The E-Vine Online

The Secret Place

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:47:00 +0000

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:1)

I recently read an interesting story illustrating the power of God’s presence. A guy landed a new job on the opposite side of the country that required him to start immediately. So he left with his family and arrived at their new home on the west coast. A moving company moved all of their possessions except for one item – the husband’s pickup truck. The man’s grandmother, who was in her 70s, offered to drive his pickup truck to the family’s new location and then she would fly back home. To complicate matters, the day before she left, the grandmother broke her left wrist and had to have a cast put on her arm. Even though she had never driven this far, she insisted on making the trip anyway. After plotting her trip on the map she started off. It was a difficult trip. The truck was a stick shift and her cast made it hard to steer while she was shifting gears. She was so nervous that she seldom drove over 60 mph. She cringed with fear every time a huge 18-wheeler passed her. After several days of driving she pulled into a rest stop in to take a nap. After her nap, she stopped at a truck stop to get some coffee. As she was leaving the coffee shop a strange man walked up to her and said, “Ma’am, are you driving a white GMC pickup?” She was apprehensive about answering him, but he assured her he meant her no harm. So she reluctantly answered his questions. The man said, “Just a minute.” He stepped aside and called somebody on his cell phone. When he finished his call, he explained a trucker had reported a seeing an elderly lady with a cast on her arm having a difficult time. The truckers nicknamed her “Granny” and they started watching her in case she needed assistance. One trucker would report what motel she stopped at and in the morning, another trucker would pick her up and report on Granny’s location. He further explained, “We lost you when you pulled off into the rest stop, and we were about to call the state troopers. When I saw your truck, I stopped to see if you were okay. I just called a friend to report that Granny was safe and sound.” The lady had no idea that while she had been driving all those miles that someone cared enough to be watching over her. The rest of the trip was much easier. She wasn’t afraid when an 18- wheeler passed her, instead she smiled and waved. What a difference it made for her to know that she wasn’t alone. Aren’t you glad to know there is Someone watching over you as well? As nice as many truckers are, God will never lose sight of you.

Psalm 91 is often quoted as being a favorite – at least among those that spend time in the Word. I like to think this psalm was one of Jesus’ favorites. How do I arrive at that conclusion? In Matt. 6:11, when Jesus was facing the temptations in the wilderness, the devil used a portion of Psalm 91 in a sarcastic attempt to mock him and instill fear in his heart. One of the serpent’s most predictable schemes it trying to undermine the integrity of God’s word. During Jesus’ temptation I think the devil picked portions of Scripture that were most meaningful to Jesus and attempted to weaken his confidence in them. But our Lord didn’t fall for it. He avoided becoming prey to the devil’s scheme through his confidence in God’s promises.

This is a passage of Scripture that reminds us of the amazing security we have as we journey through this world. Throughout this psalm we are reminded that God is constantly watching over us – protecting, guiding, sustaining, and delivering us. But like many passages in the Bible, you cannot claim the promises in the psalm unless you meet the requirements. The Psalmist makes it clear at the very beginning: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. The promises contained in this Psalm are conditional. They are yours, providing you meet the stated conditions. What must we do to appropriate the promises made in this psalm? “Dwell in the shelter of the Most High” The word dwells means “to abide.” The author of the Psalm is not talking about a person who visits every now and then. This person lives with God. I like the way the KJV translates this verse: He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. “The secret place” is most likely a reference to the “Holy of Holies” in the temple. It was the most intimate meeting place with God that existed. In the secret place it was one-on-one with God. The Psalmist says if you live there – stay there – dwell in the secret place then the promises in this Psalm are yours. What does God promise in the Psalm?

1. “I will deliver him” - vs.14 We all have times when we need God’s deliverance.
2. “I will set him on high” - vs. 14 He will help us to rise above our problems
3. “He shall call upon me and I will answer him” – vs. 15 He will hear and answer our prayers.
4. “I will be with him in trouble” - vs. 15 We will never face a problem as an orphan.
5. “I will deliver him and honor him” - vs. 15 God will establish and protect our reputation.
6. “With long life will I satisfy him” - vs. 16 We will live a long and satisfying life.
7. “And show him my salvation” - vs. 16 He promises to show a path to heaven – through Jesus His Son.

I encourage you to take a few moments today and read through the entirety of Psalm 91. Spend some time dwelling in the secret place as you continue on your journey and rest comfortably with the knowledge that your Heavenly Father is watching over you.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

Pay Attention to the Decals

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:17:00 +0000

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
(2 Corinthians 3:2-3)

Sam Bass may not be a name you recognize right off the bat, but chances are you’ve seen his art work numerous times. He began his career in art somewhere around the age of six or seven. He always had a love for race cars - so much so that his parents would often buy him those little Hot Wheels toy cars from the toy store. Upon receiving them, Sam would tear open the boxes and then tear off all the wheels and start to repaint the bodies. When his mom complained and asked him why he was doing it, he’d say, “Mom I want them to look the way I want them to look.” Apparently, his fastidious attitude towards race cars has served him fairly well. Bass’s passion for the excitement and the color of racing fueled his desire to excel in a field that wasn’t even in existence before he put his hand to it. Today as NASCAR’S preeminent car artist, Sam has designed over 350 paint schemes for drivers like Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, and Jeff Gordon. He calls them his “200mph paintings.” And works of art they are. When you’re dealing with a vehicle that costs 15-20 million dollars to sponsor, you don’t just slap any paint job on it. With the popularity of NASCAR and the sizable viewing audience it commands, advertising on the cars is at a high premium. Even though race fans only see the cars for a few seconds as they flash by, television cameras will follow the cars around the race track lap after lap, thus enabling drivers to charge premium prices for every square inch of paint on their car. And when a NASCAR competitor wants his/her car painted, Sam is the man to call. Sam is known world wide for his unique ability to combine dynamic color schemes with the numerous logos and advertising that adorn NASCAR vehicles. You can believe that he works in an extremely lucrative venue. Every surface on these vehicles that can be clearly seen by the camera becomes a billboard for some potential sponsor. The hood and rear quarter panels can cost as high as 20 million dollars. Decal placement on the smaller, lower rear quarter panels can run upwards of half a million dollars. It’s arguably the most expensive advertising space in the world.

The quality of Sam Bass’s work is seen world wide every time there is a NASCAR race. You can bet every inch is meticulously inspected before it is released for public viewing. It would be unthinkable to have a paint job go out the door that had runs or air bubbles or some other oversight in it. When something is watched as closely as NASCAR racing, nothing would be allowed that could compromise the integrity of the message on the car.

Paul says in the passage above that our Christian life is the same. “You are our letter…known and read by everybody.” In other words, we are all walking billboards for the reality and quality of the Christian life. We are walking, living advertisements for the Lord. Speaking to his brothers and sisters in the Corinthian Church Paul says, “I don’t have a better way of advertising the love of Christ than you. I don’t need an eloquent piece of literature. I don’t need a strongly worded sermon. I don’t a finely worded book. What I need to advertise Jesus – is you. You are it. You are the living proof of the transforming power of Jesus Christ.”

Words written with ink can fade away. Words written with ink are silent. Words written with ink just sit there until someone comes along to read it. But you - you are a living letter - written not with ink but by the Spirit of the Living God. In other words, in every situation, in every circumstance, with every person – the Holy Spirit of God is using you to advertise the love of Jesus Christ to someone else. Many years ago, prior to the arrival of Jesus, Almighty God revealed His will by writing his law on tablets of stone. But now he uses a different way to advertise his will for our lives. He writes on human hearts. The ink he uses is the Holy Spirit. And you and I are the nothing more than the postman – delivering a message of grace, deliverance, forgiveness, love and mercy to the world in which we live. Because Jesus lives within you – you are a work of art.

The question is what kind of message are we advertising? The whole world is watching. So pay close attention to the decals attached to your life. Don’t let anything go out the door that compromises the clarity of the message. Do you portray Christ in your attitudes and your reactions to circumstances and to others? Do you properly portray what a Christian’s life should be, or are people disappointed with what they hear and how you act? Make sure your life is a letter worth reading. God designed you for the purpose of displaying his love to the world. Pay very close attention to the decals in your life.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

Go For the Gold with Self Control

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 02:55:00 +0000

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1Corinthians 9:24-27)

As the world turns its attention to the Winter Olympics I am reminded from the Bible that in one way or another – every one of us are already involved in competition. “Who are we competing with?” you ask. Ourselves. >From the moment we enter into this world, we are in a battle to learn how to practice self-control.

In a department store a young husband was minding the baby while his wife was making a purchase. The infant was screaming and wailing and creating quite a distraction in the middle of the store, but the father seemed quite unperturbed as he quietly said over and over, “Easy now, Albert, - calm down - watch your temper – take it easy Albert.” A woman passing by took note of the way the husband was rocking the child back and forth and calmly handling the situation. She stopped for a moment and remarked, “I must congratulate you! You seem to know just how to speak to a baby.” “Baby nothing!” came the reply. “MY name is Albert!”

OK, let’s see a raise of hands – and be honest now; Has anybody reading this ever struggled with self-control? (You can go ahead and raise your hand as you’re reading – nobody is looking!) Like Albert, we’ve all faced situations where maintaining self-control is very difficult. For many, developing self-control is one of the most difficult battles they face in life. From the cradle to the grave it can be one long battle that never ends. Yet it is one of the qualities that God fully expects to develop in every one of his children. Self-control is listed last in the Fruit of Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23) While scholars may argue over why this quality appears last in the list, one thing is certain; Without self-control, there is no way the other qualities can be produced and maintained in our life. You might be the wisest person in the world, the strongest person in the world, or the most educated person in the world. Without self-control you will still live a self-defeating lifestyle. Remember Samson from the Old Testament? He literally was the strongest man in the world, but was enslaved by his lusts and desires because he lacked self-control. Strength without self-control got him into a great deal of trouble.

The opposite of a self-controlled person is a person who has no discipline in their life and responds to life by simply reacting to impulse - much like an infant does. Whatever impulse comes their way, they respond to it. If they feel the urge to smoke – they are reaching for the pack. If they feel angry – they are vomiting verbally all over the people around them. Whatever impulse comes their way – they respond to it without processing it through a grid of discipline. They can’t say “no” to themselves. Just think of the problems in your life, which could have been avoided if you had only practiced self-control. How can it be produced in your life?

* Make it a goal (9:24) “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” The goal for the athlete is to win the prize. The prize is the motivation the athlete needs in order to persevere during the training and discipline required to be a winner. The reason most of us do not exercise self-control is because we haven’t thought much about seeing it develop in our lives. There is no motivation to discipline ourselves if we haven’t made it a goal in our lives.

* Learn to practice self-discipline. (9:25) “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.” Athletes train their bodies to compete. If an athlete expects to excel, he voluntarily and often severely restricts his liberty. His sleep, his diet, and his exercise are not determined by his rights or by his feelings but by the requirements of his training. Stop thinking about “what you think you deserve” or “what you think you have a right to do.” Those thoughts are a clear expression of pride in your life - which will keep you enslaved as long as you live on this earth. Accept the reality that a mature lifestyle involves self-sacrifice and self-discipline.

* Focus intently on developing self-control. (9:25b-26) “They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.” Pay close attention to every single detail in every single step you take. Paul says, “I watch each step I take very carefully.” Don’t allow yourself the license of “one little slip-up.” Don’t give in to “just-this-time-only.” Don’t fall for, “I-deserve-this-right-now.” I can pretty much guarantee you can come up with some rationalization of why you think you have a right to abandon self-control. Whether you are facing stress, job pressure, family issues, or financial pressures or an unfair situation – these are all excuses people use to justify their lack of self-control. Every time you focus on your “reasoning” instead of maintaining self-control, you will stumble. Each time you stumble there will likely be a price to pay - in your life and in the relationships in your life.

. * Decide to live by a higher standard. (9:27) I beat my body, and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” There are days when the athlete’s body is tired and sore, but he continues training. There are days when he doesn’t feel like training, but he does so anyway. There are days when he begins to doubt his ability to outperform the other competitors, but he keeps on training. In other words, he behaves according to the standard he sets for himself, not the impulses he feels. Because he has set a higher standard to live by – he keeps his bodily impulses under control. He leads his body – not the other way around.

Now you might be reading this and thinking, “I’ve failed so many times in this one area. I just don’t think I will ever see victory.” Don’t you believe that, because it’s not true according to God’s Word. 2 Peter 1:3 teaches, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” Get your strength from your relationship with Jesus and you will see self-control begin to develop and grow in your life. Go for the gold!

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

The Voice

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:37:00 +0000

And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. (1 Kings 19:9-13)

One day a farmer was walking with a businessman along the streets of New York City. The farmer stopped for a moment and said, “Listen!” “For what?” said the businessman. “Don’t you hear it?” “Hear what?” “Crickets.” “Crickets? I do not hear any crickets.” The farmer continued to try to help the businessman hear what he heard: “Oh they are loud. Just listen! Don’t you hear them?” Getting a little disgruntled, the businessman said, “I don’t hear any crickets.” The farmer began to search, and right by the edge of the sidewalk there it was; hidden underneath a piece of abandoned newspaper a cricket was joyfully chirping out his song. The farmer picked it up. The businessman looked shocked. “I can’t believe that. Here we are downtown with all these people and all this noise. You and I are talking and you can hear a cricket. I don’t know how you did that.” The farmer reached into his pocket and took out some change. He threw it on the ground. Immediately twenty people stopped walking and looked towards the sound of the change hitting the sidewalk. The farmer said, “You always hear what you are tuned in to. If you are tuned into money; you’re going to hear a penny when it’s dropped. I am tuned into nature. So I heard the cricket.”

