Category: Blog

Our lives are full of valuable things. Some of them cost a large amount of money. Usually the most valuable things are the ones without a huge price tag. They are things that came along as a gift from someone you hold in high esteem. It could be a photograph of a loved one. Maybe an object that was treasured by a loved one. Both possess a sentimental value.

I have in my possession five or six marbles. Yes, marbles. They are clay marbles that an Aunt gave to me 60 plus years ago. They were antiques. Their dollar value is minimal. The memories they hold are of great importance to me because they bring back memories of my grandmother’s homestead. Whatever brings back an old memory has a special place in your heart. 

Peter comes to mind. On the night of our Lord’s betrayal, Peter denied the Lord three different times. When the rooster crowed that morning, Peter remembered the Lord’s prediction of his upcoming denials. 

Somehow, even forgiveness cannot erase the memory of the offense. I imagine every time Peter heard any rooster crow, he remembered that night. Because of the Lord’s precious forgiveness, Peter never denied the Lord again.

When Peter wrote part of the Bible in what we know as first Peter, he included a reference describing the preciousness of the Lord. In chapter two, verse six, he described Jesus as the chief cornerstone, elect and precious. In second Peter 1:1, the Apostle described his faith as precious to those who have obtained like precious faith. This was a fresh reminder to Peter and every believer of the cost of our salvation.

Our redemption did not cost you and me anything. We are the recipients of the cost which He paid for us. Whenever I read of Jesus’ crucifixion, it reminds me of His affection. A genuine love for me and every believer. 

As we reflect on special memories, may we remember the one memory which changed our lives for eternity? Jesus was paying our sin debt. Hopefully, every day we live, we are making good eternal memories.

When you look at a picture, what do you see? Is it a picture that fits in your wallet? Maybe it’s one in a collage. It could be a five by six in a group of others on your wall. It could be a large centerpiece with smaller ones surrounding it. But then it could be a massive work of art occupying the dominant place in your great room. Whichever it is, it draws your undivided attention. There is something about it, pulling you towards it. 

But when it comes to life, can we see the big picture? Do we see where we fit? Are we the little picture tucked away in the wallet for only a few to see, or are we the glaring portrait on the wall? Just where do we fit? Most of us do not know exactly. We go along with the flow taking in whatever comes along. But is that how it’s supposed to be? 

What is your God-given mission in life? Have you ever thought about it? Now that I have journeyed down life’s road a bit, I can see more clearly where I fit. All the experiences, the bumps on the way, and the hilltops have all had a place. Even when I have wandered off on my own, each brought a lesson to learn and share—which have helped others along their way. I’m now doing for others, what some did for me along my journey.

It is encouraging to share and to reflect. The path may be different, but is rich in opportunities. Only the participants are different. But this is still God’s world. I’m just one of the many God is nudging along to be used of Him in a small way, yet, in a big way in the lives of some that we touch.  It is encouraging to realize God is directing our steps even when we do not know it.

We live in a day when things go wrong and it is always somebody else’s fault. No one wants to accept responsibility for their actions. Society is good at pointing fingers. That kind of thinking started developing when we were young. Incredibly young for some. Through the years, we improved in making better excuses. 

Somewhere through the years, we matured chronologically. But did we grow in maturity? Did our mental capacity catch up to our physical stature—and to an acceptable level of know-how? It is only then—we can take responsibility—the kind expected by our society.

The foundation for responsibility is “truth”—everything worthwhile and lasting rests upon this principle. Being truthful builds character, and character leads to trust. The truth is always best, regardless of the situation. Even if it is not accepted or wanted, its message is plain and unshakable.

If your message is pure, your character can be challenged but never destroyed. Even blemished in the eyes of many, but in God’s eyes, it is highly esteemed. Joseph, in the Bible, comes to mind. He eventually rose to the top of his society, but slavery and prison did not change his character. He was above reproach, even in those situations.

Helping others just because its right is always noticed by the Lord, even when it’s not convenient. Actions do accent your outward public character.

But what about the nonpublic part of you? The part others never see. The private part of your life that only God can see. The practice which heaven will reveal for all eternity. The closet prayer, just you and God, and no one else. The place where the heart of your soul comes alive.

