Some time back, I asked a group of our church family members if they could add the name of another of our members to their prayer list. One who didn’t quite catch the name asked, “who?” When she heard the name clearly, she remarked rather sarcastically: “Oh, her.” I was stung but so surprised by the remark that I said nothing at all. Later, while driving home, I felt very angry at myself for not saying anything and if I could have pulled it off, I would have kicked myself. You see, one of the obligations of a good shepherd is to protect and defend any member of his flock who is unjustly attacked. Just like God, any genuine, divinely called pastor has no favorites. To the shepherd in an actual flock, the sheep, though they come in various sizes, shapes, and colors, are all the same. There is no one better or more important than any other. It is no different in the church.
In his letter to the church, James rebuked the practice of favoritism in it. The rich were catered to and the poor simple members were despised. He told them clearly that this type of behavior is sin when he wrote: “But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.” (James 2:9)
Any church where partiality and discrimination is prevalent is a church who has lost favor with God. Though invisible to the naked eye, there are spiritual cracks in it’s walls or foundation. Left unchecked, that church is due for a fall. One way it’s members can prevent that fall is by applying the advice Paul gave in 1 Thessalonians 5:14 when he wrote: “And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” God is faithful and He will answer your prayers on behalf of your church if you have seen these troubling signs in it. Never forget, however, that He expects us to do our part nonetheless. Don’t let the word “warn” scare you. If you ask God to help you when you see someone belittling or denigrating another person, He will give you the right words to use to bring it to their attention. In the same manner, He will help you to be an encourager and a helper to those who need it and He will give you the patience to do it correctly. The way back to healing in your church might very well begin with you.
God’s word for today: (Proverbs 10:12) “Hatred stirs up strifes: but love covers all sins.”
In 2 Samuel, Chapter 21 we read the story of King David, now advanced in age, being rescued from an encounter with one of Goliath’s descendants. Just when the giant was about to kill David, his nephew, Abishai, arrived on the scene and slew the Philistine warrior. After this scary event, David’s men declared: “You are not going out to battle with us anymore. Why risk snuffing out the light of Israel?” (vs. 17)
Now, I am no king David, but if I was, many of you have reminded me, like David’s men, that I still have a little light left and can still write a few devotionals every now and then. You have inspired me to continue writing my blog informing me that it has been a source of blessing, comfort, and inspiration to you. I thank the Lord for you. That thought was confirmed to me earlier this morning when I noticed that my tube of toothpaste was nearing it’s end. I, like many of you, do not discard it until I can no longer get anything from it. I believe God does the same with us. He will use us till the very end.
So now, permit me to remind you that, if God can use senior citizens for His purpose, He can use you too. I trust you will go out today with the knowledge that God can use you to touch someone’s life today. Even small things like a word of encouragement, a heartfelt compliment, a friendly handshake, a warm embrace, or just a smile or nod of approval, God can use them and turn them into something great. Just yesterday, a member of our church family told us that a co-worker came up to her recently and said: “I don’t know what you’ve got, but I’d like to have it too.” She capitalized on the moment and led her to Christ. It is really quite simple. If you shine for Jesus, you’ll make a difference in this world.
God’s word for today: (Galatians 6:10) “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
James 5:16 reads: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” A more modern bible version (NLT) ends the verse this way: “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”
There are two basic eternal truths in this verse. The first concerns the great benefit of having someone in our lives with whom we can share our burdens, trials, and weaknesses. There is a lot of truth in the old adage “confession is good for the soul.” Secondly, we are reminded of certain folks we know that, for obvious reasons, seem to have their special prayer petitions answered on a regular basis. The inference here is that there will be times when it will be wise to ask these folks to pray for us. This reminded me of the following funny illustration I once heard concerning a pastor and his great faith. He was known in his community as a man who visited sick folks in their homes and in the hospital. Well, one day his church van ran out of gas in downtown traffic. He had no gas can in the van, the only kind of container he could find was a bed pan someone had left behind. He took the bed pan and filled it with as much gas as it would hold, thinking it would be enough to get the van to a gas pump. When he came back, he began to pour out the gas from the bed pan into the tank. A couple, stopped at a nearby red light, spotted him and the lady told her husband: “look, talk about having a lot of faith!” The husband saw it too and remarked: “Get the name and address of that church; if this fellow gets this van going, I want to go talk to him about our prayer petitions.”