I think a lot of people miss the still small voice of God because they are tuned into the competing noises of their environment and the worries of their life. Such was the case with Elijah in the story above. In this passage Elijah is facing one of the most difficult moments of his life. His ministry was one battle after another against a culture that had totally rejected the Lord. He had great victories over the prophets of the pagan god Baal. He stood strong in the face of fierce opposition and had proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that God Almighty should be revered and obeyed. But then came the breaking point for him. Jezebel, the wicked wife of Ahab, threatened to take his life. Tired, lonely and exhausted and perhaps even depressed Elijah says, “I’ve had enough.” He runs for the hills and ends up hiding in a cave. He’s overwhelmed. In his mind he hears the taunting threats of Queen Jezebel over and over again. It presses upon him. It disrupts his sleep. It clouds his thinking. He can hear nothing else. The evil lioness of the devil had roared and now Elijah was fixated on her threats. His anxiety sky-rocketed through the roof. His confidence sank like a rock.

That is until the Lord meets with him in that dark cave. The great prophet had a lesson to learn. School was in session. Elijah was the student. The Lord God Almighty was the professor. The Lord asks Elijah, “What are you doing here?” Elijah says, “Well you see Lord, I’ve been working so hard and it been so very, very difficult – and everybody has been against me and I’m all alone and now there is this crazy woman who is trying to kill me and I’ve had all I can take!” No words of consolation came from the Lord. No message of comfort. No expressions of encouragement. The Lord simply tells Elijah to go stand outside the cave and wait. Elijah obeys. He goes outside and waits – but only for a moment. Suddenly a wind of terrible force falls upon him. It’s unlike anything that he’d ever experienced before. The wind literally tears the rocks apart. It begins to tear the mountain itself from its very foundation before it dies down. But no message was in the wind. Then just as suddenly, the ground itself begins to shake. Great crevasses open up. The mountain is split. The earth heaves and sways in a drunken stupor. Finally it ceases but still no message. Then a fire - an intense flame, a searing, scorching, consuming inferno that burns the earth itself. The rocks and the cliffs melt before his eyes. It seems as if the world had come to its ultimate sweltering demise. Suddenly, the fire ceases. The rocks once again harden and the ground cools. But still no lesson. Following these intense incredible displays of the smallest portion of God’s power, there was only absolute total silence. Elijah sits astonished in a stunned silence.

And then he heard it. At first it was faint - gentle - an almost imperceptible sound -sounding as if it was part wind and part human voice. Elijah strained to hear it. He fixed his concentration upon it. Slowly it became clearer and easier to understand. The more Elijah focused on it, the clearer he heard and understood. It was a familiar voice to him. It was what his soul longed to hear. This voice was sweeter and more soothing than a mother singing to her infant. It was a voice of power and unmanageable strength, yet filled with such compassion and care that human words cannot even begin to describe it. More than anything on earth, this voice brought him a sense of comfort and peace and joy and satisfaction. Oh, how he had missed hearing the voice. It had faded beneath all the noise and clutter and stress of Elijah’s life. Elijah realized it wasn’t that the voice had ever ceased speaking to him. He had just gotten so preoccupied with other issues that he had forgotten how to listen for it. But now as he heard it again, it flooded his soul with so much love he could barely take it in. As he listened it bathed his tired spirit with wave upon wave of mercy, grace and love. The stress he had previously felt began melting away like a morning mist. Elijah, the student had learned his lesson. He once again had learned how to listen – to the voice of His Heavenly Father. You always hear what you tune your ear towards. Class dismissed.
Quiet now.
Listen.
Dear Lord,
Please speak to us
That your children might hear
The sweet precious sound of
Your Voice.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

Called to Be Somebody Else

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:43:00 +0000

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (John 13:1-5)

The roads in Jerusalem were covered with a thick layer of dust. When it rained, they turned to liquid slush. It was the custom for the host to provide a slave at the door of his home to wash the feet of dinner guests as they arrived. The servant would kneel with a bucket of water and a towel and scrub off the manure and mud from foul feet. If a home could not afford a slave, one of the early arriving guests was to take upon himself the role of the house servant and wash feet. Such were the likely circumstances as Jesus and his followers arrived in the upper room to celebrate the last Passover. It had been a tough journey getting to this point. The past week had been one of the busiest and difficult weeks of their time together. Having that emotional rollercoaster behind them, they were now tired and hungry and dirty from their journey. On top of that, as they were prone to do on so many other occasions, they were arguing. It was a worn out, tired topic which had caused their tempers to flair against each other on so many other occasions: “Who was the greatest? Who is going to be in charge?” They were so engrossed in their argument that they did the unthinkable. They came right to the table with their dirty feet unwilling to volunteer for such a humble job as foot-washing. The room was filled with proud hearts and dirty feet. The disciples were willing to fight for a throne, but not willing to pick up a towel.

Jesus does the unthinkable. He gets up and wraps a towel around himself and does the job himself. This was unheard of! Jesus was their teacher. If anything, they should be washing His feet! Peter objects at first but Jesus in his own wise way reminds Peter and the rest of his followers a lesson he had taught over and over, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” And we must do likewise.

Fast forward a few hours from that moment. Jesus is now standing in front of Pontius Pilate and a crowd is screaming for his blood. Do you remember what Pilate did when he had a chance to acquit Jesus? He called for a bucket and washed his hands of the whole thing. Matthew 27:24: “When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood,’ he said. ‘It is your responsibility!’” Pilate’s paradigm is alive and well today. He knew what he should have done but he took the easy way out. He passed on to others the responsibility that should have been his. Many people today pass the buck(et) and wash their hands clean of everything they can.

Maybe it’s because we think Somebody Else will do it. I recently ran across an interesting description of this person called Somebody Else. “There’s a clever young guy named Somebody Else, There’s nothing this guy can’t do. He is busy from morning till way late at night, Just substituting for you. You’re asked to do this or you’re asked to do that And what is your reply? Get Somebody Else to do that job, He’ll do it much better than I. So much to do in this weary old world- So much and workers so few, And Somebody Else, all weary and worn, is still working hard substituting for you.” (author unknown) Far too many have been content to let Somebody Else do the work. The problem of course is that there aren’t that many Somebody Elses out there. And those there are have grown weary and tired. Pilate’s bucket theology is still alive and well today. There are far too many people washing their hands in Pilate’s bucket while totally ignoring the bucket Jesus used to serve his followers. Far too many say, “It’s not my responsibility. I’ve got my own responsibilities to deal with.” Far too many wash their hands of their responsibility in Pilate’s bucket. While Somebody Else labors on with the servant’s bucket given to them by Jesus.

I think proud Peter learned the lesson of the bucket. Later as he wrote his first epistle he says, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” (1 Peter 5:5) Peter quit arguing about the throne and taught others to pick up the towel. He realized he was changed into Somebody Else when his sins were forgiven through the blood of his Savior. Because he was somebody else, he lived the rest of life as a servant. How about you? Would people describe you as a humble servant of the Master? Are you wholeheartedly serving others out of response to Christ’s love for you? Do others recognize that you have been changed into Somebody Else since you’ve surrendered to Jesus? Or like Pilate are you still waiting for dear old Somebody Else to do what you know you are called to do? Learn the lesson of the bucket – we are all called to be Somebody Else. We are all called to do the work that Somebody Else is currently doing. “Lord, Help us get our bucket theology figured out. Help us all to be Somebody Else.”

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

Never Carry The Donkey Again.

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:20:00 +0000

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Tim. 2:15)

An old fable that has been passed down for generations tells about an elderly man who was travelling with a boy and a donkey. As they walked through a village, the man was leading the donkey and the boy was walking behind. The townspeople said the old man was a fool for not riding, so to please them he climbed up on the animal’s back. When they came to the next village, the people said the old man was cruel to let the child walk while he enjoyed the ride. So, to please them, he got off and set the boy on the animal’s back and continued on his way. In the third village, people accused the child of being lazy for making the old man walk, and the suggestion was made that they both ride. So the man climbed on and they set off again. In the fourth village, the townspeople were indignant at the cruelty to the donkey because he was made to carry two people. The frustrated man was last seen carrying the donkey down the road.

Abraham Lincoln once said that you can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time. Popular opinion is poor standard for personal behavior. If you live to please people, like the old man in fable above, sooner our later you’ll end up carrying the donkey. We all need better guide in our lives than personal opinion and preference. God has provided it in his Word.

I am concerned about the lack of understanding of the Bible in the church today. We seem to know less and less about things that are essential and eternal. While we spend time on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, text messages and email, we seem to make excuses for not finding time to be in God’s Word. Yet, the Word is the only thing that is eternal. I find parents concerned about the character of their children. The greatest book on discipline, character and integrity is the Word of God. I find couples concerned about the strength of their marriage. The greatest manual on marriage ever written is the Bible, in which the author of the institution reveals how he intended it to work. Our entire nation is concerned about the state of our economy, the wars in which we are engaged and whether or not we will even have a stable nation to pass on to our grandchildren. In the Bible, the Lord teaches us over and over again how we can be blessed as a people.

Someone has wisely said, “Study the Bible to be wise; believe it to be safe; practice it to be holy.” There is no substitute for reading, meditating, listening to and studying the Scriptures. A church that does not emphasize the Scriptures will soon be on the shelf and out of business. One of the most famous authors and preachers of our time holds up his Bible and begins to quote a creed or a philosophy regarding the Bible each time before he preaches. The statement is strong. But the problem is that it’s almost the only time we see or hear him use the Bible in his sermons. His sermons are feel good, be good, smile, don’t worry, be happy. You can’t be truly happy if you aren’t holy. You get holy by yielding to the Holy Spirit and reading the Holy Bible.

John Blanchard says it well, “Hit-and-run Bible reading can often become hit and miss. The man who reads on the surface will live on the surface—and a superficial Christian is a pathetic parody of the truth.” When people believe the Bible, they long to learn it, study it and apply it. They allow the Scriptures to sit in judgment over their character, creed and conduct. Jerry Bridges says, “It is impossible to practice godliness without a constant, consistent and balanced intake of the Word of God in our lives.”

The reason we see little difference between church members and lost people in our land is because we don’t know, understand or apply what God says. The Bible will correct your thinking, talking and walking. Chrysostom said, “The source of all our troubles is in not knowing the Scriptures.” E. F. Hallock wrote, “A well-understood Bible is the only basis of a sound theology, an enlightened piety, practical godliness, solid comfort and extensive usefulness.” The Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.

I love what Martin Luther said about how precious his Bible was to him. “I study my Bible as I gather apples. First, I shake the whole tree that the ripest may fall. Then I shake each limb, and when I have shaken each limb I shake each branch and every twig. Then I look under every leaf.” D. L. Moody wrote, “I never saw a useful Christian who was not a student of the Bible.” One author said, “If all the neglected Bibles were dusted simultaneously, we would have a record dust storm and the sun would go into eclipse for a whole week.” J. I. Packer wrote, “If I were the devil, one of my first aims would be to stop folk from digging into the Bible.”

God made the importance of the Scriptures clear to Joshua when he said, “Be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.“ (Joshua 1:7, 8) J. C. Ryle wrote, “Ignorance of the Scriptures is the root of all error. Knowledge of the Bible never comes by intuition.” Read it, study it and meditate on it. Learn what’s there and why.

This is no time for mental midgets. We need giants for God. Let God stretch you, refine you, teach you and equip you. Ask Him to give you an appetite for His Word, a thirst for truth and a mind to learn. Study to show yourself approved. Never carry the donkey again.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

The Season of Diets

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:25:00 +0000

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-12)

Welcome to the New Year! And welcome to the annual season of dieting. Every January we seem to have a custom of trying to rid the pounds we picked up through the holiday season. While standing in line at a grocery store I was amazed at how many diets were being promoted on the front of magazine covers. (Who came up with this evil plot to make us feel guilty as we are purchasing our food anyway?) There’s The Traffic Light Diet, (I’m not kidding) The Body Clock Diet , The Sugar Addicts Diet , The No Carbs After 5pm Diet, The Curves Diet, The X-Factor Diet, The Ultimate New York Body Plan and The Coconut Diet. One that also caught my eye was the Stress Diet. I was going to pick that one up but got a little stressed out thinking someone might see me actually buying one of those magazines.

What do you do when you are under stress? One of the most common reactions to stress is over-indulging when it comes to eating. This following “stress diet” is a “friend’s” response to the stressful times in his life:

Breakfast: Half a grapefruit - one slice of whole wheat toast - 8 ozs. of skim milk.
Lunch: 4 oz of lean broiled chicken breast - one cup of steamed zucchini – one cup of herb tea and one Double Stuffed Oreo Cookie.
Mid-Afternoon Snack: (after dealing with a rather stressful situation) The rest of the Oreos - one quart of butter pecan ice cream - one jar of hot fudge.
Dinner - 2 loaves of garlic bread – 1 large pepperoni & mushroom pizza - large pitcher of coke. (diet of coarse) 3 Snickers Bars and an entire frozen cheese cake which my wife
(ahh - I mean my friend’s wife) had hidden in the freezer.

