While You're Waiting

In the scriptures we find such terms as, “… the people waited…,” and, “Now while Paul waited…” I have often said that waiting on God is the most difficult thing for me in my Christian life. Waiting to hear medical results, for a wayward child to return to the fold, the results of a job interview, an answer to prayer, etc., all these can tax your patience to the limit.

Jesus told His disciples to, “Tarry ye …until.” That is, wait for God to work. But we are not to sulk during such times, go into a fit of hysteria, or sit with folded hands. We are to do the next thing. The best way to pass time is by not looking at the clock, but forgetting it. Or as the little proverbial saying goes, “I was so busy, that I forgot the time.” For such people, time slips by fast.

My blessed Kentucky mother used to say, “A watched pot never boils.” I’ve observed that water seems to boil faster for those women, who after putting a pot of water on the stove to boil, busy themselves with other things. You’ll noticed in the Bible that miracles never came to anyone who was looking for them, but to those who were busy doing their, “…duty of every day.” Taking the next step could bring the answer you have been waiting for!

“Tarry at a promise till God meets you there. He always returns by way of His promises.” (D.L. Moody)

*I Never Knew That

“…ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge.” I’ve met scores of knowledgeable men, though the years, who didn’t know the slightest thing about their wives. They were completely ignorant to their needs, moods, feelings, fears, hopes, desires, and problems. One of the most debasing things a man can say to his mate is, “I never knew that.” No husband’s education is complete if he doesn’t know his wife. He should make a lifetime study of just knowing her.

Any educator or student realizes you fail if you don’t know your subject. Knowing your wife is a major, not a minor. You can’t get by without a passing grade on this subject. You’re headed for failure if you don’t know this important subject.

A knowledgeable husband knows his wife’s physical needs as well as the spiritual ones. “He that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.” There used to be a secular song entitled, “Little Things Mean A Lot.” It doesn’t take a lot to please a good wife, if she knows some thought has gone into what her husband does for her.

A man can’t know the needs of his wife who is always thinking of his own.

Something Out of Nothing

“Things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Two great truths we need to keep ever before us: God can make something out of nothing; He can also make nothing out of something. This is true of nations, families, churches, and individuals. In this article, I want speak on the former of the two—God making something out of nothing.

Where once there was nothing, all of a sudden, there is something. While we look at people and things and see nothing, God sees something. This is especially true of broken and ruined lives. How many times have we looked upon loved ones and friends and thought, there is nothing that can be done? But when God looks, He replies, “There’s something I can.”

It’s reported that Michelangelo, gazing once upon a huge rock, said of it, “I see an angel in that rock and I’m going to deliver him.” Thank God He saw something in us, when others saw nothing!

"All We Can Do Now Is Pray"

In times of crisis, how often each of us have used or heard the words in the title of this article. I wonder, had we started with prayer in those desperate times, if we would not have had to tie it on as an addendum? Prayer is without doubt the most necessary of all Christian duties, and without argument, the most neglected.

God’s answer to a nation in chaos is:

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will .forgive their sin, and will heal their land”; Again, “Thus saith the LORD …unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away …Build ye houses, and dwell [in them]; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them”; Again, “And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace”; “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, [and] giving of thanks, be made …For kings, and [for] all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this [is] good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour.”

Political rallies, preaching, books, discussion groups, debates, Christian’s in office, and even voting, along with our incessant complaining, will never bring about national tranquility and peace. God Almighty said it was to be found in prayer! If the above mentioned acts were remedial, our Nation would have been healed long ago.

Our sickness is sin sickness, not the worlds, but our own. Most churches have yielded to the Canaanitish and Babylonish cultures of old, imitating their reasoning, immorality, nose jewels, markings in the flesh, along with their music, drunken partying, and dress. The Church no longer is in the world; the world has moved into the church. And that is when the old ship Zion sinks.

I don’t want to be a Jonah, but I personally have little confidence that our nation will ever return to the God of our fathers. I hope to God I am wrong! But it is not without cause I make this disheartening statement. Truthfully, how many do you think would show up at your church for on-going prayer meetings for our nation? And even worse is the fact that many of us wouldn’t attend more than once, if then. After all, we do not pray and fast for loved ones and those close to us in dire need; so why would we pray for God to change a wicked nation? As Ezra of old I say, “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God.” What a sad state I am in!

Our problem is not in the White House, it’s in God’s House!

Unchallenged Faith

“Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” According to Peter, all Christians are to be “apologists,” (one who defends The Faith). But from my observation, most of today’s professing Christians are instead, apologetic. And rightly so, for to know only what you believe, but be unable to tell the inquirer why you believe it, well, I think you do owe him or her a sincere apology.

Far too many saints are like the man who was asked what he believed. “Well,” said he, “I believe what my church believes.” When asked what his church believed, he replied, “O, they pretty much believe what I believe.” Going in circles like this gets a person nowhere. An unchallenged faith is a fool’s faith. True Christianity can afford to be scrutinized; you can put it under the microscope. It’s the real thing, not “Fools gold,” (the name given to iron pyrites, which looks a little like gold but is worthless).

We need more, to use the true sense of the word, “Free thinkers.” You can always spot those who are bogged down in their own little religious sect. They only run with and read after their own kind. They cannot intelligently represent the whole of historic Christianity, only what their small camp adheres to. Characteristically, when their beliefs are intellectually and scripturally challenged, they will quickly pick up their marbles and go home, leaving behind their echo, labeling you an apostate or heretic. How sad that so many threw away their head and kept only their heart when saved. Any bird knows, it takes two wings to fly.

Thinkers are always a threat to tyrants!

Rhetorical Rhetoric.

A rhetorical question is one where no answer is expected whereas rhetoric can relate to showy language that is empty on insincere. A good example of this is seen in the Garden of Gethsemane when Peter cut off Malchus’ ear. Just prior to this act we’re told, “[Peter] said unto Him, Lord, shall [I] smite with a sword? And [Peter]…smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.” This is what I like to call “rhetorical rhetoric.”

Most all of us are guilty of asking God an important question, then acting before we have the answer? We need to follow Paul’s example. He once asked, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do”? then waited three long days in the dark until God sent the answer and enlightened him. Years ago, when I was a pastor, our church sang a little chorus: “I believe the answer’s on the way, I believe the Lord has heard me pray, “Cast not away your confidence,” saith the Lord my God.”

“Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”

Keeping Focused

Jesus constantly reminded His followers that the reason for whatever they did was to be, as He put it, “For my sake.” Some twenty times He used this term. Any other intent is headed for the ash heap (1Cor.3:13). Motive is everything with God. Why you do what you do is the real issue.

When called upon to forsake both people and things, it is not as difficult when done for His sake. It’s paradoxical, I know, but we find by losing. When asked to turn our backs on everything we hold dear for His sake, invariably we meet them again as we go in God’s direction (Mk.10:29-30). It is kind of like a boomerang effect. What we give up for God has a way of coming back to us after a time (Job 42:10b,12).

There used to be a secular song years ago called, “Three Little Words.” Well, the three little words that make all the difference in our relationship with God are “for you Lord.”

*Torn Garments

“And rend your heart, and not your garments…” The custom of the ancients was to rend their clothes as an expression of something extraordinary happening to them. One of these special occasions was when they repented of their sins. Rending their garments was to be an outward sign of an inward act. It was to manifest abhorrence for what they had done. It was meant to signify that they were “cut to the heart,” so to speak. A prototype, if you please, of our “altar calls” today.

Matthew Henry says of our text, “The sign without the thing signified is but a jest, and a mockery, and an affront to God.” I’m fearful much of our external show of repentance today is just that—external. It is only skin deep. Like Esau of old, it never really reached our hearts. No amount of outward show can substitute for inward sorrow. David knew this. In his blessed Psalm of repentance he penned, “…a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

When we rend our hearts, God will rend the Heavens.

Surprised By God

“And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.” What a surprise it was to see Joseph’s face. Jacob had given up all hope of that ever happening, much less seeing Joseph’s children. One of the most exciting things in life is the element of surprise. From early years to old age, it plays a great part in our lives. Do some of us remember when we were young and the surprise parties? And what a pleasant surprise for the old gray-haired saint in the hospital or rest home who gets a visit from their children or grandchildren.

God knew how wonderful surprise was to His children, and so He didn’t leave it out of their spiritual lives. He delights to surprise us. As you know, and have experienced, there were surprises in the commencement of our conversion; there is a continuation of these surprises throughout our Christian lives; and I am convinced, at the conclusion, and throughout eternity, we will see surprises that are unimaginable.

It’s exciting each day to have an expectancy of the possibility of God surprising us. Our Heavenly Father, no doubt, like our earthly fathers, loves to see the expression on our faces and the joyful excitement that a surprise brings. Just think; some of us are going to be surprised by God today!

“Jesus rarely comes when we expect Him; He appears where we lest expect Him, and always in the most illogical connections.” (Oswald Chambers)

Close to the Cross

It was Evangelist D.L. Moody who said, “Never get further than a day away from the Cross.” It was here Jesus made a fool out of the devil (Col.2). The Cross was no afterthought with God. Jesus was God’s Lamb “…slain from the foundation of the world.” And our Lord well knew it. For, in reference to this historical event, He said, “…for this cause came I into the world.” God does not want us to forget it. This was His purpose in establishing the Lord’s Supper. It is God’s forget-me-not. “This do in remembrance of me.”

There are shadows of the Cross throughout the Old Testament. We see its form in the Passover on every Israelites door, where the blood was applied to the lintel and the two side posts. The placing of the furniture in the Tabernacle displayed a perfect cross. When Jacob blessed the second-born, he did it by crossing his hands. And in the motions of the wave and heave offerings, who could miss seeing it?

Years ago, after a village meeting in Alaska, the pastor was flying me back to the Anchorage airport in a small 2-seater plane. We ran into a snowstorm so bad that I couldn’t see the wings for the blinding snow. I asked how he knew where we were going. He pointed to the instrument panel, showing me a little cross-like needle, then replied, “Just keep your eyes on the cross; it will keep us safe and on course.”

Christians’ crosses are all made out of different materials; the one thing they all have in common is that they crucify the possessor.

Who’s Doin’ the Talkin?

“Jesus answered him, Sayest this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?” A good, practical question, is it not? Especially for this parrot age in which we live. People, who do not think for themselves, do not speak for themselves. I remember asking a pastor’s wife once what she believed about a certain text, and her reply was, “Let me ask my husband and see what we believe.” This is what I call “secondhand religion.” To hear, “Polly wants a cracker,” sounds cute, but you can be sure it’s not an original thought with that bird.

Handed down tradition doesn’t mean its true, only that each generation has accepted it as such. There are movements today, as well as in Bible times, where one dare not challenge an individual’s doctrinal beliefs, nor their personal convictions. These puppets have a famous little cliché they use, which sounds profound at first, but is discovered to be shallow upon examination. It goes something like this: “I’ve always believed and done things the same way all my Christian life.” Is it any wonder their lives are boring, as well as they themselves?

It’s a good thing Apollos didn’t have this pathetic philosophy (Acts 18:24-28). Eternal truths never change, but these are few in comparison to man-made rules handed down to us, like the Jews of old, by well meaning folk. Believe what you will about secondary issues, but Paul tells us to make sure we are “…fully persuaded in our own mind.” You’re not to adhere to what your guru tells you, but what God has shown you personally. It’s called the priesthood of all Believers. I find those sure of themselves can go it alone. But the uncertain want those around them to adopt their pattern of life so as to make them feel more secure in their set of beliefs and convictions.

Old dogs can learn new truths, if they don’t let the other aged dogs intimidate them!

*Held in Time

When I was a boy and attended the movie theater, the order was something like this: first, a newsreel, followed by a serial (like the Green Hornet), then the main attraction. The newsreel was entitled, “Time Marches On.” Time doesn’t stand still, yet many have not realized this in their lives as yet, or maybe they just stubbornly refuse to acknowledge it. People such as this are cemented in their pasts.

I’ve met scores of souls that were, so to speak, held in time. That is, they’re imprisoned in a self-concocted time capsule. There is a point in their personal history they have been unable to move past, or either decline to do so. They occupy their little prison cell with the likes of bitterness, grudge, and hatred. These undesirables are counted as close friends. Bosom-buddies, who occupy most of their waking hours.