Whether that illustration actually happened or not, the truths in this verse remain. It just may be that one or more of you have something you need to get off your chest. If you can find someone in your life you can share this burden with, someone you are convinced is a true friend, by all means do so. Also, if you know of some child of God that seems to have a knack for getting his or her prayer petitions answered, you may want to keep that in mind. The day may come when you’ll be happy you know them.
God’s word for today: (Hebrews 11:1) “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
In a well-known burger establishment you all are familiar with, the person taking your order will ask you, “how do you want your burger?” Now, I’m pretty sure we all know some folks whose immediate answer would be, “huge” or “fast” but the answer they are seeking are “rare”, “medium-rare”, etc. Well, one fellow who asked for his burger to be prepared “medium rare” quickly discovered that his had been cooked all the way. When he took it back to the counter, he angrily told the cashier “my burger was well done!” She quickly replied “thank you.” Obviously, she mistakenly took it as a compliment. You see, this was one of those rare occasions when the phrase “well done” was not a good thing.
There is a “well done”, however, children of God everywhere are longing to hear. They are familiar with the parable Jesus gave in the 25th Chapter of Matthew when He welcomed one of His into glory with these words: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” (verse 21) They too are longing to hear these words. To these folks, it is okay if others don’t notice the good things they do. They know there is One who knows and sees all things. In fact, there is one “good thing” many of God’s children do that is seldom seen by others. It is when what you did or said impacted the recipient’s life forever, especially if it brought him or her to Christ.
If you were walking through a garden which was filled with beautiful plants, shrubs, or flowers, the ones you yourself planted would give you the greatest satisfaction and joy. I think Heaven will be like that garden. One day, we will go through it for the first time. Many, many people we know and love will be there. The ones which will give us the greatest joy, however, will be the ones we planted, the ones we personally brought to Christ. These are the ones I especially long to see in Heaven someday. If you love others like you love Christ, there may be some in Heaven today who are there because you led them to Jesus. What a joyful day that will be!
God’s word for today: (Daniel 12:3) “Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.”
As you are reading this blog today, what some of you were hoping wouldn’t happen, obviously just did. I am referring to the arrival of possibly the strongest cold front of the year. I know, there may be one or two of you out there who may be jumping for joy because you love cold weather. I used to be in that group. Now, it’s the other way around. Why? C’mon family, you know my well-worn corny line: “When you get old, you get cold!” This time the weather forecast was correct but it is good to keep in mind that what the weatherman says is going to happen doesn’t always happen. In fact, just a week or two ago after a notable earthquake, prognosticators in many places warned folks about a tsunami that never arrived. Man’s percentages have greatly improved but they are still far from 100 percent accurate. Not so with God. When He says something is coming, you can bet that it will arrive.
Perhaps last night or early this morning, you noticed a rattling at your window, or heard your wind chimes playing loudly, or looked outside and the trees were bending dramatically. Yep, the expected cold front arrived. When I see the arrivals of weather fronts throughout the year, I often think of one expected event I may get to see before the Lord calls me home. I am on the lookout for it but if I don’t get to see it, it’s quite possible that some of you will. Here’s what I’m looking for: (1) Someone calling out my name out loudly from Heaven. If not that, then the collective call for all God’s children who will be living at the time. (2) The voice of the archangel of God. (3) A loud trumpet blast like no other trumpet sound I’ve heard before. (4) The souls of God’s children who died before flying up to Heaven. Why am I looking for that? I look for it because the Bible says it will happen. In describing the Rapture, the Lord coming to take His children upward, I Thessalonians 4:16, reads: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” The meteorologists’ forecasts don’t always come to be but you can bet that this one I just described will. If God says it will happen, it most definitely will.
I suppose some of you heard or were involved in the chatter earlier this week concerning today’s cold front. Almost everyone agreed and said “its coming”. Today, everybody, whether happily or grudgingly, said “it’s here.” In the same manner, our conversation often, as God’s children, includes chatter about the day of our Lord’s return. Although all Christians believe that day will come, there are some who think it, it will just be an invisible or spiritual advent. Not so! On the day Jesus left His disciples to return to the Father, they saw Him taken up to Heaven in a cloud and then disappear. As they continued gazing into the sky, two men dressed in white appeared and said to them: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11) They saw Him go up, we will see Him come down. Concerning Christ’s return, we’ve been saying for years “its coming”, and on that glorious day we will all ecstatically shout “its here!”