Now in case you are concerned about this diet, you need to recognize there are rules:
1. If no one sees you eat it, it has no calories.
2. If you drink a diet soda with a candy bar - they cancel each other out.
3. If you eat calorie-heavy foods along with someone who eats only diet food – the calories cancel each other out.
4. Food used for medicinal purposes never count. (like hot fudge, cheese cake, etc.)
5. If you break a cookie into several pieces, the pieces contain no calories. - (this is because of the little know fact that the process of breakage causes calorie leakage)

As you might imagine, “my friend’s” tasty but dubious diet is rather ineffective in actually relieving stress (or reducing weight). In fact, he has become aware that this response actually increases the stress factors in his life because of the additional worries of impending heart attack and diabetic coma. (Please remember to pray for “my friend.”)

What’s a better way to respond to stressful moments? Looking at the passage above, we can stop stress from turning into distress by:

Remembering Who We Are “But we have this treasure in jars of clay” We are all cracked pots – (Please Note: I did not say “crack pots” – although it may be true of some of us) The Bible reminds us that we are common and ordinary human “vessels of clay.” And “clay jars” are not supermen! We are not vessels made of alabaster, glass, brass, silver or gold. We are common vessels. We make mistakes and cause problems. But please note: the focus here is not on the vessel itself, but the treasure inside the vessel. The love and forgiveness and grace of Christ – the richest treasures heaven has to offer, are all inside each Child of God. We can go a long way towards “de-stressing” by simply remembering the treasure God has planted within us. What enables us to react to problems differently from those in the world is not who we are but who is in us. We are but C.L.A.Y. But we are not just ordinary clay. We are clay that has been transformed and is being transformed by heaven. Remember what kind of clay we are: C – Christ L – Living & A – Abiding in Y - You

Remember God’s Power Will Sustain You “to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” What is this verse saying? Through the problems you and I are facing, God wants to reveal His power. He doesn’t want people to necessarily notice the clay pot – he wants people to focus on the sustaining, persevering, keeping power that is inside the clay pot. God doesn’t mind an occasional stress crack in His vessels. In fact He expects it to happen. He allows us to be hard-pressed, perplexed, persecuted and struck down. By allowing those stressful situations He is able to accomplish His purposes. He reveals a power that amazes the world around us. You see, it’s not about the power of the person – it’s about the power of God supernaturally sustaining the person. Our great discovery in the midst of those stressful moments - when we feel the weakest – is that God is able to loose His amazing power and bring peace to the most difficult situations.

What’s stressing you out today? What’s your response going to be? You can run to the refrigerator and start eating the junk food – or you can feast on the Bread of Life. Have a banquet with Jesus today! I guarantee at the end of the day you’ll feel better. (and be a few pounds thinner!)

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

The Gift of Peace

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:36:00 +0000

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
(John 3:16)

In 1962, the Sawi people of New Guinea still lived in relative isolation. They were head-hunting cannibals. Their culture could not be more different from that of Don and Carol Richardson, and yet this missionary couple attempted to share Christ with them. In fact, two rival Sawi tribes, fascinated by the Richardsons, moved their villages right around the missionaries’ jungle home. But Don became frustrated by his inability to find a point of contact. He was also discouraged by the 14 civil wars he had already counted right outside his front door now that the two tribes lived side by side. Eventually, the Richardsons decided to leave. However, the Sawi response surprised them: “If you’ll stay, we promise we'll make peace in the morning.” The next morning the Richardsons awoke to see the most amazing ritual they had ever witnessed. The two tribes were lined up outside their houses, on either side of the clearing. Finally, one man dashed into his hut, grabbed his newborn son, and began to run across the meadow towards the other tribe. His expression betrayed absolute agony. His wife ran after him, screaming and begging him to give the baby back to her. But her husband wouldn't stop. He ran over to the other tribe and presented the boy to them. “Plead the peace child for me. I give you my son, and I give you my name,” he said. Moments later, someone from that tribe performed the same agonizing sacrifice with the same intensity and passion. Richardson found out later that as long as those two children remained alive, the tribes were bound to peace. If they died, then literally all hell would break loose--cannibalism, murder, civil war. While this amazing scene unfolded before him, Don suddenly realized that this was the analogy he needed to communicate Christ. The next time he spoke to the Sawi elders he told them of the perfect Peace Child, Jesus. Eventually, droves of Sawi became followers of Christ. Several years later, on Christmas day, hundreds of Sawi from every tribe - tribes that had warred and cannibalized each other for many years - gathered together for a feast for the first time. A Sawi preacher stood up and read in his own language a scripture that few people in the history of the world have ever understood so clearly: “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulders, and He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Later, the Richardsons would write that it was the best Christmas they had ever experienced. It was the best day the Sawi had ever known. (Adapted from “Peace Child” by Don Richardson. Regal, 1976)

If you could ask God for anything you want - something that you want more than anything, what would your request be? I would speculate there are thousands who would request the gift of peace. God has created inside every single person on earth a desire to have peace, both externally and internally. The tragedy is that so many people live all or most of their lives and never discover what peace is all about. So many have no earthly idea where to find it. They spend their life looking in all the wrong places. They listen to people who can never deliver it. They use alcohol and drugs but it still eludes them. They immerse themselves in careers and work but peace is still not found. They try separating themselves from others, but even then they are still plagued by a low grade anxiety that won’t leave them alone. So many people carry a hopeless longing that that is never truly satisfied. They long for peace.

One star lit night many years ago, the angels suddenly appeared over the hills of Bethlehem to announce that the Price of Peace had arrived. He had been born to a virgin in a stable. Outside of the angels telling the story to the shepherds, I think the world fell silent - just for a brief moment. Just for a moment I think the noises of our environment hushed. The wars stopped. The anxiety ceased. The arguments died down. The Child of Peace had been born. A single silent shining star announced his birth. I think creation fell silent as God gifted mankind with peace. One brief marvelous moment of peace.

But He didn’t come for one brief moment of peace. He came to bring and establish peace in the hearts of all would put their trust in him. It is our Heavenly Father’s great gift to us. Through Jesus peace is now accessible. Peace with God. Peace with one another. Peace on Earth – Goodwill towards men. God revealed His unexplainable irrational love towards us by giving us His Son so that we might have peace.

I pray that each of you knows, enjoys and celebrates the wonderful gift of God’s Peace this Christmas. My Jesus grace your homes and families with His love, His joy and most of all His sweet and blessed Peace. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

Have a Merry Christmas,
PT

The Light That Brings Salvation

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:25:00 +0000

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2)

In the nineteenth century, lighthouses on the U.S. coasts were tended by lighthouse keepers and their families. If a man who tended the light took ill or became disabled, often the work was picked up by his wife or children. Such was the case of Hosea Lewis. Having become the keeper of the light on Lime Rock Island at Newport, Rhode Island in 1854, Lewis suffered a stroke four years later, at which time his wife and teenage daughter Ida took over his duties. When Mrs. Lewis died in 1879 Ida was commissioned with full responsibility for keeping the light. Near the entirety of Ida’s life was dedicated to making sure the light was shining. Her duties included cleaning the reflectors, trimming the wick, and filling the oil reservoir at sunset and midnight – as well as caring for her siblings and her ailing mother. With long and demanding tasks, Ida was unable to continue her own schooling, but daily delivered her brothers and sisters to class, whatever the weather, by rowing the 500 yards to the mainland. In the mid-1800s, it was unusual to see a woman maneuvering a boat, but Ida became well skilled and well known for handling the heavy craft.

At age 16 Ida gained a measure of fame when she rescued four young men after their boat capsized. She rowed to their aid, hearing their screams as they clung to their overturned craft. Early in 1867 Ida hauled in three more men whose boat had been swamped by heavy seas. After getting the men safely to shore she noticed a sheep they had been transporting still out in the water. She put her boat back in the water and even saved the drowning animal. On March 29, 1869, Ida saved two drowning servicemen from nearby Fort Adams. Public knowledge of Ida’s courage spread as far as Washington, inspiring President Ulysses S. Grant to visit Ida at Newport later that year. Ida rescued another two soldiers in 1881, for which she was awarded the U.S. Lifesaving Service’s highest medal. In early February of that year two soldiers were crossing from Newport to Lime Rock Island on foot when the ice gave way. Ida came running with a rope. Ignoring the danger to herself from weak and rotten ice, she pulled one, then the other to safety. All told, Ida Lewis personally saved between 25 - 35 people in fifty-plus years of keeping the light. The total number is uncertain since she never kept records of those she saved. Her last reported rescue came at age 63 when she saved a friend who had fallen into the water on her way to visit Ida on the island. Asked where she found strength and courage for such a feat, Ida answered: “I don’t know, I ain’t particularly strong. The Lord Almighty gives it to me when I need it, that’s all.” Ida Lewis was called “the bravest woman in America” by several periodicals of her day. She died in 1911, having suffered a stroke while still tending the light. In her honor the station was renamed the Ida Lewis Light. Her former residence has now become the home of the Ida Lewis Yacht Club. There is also a United States Coast Guard buoy tender that bears her name. Ida Lewis did more than polish the lenses of a light house. She herself became a beacon of light and life for many people who would have drowned if she had not rescued them.

Lights have always been an intricate part of celebrating Christmas. For some it’s a simple candle in the window. Others take the time to modestly outline their home with light to celebrate the Christmas season. And of course there is always that one obsessive individual who drains the power grid with more glitzy lights around his home than the average city uses. I can’t really imagine Christmas without a celebration of light. And I kind of think that’s the way God intended it to be. The only decoration, which I’m sure existed during that first Christmas celebration, was a light our Lord hung in the sky. It signified something special had just happened. The prophesized Messiah had come. His arrival was heralded by a star which guided wise men to his location. After arriving in Jerusalem they started asking everyone, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him.” The King had arrived and their response was to bow in worship before him. The light was more than just a beacon that guided them as they journeyed. It meant salvation was available. It meant there was hope. It meant God had not forgotten or abandoned his promise to send a deliverer.

Like Ida from the story above, “we ain’t all that strong,” but through the gift of Jesus, God has provided what we need the most. On that first Christmas day what we needed most was to be rescued. We needed a light that would show us the way to safety. We needed a life saver who would have the power to calm the high waves and speak peace into our lives. We needed someone to come and pull us out of the deep waters and bring us safely home. We needed a light to shine in the darkness so all hope would not be lost. What we needed most was a Savior and a Rescuer for our souls. God created a star and announced, “He’s here.” Jesus, the Light and the Glory of heaven had arrived to save those drowning in sin. The light that brings salvation broke into the arena of human history to rescue us. Our Savior had been born. The angels sang. The shepherds ran. The wise men journeyed. And the world still celebrates. Receive him as your Lord and Savior today and He will deliver you safe from harm. “Joy to the World. The Lord has come! Let earth receive her King!” Amazing.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

Joy to the World!

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:45:00 +0000

“But the angel said to them, do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ, the Lord.” (Luke 2: 10,11)

I read a story recently about a man who was asked to lead the opening prayer for a national sales convention for a carpet cleaning business. As he observed their meeting, he was impressed by how excited and enthusiastic they were about their products and their jobs. Now make sure you get this – this is a carpet cleaning convention. Now I don’t know about you – but when it’s time for me to drag out the vacuum cleaner or the carpet cleaner, I generally don’t get all that excited about the potential joy I might experience during stain removal from a rug! But the people at this carpet cleaning convention were apparently different. They were truly excited about their profession. Now here’s what happened; He said someone would bring out carpet samples with a wide variety of dried stains such as mud, wine, blood, chocolate, or ketchup. Then the spokesperson would apply the company’s carpet cleaner and the audience would wait with excited anticipation as the speaker scrubbed the stain. After a few minutes, as the stain disappeared, the audience went nuts. They stood and whistled, and clapped and cheered. The guy said they were so excited it reminded him of a bunch of happy puppies jumping around. They were genuinely joyful over stain removal!

This visitor was deeply affected by the enthusiasm of these people. As he was driving home, he stopped his car and bowed his head and asked the Lord to forgive him for not demonstrating the same kind of excitement about the good news of Jesus Christ. At that moment, a powerful idea grabbed him. He thought, “These people have taken something ordinary and turned it into the most important thing in the world.” His next thought was: “We have taken the most important thing in the world and turned it into something ordinary.” His carpet cleaning friends jumped around and cheered with full-throated enthusiasm when they discovered that some tough old stain couldn’t stand up to their miracle cleaner. Sometimes we often can’t find enough energy to say “amen” after we hear some great timeless truth that has eternal implications for each of our lives.