They can never move on with their lives for the chain that holds them. A chain of their own making and to which they have the key, but will not use it. They choose to wallow in the mire of self-pity thinking those on the outside will visit them, listening to their same old sad stories year after year. But it is not long before they find the visitor’s seat unoccupied, and they’re left to stew in their own wretchedness alone.

Once you turn the key of faith, you can go on your way singing, “My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed thee.”

Worldly Husbands

“But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.” The same is said of the wife’s relation to her husband, but I’ll let my wife write on that one. What I’m concerned with is us husbands. I’m a little put out by these guys that want nothing to do with anything that smacks of the secular, or to use their term, “worldliness.” Bud, you should have thought of that before you married! If you wanted to serve God and please only Him, you ought to have joined a monastery. Worldliness has to do with affections, “Love not the world”; our affections are to be in heaven. But we’re told we can legitimately and spiritually use the world, just not abuse it. All ground is holy ground to the child of God. There is no secular and sacred to him or her.

It is written that the first Tabernacle was “worldly.” That is, God used something the world used, but with a different purpose and motive. You know, the same way we drive cars, wear suits and ties, go to the same stores for food as the world does; but with a different intent: to glorify God. “Duh!” To not do most of the things the world does would mean, “Ye [must] needs go out of the world.” Remember, Heaven is the most extravagant and materialistic place you will ever see or be in. God didn’t put us here on earth to be miserable; He gave us all things to enjoy. So says the Apostle. Yes, we are in the world, but not of it. But that doesn’t change the fact that we are in it.

I’d remind some of you husbands who imagine yourself to be some kind of “Spiritual Giant,” not to be so heavenly minded that your wife finds you to be of no earthly good. This world is God’s Inn which we have stopped at on our way home. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” Enjoy all the facilities He has put at your disposal. Some of you dedicated, godly, sanctified husbands need to forget your quest for personal “holiness” and hone in on making the wife of your youth “happy!” Sometimes it’s wiser to take her to a restaurant instead of a revival; buy her a bouquet of flowers in place of a new Bible; and in place of a camp meeting, how about a romantic get-away. Someone says, “But my wife doesn’t like those things”. Well then, I’d like to ask her what planet she came from. Evidently she has never been wooed by a real Christian man. Get to it fella’s, be a little worldly. God said it was ok!

When Christ chose the two elements for the Lord’s Supper, He used things the world used, but abused.

Looking In All the Wrong Places

I’m sure most of my readers have either read or heard the old proverbial story, Acres of Diamonds. But just in case someone may have missed this challenging tale, allow me briefly re-tell it. An African farmer, who heard of millions of dollars in diamonds, sold his farm and went to the diamond line. After searching the continent for years, this poor discouraged man threw himself in a river and drowned. But unknown to this wretched creature, the new owner of his property had discovered diamonds, acres of diamonds. Some were actually as large as an egg. This farm came to be known as The Kimberly Diamond Mines, the richest in the world.

Prodigals who what they have and travel to some far country in search of greener pastures, invariably find it scorched to the roots. Some people don’t have enough sense to know you don’t give up something wonderful in exchange for something worse. There are those who search the world over for happiness, something under their own noses from the beginning. Someone has said, “Happiness is wanting what you have.” Paul tells us that a godly life along with contentment is a great gain. I have found those who are habitually searching for something better or different from the blessings they already possess, end up on the short end of the stick every time.

Of unattainable longings, sour is the fruit. (C.S. Lewis)

*Reality's Indelible Mark

“God of our fathers, living still.” The best inheritance I can leave my children is the personal witness of my knowledge of God. To pass along to them who He is and what He has done for me. When they have beheld God as a living reality in my life, they will never be able to erase that from their memory.

They can travel to the four corners of the earth. They can turn their backs on all that is right. They may even, as the disciple of old, deny with their lips that they know Him, but in the deep recesses of their hearts, they know and are assured their father’s God is living still.

Sometimes Jacobs have to leave their father’s house before they can really know their father’s God.

What More Can He Say?

“How long dost thou make us to doubt…tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not. ” Or as we would say today, “How many times do I have to tell you? What else can I say?” The song writer penned it this way, “What more can he say than to you he hath said, To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled.”

Notice it is not, they didn’t know what He said, it’s they did not believe what He said. Doubt resulted in their unbelief; as it will in us! You can tell someone the same truth a thousand times, but to no avail, if he or she refuses to believe it. The author of Hebrews depicts this type, “The Word…did not prophet them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” Our disbelief is often the cause of God’s seeming inactivity. “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” You can be sure, unbelief shot-circuits every desired blessing in one’s life.

In John’s gospel, chapter nine, we have a good illustration of those who incessantly ask questions, but with no intention of believing the truthful answer, no matter how many times it’s given them. The religious crowd had asked the blind man repeatedly how he was made to see, and always the answer was the same, “A man that is called Jesus.” (By the way, that’s always the answer!) Finally in exasperation, after constant quizzing, “He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again?”

Don’t tell me, “A man is as good as his word”; then you doubt God’s!

God's Feeble People

“For he knoweth our frame: he remembereth that we are dust.” It is for this reason we are told our Heavenly Father pities His children. For our frames were not made of steel nor our dusty substance from iron ore. Why would our Creator make His creatures with such frail frames as bone and feeble flesh from dust? The answer is found in just one word: dependence. God intended for man to always look to Him for his every need. He was not created to go it alone, but to always look to his Divine Helper.

When Jehovah formed man out of the dust of the ground, and framed his body, He knew its limitations and how much he could bear. Because of this, we can be assured He will never put upon us more than we can handle. Contrary to what we sometimes think, we can always carry those heavy packages our Father places in our arms. If we can’t, it is proof we are carrying something He didn’t place there.

The only thing God will ever weigh us down with is an “eternal weight of glory.” All else is but “light affliction”(2Cor. 4:17).

Immaturity and Insecurity

I am no psychologist, nor have I delved into the subject extensively. But having spent a lifetime studying people, and the last fifty two years soaking up what God has to say about mankind, I do profess to be a little familiar with human behavior.

Something I have observed in others, as well as my own life is the twin plagues of immaturity and insecurity. I’ve discovered a child can be immature without necessarily being insecure. But I have also noted that when an adult has insecurities, immaturity is always present. This is true both in the physical and spiritual realms.