What is your heart’s desire? Where will God allow you to reveal it? Helping someone may be your answer. It doesn’t have to be physical or financial help. It can be spiritual. You can ask God to intervene in an individual’s life for their protection, healing, or to be moldable for God’s work. 

I believe that I am what I am today because of my grandmother’s prayers. I cannot prove it and will not know the answer until I get to heaven, but I believe it. She took the responsibility to pray. 

Responsibility can have far-reaching effects if one would take it seriously. Each step you take can lead to another, and then another, then to where you are today. But it all started when you were willing to be truthful with yourself and God.

Try, try, try again goes the old saying. It was a motto. I heard it when I was young. It still applies today, especially to those who want to write. But there comes the point when you fail. Keep failing, keep trying, change, adjust, but the result is still the same. No success. 

Try walking away for a while. Get a fresh outlook. Think of another strategy. Maybe it will work. If it fails, what do you do? Try again. Perhaps the 100th approach will work. Try a new way of thinking. Results often come when different efforts are applied. The desired effect may not even appear then. 

What are you going to do? Four options come to mine. The first is to revise and try a modified plan. Quitting would be the second option, if you can get an inward peace about it. Put the project on the shelf for a while or try to get some sort of learning environment to sharpen your skills would be the third plan. The last would be to start a new project using your newly acquired skills.

Warning. Do not throw away the first project or burn it. A year from now, a fresh breeze of motivation may blow your way for its revival. 

Failure is a mental concept, not physical. The tire may be flat, but it can be patched or replaced. Failure in the world’s eyes is your learning step for success. When you were a child learning to walk, you did not give up when you fell. You got up and tried it again and again. Now that you have walked 1000 plus miles one step at a time, aren’t you glad you didn’t give up? 

There is truth in the adage try, try, try again; without trying, nothing new would ever be invented. Remember superglue. It was a new plastic supposedly. Post-it pads came about by trying to create something else.

The point is if we put effort into a project, the result may be significant. Just not the one we were looking for or the one we intended. If we put the effort in and leave the results to God, we may be surprised by what God will do with our diligence.

Every saint of God has individuals who know how to drive us to the brink of insanity. They seem to know what irritates us and enjoy doing it. To overcome their irritation, you search for answers. You may even ask for advice from someone you respect and trust. 

The Bible has the answer—where? Paul writes to believers in Ephesians six. Verses ten through twenty are about protective armor, our spiritual armor. He mentions two weapons and who is to use them. The clue is in the word “all.” Verse 18 uses this three-letter word with prayer, perseverance, and the saints (believers).

Our protection begins with prayer. It is the greatest weapon in God’s arsenal. Prayer, diligent prayer can conquer any enemy. The second weapon is perseverance, which is the main subject of this discussion. The last application involves all believers. For us to be who God wants us to be, we need a divine shield. Prayer and perseverance are the weapons available to every saint, the redeemed believer. 

Now to our subject, perseverance. Its underlying importance is that this word is found only once in the New Testament both in the Greek, the original language of the New Testament, and in most translations. What is your definition of the word? Mine would never be quitting regardless of the circumstances. 

Life has a way of discouraging every believer sometimes. Circumstances seem insurmountable. People disappoint us, even ones close to us. Yet God is still in control. He is working on our behalf, even if we cannot see it. Sometimes, we ask, “why is this happening?” Am I being punished for something? We usually have an event in our lives, which causes us to think like this. Yes, we may be enduring punishment for forgiven sins (for example, you robbed a bank, you are in prison, now you are going to serve the time for the crime even though God has forgiven you. A lousy example, but you get the point). 

Even in unfortunate circumstances, God is still with you. In these surroundings, you can shine the brightest for the Lord. People will be amazed at your spiritual strength. Notably, the peace you have, it is beyond their reasoning power. 

Persevere regardless, and yes, it may be hard. You will hurt inside. But God is greater than the circumstances and the pain. Usually, during this time, God is preparing us to help another who is about to go through a similar situation. Our wonderful Lord will use this hurt to help others. 

So, thank God for the events in your life, regardless. Persevere, God is with you. He promised never to leave you or forsake you. It is a promise He will always keep.