How about you? Will you experience and celebrate the joy of the Lord this Christmas Season? You might say, “I don’t know if I’m joyful, but I am fairly happy.” Don’t settle for happiness – choose joy instead. Here’s why: Experiencing joy is different than experiencing happiness. Happiness and joy come from two different sources. Happiness is tied to the circumstances around us. Happiness is a result of the happenings around us happening to happen the way we want them to happen. In other words, happiness depends upon happenstance. Joy, on the other hand, originates in what we find in Christ. The joy of Jesus is unchanging. Regardless of your circumstances, once you possess the joy of the Lord it will never leave you. Joy in Christ abides, no matter what happens in our lives. External circumstances can’t touch inner joy!

The angels announced good news of great joy with the birth of Christ! An extraordinary event was taking place. God was becoming a man. An infant was becoming a savior. The infinite was becoming a dependant little child. The King of Kings was becoming a servant to all. If ever there was something to be joyful about, it was now! Joy to the world, the Lord has come! There is nothing ordinary about their announcement. In fact it’s the most extraordinary announcement in all of human history. Heaven’s joy had arrived in the form of a babe in a stable. He is the one that has the power to remove the stain of sin in every person who trusts in Him. Joy is Heaven’s gift to us through Christ.

Now catch this: The carpet cleaners might be happy the stains disappeared from their carpets when their cleaner was applied. But reality dictates that their carpets are going to get dirty all over again with use. When the stains return, their work has to begin all over again. (but maybe that makes a carpet cleaner happy!) The good news that brings great joy for us is that the terrible stain of sin each of us has in our hearts is washed away completely and forever through the blood of Jesus Christ. The only real miracle cleanser the world has ever known is the blood of Jesus. His cleansing power is complete, finished, sufficient and forever. God says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18) Now that’s something to get excited about!

Whatever else you might experience today – I hope that you experience the joy of the Lord. Unspeakable, unending, undeniable, unshakable, unimaginable, indescribable joy! That’s your heritage when you receive the gift of Christ. I pray that throughout this season it is also your choice.

Joyfully yours,
PT

How To Shine.

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:03:00 +0000

Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. (Psalm 37:3-6)

Have you ever heard someone describe themselves as “a diamond in the rough?” Well it just might be true, at least according to a company called Life Gem. This Chicago based company claims to have developed a process by which they take cremated human remains and turn it into a diamond. You heard me correctly. This company says it can take the cremated remains of your loved one and turn it into jewelry you can wear. It’s always been claimed that diamonds are a girl’s best friend – but now apparently you can have your best friend turned into a diamond! “We’re building on the simple fact that all living creatures are carbon-based and diamonds are carbon-based,” says Greg Herro, head of Life Gem Memorials, which has begun marketing the diamonds as the answer for people who think a headstone or an urn full of ash is just too impersonal. Mr. Herro, who describes himself as an entrepreneur, said he spent three years refining the process. The process involves purifying the ash from cremated remains, turning it into graphite. That material is then placed into a press under intense pressure and heat, thus replicating the forces that create a natural diamond. It’s not exactly a new process. Companies have been manufacturing synthetic industrial diamonds for some time now. But this is the first time it has been used to make dead people sparkle. The process takes about 16 weeks to complete. The longer the process the clearer the diamond - and of course the higher the cost. Surprisingly, it doesn’t take much to make a diamond. A thimbleful of ash can be made into a ¼ carat diamond for which Life Gem charges around $3,500.00. A full carat can cost upwards of $20,000.00 Even pets can be turned into a gemstone. Don’t want to say goodbye to “Sparky?” Just have him crystallized and you can still take him jogging with you every Saturday morning.

Herro says his diamonds are of the same quality as those “you would find at Tiffany’s.” And it appears that he’s right. His diamonds have been certified for quality by the European Gemological Laboratory, an independent laboratory that vouches for diamond quality. Mark Gershburg, director of the American branch of the laboratory, said it was impossible to distinguish Life Gem diamonds from other synthetic diamonds.

Now I don’t know about you but I find this all just a bit freaky. Can you imagine a guy giving his fiancé an engagement ring made from the remains of Dear Old Aunt Betty? “She was always such a bright light in my life.” Yuck! Or how about a set of matching ear rings made from Mom and Dad? My guess is that this process has appeal for some because it gives them the opportunity to “shine a light” after they pass on. And realistically, I guess there is nothing wrong with that – I just find it a bit creepy personally. I also don’t like the symbolism of this whole deal. I don’t want the pressure of this world to cause me to become as hard as a stone. I want the light of Christ to soften me so that his light might shine through me. If you really want to shine, I suggest you follow the advice of King David in Psalm 37:

Don’t Fret – Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; Worry takes the luster out of a person’s life. If you really want to shine in this world – stop worrying. Everyone faces situations we wish we could avoid. But we don’t gain anything by worrying about our problems. Worry doesn’t solve anything. Worry never paid a debt. Worry never alleviated a pain. Worry never made an enemy a friend. Worry never turned a wrong into a right. A Christian who is known as being a “worrier” is a poor testimony. By their constant worrying, they are sending out a message - and the message is this: “God is unable to cope with my problems; He’s not big enough or He’s big enough, but my faith is too small. Don’t Fret – He’s big enough to deal with the issues you are facing.

Trust in the LORD and do good – Webster’s Dictionary defines trust as an assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone. Trust is not something we give away for free. It is always earned. Love is free. Trust is earned. Our Great and Mighty God has earned our trust. His wisdom is perfect. His power is real. His faithfulness is unchanging. His mercy is everlasting. He keeps every promise he makes. When we learn to trust in the Lord and obey him, our entire countenance changes. Turn your eyes upon Jesus – trust him fully with all your heart - He’ll light your world up.

Delight yourself in the LORD – Find delight in the relationship you have with the one who spoke creation into being. God’s greatest delight is when you find delight in Him. The easiest and quickest path to joy is simple delight in our God. When your desires become His desires, you will find yourself living within His will. When you are living within his will, your heart will be at peace and you will be a light for others.

Commit your way to the LORD - Commit your way to the Lord. Give him your heart – your whole heart. Give to him an unwavering faith. Totally surrender your ways to his ways. Commitment is not a once a day decision or a once a week activity. It’s a lifestyle. We don’t commit something to the Lord and then take it back. A farmer doesn’t plant his seed and then keep digging it up to see if it's growing! Commit your life to Jesus and move forward in faith. He’ll provide the light you need to take every step you make.

If you do these things God makes a promise: He’ll make you sparkle! He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. If a person rejects worry, trusts in Him, finds delight in Him, and remains committed to him – for that person God says, “I’ll make them shine like a diamond.” Why? Because those are the kind of people he wants the world to see. If you really want to stand out in this dark world, don’t let the world pressure you into becoming hard as a rock. Let the Lord of creation soften your heart so that His light can shine through you.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

Give Thanks For All That God Gives

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:48:00 +0000

I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High (Psalm 7:17)

I recently found the story below in my file. I would like to give credit to its author, but he/she is unknown to me. It serves as a wonderful reminder of what Thanksgiving is really all about.
For Christians, Thanksgiving means more than just turkey and football. Most of us have a vague notion that this holiday began when the Pilgrims invited their Indian neighbors to dinner to thank God for his provisions. But there really is much more to the story. The Atlantic crossing in the fall of 1620 had been an extremely difficult journey for the Pilgrims. For two months, 102 people were wedged into what was called the “tween decks”- the cargo space of the boat, which only had about five-and-a-half feet of headroom. No one was allowed above deck because of the terrible storms. This was no pleasure trip, but only one person died during the voyage. The Pilgrims had comforted themselves by singing the Psalms, but this “noise” irritated one of the ship’s paid crewmembers. He told the Pilgrims he was looking forward to throwing some of their corpses overboard after they succumbed to the illnesses that were routine on such voyages. But as it turned out, this crewmember himself was the only person on the voyage to become sick and be thrown overboard. God providentially protected His people. A little-known fact about the Mayflower is that this ship normally carried a cargo of wine; and the wine spillage from previous voyages had soaked the beams in the “tween deck”, acting as a disinfectant to prevent the spread of disease.

During one terrible storm, the main beam of the mast cracked. Death was certain if this beam could not be repaired. At that moment, the whole Pilgrim adventure could very easily have ended on the bottom of the Atlantic. But, providentially, one of the Pilgrims had brought along a large iron screw for a printing press. That screw was used to repair the beam, saving the ship and all on board. After sixty-six days at sea, land was sighted off what is now Cape Cod, Massachusetts. But that was not where the Pilgrims wanted to be. They had intended to establish their new colony in the northern parts of Virginia (which then extended to the Hudson River in modern-day New York), but two factors interrupted their plans. The winds had blown them off course, but they also learned that some other Englishmen who wanted to settle in the same northern part of Virginia had bribed the crew to land them somewhere else. Once again God was in charge and the Pilgrims were right where God wanted them to be. Had they actually landed near the Hudson River, they would have most certainly been attacked by hostile Indians. Instead, there were no Indians on Cape Cod when the Pilgrims made landfall there.
Many years before some local Indians had captured a Frenchman on a fishing expedition in that region. Just as he was about to be killed, the Frenchman told the Indians that God would be angry with them, would destroy them all, and would replace them with another nation. The Indians boastfully told him that his God could never kill them. However, when the Pilgrims landed in that same region, the land had already been cleared and the fields had already been cultivated, but those Indians who had prepared the land had nearly all died of the plague a year or two earlier.

Despite this provision of safety from hostile Indians, the Pilgrims barely survived their first winter on the Cape. Only four families escaped without burying at least one family member. But God was still faithful. In the spring of 1621, He sent Squanto to them, an Indian who could speak their own language and who offered to teach them how to survive in this strange new land. Squanto was one of the few Indians from that area who had not died of the plague. He had been captured as a young man and taken to England as a slave. During that time he mastered the English language; and then had been freed and returned to his native territory shortly before the Pilgrims arrived. Probably the most important thing Squanto taught the Pilgrims was how to plant the Indians’ winter staple crop—corn. The Pilgrims thanked God for this wonderful helper, but they also shared with Squanto the most valuable treasure they had brought with them from England—the Gospel. Squanto died within a year or two after coming to the aid of the Pilgrims, but before his death he prayed that he might go to be with their God in Heaven.

Other Indians who Squanto had introduced to the Pilgrims were also impressed with their God. During the summer of 1621, when it appeared the year’s corn harvest would not survive a severe drought, the Pilgrims called for a day of fasting and prayer. By the end of the day, it was raining. The rain saved the corn, which miraculously sprang back to life. One of the Indians who observed this miracle remarked that their God must be a very great God because when the Indians pow-wowed for rain, it always rained so hard that the corn stalks were broken down. But they noticed that the Pilgrim’s God had sent a very gentle rain that did not damage the corn harvest. It was that same miraculous corn harvest that provided the grain for the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving meal with their Indian friends and helpers.

Today, many of our public school children are taught that we celebrate Thanksgiving because the Pilgrims were thanking their Indian neighbors for helping them; but the evidence of history shows that on that first Thanksgiving Day the thanks of both Pilgrims and Indians went to God for His great goodness toward them all. But the story does not end there. Even though the Pilgrims hosted the first Thanksgiving dinner in America, the holiday itself actually has its origins almost 170 years later, after the Revolutionary War had been won and our American Constitution had been adopted. In 1789, Congress approved the Bill of Rights, the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. Congress then “recommended a day of public thanksgiving and prayer” to thank God for blessing America. President Washington declared November 26, 1789, as the first national day of prayer and thanksgiving to the Lord.

Another 75 years later, after the Civil War ended, President Abraham Lincoln established the last Thursday in November as a day to acknowledge “the gracious gifts of the Most High God” bestowed upon America. Every president did the same until 1941 when Congress officially made Thanksgiving a national holiday. Now that you know the true story, this Thanksgiving make sure that your children learn it too. Let us all join with generations of Americans before us in giving thanks to God for all he has given to us.

With a Thankful Heart,
PT

When The Saints Get Together

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:45:00 +0000

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
(Heb. 10:23-25)

Regular church attendance seems to be quite a struggle for many people. We’ve all heard some “whoppers” when it comes to excuses for not attending worship service. Some of them just defy logic. If we took the same excuses that people use for not going to church and apply them to other important areas of life we'd realize how inconsistent we can be in our thinking. For example, consider these Reasons not to bathe any longer:

1. I was forced to bathe as a child, and it turned me against wanting to be clean in my adult years.
2. I can’t take the time to bathe - I have to work on the weekends!
3. People who make soap are only after your money.
4. I take a bath on special occasions - like Christmas and Easter.
5. People who wash are hypocrites - they think they are cleaner than everyone else.
6. There are so many different kinds of soap, I just can't decide which one is best – so I don’t wash at all.
7. I used to bathe, but it got so boring that I fell asleep - so I stopped washing.
8. None of my friends bathe anymore.
9. Taking a bath never really made much of a difference in my life.
10. The bathroom is never warm enough in the winter or cool enough in the summer.
11. I'll start bathing when I get older and dirtier. As long as I get a bath before I die, I’ll be fine.
12. I think it’s wise to let my children decide for themselves whether they want to bathe or not. I don’t want to force my ideas about cleanliness upon them.
13. I can’t take a bath on Sunday – that’s my day off!
14. I lost interest in bathing after I saw a person take a bath on Sunday but later that week he went out and got dirty again. If he was genuinely committed to cleanliness, he’d stay clean.
15. My parents bathe religiously – maybe it’s something that’s important to them but I just don’t see the need for it in my life.
16. Modern philosophies of bathing are very different than what I learned when I was a child. I just don’t know if I believe in soap and water any more.
17. You don’t have to go to a bathroom to take a bath – there’s plenty of ways to wash off outside.
18. The last time I bathed, the radio was playing music I didn’t like, so I stopped washing.
19. Someone sprinkled me with water when I was child – that’s clean enough for me!
20. I think it’s great that my wife and children bathe – but I don’t feel the need for it in my life right now.
(And my favorite:)
21. I’ll go back to bathing someday, but first I need to clean myself up a bit.