The only answer to insecurity is maturity. And the latter does not come overnight; it is the result of growth. It is a process of feeding the intellectual with wholesome, challenging literature, and, of necessity, nourishing the soul with the Word of God (2 Tim.4:13b).

They say, “You can’t stay a baby all you life,” but I’m afraid some sadly do.

We Called Her "Granny"

“The memory of the just is blessed.” She was my mother-in-law, but more important, she was my friend. When I wanted to marry her daughter, most all the family was opposed to it because of the age difference (ten years). To this day I remember that sweet saint saying to me, “I don’t know why they’re against it; I think you’re a nice boy.”

That was close to fifty years ago. Since then she has gone on to meet her Lord that she loved so dearly. She had Alzheimer’s, and forgot her loved ones, but not the Lover of her soul.

If I were to characterize “Granny” with one word, it would be contentment. No matter what environment she was in, this precious soul was always calm. And this attribute had its effect on those present, especially on me. How I thank God she passed this serenity down to her daughter. It has helped keep this wild man sane these many years.

I miss you, Granny. I’m looking forward to seeing you in the near future. It will be wonderful to be in that land with you, where there is only peace and calm.

Living the Christian Life

I believe I can say without reservation that I have studied and meditated on the topic of Christian living more than any other subject in the Bible. No doubt because of the previous life I lived. My one main goal was, and still is, as Francis A. Schaeffer so ably put it, “How then shall we live?

The Christian life is just that: life. And just as there are daily duties to perform in this physical life, so it is in the spiritual realm. It isn’t mystical, but practical. In the early years of my Christian life I could not see this; but then I discovered the Puritans’ writings. And after standing on their shoulders, I was able to see clearly.

Paul feared the believers of his day were leaving “the simplicity that is in Christ.” My concern is that today’s Christian is leaving the simplicity of Christian living. It is not some deep, profound, secret. It’s simply acknowledging His right to Lordship in your life each new day; then follows Bible reading, confession, prayer and praise.

That’s it, there ain’t no more! The rest will take care of itself. Doing your daily chores will please your Father and will bring an inner satisfaction and peace to you. The one great descriptive word of the early Christians in Acts was, “And they continuing daily.” The Christian life is not “a one-time fix.” It’s, “Let us go on.”

We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action. ~Frank Tibolt

*Honest to God

The prayer preceding all prayers, states C.S. Lewis, should be, “May it be the real I who speaks.” How often do we speak to God in prayer, as the Irish say, “From the teeth out.” That is, there’s no meaning behind our words.

Jeremiah said to God, “O Lord, thou hast deceived me.” This is the way he felt down deep, and he told God so. He was honest before the Lord. And why shouldn’t he have been; there is nothing hid from the Omniscient One.

David also was not one to play-act in prayer. Listen to him as he boldly addresses an all-knowing God, “…give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned [disguised pretention1Kgs.14:2,6] lips.”
Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to tell God just how you feel about your lot in life. No one ever came to Him with an honest complaint who didn’t go away completely satisfied. Instead of saying “Honest to God,” let’s be it.”

The Eyes of the Beholder

“But made himself of no reputation…” Strange, is it not, that many of us are willing to pay any price to get a reputation, while He paid the ultimate price and lost His? An honorary degree was bestowed upon me years ago, which I was most proud of. Then one day it dawned upon me that they called Him a devil and called me Doctor. Needless to say, I dropped the title.

The religious crowd ruined His reputation, but they couldn’t touch His character. Character is what a man is; reputation is what people think a man is. The former is a life; the latter is a label. A missionary once told me, “The first pre-requisite for being used of God is ruined reputation.

“Reputation is in the eyes of man; character is what you are in the sight of God.”

*Broken and Blessed

A broken pitcher allowed the light within to shine out; a broken net was the door of freedom for the fish; a broken roof was the means of a miracle; broken loaves fed a multitude. The broken alabaster box left its fragrance lingering long after it was broken; broken pieces of a ship were what those in a storm held to, to get them to safety; and our Lord’s broken body is to be remembered by His people continually.

God has an affinity for broken things. Listen to the man after His own heart: “I am feeble and sore broken.” Again: “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart.” And again: “Thou delightest...in...a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God...” Could anything be plainer?

“Lord, bend that proud and stiff-necked I,
Help me to bow the head and die;

Beholding Him on Calvary,
Who bowed His head for me.

The "If" of True Faith

“But if not...we will not.” This great statement of faith was made by the three Hebrew children to Nebuchadnezzar concerning the fiery furnace into which they were soon to be cast. It came on the heels of their declaration to this potentate of God’s ability to deliver them, “our God...is able to…and he will.”

But then follows the most God-honoring, devil-defying testimonial of true faith found anywhere in the Holy Writ. After making the assertion that God was able, and that they believed He would deliver them, this glorious proclamation is made. If God saw fit to allow this dreaded thing to come to pass in their lives, they would still love and serve Him. They would never bow the knee in surrender to the suggestion that He is anything but a Good, and Loving God!

For most of us the prayer of Gethsemane is the only model. Removing mountains can wait. C.S. Lewis

*Riding Trains

As a young man in service and afterward, I rode trains to get to distant destinations. In many of the coaches the seats faced each other. I always chose the seat with my back toward the way we were traveling. The only thing wrong with that was that I could only see the past. I find many Christians have chosen to travel through life the same way. This type of person only gets a quick, passing glance at things; a fleeting glimpse of what others enjoyed in its entirety.

I’ve observed people who look forward in life delight in it much more than those who are always looking to their past. Yesterday’s manna always spoils today, no matter how good it may have been then. The old missionary said, “My future is as bright as the promises of God.” A promise has to do with the future, not the past. Living in the past keeps one from looking forward to the future. Paul’s secret to a successful life was, “…forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.”

Remember, if you belong to God, the best is yet to come!

Stop Blaming Yourself

God’s people are likened to a vineyard in both Testaments. In Isaiah chapter five verse four, He says, “What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?” In verse three, He calls upon His people to judge for themselves if this were not true. In spite of Him doing all He could to make them holy and happy, by taking obstacles out of the way (v.2), they still persisted in their “wild” living (vv. 2 and 4). As a result, God’s wall of protection was taken from them (v5). Read the entire chapter to see the pitiful plight of those who had it all, only to lose it by going their own way and doing their own thing.