Details. The small things. The things that work together for our betterment. It is God arranging them one by one for our spiritual growth. Some of the big ones take a long time for everything to be in the right place. Their path may be confusing. A good example would be Joseph, in the book of Genesis. He was going to prison, not knowing it was of God to provide for his family. God is the Master of the details.

Reaching the journey’s end may be long, but achieving it is the goal. 

My thoughts go back to the Ark. The one that took Noah 120 years to build. It was all about details. It was cutting trees, transporting, shaping them, putting them in place, then sealing the Ark inside and out. But the loading of the Ark brings an intriguing observation. How long did it take the two snails to get on board? They were even slower than the two turtles. Yet the Ark did not sail without the snails. God waited for the snails to get on board before He shut the door. 

I guess I’m going around the bush to get to my point. Whatever your station in life is, God has more for you to do. In our society, as goes the old western TV show, it is expected for old people to ride off into the sunset. However, I do not believe that this is God’s desire for us. Each person can do something to advance their area of service for Him. It is all about focus. Passion is the root of pure determination. 

For any tree to grow, it needs nourishment from God and time. If the roots are deep, the tree will stand. Some of the limbs may need trimming, especially the lower ones, but the tree still stands and grows. It provides shade, maybe some fruit. It could be the tree to provide the lumber to build your house. The shelter you will use in the times of storm, cold, or heat. It could be your fortress.

God has protected you and wants to use you. The question is, do you want to be used by God? It is a question all of us must answer. Will we make ourselves available? Or unavailable? Our eternal rewards are a result of our service.

It is all about the small things—the details.

If we keep that perspective in mind, great will be our reward.

What can we do for God? Whatever it is will last for eternity? 

Producing spiritual fruit is all about decision making. Decisions determine the outcome of our lives. We can make some bad decisions. We all do. But did we learn from them? Every wrong decision can be part of our spiritual development if we allow them, even though they may hurt. The best choices are usually the result of learning from our wrong preferences and their consequences because we live with their results.

The foundation of good choices is found primarily in three areas—past experiences, advice, or observations from wise people and biblical examples. Although we cannot predict the outcome of our choices, we are sure the results will be better. The self-control of our thoughts lends themselves to the wisdom of sound decisions. 

The word for self-control in the Bible only appears in three verses in the New Testament. Each of them commands a thoughtful decision. 

Paul, now a prisoner, is standing before Felix, one of the Roman authorities in Israel (Acts 24). Felix has the power to release Paul from the false accusations of the hypocritical Jewish leaders. Felix, along with his Jewish wife, Drusilla, hear Paul’s subject matter concerning Christ. Because of this message, Felix was under conviction. In his heart, he was reasoning about righteousness and self-control (verse 25). Instead of accepting Christ, he chose to send Paul away. The Bible does not record Felix ever accepting Christ as his Redeemer. 

The second place in scripture that self-control is mentioned concerns the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:22,23. It is the last of nine fruits listed. Self-control is the evidence of the other eight-character traits in action. Without the ability to restrain our emotions and practices, we are inconsistent in our Christian walk. A consistent mindset stabilizes our character. 

All of us struggle with self-control to some degree. It is an ongoing effort in our lives. Determination and effort on our part will help each of us to improve our service for the Lord.

Honesty is a struggle for all of us. It started when we were young. We learned how to lie as soon as we could talk. As the years progressed, we became better at it. That character trait followed us into our teenage years and on into our young adulthood. Somewhere along the way, most of the blatant lies disappeared. They became half-truths. What we said was the truth but not the whole truth. We justified ourselves by telling ourselves we didn’t lie, but we left off some critical details. Those missing details of information change the meaning of the real events. They gave the perception of one thing, but it wasn’t exactly the way it happened.

By now, some of you are thinking all that changed when I asked Jesus into my heart. Salvation does change our eternal destination and character. However, we live inside our flesh, and it has weaknesses. 

The fear of man is still with us. So, when we are in a bind, self-preservation supersedes the truth. We do not demonstrate total honesty because we do not want to ruin our perceived reputation. 

All of us are weak in our human body. Most of us desire to be respected. Because of that human trait, we do whatever it seems necessary to protect our sense of value. The problem is we are not as strong as we would like to be. We need help—God’s help.