I guess the list could go on but I’m sure you get the idea. While many have a tendency to rationalize their lack of commitment to a local body of believers, the author of the book of Hebrews makes it clear that regular attendance in worship with people from your community is high on God’s priority list. “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.” One of the devil’s strategies is to isolate people so they will not experience what God has planned for His church when it gathers together. So he will attempt to fill one’s mind with distractions. The devil will try to cause people to harbor feelings of anger and resentment when their feelings get hurt instead of practicing biblical forgiveness. He’ll do anything to keep God’s children from coming together in corporate unity because he knows the power that comes from God’s people coming together as One Body to glorify our Risen King.

When the saints get together there is something special that happens that just can’t be experienced anywhere else. In worship together there is a celebration of the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father. We hear what is happening in each of our lives. And as we pray for one another and see the answers to those prayers, we are reminded that the Shepherd of our souls is so much more than faithful. When the saints get together, we hear truth as God’s Word is presented and it reminds and teaches us that “He is faithful to all He has promised.” (Psalm 145:13) When the saints get together, we are reminded of the hope we profess and possess. The verse above says the saints are to “hang on to that hope.” As you once again see the faithfulness and power and wisdom of God, hopeless situations are turned into anticipated miracles. There is no such thing as a hopeless person or a hopeless situation when the saints get together and cry out to our God with one heart. When the saints get together, there is a spiritual encouragement that takes place, which the world can’t duplicate. We see each other as brothers and sisters drawn together in one family. We have opportunity to serve one another and encourage one another and meet the needs in each other’s lives. But best of all, when the saints get together, there is the very presence of Christ Himself. “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matt. 18:20) Once you’ve had even a taste of his grace and love- you’ll be ruined for life. Nothing on earth will ever satisfy you from that moment on – because from that moment on nothing on earth will compare to his magnificent splendor. When the saints get together, we are reminded of His radiant beauty and matchless glory – and his amazing ability to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7)

No matter how many times we wash the outside, only the blood of Jesus can cleanse that which soap and water can’t touch – the sin-stained soul. When it comes time for judgment, you don’t want to stand before our Holy God saying you tried to live a clean life. The truth is we’ve all gotten dirty trying to live in this world. But in his great love for us our Heavenly Father has provided a cleansing through the blood of the Son Jesus. Have you been bathed in the forgiveness of His love?

I encourage you to make getting together with the saints a non-negotiable part of your weekly schedule. It might take a little effort and a little discipline, but you’ll always find that it’s worth it when the saints get together.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

Funny Business

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:54:00 +0000

“Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38)

Isn’t it funny how $10 looks so big when we take it to church and so small when we take it to the store?
Isn’t it funny how big an hour serving God looks and how small 60 minutes are when spent playing golf, fishing or participating in a sports activity? Isn’t it funny how laborious it is to read a chapter in the Bible and how easy it is to read 200 pages of a best selling novel? Isn’t it funny how we believe what newspapers say, but question what the Bible says? Isn’t it funny how we can't think of anything to say when we pray, but don't have any difficulty thinking of things to talk about with a friend? Isn’t it funny how we need 2 or 3 weeks to fit a church event into our schedule, but can adjust our schedule for a social/entertainment event at the last minute? Isn’t it funny how we find it hard to help a charitable cause with its hand out in front of a store, but don't have a problem with an impulse purchase inside? Isn’t it funny how we always forget to pray even for a minute before retiring to bed and how keen we are to remember TV programs every night? Isn’t it funny how hard it is to praise others for their deeds and how easy it is to spot others mistakes? Isn’t if funny how we want to follow Jesus, but at the same time we expect to follow without sacrifice? Funny, isn't it?

General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was asked the secret of his amazing Christian life. Booth answered, “I told the Lord that He could have all that there is of William Booth.” As a result, God used him in an incredible way. It’s the norm for every follower. He gave his all for us; he accepts nothing less from us. Any attempt at negotiating a better deal is just funny-business. What does “giving our all” look like? According to the passage above, it calls for us to:

“Deny Self” - If I am a Disciple of Jesus, He literally becomes my way of Life, my rule of conduct. Every action and every decision I make is made in the light of “WWJD.” What-would-Jesus-do? Every difficult situation and every difficult decision is filtered through this simple question. And then regardless of what the flesh or human reason says, we deny ourselves and respond accordingly. As Jesus led a life of self-denial; so as His disciple I must “deny myself.” Self-denial means I submit everything I am to His control: all my pleasures, all my interests, all my works, all my desires, all my ideas. I hold no area of my life back from Him and His control. No one else can take this step for me; it is a choice I must make on my own free will; one I feely choose to undertake. We deny self – and follow.

“Take up a cross” - Cross-bearing is not an easy road. Crucifixion was the most horrible and painful form of execution in all of human history, and death was usually extremely slow in coming. Luke elaborates a little more in Luke 9:23: “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” A disciple of Jesus “takes up his cross” every single day; it is a daily dedication of ourselves to Him, not a once in a lifetime experience. This does not mean that a disciple seeks to suffer; but it does mean he will not be surprised when difficulty comes his way. Taking up a cross is easier said than done. “Cross-bearing” preaches well, but when the reality hits of what it actually involves, many will choose a different path. But Jesus makes it clear that following Him will often require commitment that at times is painful and calls for great sacrifice. Why would anyone choose this? Because the way of the cross is the only path that leads to victory. There is victory in the power of the blood of Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So we take up our daily cross – and follow.

“Follow me” - This is an invitation to enter into intimacy with Jesus. Following requires listening. This is the calling of the Shepherd to his sheep to listen for his voice. To close out the noise of competing attractions and listen – and follow. It requires the sheep to decide that the shepherd knows the path best and He has the right to choose which path to follow. Following requires complete confidence in the Shepherd & complete trust in His love. Jesus issues an invitation today to hear his voice – and follow.

Funny isn’t it, how easy it seems? Yet all of us know that at times it is anything but simple. But yet the reward we share in Christ, compels us – give all we are - and follow. So we abandon the funny-business - we deny self – we pick up our daily cross – we listen – and we follow.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

“Perfect Communication”

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:35:00 +0000

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. - The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-2,14

A lady from England was coming to America and was looking for a place to rent. A real estate agent she had found on-line helped her find a nice little cottage to rent and she was looking forward to moving to her new home in the states. About a month before she was scheduled to leave, it occurred to her that she had never asked about the bathroom in the cottage. So she wrote another email inquiring about the bathroom. A complication came up however when she used an Old English reference for a bathroom. Feeling uncomfortable calling it a “toilet” or “water closet” she finally settled on the old term “bathroom commode.” Just as she was about to send her email she thought that was still too delicate, so she decided to abbreviate it to just the initials. “Could you please tell me about the bc?” (meaning bathroom commode) The real estate agent wrestled with the meaning of “bc” for awhile but finally arrived at the conclusion that it must mean “Baptist Church.” So he wrote an email back to tell her about the “bc.”

Dear Madam, I take great pleasure in telling you that the bc is situated 9 miles from the house, in the center of a beautiful grove of pine trees, surrounded by lovely grounds. It is capable of holding 229 people and is open on Thursdays and Sundays only. As there is often a great number of people expected during the summer months, I recommend that you come early, although there is usually plenty of standing room. (It seems that more people go during the summer than winter.) This is a rather unfortunate situation; especially if you are in the habit of going regularly throughout the summer. I recommend that you plan to arrive early so that you can be sure to get a space. It may be of some interest for you to know that my daughter was married in the bc. It was there that she met her husband. I can still remember how crowded it was that day. There were ten people for every seat that was normally occupied by one. It was wonderful to see the expressions on their faces! You’ll be glad to know that a number of people bring their lunch and make a day of it. I would especially recommend that you go on Thursdays when there is often an organ accompaniment. The acoustics are absolutely excellent, even the most delicate sounds can be heard everywhere. The newest addition is a bell which was donated by a wealthy resident. It rings out loud enough for the entire community to know that things have started inside. I recently heard that a yard sale is presently planned to raise money for new plush seats, which have been needed for so long. The old wooden ones can sometimes be hard to sit on, especially if you are required to be there a long time. My wife has not been feeling well so she can not go very often. In fact it’s almost a year since she went last. Naturally it pains her not to be able to be more regular. I shall be delighted to reserve the best seat for you. Please plan on sitting next to me and my family. We’d be glad to introduce to the others. Hoping to be of service to you – your real estate agent.

This humorous story reminds us of the importance of good communication. Aren’t you glad today that God is a great communicator? Have you ever wondered would it be like if God was silent? What would it be like if God never took it upon Himself to communicate with us? What if God started the world spinning and then left us to ourselves never to speak with us ever again? Consider the dilemma that God faces for a moment – how do you communicate a message that gets beyond all the cultural barriers, the language barriers, the educational barriers that exist between all the people all over the globe? And at the same time you have to recognize that none of these things are constant. Culture, language and human knowledge are constantly in flux – they are constantly evolving. If you have a message that means the difference between life and death for every man, woman and child on the face of the planet from the beginning of time to the very end of creation’s existence; how do you present that message so that nothing will be lost in translation and nothing will be mistranslated and misinterpreted due to shifting cultural norms? How do you break through all the confusion that exists in people’s minds when it comes to relating to God?

The answer? Jesus. Jesus is the language of God. Our God has not remained remote and unapproachable; he has come to us in person. He did not just write us a letter. He did not just send us a representative. He did not just speak his laws from a mountain. He came to us as one of us. The Infinite became an infant. The Eternal, Self-Existing One - the Great “I Am” - became dependant. Christ took on human flesh - not that he might know us, but that we might know Him. The content of everything that God desires to reveal to us is clearly revealed in Jesus, the Word of God. Jesus communicates the mind and heart of God the Father better than anyone. In a world filled with an almost infinite amount of information, nothing is more vital than what Jesus communicates through his life, death and resurrection. The Eternal One still speaks. Are you listening?

Live the victorious Life,
PT

Contagious Disease Strikes Our Area.

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:59:00 +0000

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.”
(1 Cor. 12:12)

“You Might Already Be Infected!” Please Read Further For More Information:
I recently read a story about a guy who had a problem with his golf game. Now I’m not really much of a golfer but I found this article intriguing. The article was about a guy who was a fairly avid golfer, but had never taken lessons and thus he had never come to a point of feeling competent in the game. He realized that he would never improve his game until he gave in and signed-up for lessons. So rather reluctantly, he did so. When he arrived at the club for the first lesson he was greeted by a young man who looked to be half his age - only this young man turned out to be the club’s golf pro. At first the guy was a little put-off by the golf pro’s age, but since he had already paid for the lessons, he decided to see what the kid knew. They went out to the driving range where the golf-pro began setting up all this video equipment. By this point the fellow was beginning to become a little frustrated. He’d signed up to learn how to play golf – not make a movie. But he humbled himself nonetheless and decided to follow the pro’s instructions. The kid instructed him to take a couple of swings at the ball. So that’s what he did, and took what he thought were some pretty good swings. The young instructor then took him inside to a computer screen. By this time he was beginning to think he had wasted a lot of time and money. The young trainer pulled this guy’s swing up on the screen and then split the screen and placed a video of Tiger Woods and his swing on the other side of the screen. Slowly and painfully the golf-pro went through and compared his swing to Tiger Wood’s swing – pointing out all of the flaws in his execution.

When all was said and done, the guy asked the pro what the root of his problem was. The young pro hemmed and hawed a bit before he said, “Well sir, to tell you the truth, the primary problem is you have a stagnant bottom.” A stagnant bottom! He expected a dropped shoulder, a lazy hand-grip, or wrong placement of the club - but a stagnant bottom! The pro went on to say, “Yes sir, you see when you execute your swing - your back side, if you will, just kind of sits there and does nothing. If you really want to experience the full power of your swing then you have to get your back side, your whole body into the swing.”

Now I admit I know nothing about what it takes to be a good golfer. But as I read this story, I wondered if part of the problem in our churches is that we have people who are infected with the same affliction? Could it be there is an epidemic of stagnant bottom disease spreading across our country and no one knows anything about it? How is this disease transmitted? Is it contagious? Everyone in our country is presently concerned about the spread of the H1N1 virus. Vaccines are just starting to become available to people in our area, and many people in our region are hoping to avoid catching this very contagious illness by getting immunized against it. Perhaps there is need to issue a Church Body Health Alert to help curtail the infectious stagnant bottom disease? It there is a way to prevent catching it? How do we stop it from spreading?