This parable shows that even God can do only so much in His child’s life, and then the rest is up to them; after that, they’re responsible. The blame lies at their door. Or as God told Cain concerning his wicked actions, “Sin lieth at the door.” It stopped at his doorstep. And so it does in every adult child’s life.

No Christian parent need feel guilty (sad, maybe), over grown children who have gone against a godly bringing up. When a mother or father can truthful say that they did all they knew to do in the matter of rearing their children, then that is all you can do. So says the Lord! In Isaiah chapter one, God says, “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.” I guess it’s not hard to find an excuse for a sinful and rebellious lifestyle if you’re looking for one, even if it is against God Almighty!

Misplaced Loyalty

The saying, “They’re loyal to a fault,” sounds good on the surface; but a deeper probing will show the malignancy of this. Such people are taking loyalty to the extreme and will find in the end, it generally causes more harm than good. To be sure, these people fall under the category of having “misplaced loyalties.”

When loved ones and friends can do no wrong in our sight, we need a second touch from the Lord (Mk.8:23-25). We can’t get away with using the worn out quip, “Love’s blind,” as our excuse for not seeing their defect. As Dr. Bob Jones Sr. said, “Love is not blind, it just refuses to see.” Principles always trump personalities. And that includes everyone from our favorite Guru to darling Grandpa.

Paul tells us only Spiritual people are to deal with those who have, more or less, been “run over,” so to speak, by a fault in their life. Carnal sentimentality will close its eyes to others’ sad condition under the guise of compassion. Had someone called attention to the butler’s fault of his short memory, no doubt Joseph would not have had to spend those two extra, miserable years in confinement.(Gen.40:23;41:1a, 9).

Our loyalty is due not to our species but to God. (C.S. Lewis)

The Oblivious Ostriches

The English language is very rich and descriptive. Someone “hiding their head in the sand, like an ostrich” is said to be foolishly ignoring their problem, while hoping it will magically vanish. If this is not picturesque of today’s professing Christians, I don’t know what is. Closing one’s eyes to a problem does not void the problem.

The dilemma I speak of is unanswered prayer. It seems few, if any, are willing to tackle this unmentionable and embarrassing topic today. I most certainly understand prayer is not a magic wand we can wave around at our fancy. Nor do I believe it is like a genie in a bottle to be at my beacon call to fulfill all my fleshly wishes. But God does promise to answer “Big” prayers (Jer.33:3), and we don’t see much of that today, if any! Could Solomon be giving the Church the reason the heavens are brass to it, when he mentions in his prayer to God, “When the heaven is shut up…because they have sinned against thee”? Do you think maybe the whole Church needs to repent? If so, who’s going to go first?

In my opinion, the Church of today is play acting in prayer. Jesus refers to them as people who “for a pretense make…prayers.” I’m speaking of that kind of prayer old Dr. Bob Jones Sr. used to define as real prayer. He said, if he were in a room, with the doors and windows all being locked from the inside, and he prayed and said, “I sure wish I had a sandwich,” and all of a sudden one was in his hand, he’d be a fool not to realize there was an unseen, supernatural presence there with him (Matt.6:6).

When’s the last time any of us made a request that went only from our lips to God’s ear, and we got a Big Mac? 

When Off the Plantation

One evening years ago, as a young evangelist, after speaking to a rather large assembly, I was invited to the pastor’s home. He (as I at the time) was associated with an extreme, separatist movement. As the evening wore on the conversation became less general and more personal. It was then he revealed that when visiting New York he would go to see some of the Broadway plays. He went on to say how much he and his wife enjoyed them, and how refreshed they both were upon returning home to Indiana.

Now I have no problem with seeing a good play. I’d like to go myself if I ever visit the “Big Apple.” But I do find disturbing the fact that one who has entered into the glorious liberty that is in Christ Jesus would hide it from others who are living miserable lives in bondage. As they used to say when I was a boy, “What’s good for the goose, is good for the gander.” Many of us are like Peter; we like the Kentucky fried chicken and ham, but go back to the rigid, man-made rules of the legalists once they cast their shadow over us again. You know, the fear of man, and that sort of thing.

Paul said he rebuked Peter (Gal.2:14, context) for his actions, because he was to blame. And so are we, if we allow others to believe we are fellow slaves, but exercise and enjoy liberty when we are off the plantation.

*Going in Circles

It goes without argument; those who go in circles never get anywhere. You’re always meeting yourself coming. And the landscape is the same-old, same-old. Merry-go-rounds can be monotonous, plus you always get off where you got on. Israel spent forty years proving all this to be so.

The above facts are also true when it comes to the Bible. Some spend their lives searching for new scriptures to place into old chiseled grooves they have whittled out on their proof-text wheels. Their lives consist of looking for texts that uphold their old, worn out, man-made dogmas. If it doesn’t fit into their self-made pigeon-holes, it’s of no use to them. This type never has fresh bread but is always serving up the moldy stuff.

But truth is not circular; it is linear. It’s eternal and continuous, not spherical. There is no growth spiritually or intellectually inside a cylinder!

People Do Change

People do change. This is especially true of Christians who grow in the Lord. Yet, there are some who find it difficult to acknowledge this. This lack of perception is usually to be found in an offended believer, who has supposedly been hurt by one who has matured since the incident occurred.

The offending party’s change will never be seen or accepted by the wounded one as long as bitterness is allowed to fester. Change cannot be seen by the latter, because the individual has not changed themselves. Such people have remained where they were without ever moving on. The irony of it all is that while the one grows and goes on with his or her own life, the other remains a spiritual pygmy.

Jacob had trouble believing there was a change in Esau. It was only after Jacob was changed that he realized his brother was not the same as he had been in the past. Let’s allow in others what we desire for ourselves; the ability to change for the better.

God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's me. ~Author Unknown

Context is Everything

The first rule you teach a new Christian about Bible study is that context is everything; that is, if one is to properly interpret the scriptures. Sad to say, many are not taught this most important truth about life. Life also is to be interpreted in its context, if we are to understand its meaning. The word interpret comes from the Latin, and means, “to weave together.” You know, like Romans eight twenty eight tells us.

When interpreting life, it’s dangerous to divorce individual events and incidents from their over-all setting. If we do, we will turn exceptions into rules, the temporal into the permanent, the fanciful into reality, and fiction into fact. We are told, as long as the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night, will also. But no one of these is life as a whole; they are only parts of it, making up the whole.

