed in the Scripture. But on the essential issues of the Christian faith we should, like Esther, be willing to die for our convictions. -HVL

How To Treat A Friend

Christ's friendship calls

for our faithfulness.

Suppose an old acquiantance stops by unexpectedly at your home during breakfast. You offer to take the day off, but he insists that you keep your regular schedule. So you invite him to go with you to work, and he accepts. How would he feel if you then ignored him completely - didn't converse with him, failed to acknowledge his presence at coffeebreaks and lunch, and neglected to introduce him to anyone? We would all agree - that's no way to treat a friend!

Jesus told His disciples that they were His friends. And we who know Christ as our personal Savior have the assurance that we too are His friends. Do we, however, treat Him as our Friend?

Evaluate your friendship with the Lord by asking yourself these questions: Do I talk with Jesus in prayer throughout the day? Do I take time to read and mediate on His Word? Do I enjoy fellowship with Him? Am I concerned about what He thinks of my activities? Do I introduce Him to others? Do I ignore Him or respect Him? Can others tell that I have a close relationship with Christ?

Let's make ceratin that each day we give Jesus Christ the consideration He deserves as our Savior, our Master, and our Friend! -RWD

Head Or Heart

Knowing about Jesus

is not the same as knowing Him.

In the span of seven days he won the hearts of a busload of people. We were viviting the Holy Land, and the personable man was out tour guide. Each day he greeted us with his winning smile, clever sense of humor, and incredible knowledge of Israel. From the story of Abraham and Isaac to the account of Jesus' resurrection, our guide had it all down.

Yet as the week went by, people began to ask, "Is he a believer?" "Does he know Jesus?" Sadly, the answer was no. He knew the Bible better than most of us. He daily walked where Jesus had. He had been giving tours to Christians for years. But he didn't know his Messiah.

Could that be your situation? Could you have knowledge of God and His Son Jesus in your head but not in your heart? It's not all that unusual.

The words in 1 John 2:22 seem harsh: "Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?" But the truth is that knowing about Jesus is not the same as knowing Him. We must acknowledge Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God." We must accept His forgiveness for our sins and enter into a personal relationship with Him.

Have you trusted Jesus? Or is your knowledge of Him in your head but not in your heart? -JDB

Our Best Defense

When we trust the power of God,

We experience peace, not panic.

In late january 1956,during the tense days of the Montgomery Boycott, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. could not sleep. A threatening phone call had terrified him. So he prayed, "I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But now I am afraid. The people are looking to me for leadership, and if I stand before them without strength and courage, they too will falter, I am at the end of my powers..... I can't face it alone."

King later wrote, "At that moment I experienced the presence of the Divine as I never experienced Him before. It seemed as though I could hear the quiet assurance of an inner voice saying, 'Stand up for righteousness, stand up for truth; and God will be at your side forever.' Almost at once my fears began to go. My uncertainty disappeared. I was ready to face anything."

The rest is history. King was not without his faults, but no one can deny that he was a man who wanted to see people of all colors free of the damage done by prejudice.

If we face opposition when we're trying to do what's right, we too must cry out to the Lord. He alone is our "rock of refuge, a fortress of defense." He is our reliable source of strength and protection. -DCE