My guess is this affliction is not isolated to the world of golf nor is it something new. Stagnant bottom disease has been around for eons and continues to afflict many today. I suspect Paul may have had this in mind when he wrote the verse; The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts and though all its parts are many, they form one body. In order for the body (the Church) to function properly, all the parts have to work together. No part of the Church body is insignificant. There are no insignificant jobs in the Church. Everyone that works for the betterment of the Church plays a role in making the Church body healthier. The Church is one in Christ. And we all contribute in different ways. The nursery worker is just as important as the Sunday School teacher who is just as important as the janitor who is just as important as the youth worker who is just as important as (well, you get the idea). Every part of the Body is important and needed. When any part of the body isolates itself from the others, it is doing exactly the opposite of what the Bible teaches. We are all interdependent parts that can only function properly when working in unity with one another.

A healthy body is one in which each part is making a contribution. That’s the way God has designed the Church. The thing that undermines His design is when members are afflicted with stagnant bottom disease. When one part doesn’t make the contribution it’s designed to add, it affects the whole body. You might be sitting here, on your stagnant bottom, thinking that you really don’t have much to contribute. Don’t believe that! God made you with a purpose in mind. He has planned your contribution to the Body of Christ. And He is counting on what you will add. In fact the Church will not reach its full potential unless every member contributes their individual part.

If someone were to put your life on a split screen for comparison next to what God says in the Bible, what might it reveal? Would the diagnosis likely be a stagnant bottom? If you find you are infected, the good news is the cure is relatively simple. You don’t need to see a doctor to get cured. Our Great Physician has already given us the cure. Simply rise up, dust it off and get to work. When you do, you will find joy in knowing you are contributing to the greatest change agent this world has ever known. The Church will be healthier and more effective. And the world will see the Body functioning as Christ has designed it.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

The Heart of Our Heavenly Father

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:53:00 +0000

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:7-12)

I recently read an amazing story about David Livingstone. He was born in 1813 in Scotland and died in 1873 in Zambia, Africa. He was an extraordinary man with a heart for God and others. His adventuresome spirit took him to places few if any had seen up to that time. His skill with medicine gave him a doorway to ministry. He was the first medical missionary to Central Africa. Toward the end of his life, he lost contact with the outside world for about 6 years. Henry Morton Stanley, a reporter for the New York Herald was sent to find him in 1869. He found Livingstone in the town of Ujiji in October of 1871. He greeted him with the now famous words, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” to which he responded, “Yes, and I feel thankful that I am here to welcome you.” In less than two years Livingstone would die of malaria and dysentery. After his death, Britain wanted the tribe in Zambia to return the body of their countryman for a proper burial. At first the tribe refused. Eventually they sent his body back, but without the heart. They placed a note on his body that said, “You can have his body, but his heart belongs in Africa.” Livingstone's heartless body is buried at Westminster Abbey in London. Today there is a statue of Livingstone at the place where they buried his heart.

Question: If your heart were to be buried at the place you loved most, where would that be?
The above passage tells us a great deal about the heart of our Heavenly Father. It teaches us:

* Our Heavenly Father Is Approachable. Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Three times he invites us to approach him. “Ask!” “Seek!” “Knock!” The repetition is meant to get across the idea that the door of your Heavenly Father’s house is open. He wants us to approach him. If you ever need anything from him – just ask. If you need it real bad, seek. And if you’re desperate knock on the doors of heaven – he won’t mind. He’d love to hear from you, He’d like to know your concerns. There is no red tape – no hoops – no drills – no appointment secretaries to mess with. Just ask anytime, anywhere – any of you, and you’ll have an audience with him.

* Our Heavenly Father Is Benevolent “Ask,” and it will be given to you; “Seek,” and you will find. “Knock,” and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Your Heavenly Father is kind, He is compassionate – He is generous. Be encouraged to come. Pray to him. It is not in vain that you pray. God is not toying with you. He answers. He gives good things when you pray. Understand His benevolence.

* Our Heavenly Father Is Wise. “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! We have a heavenly Father who is willing to answer and wise enough to give us what we really need. The emphasis here is on God’s wisdom. We often don’t know what to ask for. But God knows what we need – and he will not answer our prayers by giving us anything that contradicts his heart of love towards. A loving human father wouldn’t give his child a stone or a snake when he is hungry. That would violate the boundaries of common sense and concern. If we know who to respond to our children in loving ways – how much more will our Heavenly Father know how to respond to us when we ask anything of Him?

What’s the point of all this? If you knew his heart, you would never stop pursuing Him. When you pause to consider that God is infinitely strong and can do all that he pleases, and that he is infinitely righteous so that he only does what is right, and that he is infinitely good so that everything he does is perfectly good, and that he is infinitely wise so that he always knows perfectly what is right and good, and that he is infinitely loving so that in all his strength and righteousness and goodness and wisdom he raises the eternal joy of his loved ones as high as it can be raised—when you pause to consider this, then the lavish invitations of this God to ask him for good things, with the promise that he will give them, is unimaginably wonderful.

Livingston’s heart was kept by the people to whom he gave it. Your Heavenly Father wants you to know that he has given to you His heart through the cross of Jesus Christ. Will you receive it today?

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:32:00 +0000

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” John 10:27

The week before his wife turned 45, a husband asked his wife what she really wanted for her birthday. She thought for a moment and said, “I’d like to be 10 again.” So bright and early on her birthday, he got her up and they were at the gates of the local amusement park when it opened. He ran her from ride to ride. They rode the Death Defying Roller Coaster, the Scream Machine, and every other ride two or three times while eating ice cream and hot dogs as they were waiting in line. Six hours later she staggered out of the theme park with a splitting headache and an upturned stomach. Then he took her to a crowded IMAX theatre to watch an action movie with all the special effects and the volume cranked up to the max. While there, he fed her popcorn, candy, and soda. On the way home, he stopped by McDonald’s and bought her a supersized Big Mac meal and then they climbed into all the passages of the little playground out front. Finally when she fell into bed that night, he said, “Well, how did you enjoy your day? Do you feel like you are ten again?” She looked at him through one eye and groaned, “Honey, I was talking about my dress size - not my age!” --- Oh, if we only better listeners!

Most of us have seen the commercial on TV done by a wireless cell phone company. It’s the one where the guy walks around to various places where a phone normally would not work. He goes out further and further away from the main connection and asks the question, “Can you hear me now”? I think the worst job in the world must be the guy on the other end whose job is to sit at a desk say all day long, “Yes, I can hear you now!” The commercial is trying to make a point about how good the reception is for their phone service. No matter where you are; no matter how far away; their service is still available and usable.

In the verse above, Jesus reminds us that you don’t need a cell phone to stay in touch. If you know Jesus, you can always hear and respond to his leading in your life. No matter where you are, no matter how far away from God you might presently feel, you can never be so distant that His voice will not reach you. Now you might not necessarily feel that way today. You might feel as if there is a disconnection between you and God. But that’s not because our shepherd is not speaking. It might be because you have decided not to listen for His voice. What does this verse teach about staying connected?

* Train your ear to listen to His voice: In the verse above Jesus says, “My sheep listen to my voice.” Two things these particular words say to us: (1) Jesus is speaking – The voice of our Lord still rings out every day through His Word and His Spirit. In the past, God has spoken – in the present, God is still speaking. (2) His sheep listen – hearing the voice of the shepherd is not just for the “super-spiritual.” All of his sheep, at least the ones who are listening, hear Him. But note: listening is an active responsibility, not passive. The idea expressed here is that the sheep are constantly listening – seeking to hear the voice of their shepherd. Listening is not the same as hearing. You can hear something, but still not pay attention to it. (like elevator music) To “listen,” you must pay attention. It involves focused concentration. Train your ear to listen.

* Train your heart to relate to His voice: “I know them” Here Jesus makes reference to His desire to have relationship with you and me. A good shepherd knows all about his sheep. He knows their weaknesses and their strengths. He knows and understands each one, individually. The reason the shepherd speaks is relationship. He wants to know us. Conversely, the reason the sheep listen is also relationship. They listen for his voice, because they they’ve learned to depend upon and trust him. The sheep, who listen, are the ones who trust him. They want to know the shepherd. Train your heart to relate.

* Train your feet to follow after His voice: “And they follow Me” Staying connected is more than just hearing the voice of our Shepherd, it also involves obeying his instructions. It does no good to listen to his voice and then make a decision to do your own thing or go your own way. Stay connected by determining to obey what the shepherd teaches. His instruction is for our own good. Train your feet to follow.

Take a moment right now and hear the voice of your shepherd asking, “Can you hear me now?” If you sense there is disconnectedness, ask yourself, “What is it that is preventing me from hearing God speak?”

The answer to that question is the area you need to change.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

The Foolishness of Complaining

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:59:00 +0000

Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the LORD had burned among them. The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” (Num. 11:1-6)

When I was young I had a strong dislike of vegetable soup. Well, let me rephrase that. Actually I hated vegetable soup. I mean I really HATED vegetable soup. And at this point in my life I really don’t know why. I’ve now grown to love it. In fact on a cold, blustery day I can hardly think of anything better than to sit down to a nice hot bowl of homemade vegetable soup. It takes the chill right out of the bones. But when I was a kid it was an entirely different story. No one on earth could get me to eat it. Every time my mom made it, it became a battle of wills to see who would hold out the longest. She would say, “If you don’t finish that bowl of soup you don’t get up from that table!” I would think to myself, “Fine with me! I’ll just sit here until I’m 85 years old, but I’m not a-gonna to eat that soup!” I’d sit there for hours. The fat in the broth would harden forming an orange ring of grease around the edge of the bowl. The vegetables would dry out and get all wrinklely, but I wouldn’t give in. One night I fell asleep at the table and woke up in my bed. I thought to myself, “Wow, I won!” The next morning I had vegetable soup for breakfast.

Now as a child I was very obstinate, but I wasn’t stupid. I learned early on that I compounded my troubles if I complained during this whole deal. My mother would tolerate my little hunger strikes with a bit of patience but I had to be quiet during the process. If I started bellyaching about why I didn’t like what was being served – well, let’s just say that complaining never resulted in anything good happening. If I complained verbally, even once, I knew I would get the “starving-kids-speech.” Now I know you don’t know my mother, but I’d bet you know the speech. (It seems as if every mom comes equipped with the “starving-kids-speech” as standard equipment.) She would lecture me about kids who were hungry in far away places around the world and that they would give their right arm for the bowl of soup I was refusing to eat. She would tell me about starving kids in India who never had anything to eat. And that I should be grateful that I wasn’t one of them and had the opportunity to have this soup supplied for me. It normally would contain something about not wasting food when it was provided and that I’d better grow up and begin to understand that money doesn’t just grow on trees. The intensity and the volume of the speech would increase as she gave it. By the time she got to the end of it you could probably count on a couple of pots and pans being banged around on the counters and her face becoming a rather interesting shade of crimson. (Which I honestly found mildly entertaining.) I remember on one such occasion I smugly suggested that she might want to consider sending her homemade soup over to some of those poor unfortunate children in India instead of forcing me to eat it. - - Say something like that only once to a mother and you’ll soon realize that it produces results you never want to face again. I learned at a very young age that complaining was a very foolish thing to do.

In the above passage the children of Israel are very unhappy with the way things were going for them. In spite of the fact that Almighty God was with them as a pillar of fire during the night and a pillar of cloud during the day, they still complained. In spite of the fact that Almighty God was providing free food every day through the miraculous appearance of manna, they complained. In spite of the fact that just three days prior to this Almighty God had met with them and given them instructions at Mt Sinai promising he would constantly watch over them and keep his promises, they complained. They were chronic complainers, a joyless group of people to be around. That’s what a complaining spirit does to a person – it robs people of their joy. Haven’t we all seen people who choose to complain no matter what positive things are going on in their life? If the streets of heaven are paved with gold, I half-expect that some of the people I know will still complain over how yellow everything looks.

Chronic complaining never brings about anything good. It blinds people to the blessings in life. It prevents people from growing into maturity. It enslaves people to a bitter spirit. It isolates people from ever developing close relationships. And it is extremely contagious. It’s more infectious than the swine flu. When you’re around a chronic complainer, their negative outlook can contaminate your attitude without you even knowing it. And the funny thing is complainers love when that happens. When others join the complaining chorus in a great cacophony of petulant grumbling it makes them feel justified in their actions. It gives the complainer a sense of validation that they were right all along to hang on to their irritable ways.

What makes this even more difficult to deal with is that complainers usually write it all off as a minor character flaw. “Hey, so I complain a little. What’s the big deal? It’s just the way I am.” But notice what this passage says; “Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused.” Now let me give you little hint; when you’re reading something in the Bible and it says something like, “and this aroused the anger of the Lord,” you might want pay very close attention to it. That’s not something you want to write off too quickly in your life. We think, “surely complaining is nothing like stealing, or lying, or adultery.” Really? What does God think? In our text, complaining brought down fire from God. We need to view complaining as a serious problem that often obscures our view of God and the blessings that He gives to us. A complaining spirit reveals an attitude of ingratitude. It’s the exact opposite of the kind of character that God is seeking to grow in the hearts of his children. It never brings about anything good in your life. That’s why we are reminded in Philippians 2:14 “Do everything without complaining or arguing.”