And so, whether our lot is joy or sadness, little or much, sickness or health, victory or defeat, let us remind ourselves that like the seasons, each will change, giving way to the other. Life is always changing. Only God is unchangeable! Therefore, when attempting to understand life, don’t take things out of their context. And remember, God is not part of that context, He is the context. Or as the Apostle tells us, “He is our life.”

*Blessed Forever

“Thou blessest, O Lord, and it shall be blessed forever.” What God hath blessed, no man can “un-bless.” Even the hireling prophet, Balaam, knew this. When called upon by Balak to curse God’s people, he said “He hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.” We do no injustice in applying Isaac’s words concerning Jacob to our Lord, “I have…blessed him…and he shall be blessed.”
This being true, why do so many Christian’s live lives in seeming bereavement, rather than blessing? One word is the answer: “Appropriation.” It means, “To take for one’s own.” You can have a $1000.00 check in your possession for years and still die a pauper. You must cash it in. God gave the land to Israel, but they had to personally appropriate it (Josh.1:3); and He gave more than they took (Josh.13:1).

Whereas Israel’s blessings were predominately earthly and physical; the Church’s are heavenly and Spiritual, (in both cases there are exceptions to the rule). Proof of the latter is Eph.1:3, “Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ.” Jesus came to bless (Acts 3:26. He ascended, blessing (Lk.24:51). And He continues today (Eph.1:3).

God does not want us to pray for something He has already given; He wants us to take it by faith! (Jn.4:50-51).

A History Lesson

I love history, but it can be frustrating reading at times. What I mean is that many historians differ when recording the same event. And to further my aggravation, I find a wide variance of interpretations among readers of just what the author is attempting to say about said events, or people. Is it any wonder then, as C.S. Lewis says, “The pre-historic is much more believed than the historic”? For this reason, many have conjured up their own fantasies of what happened before there were any records. But debatable facts are always to be chosen over unsubstantiated fantasies! You’ll never come to a conclusion in La La Land.

When reading history, whether secular or Christian, two things must be remembered: First, the natural man always writes with a biased pen; that’s his nature; and second, the saints read with a prejudiced eye. And why is this? We still have enough of the old man in us to leave us jaundiced. As my son, Andrew, says, “An infallible Book doesn’t make us so.”

How then must we read history? Here are my personal suggestions. First, realize the secular writer has some ingrained biases; and that the Christian reader has some innate prejudices. Secondly, leave some elbow room for differing options on minor points (never on your principles). And thirdly, find what you and those who have diverse views can agree on. Like reading diet books that differ, find two or three major points they all agree on and follow that. Chances are you’ll be healthier. And in the case at hand, we’ll no doubt get along better with our brethren in differing camps.

History can liberate or enslave, it’s up to the reader to choose.

Mine or His Righteousness

“Not having mine own righteousness...” An old farmer was once asked if he thought the hardest thing in the Christian life was denying sinful self. His reply was, “No, Sir; the most difficult thing is denying righteous self.” Few Christians realize the truth of this statement by the old plowman. Our deepest and most stubborn antagonism toward God is centered in our good and righteous and sacrificial selves. The real battleground where we as saints hold out against God is in the area of our self-righteousness.

It takes some of us a long time (and some never) to realize that our self-made, refined virtues are nothing more than the ragged rags of self-righteousness. Job is a good example. He was righteous; he was all that God said he was. And Job knew it, too. But what he did not know was the actual corruption of his own heart. God had to bring this perfect and upright man, who feared God and eschewed evil, to the place where he said, “I am vile.” Included in this were his virtues, also.

How embarrassing to see saints trying to impress others by showing off their filthy rags of self-righteousness.

Power or Personality

Many people have a vague idea of God; they think of Him as a force, power, or influence. The New Agers think of God as a power, but Christianity presents Him as a personality! The movie Star Wars depicts Him as The Force; a kind of supernatural abstract thing. They speculate of a spiritual entity that has a universal presence, omnipotence, if you please.

Never confuse personality with visibility. Pantheism maintains everything is God, and God is everything. Thus God is identified with nature, and not independent and separate from it. And so God becomes an unconscious force working in the world. Therefore, substance alone has nothing to do with personality. It is impossible to fellowship with a force or influence.

Communion is between two persons, in this instance, God and man. For this to happen there must of necessity be: intelligence, mind, will, reason, individuality, and self-consciousness. Not just consciousness; an animal has that. Moses spoke to God as friend to Friend. And so do I, and so can you, dear child of God. “And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own.”

Satan and Appetite

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes…she took of the fruit thereof.” Although Satan does not know our thoughts, nevertheless he does know our natural disposition and temperament. This is true both in the physical and spiritual realm.

The wind and the tide go together, and so do his temptations with our temperaments. He goes along side of us, not contrary. He doesn’t lure with sauerkraut if your taste buds are programmed for spaghetti! Just because something is good doesn’t mean it’s of God. One writer put it this way, “He [Satan] wraps his poisonous pills in sugar.”

The old Puritan Thomas Brooks said, “Satan, like a fisher, baits his hook according to the appetite of the fish.” He hides the hook beneath the tantalizing bait. And of this you can be sure, whenever one takes his bait, he or she is hooked; none get away. Therefore, before you take that first bite, consider not what you’re getting, but what you’ll be losing.

All Satan’s apples have worms. Dr. John R. Rice

Get On Your Horse

“And Jacob went on his way...and…God met him.” Jacob had been more or less doing his own thing for many years. Now God calls upon him to come back to the place of blessing. As he journeys, God meets him. You can always depend on God meeting you on the road of obedience. Ask one of the two Mary’s as they complied with the angels command: “And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them.”

Some of us need to get on our horse, and I don’t mean the merry-go-round kind. I’m talking about the kind that takes you in a straight line, not endless circles, getting you nowhere. As the old-timers used to say, “Get a move on!” We have far too many, “I’m gonna’s.” Good intentions are no good unless you fit them into shoe leather.

If you’ll lay aside your feelings, fears, and doubts and start for home, as you round the bend, you’ll find your Father has come out to meet you. “I will arise and go to my father…But when he was a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” Whether Jacob or the prodigal, the promise is still, “Return…and I will deal well with thee…I will surely do thee good.”