We even struggle with being honest with the Lord. We all have this in common in our lives. We may not want to admit it, but it’s there. The problem, with not being honest with God, is that He knows all the truth about us. Because He knows the truth already, we may as well be open with Him. Admit our faults and weaknesses. Ask for His help. If He reminds you of some of your unconfessed sins, stop and ask for forgiveness of them. It is a step forward in our character building of being honest with God. Our Lord honors honesty.

Our journey through life stands, stumbles, or falls, on the sound principles of life. You are human, and this character development is a continual process of life. There will be times when we think we are honest by not telling lies. Silence, sometimes, is our shield for keeping those dishonest principles from the public. Outward calm still does not stop the convicting power of God. Remember who lives inside of you—the Holy Spirit. He knows the thought and the intent of every believer’s heart. So be honest with God and yourself.

Resurrection is an expectation for the saint of God. It is not a false hope. It is one of our great joys. Believers in the Lord’s time also knew the doctrine of the resurrection. So many believers knew someone who had experienced a renewed life. 

The gospels record four resurrections before our Lord. Jesus and disciples were going to the village of Nain. Upon arriving, they observed a funeral procession of a widow’s only son. The circumstances deeply touched the Lord. Jesus approached the open coffin and told the deceased to get up. The young man was then presented alive to the grieving widow (Luke 7:11-15). 

Jairus, a ruler of a synagogue, came to Jesus, asking Him to heal his 12-year-old daughter. While on the way, word came that the daughter had died. The Lord told the father, “only believe, and she will be well” (Luke 8:50 NKJV). Arriving at the house, Jesus, the girl’s parents and three disciples entered the young girl’s room. The Lord held the girl’s hand and said get up, which she did ( Luke 8:40-56). 

The third incident was Jesus’ friend Lazarus. He was sick when Jesus received word. The Lord waited before going to see His friend. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus was in his grave for four days. Approaching the grave site, Jesus wept for His friend. The Lord prayed that the audience would know that God had sent Him to Israel, and then Jesus spoke to Lazarus to come forth out of the grave, and stood before them (John 11). 

When Jesus died on the cross, many of the dead believers were resurrected . Their witness in Jerusalem was one more proof of the reality of a resurrection.

The Pharisees who consented to the Lord’s crucifixion knew the Lord said He would appear after His death. They thought the disciples would come and steal the Lord’s body. To prevent this, the Pharisees asked Pilate to put guards at the Lord’s tomb. He refused and told the Pharisees to set their guards there.

The most significant resurrection of history had four different validation experiences: Mary Magdalene and Mary (Matthew 28:1); the two on the Emmaus Road (Luke 24:13-25); the disciples (John 20:19, 20) and 500 plus believers (I Corinthians 15:6). 

The resurrection of our Savior is the most paramount event in history. Without the resurrection, our belief in God is worthless. Our Lord Jesus Christ purchased our salvation on Calvary’s cross by the shedding of His blood for the world.

Being pushed out into the cold without a coat can be a chilling experience. It may not be the winter season, but the occasion will send cold chills through you. The push outside was unexpected and hearing the door slam behind you has a vibrating memory. That memory plays in your mind over and over. You will never enter those doors again. 

The hurt did not leave broken bones or sprains or visible bruises. But the unseen pain is still there. In time, the pain and the memories will fade. A new door of opportunity stands before you. An opportunity that you would have never tried in your past. God has used the circumstances of life to get you to this place. A scary one; however, one where you have never ventured before. 

The all-knowing God has placed you on a new porch. A newly developed opportunity is right in front of you. It is there because God allowed the past to happen to you. The events of your history now seem like a fading stream of vapor. It arose and then disappeared. It made you stronger, wiser, and more tenderhearted.

The new addition to your heart has comforted you. It helped you to sleep better at night, giving you a contagious freshness and vitality. Others wonder what happened to you. The outpouring of goodness from your heart is invigorating, even infectious.

The past hurt that seemed so wrong has helped you to be in a place of peace, soul-enriching peace, that you would have never known unless you heard the slamming of the door behind you. Now you’re off to the new horizon in front of you. Do not be afraid to open the new door that God has placed before you.

Do Not Be Afraid, I Am With You
“You Are Mine”

Song by David Haas