So what’s the cure to a complaining spirit? Simple – be grateful. If you’ve a bowl of hot soup to enjoy today in your home, you’re doing far better than a lot of people who will go hungry tonight. “In fact, I know of kids in India . . . .” Count your blessings and thank God for His abiding presence and His faithful provision and stop complaining.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

It’s a Question of Identity

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:52:00 +0000

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17)

When our children were younger we would on occasion take them to the circus. When you go to the circus one of the most anticipated highlights is seeing the elephants. Sometimes you would see them outside and the handler would be selling tickets to take a ride on the elephant’s back. Kids would line up and pay 5 bucks a pop to sit on the back of this gigantic animal as it trudged around in a circle over and over again with five or six kids on its back. Other times you would see the elephant performing in the big tent. There would be the big circus parade with the elephants all decked out in colorful dazzling costumes. At least one of the elephants would be carrying a pretty girl on its trunk who would wave at the audience as she passed by the stands. Most times each elephant would be holding the tail of the preceding elephant in their trunk forming a long elephant train. Then came the show, where the elephants would entertain the crowd by standing on their two front legs. They would roll a barrel across the ring and squirt someone in the audience with water from their trunk. The elephant show was always great!

As we walked around the circus we would always notice the elephants that were not being used in the show that day. It always amazed me that these huge beasts were held hostage by a little chain around their ankle which was connected to a little spike in the ground. It’s amazing to think that such a little chain, connected to such a little peg could hold such a huge beast hostage. The elephant could with a minimal amount of effort either break the chain or simply pull the peg out of the ground. But circus elephants don’t do that, because when they were baby elephants, their master, the trainer, taught them that when they felt the chain they were to submit. The baby elephants never had an opportunity to understand their identity. So circus animals are good for entertainment only because in the early days their identity was ripped away from them.

A lot of us are held hostage. We come to church and we hear about all of this power we have, all of this greatness we have, but just a little old chain still holds us down. The chain of an addiction from our past. The shackles of old worldly thought patterns which keep us from reaching our full potential in Christ. The fetters of doubt and skepticism which we accepted early on and still believe because we haven’t the courage or humility to admit that our previous way of thinking was wrong. Our previous master, the devil taught us that we are weak – unable to break the chains that held us hostage to his power and will. He commands us to submit to his wicked purpose in our life. Because we’ve become so accustomed to his shackles, we comply. As Christians we wonder what’s wrong, how can we be such powerful beings and be held hostage by any little thing that shows up.

It’s a question of identity. Like that beast at the circus trudging around and around in the same old circle, so many never really break free because they’ve never truly believed or never understood that their relationship with Jesus Christ gave them a brand new identity and new power to overcome. The Scriptures unashamedly declare, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” In Christ you are not the same old person you once were. You have not been remodeled – you have been rebuilt. In Christ you have been reborn as a brand new resourced, powerful, wise, free, living son or daughter of the King. The chains to your old way of life have been utterly shattered. There is no reason whatsoever to carry your old lifestyle, your old habits, your old way of thinking, your old attitudes, your old frustrations, your old defeats with you in your new life in Christ. It’s a fascinating thing for me to see people who have been gifted with the “riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” and “the incomparable great power for us who believe” by the One who lavishes us with “love that surpasses knowledge” and who “is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine according to His power which is at work within us” - it is absolutely fascinating for me to watch people who have all this and more and watch them insist that they still can not break the chains that once held them. Are the chains that hold you in bondage really stronger than the power of the One who died to set you free? Really?

You see the issue isn’t that we don’t have the power to pull away from the old life. The issue is either we don’t yet understand our identity – or perhaps the hard truth is we have become so comfortable with the shackles around our ankle that we don’t really want to break away. For some the weight of the chain has become so familiar, that they can’t imagine what it would be like not to have it. Hear this: “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Don’t stay shackled! Freedom is your gift. Declare the old way of life dead and walk in the newness Christ has provided.

I’ve always wondered what might happen if someone lifted up one of those great ears that belong to the elephant and whispered, “You’re actually strong enough to experience freedom now – just break the chain.” I believe an old elephant can learn new tricks. Perhaps the Holy Spirit is whispering that into your ear this very moment that you are a new creation in Christ and that it’s time for you to break the chains that bind you through the power He grants to all who trust Him. He has ears to hear – let him hear.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

“Are You Bull-Headed?”

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:11:00 +0000

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:13-15)

I grew up on a cattle farm in Southwest Pennsylvania. Along with an assortment of other farm animals we normally had around 150 head of beef cattle. My job as a kid was to go out daily to count and feed the cattle and make sure none of them had wondered off. Consequently I spent a lot of time in the fields looking for strays and runaways. I really didn’t mind the task that much because of the love I have for the outdoors. Looking for lost cows gave me an excuse to go exploring along all the creeks and valleys that made up a good portion of the farm. (Often I’d go looking for runaways even when they weren’t lost!)

Now you might wonder how a cow gets lost. From my experience there were two primary ways. One way involved the hungry careless cow. This cow starts nibbling on a tuft of green grass, and when it finishes, it looks ahead to the next tuft of green grass and starts nibbling on that one, and then it nibbles on a tuft of grass right next to a hole in the fence. It then sees another tuft of green grass on the other side of the fence, so it nibbles on that one and then goes on to the next tuft. The next thing you know, the cow has nibbled itself into being lost. There was no real intentionality to it. Those cows were just thoughtless, focusing only on the desire to satisfy their hunger. The lesson I learned from those animals was, “Pay very close attention to that which you are nibbling upon!”

The other lesson on “lostness” I learned involved a particular bull we had. Every couple of years or so we would purchase a new bull to keep the blood line of the herd fresh. One such purchase was a huge brute of an animal. His size often intimidated me but he was actually a gentle animal, but often very determined to visit potential girlfriends on neighboring farms. There were many times I would have to take a rope and escort him back from one of his visits after getting a phone call from an upset farmer. Now how would he get out? He would simply walk from post to post and just lean into it. If the post held firm he would move on to the next one. He would keep this up until he found a post that had a little give to it. At that point he would press his weight into it, knocking the post over and off he would go. His “getting lost” involved a great deal of intentionality. In this case “nibbling” wasn’t the issue. It was a determination to violate the boundary line that resulted in him being in a place where he didn’t belong.

In the passage above James is teaching about how human beings often end up in a place where they don’t belong. The first thing he teaches is we’ve got to be honest about the issue of temptation in our lives. “When tempted no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone” How are you at accepting responsibility for your actions? When you do something wrong do you admit it, or do you blame someone else? I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone rationalizing sin by saying something like, “Well I guess this is just the way God made me, so it must be OK.” Where does that line of thinking come from? It comes from living in a no-fault society. If I get a bad grade on my report card, it’s not my fault. It’s the teacher’s fault because she taught poorly or graded improperly. If I lose my temper it’s because you made me lose my temper. If I have a character flaw, it’s not my fault. It’s my parents fault for raising me like they did. Everyone is playing the Blame Game. There is an epidemic in our society of people failing to take responsibility for their actions, and inactions. No matter how many people say, “God made me this way so it must be OK,” it just doesn’t square with the truth of the Bible. It never has. It never will. If you’re going to step across the fence line, please don’t be so bull-headed as to blame it on God or anyone else. At least be honest enough to admit that you are the only one responsible for your wonderings.

James also teaches that temptation is really an internal issue – not an external one. “But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.” It’s important to James that we understand that giving in to temptation is not a result of our culture or the environment in which we live. Temptation is something that comes from within us. He says that the source of temptation is our own evil desire. He places the responsibility for temptation squarely on the individual. The cattle on our farm couldn’t blame their “lostness” on anyone. They got lost either because they carelessly nibbled themselves into being lost or they stubbornly pushed past the boundary. But they were lost because of their own desires.

James also wants us to understand that temptation always follows a predictable pattern. It starts off with desire: “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desires” It moves on to deception: “He is dragged away and enticed” It grows into disobedience; “Then after desire has conceived it gives birth to sin.” It results in death; “Sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” His point is, “Don’t be deceived. The grass is never greener on the other side of the fence and the price tag will always be higher than you expected to pay.” Temptation does not deliver what it promises. Once you step across the line you will find yourself facing another desire and then another one. You’ll get further and further away from the God who created you and the people who love you and one day find yourself longing to find the way back home. Don’t be bull-headed. When you’re standing at the fence line facing temptation, be content with the boundaries God has set and don’t step across that line.

Now if you’re wondering whatever happened to that persistent bull that refused to honor the fence line? Well we finally got tired of chasing him all over God’s green earth. So one fine fall day we invited him home to dinner. And to tell you the truth, I think I enjoyed the dinners we had with him as much as the time I spent looking for him after he broke through all those fence lines. Don’t be so bull-headed that you fail to realize that there is always a penalty attached when you refuse to honor a boundary.

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

Make Sure You’re Riding the Right Horse!

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:20:00 +0000

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. (Hebrews 11:23-28)

Two Kentucky farmers who owned racing stables had developed a keen rivalry. One spring each of them entered a horse in a local steeplechase. Thinking that a professional rider might help him outdo his friend, one of the farmers engaged a crack professional jockey. Finally the day of the race came. The horses all entered the starting cage and everyone heard the bell, signaling the start of the race. “And they’re off!” said the announcer over the loudspeaker. The two horses were neck and neck with a significant lead over the rest of the pack. But suddenly, just as they were rounding the last turn one of the horses slipped and bumped into the other one. Both fell, unseating their riders. When the rest of the pack caught up to them it was complete mayhem on the track with several other horses tripping and falling. Realizing the outcome of the race was still not determined; the professional jockey remounted quickly and rode on to win the race. Returning triumphantly to the paddock, the jockey found the farmer who had hired him fuming with rage. “What's the matter?” the jockey asked. “I won, didn't I?” “Oh, yeah,” roared the farmer. “You won all right, but you crossed the finish line on the wrong horse.” In his hurry to remount after the fall, the jockey had jumped on his competitor's horse. It doesn’t make a difference if you finish first if you’ve been riding the wrong horse in the race!

Too many people end up at the finish line realizing they have been living for the wrong things in life. The Bible provides us with many great examples of how we can avoid making such a terrible mistake. One such example is the life of Moses. In the passage above, Moses is spotlighted as a man who finished his race well. It teaches us there are four key issues that must be addressed in each of our lives:

The issue of identity. “By faith, Moses, when he had grown up refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.” Moses was born a Hebrew slave but he was raised as Pharaoh's grandson in Pharaoh's palace, which was the most opulent place in the world at that time. Talk about a guy with an identity crisis! He had to decide: Who am I? Am I Jewish or am I Egyptian? Am I a slave? Or am I royalty? The answers to those questions would affect the rest of his life. Recognize the nature of his decision - the real issue is not, “Who do I want to be?” but “Who does God want me to be?” I’m convinced the reason many people get stuck in life – stuck in depression, anger, discouragement – is that they are still trying to force the issue “I want to be who I want to be!” and not really asking the question, “Who does God want me to be?” They get depressed or angry or discouraged when life doesn’t pan out the way they way they planned it. If your plans don’t line up with God’s plans – you’re going to get stuck. Moses insisted on being what God made him to be and no amount of peer pressure could convince him otherwise. You’ll avoid a lot of ulcers in this world if you just accept God’s plan for your life.

The issue of responsibility. “He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.” Moses could have enjoyed the pleasures of sin – but notice what it says (for a short time) the pleasure of disobeying the Lord only last for a short time – and then it’s payday. You can choose sin, but God gets to choose the consequences to your choice. The pleasures of sin are short and always have a price tag attached to them. Moses accepted the fact that with leadership comes responsibility. He could have temporary pleasure being the next Pharaoh of Egypt or he could go do what God had called him to do and help the people who were in pain, who needed to be set free. He could have stayed there in pleasure and today no one would even have known Moses' name. He'd be some mummy in some tomb in Egypt. Nobody would even know who he is. But he chose the right thing. He accepted his responsibility and God used him greatly.

The issue of priority. “He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” Moses made some very wise decisions in determining his priorities. Moses regarded what was important and what was not important. Many people have never done that and that's why they're failures at life. They don't know why they are, they don't know what they want to accomplish in life, and they don't know what's really important. You need to establish values in life, things that you will build your life on, the things that will be important to you. The fact is if you don't decide what is important in your life, others will do it for you. Moses placed the value of know Christ ahead of all the treasures of Egypt. His priorities were clear.

The issue of difficulty. “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.” How much are you willing to commit to seeing God’s purpose in your life becoming a reality? What gives a person staying power? You must visualize your goal, focus on it. From the time that God gave Moses the vision, of setting free an entire nation after 400 years of slavery to the time it was fulfilled and they were ready to go into the Promised Land it was 80 years. Could you wait that long and not give up? Most of us get impatient because we have to wait 5 minutes in line at the grocery store. Moses was sustained through every trail because he kept his focus on His great and Mighty King. He ran the race – with all its twists and turns – but he finished well. He persevered because he fixed his eyes on Jesus.

All of us are undoubtedly riding towards the finish line. We are all on different places of the track. Maybe you’re at the starting line and just starting your race. Or perhaps you’re coming around the last bend and you can already see the finish line. But before you go any further, perhaps the wisest thing for you to do is stop and double check – Are You Sure You Are Riding the Right Horse?

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

The Wordless Sermon.