Remember, when you take a step toward God, He takes one toward you. And He has a bigger stride!

He Knows My Name

“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep...he calleth his own sheep by name.” God knows His sheep on a first name basis. He not only knows the prominent ones, as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but he also knows the names of the least known among the saints. For example, a Gideon, who said, “My family is poor...and I am the least in my father’s house” is known by our Shepherd. He calls us all by name, even to the weakest vessel. “Jesus saith unto her, “Mary.”

You may feel overlooked and insignificant among so many sheep. You’re not first—not even a close second. In fact, you feel lost in this great crowd. You wonder if anyone loves you, cares, or has any interest in you at all. But, dear lamb let me assure you; He knows you personally. A flock of sheep may look uninterestingly alike, and hopelessly indistinguishable, but our Good Shepherd knows us each by name.

If He calls the stars by name, is it any wonder He calls His sheep by theirs?

He Knows Me

There are times when I cannot see the trees for the forest; I cannot see a blade of grass for the field; I cannot see the sheep for the flock; I cannot see the person for the crowd. But this is not so with God. He is ever mindful of each individual. God is not as interested in the “general” as He is in the “particular.” I am blinded by bigness, but God’s eye is still on the little sparrow; He even sees when it falls to the ground, and condescends to hold its funeral.

I’m told in His Word that the very hairs of my head are numbered. He calls me by name. He knows my thoughts. He beholds me when I lie down and when I awake. God does not see the masses—only the individual. He looks at the world and sees a person. When He gazes upon the various races, He sees only one face. He is a personal God and must be known as such.

As far as God is concerned, I’m an only child—as if there were only the two of us. How wonderful to know God; but how much more blessed to be known of Him.

“But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God..."

The Good Law of Intent

Some time ago, I brought a series of messages on Romans 8:28 to one of our church’s adult Sunday School classes. At the conclusion, a frail, dear lady asked that I might remember in prayer her married daughter who was bitter over losing her first child. She added she would not listen to anything the mother had to say in way of comfort. I mentioned to her that sometimes, in hard cases, only prayer and fasting are our alternative. She looked at me with tearful eyes and said, “I can’t fast because of my physical condition.”

What does one do in such cases? Well, this is what I believe. And I’ll tell you what I told her. Set aside a day for prayer and fasting and continue to eat what is necessary. God knows what you would do if you could do it, and marks that to your credit. A Christian in a wheelchair who longs to, and would have, run in a marathon to raise money for missionaries, will find that when he or she stands before the Lord, they will have run a good race. It’s important for all of us to remember “…if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.”

The Bible has a principle; I like to call it, “The law of good intent.” David found it to be true when desiring to build the Temple for the Lord, but was told, “Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. Nevertheless, thou shalt not build the house.”

There are a lot more missionaries on the field than are actually there!

When All Seems Lost

“He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head. He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone: and mine hope hath he removed like a tree.” Job’s sufferings left him feeling like a dethroned king. God had taken from him his earthly royal robes and crown, leaving him to sit on an ash heap. What a humiliation, going from the highest to the lowest. No matter which way he looked, he saw the destruction of his life. He felt all was gone and that all hope was taken away. That he could never recover his loses.

But Job found it was not “double or nothing,” but double for nothing. When his respectability and honour were laid in the dust, and his property, health, family, and friends’ esteem subtracted from his life, at the end of his problem, surprisingly, there was an addition, “The Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”

God wanted to teach Job that when the vine has been stripped bear of all its fruit and foliage, there is still the loving, caring, Husbandman standing nearby! The Lord had taken away Job’s fading glory and corruptible crown. But replacing them with His eternal glory, which never dims; and incorruptible crown, that will never perish.

When God takes from us something precious, He replaces it with something twice as good!

The Elephant in the Room

The title of our article comes from a popular little idiom meaning, “A problem or difficult issue that is very obvious, but is ignored for the convenience or comfort of those involved.” It has always been more embarrassing for me to ignore the obvious than to acknowledge it. I’m very uncomfortable attempting to be pretentious. I realize there is an appropriate time for the discussion of some things; but when there is a four-ton elephant standing among us, well, it’s difficult for to me play act at such a time. Or as the popular term goes, “be in denial.”

I am more than aware that there are some among us who are like a bull in a china shop when it comes to sensitive situations. But I find there are far more in comparison who tip-toe through the tulips, so to speak, rather that offend. Some people are so sweet, they’re sticky.

Jesus’ disciples asked Him if He realized that He had offended the soft-skinned Pharisees, to which He acknowledged that He had. But He had only brought to attention what everyone knew. You can be sure, if Jesus entered a room with an elephant present, He didn’t act as if it were imaginary or invisible.

Big problems do not go away simply because we close our eyes to them!

Ascending Affections

“…seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” At the funeral of one of my dearest friends, some years ago, before my wife sang, she made a comment about his Godly life. She mentioned that while he was alive, someone had said of him that he was so Heavenly minded, he was of no earthly good. But, said she, I seriously doubt anyone is of any value to this world until they are such minded.

Noah didn’t set his affection on this earth, for he knew everything was ultimately going to be water-soaked. And we shouldn’t either if we really believe everything is going up in smoke. Those who are over zealous for this present earth, using the Scripture, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,” to justify their obsession with it, need to remember it was the Lord who destroyed the sinful Noahic earth; and He will do it again with ours. His promise to us is a “new earth,” when the former is passed away (new in the sense of Divine renovation).

Today, I observe that in most Christians, there is an absence of a Heavenly longing and looking. Longing for Christ and looking for that country wherein the Eternal City dwells. The one Abraham spent a lifetime seeking for.

If home is where the heart is, no Christian should feel at home on this present earth.

Crushing Cares

"Be careful for nothing.” So admonishes the Apostle to the Philippian Christians. One need not change this so-called archaic word to understand it, but simply reverse it. Thus we find that we should not be full of care about anything. As difficult as it may sound to some of us habitual worry-warts, anxiety is not an acceptable life-style for a believer.

Many of us are concerned why we do not manifest more of the Spirit’s fruit in our daily lives. Our Lord gives us the reason for this barrenness. He tells us, “…the cares of this world…choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.” I would not say the following had I not our text to validate such a statement. Worry weakens the Word; it gets a strangle hold on it, and then cuts off its celestial, life-giving oxygen to us.

The devil will pile care after care upon us, if we allow him, sinking us in a sea of despair and hopelessness. David gave us the cure for care when he said, “Trust in the Lord at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him.” Therefore, I’m required during those times in my life when care is the predominate fact, to immediately prioritize. That is, at any given moment of my life when worry plagues me, my first responsibility is to, “…trust in the living God,” and to cast all my cares upon Him.

We are to never let the cares of this world usurp the place of trusting in God!

Totalitarian's Greatest Fear

Nothing will strike fear into the heart of tyrannical personality, whether they be political or spiritual, like a thinking person. When they lose control of your mind, they have lost control. Notice the last three words in the sub-head of Today’s Journal. It says “…for thinking people.” Our purpose is not to get people to think our way, but to challenge each to do his or her own thinking. We have far too many, what I like to refer to as, “Parrot Christians.”

Many, who have not had the privilege of a good education, nonetheless possess a highly intellectual aptitude. I’ve known educated people who, as my dear old mother used to say, “didn’t know how to come in out of the rain.” Both Jesus and His disciples did not have formal educations, but who would be ignorant enough to believe they did not have the same, or superior, smarts as the most learned of their day, especially the former.

For example, let’s take those who sit under dogmatic, prophetic, authoritarian Bible teachers. A thinker, when told there will definitely be a seven year tribulation period, will invariably ask the question, “What Jesus meant when He stated that those days would be shortened?” And as to the Seven Hills of Rome being the only solitary place known as such, some may wonder why they are not told of the other three places that are known for having seven hills associated with them (Babylon, Byzantium, and Jerusalem). And why something as important as the re-building of the Temple was never mentioned by Jesus or Paul? And that the “Last Days” started in Jesus’ day (Heb.1:2), not ours.

I’m not saying I adhere to any of the above, nor am I denying it; that’s not the issue. I simply want people, as Winnie the Pooh says, to “think, think, think.” O beloved of the Lord, use the mind God gave you. Don’t be intimidated by pseudo-scholarship. As much as possible, learn to be objective in your thinking. No one person has a corner on the truth. God can and will show a godly scrub-woman deep truths from His Word, just as He does a learned theologian!

Watch out for the person who gets upset when questioned!

God Plays It Close

I’m sure most are familiar with the little clichés, “playing it close”; “playing it to the minute”; or “playing it down to the wire.” Well, that’s what God does. It’s nerve-racking, and most of us would prefer that He do things way ahead of time, but that’s not the way He works. Saul lost everything because he couldn’t wait till the last minute (1Sam.13:8-14).

Admittedly, it can be scary when all is at stake. I just read again the story in the Old Testament of Haman’s plans to hang Mordecai (Esther 6). Within a moment of time God turned the tables, so to speak, in Mordecai’s favour. You talk about getting out of something “by the skin of your teeth!” Only faith in God’s faithfulness can take one up to the wire; “figgerin” will always fail you.

We need to synchronize our clocks with God’s time piece. Ours is always five minutes ahead of His time.

The Greater is Blessed by the Lesser

“I trust that through your prayers I shall be given to you.” Here we see balanced believers. Paul was not so super-spiritual that he did not believe in the means. Paul had faith in God’s people’s faith. He trusted their prayers, because he knew they trusted the One who answers prayers. You can always trust someone who trusts God.

We find here the greater being helped by the lesser. But there was wisdom in doing so, for the latter would receive benefits from the former by his ministering to their Spiritual needs. When people pray for faithful ministers, they are, in effect, praying for themselves and their own Spiritual welfare. You might say it has a boomerang effect!

It is wise for those in high positions of Spiritual leadership to humbly request the prayers of God’s lowly saints. Peter chained in prison slept peaceably, knowing God’s people were praying for him.

Learning to Walk

“Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Walking according to a set of man-made rules and restrictions may outwardly hide some fleshly fruit, but will only be replaced by a damnable fleshly pride peeking through filthy rags of righteousness. God promises to enable us to meet His heavenly standards. No such promise is given for a man-made list of taboos. God supplies what He demands! To walk by earthly, human restrictions is to walk unaided by Deity.

A Spiritual walk is not a complicated teaching; it is not something deep and mystical, something for a pseudo elite, enlightened group. Walking in the Spirit is simply an on-going attitude of reliance, a continual dependence upon the indwelling Spirit in every area of your life. This refusal is what caused Satan’s fall. When he said, “I will be like the Most High,” he was not desiring God’s Holiness, but rather His independence. Maintaining one’s Spiritual dependence is what Satan fights.

Whenever we cease to walk in the Spirit, we immediately return to walking in the flesh. The latter is easy to spot; they characteristically manifest an empty heart and barren life. They erroneously think human effort can bring their desired results. Oswald Chambers said, “All our vows and resolutions end in denial because we do not have the power to carry them out.” Only the Spirit of God can keep us from fulfilling the lusts and desires of the flesh. “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not…”

We cannot meet tomorrow’s issues today. We must walk step by step today. It is a constant appropriation of the Spirit’s power in our lives.

The Cost of Obeying God

Any enlightened informed Christian is astutely aware that our age is characterized by a shallow, milk-sop, type of professor. As the sub-heading of Today’s Journal say’s, it’s for “thinking people.” I trust any who read this article do not fall into the above category of the dunces with their hats on, sitting proudly in some corner. If so, two things are certain. First, they’ll be highly offended by what I write today; and secondly, they will not be able to conceive of the God they envision doing anything like I’m going to describe. The reason being, their God has been created by their own imagination, and does things only as they would do them (Psl.50:21 cp. Isa.55:8).

In Matthew’s gospel we read of Herod putting innocent children to death. And why was this? Simply because the Wise Men obeyed God. You might say these little ones were the first martyrs for Jesus’ sake in the New Testament! Think of all the parents, siblings, and loved ones who were deprived of having the benefit of seeing that toddler grow-up. How one might point the finger of blame at these three men for their own personal misery. But no child of God ever needs to feel guilt for obeying the Lord. The only important thing in this life is that God’s Darling Son be glorified, even if it is at our or others’ expense. And so, let us count the cost of following Christ. Not only the cost to us, but to others around us.

The song writer had it right when he penned, “It’s not an easy road we are travelling to Heaven!”