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:53:00 +0000

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, “if this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is - that she is a sinner.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:36-50)

Every once in a while my wife and I will go out on a Saturday morning to go visit the local yard sales. (In New England we call them “yaad” sales.) Everyone who has ever gone “yaad-sale-ing” dreams of finding that one phenomenal deal. You know what I’m talking about; you see an old violin someone found in their attic and you discover they only want 10 bucks for it. You buy it, and later find out it’s a genuine Stradivarius and it’s now worth over a million dollars. Oh, the stuff that dreams are made of!

Coming back to earth - in a true story from Bristol, Connecticut. A couple had a yard sale and decided to sell a mirror they’d received as a wedding gift. It was an expensive mirror but they were selling it cheap because it had a gaudy, aqua-colored frame that didn’t match anything else in their house. A man bought the mirror for $1. He was excited. He said, “This is a great deal - it still has the plastic on the frame!” He then proceeded to peel off the aqua-covered plastic before the stunned buyers and revealed a beautiful gold finished frame! Sometimes beautiful and priceless things can be concealed beneath an unattractive covering
– but you have to have an eye to see it.

In the passage above Jesus is attending a dinner party of a very popular man in town. Simon is a Pharisee. He was a meticulous observer of the religious laws of the Old Testament. He fasted, he tithed and he gave alms to the poor. He knew his Bible backward and forward. He was active in his community. He was a great man - a legend in his own mind! To everyone’s surprise and to the dismay of the host, in walks a notorious woman from the village. Everyone knew who she was just by looking at her. The original language says she was “a sinner in the city.” It’s a phrase that means she was “a woman of the night” or “a street walker.” The language indicates she was a prostitute and I’m sure she looked the part. The moment she walks into the room, it’s as if a spot light is directly on her. All the “respectable” people turn their heads and think to themselves, “What is she doing here?”

Scholars tell us prostitutes of that day often wore a vial of perfume hanging by a cord around their necks. In a culture where bathing was infrequent, a pleasant fragrance would have been their stock in trade. A drop or two would be used to entice prospective customers. But the passage tells us she poured out all her perfume. Do you see the significance of what she did? She broke the vial to anoint Jesus with the perfume. She broke the tools of her trade. It was her way of saying “I won’t need this anymore. I’m making a clean break with my past.” Then she began to kiss Jesus’ feet. This wasn’t all that uncommon in ancient times. It was one of the ways a beaten enemy surrendered to the one who had won a battle. It was not only a sign of affection from this woman. It was her way of saying, “I surrender to you Jesus. You have won your rule over me completely. I give up. Your grace has conquered my stubborn spirit.” Her eyes are now swollen with tears she can no longer hold back, and they begin to fall onto His feet. She takes the crown of her beauty, her flowing hair, and uses it to wipe the lowest part of the Son of God. It’s her way of saying, “No longer will I take pride in my beauty or who I am. I renounce my pride and I gladly bow to worship you.” What a beautiful picture of adoration and worship!

Not one single word is recorded from her. Yet there has never been recorded a greater proclamation of worship in all of history. The fascinating thing of it all is that Simon misses it – even though it’s happening right in front of him. He can’t see this beautiful display of worship because all he is focusing on is what the woman represented to him. Stop for a moment and ask yourself, “What prevented him from being drawn into her act of worship?” It’s his own pride. He can’t see the beauty of the moment, because, in his own mind, he’s so proud of who he is compared to her. He thinks of all the hard work he’s done to get to where he is – all the sacrifice – all the investment. All the time he’s given - all the things he has given up for the sake of his religion. His mind is preoccupied with thoughts of who he is and what he’s done and accomplished. And then he begins to compare himself with her. “What has she done? She hasn’t paid the price that I have. I’ve given so much more than her! I’ve worked so much harder than she has. She doesn’t even belong here! I’m a much better person than she is.” He feels so justified in his attitude towards her. It actually makes him angry. He can’t wait to tell others that Jesus tolerated a sinner like her.

Praise God that the Lord doesn’t see us the way Simon saw his uninvited guest. Jesus looked beneath the surface and knew that beneath the gaudy, ugly surface of her life there was something beautiful waiting to be made new through His grace. Jesus then turns to Simon and points out his error: Simon looked at the woman and all he saw was a sinner – he looked at himself and all he saw was self-righteousness. The problem? He should have been paying attention to Jesus. If he had truly been paying attention to Jesus, his pride would have easily been swept away and he would have joined her in this beautiful expression of worship.
Sometimes beautiful and priceless things can be concealed beneath an unattractive covering – but you have to have an eye to see it.

That’s what Jesus did with that woman and that’s what He does for us. He knows below the gaudy, unsightly surface there is something beautiful waiting to be revealed. His forgiveness and grace liberates us and strips away the plastic coverings. All it takes is an attitude of humility and a moment’s glance at His wondrous beauty. Will you fall at His feet today and allow Him to change you forever?

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

You Are a Visual Aid

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:49:00 +0000

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Not too long ago I read a story about a guy who was in the construction business. He had hired some laborers outside of his regular work force in order to finish a construction job on time. One day as he was walking through the jobsite he was a particularly bothered by the fact that 3 or 4 of these hourly employees had been standing around talking and not doing any work. He walked by once - didn't say anything. He walked by again about 10 minutes later - they were still talking. He walked by a third time a full 30 minutes after he had noticed them the first time, and they were still fanning the breeze with their conversation. Finally he decided that enough was enough. So he walked over to where they were standing and without a word, took a 100 dollar bill out of his pocket, struck a match, and watched the flame consume the money. When it was gone, he said to the startled men, “That's what your standing around has cost me during just the last 30 minutes!” and he walked back into his office. You can imagine their reaction to their boss' rather dramatic object lesson. They very hurriedly got back to work. I would venture those men never forgot that illustration on cheating an employer by lingering too long at the water cooler.

Anybody that has done any teaching at all is well aware of the fact that visual aids greatly enhance a teacher's ability to get a message across to his or her students. Sometimes a student just has to see something before it sinks into the gray matter between our ears. Visual imagery just gets the point across in clearer and sometimes more powerful ways then other communication skills. Whether it is flannel graphs in kindergarten or power point during a presentation, visual aids greatly enhances a student’s ability to comprehend a subject matter.

Now I think Jesus clearly understood this teaching principle because so many times, as he was instructing his disciples, he would point to certain objects and draw out great truths from them. He would tell his followers to look at the lilies of the field or a vine and some branches and use them as visual aids for his lesson. What was the greatest visual aid Jesus ever used? It was himself. He said “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Jesus was saying to them, “I have provided you a powerful visual aid in my life to help you understand how to accomplish the most important part of your mission. You must love one another – but you must follow the example I have provided for you in my life.” You and I are to become visual aids to help others understand what the love of Christ is like. How did Jesus demonstrate His love?

He loved us enough to tell us the truth. So often Jesus would say something like, “You have heard it said … But I tell you….” And he would go on to confront dearly held cultural norms and false religious ideas that were not in line with God’s standard. And He’d do it without blinking an eye! He loved his followers too much to allow them to be misled by false teachings and misguided personal convictions. Jesus would not compromise when it came to telling the truth. To allow a person to continue believing a lie and thus suffer the inevitable consequences attached to every lie would be extremely unloving.

He loved us by serving to the point of sacrifice. Everything Jesus said – everything Jesus did – everything Jesus taught was fulfilled completely at the cross. His sacrifice was given to us to provide the only means of salvation given to man and to provide an example for us to follow. Let me tell you how you can recognize the real followers of Christ - they serve. You don't have to twist their arms. You don't have to poke them. You don't have to prod them. You don't have to go on begging and promoting. They see something that needs doing & out of love for Christ who taught them what serving is all about they jump in and do it. Out of love for others whom that same Christ loves, they look for the little ways to serve. And when they look for the little ways to serve, the big ways take care of themselves. They sacrifice their time, resource and energy because that’s what Jesus did out of love for them.

He loved us by showing unending patience. If you research what actually happened in the Upper Room during the last supper you might find a few things that are rather surprising. In the very last hours Jesus had to spend with his disciples he would have to deal with a follower who had been stealing money from the purse on a regular basis and who would betray him that very night. He would have to try to settle a childish argument over who was the greatest – he would have to convince Peter to allow him to wash his feet. All this after three years of hands on ministry by the greatest teacher who ever walked on the planet! But he never gave up on them. He showed his amazing love by patiently going over and over the fundamentals again and again.

He loved us by clothing Himself in complete humility. When they started arguing bout “who the greatest is” some of us might have stepped in it and put them in their place “Let me tell who the greatest is - I'm the greatest!” That might not have left the greatest impression but at least it would have gotten the point across! But that's not Jesus. Amazingly the Creator of all there is, by whose power all things are held together, he whom numberless angels serve - he cloths himself with humility, wraps himself in a towel - the garment of a slave, and he does the work of a servant while the people he’s going to die for sit there and bicker among themselves. “Love” Jesus says, “Rejects pride & gets down on its knees and humbly serves other people.”

“As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The visual aid has been provided. Now the challenge is to pass it on to others. How will the world come to know the love of Christ? By the Church providing a visual aid that clearly demonstrates it for them. May God enable us all to fulfill our calling. “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:15)

Live the Victorious Life,
PT

Look At the Hands

noreply@blogger.com (Larry) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:56:00 +0000

Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:24-30)

There was a fire in a building and the building was burning profusely. A little boy was too high up and would soon be engulfed. However, there was an external pipe that one of the firemen used to climb up in an attempt to rescue the boy. The pipe was blistering hot. Even through he had protective gloves on, his gloves were smoking. Despite the extreme heat, the fireman got to the boy and then climbed back down that same pipe. When they got to the ground, the fireman immediately removed his gloves and rinsed his hands in water to relieve the pain that he was experiencing from climbing up and down on that pipe that was so hot. His hands were burned and blistered, but he knew it was a price worth paying to save the young boy’s life.

The boy had been brought to safety but he sadly lost his parents in the fire. Some months later, he came up for adoption. There was a doctor who came into the courtroom and said, “I will dedicate my life to helping this boy become a great physician. I want to adopt him.” Then there was an engineer who said, “I want that kid. I will do everything I can to help him become a great engineer. I would like to adopt him.” Then there was a third man who came in. The boy looked at him and said, “Your honor, can he adopt me?” The judge asked, “Why him?” “Because I see his hands and I know who he is.”

It’s nice to have an engineer as a father. It’s nice to have a doctor as a dad. But when somebody loves you enough to burn their hands, when they love you enough to share your pain, when they love you enough to hurt when you hurt - when they ache when you ache, and when they’re there when life is falling apart - when they can show you their hands, and you know they paid the price, then they ought to have the privilege of the relationship. If you want to know who loves you, look at the hands. Jesus Christ has paid the price, and He alone deserves the relationship.

You can learn a lot about a person by looking at his hands. In the passage above Thomas (commonly known as Doubting Thomas) was a man who was struggling to believe in the resurrected Lord. Following the resurrection the other disciples, filled with wonder and excitement, came to tell him that Jesus had risen from the grave. You can almost imagine Thomas rolling his eyes and folding his arms and saying, “How gullible do you think I am? Jesus is dead. I saw him crucified and nothing on earth can change that!” Thomas often gets a bad rap for his hesitation in accepting the resurrection story. But let me ask you, “How do you think you would have responded to news of a resurrection following a public execution?” Would you have simply said, “Hey, that’s great! Let’s celebrate!” Or would you, like Thomas have said, “I need some proof! This is too outlandish for me to accept without something that confirms the story. I need to see the nail pierced hands. I need to see the hole where the spear pierced his side.”

Jesus had heard Thomas’ doubt and a short time later arrived to provide Thomas with the proof he was seeking. Merely a week after Thomas denied the resurrection; Jesus suddenly appeared before him. Jesus stretched out his hands and said, “Thomas, is this what you’re looking for?” Thomas looked first into his compassionate face and then he looked down and saw the hands that changed history. From that moment on, mankind has had proof positive of our Creator’s matchless power and unimaginable love. It was his hands that change “Doubting Thomas” to “Doubtless Thomas.” It was his hands that revealed that He was willing to pay the ultimate price so that we might be redeemed. It was the hands of Christ that make all the difference. How many times did crowds gather around him; crowds full of people with all sorts of infirmities and diseases? He would reach out and touch them all with his healing hands. When a blind man approached him one day, Jesus spit in the dirt and made mud with his hands with which to apply to the man’s eyes. His sight was then restored. He laid his hands on a dead girl, bringing her back to life. My guess is that the hands of Jesus were coarse, hardened, and calloused by years of working in the carpenter shop and by the hardship of living on the open road. Yet they were gentle, inviting, healing, and full of hope. They were hands that were always open and always inviting. Always willing to bless when a person is humble enough to receive him. It was his hands that he freely offered when they nailed him to the cross. It was the nail pierced hands that would him to the cross and free me from my sin. The amazing hands of Jesus.

You can learn a lot by looking at someone’s hands. Jesus still stands with outstretched hands to anyone who would receive him. His nail scarred hands show the price he was willing to pay for us to know his love.

For those who understand what those nail pierced hands mean, we still cry out like Thomas, “My Lord. My God.”

Live the Victorious Life,
PT