God’s word for today: (2 Timothy 4:8) “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
Since my wife and I have been driving to church two or three times a week on the average for over forty years, many have been the times when we have ridden behind or alongside some of our church members on our way to church. Obviously, we have seen good and bad driving habits. You may not agree with me, especially if you are in the second group, but I sincerely believe that the way we drive in traffic or on the highway is a good indication of the type of people we are everywhere. One does not have to necessarily be on the lookout for it because it should be easy to spot that, in traffic, there are many motorists who are selfish, reckless, impatient, abusive, and have little or no regard for rules or speed limits. In fact, if a person who has a reputation for being this kind of driver were to tell me “Lets go for a spin”, I would probably say “Make me!” If I did go, I can visualize myself with my nose and hands pressed against the rider side windshield crying out “Help me!”
Jesus said these words to His followers: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”(Matthew 5:14) Once we confessed we belong to Jesus or once others sense that we are His, we were immediately put under a microscope. Child of God, all of us have been often reprimanded or have been reminded of our misdeeds, mostly by people in the world who don’t claim to be Christians. Many are watching our every move and the way we conduct ourselves on a daily basis. That includes the way we drive. And this is also true: We all have plenty of room for improvement in many areas of our lives, not just driving.
As it pertains to traffic and highway signs, the Bible is like that. It is our road map to Heaven. it’s Heavenly road signs tell us when to be careful, when to yield to others, to be patient and unselfish, and warn us of dangers up ahead. Not heeding these signs will bring us a lot of trouble, heartache, and grief. One more Heavenly road sign I have been more conscious of lately, is that one that tells me that I’m getting close to my destination. I suppose some of you have not seen that heavenly sign yet, and if you have, it may indicate you still are from it, but thanks be to God, all of us will reach our destination sooner or later.
God’s word for today: (Philippians 3:20 NLT) “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior.”
It is possible that some of you resolved yourselves to serve the Lord more actively this year, particularly as it relates to church involvement. If that is the case with you, I suppose that, in most cases, you will first need to consult with your pastor. Please keep in mind that the “calling” comes from God and not a man. If it is indeed a genuine calling of God, no one can keep you from it, not even your pastor. Nevertheless, most pastors can easily identify those who are legitimate candidates for service in the church from those who are not. Perhaps you will better picture what I mean by a biblical event recorded in the 17th Chapter of Luke.
In it, Jesus heard ten lepers cry out to Him for mercy. Verse 14 reads: And when He saw them, He said unto them “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. As you can see, though it was Christ who healed the lepers, the priests, for society’s sake, were the ones who officially declared them “clean.” Simply put, it is the same for those who feel led of God to serve in the church. When they approach the pastor to inform him of their desire, in most cases he already knows, among other things, about their faithful attendance at church services and functions, or lack thereof, their giving or tithing history, and their interactions with other members. If they have already proven themselves in these and other areas, any good pastor will make a sincere effort to find them a place. After all, having folks like these serve will benefit them as well as the church.
The truth is that if you have already proven yourself to be faithful in attendance and giving, and have a good reputation and testimony in your church, it would be a shame if you do not get more involved in ministry, assuming other valid factors don’t keep you from doing so. Please keep this in mind as well: Church ministry is not limited to preaching, teaching, singing, or playing a musical instrument. If I understand 1 Corinthians 12 correctly, the “helps” and “governments” mentioned in verse 28, refers to those whom God has given a special gift or ability to help in the administrative work of the church as well as those who “help” in any capacity. To say it more simply, these are the folks who “get things done” in the church. They too have a calling of God upon their lives, and are just as needed, if not more so, than those with the more visible positions. The bottom line: Any church member who loves the Lord, as well as people, has a place in it’s ministry. More than likely, you are in this group. I trust you will be encouraged to get involved if you aren’t already.
God’s word for today: (Philippians 3:13-14) “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
I am by no means a church hopper but in my Christian life I have attended several churches and have learned by experience that they all have their own personality. Mostly, the members have been greatly influenced by the pastor and his general message and also by the programs, ministries, and mission of the church. In other words, the members are impacted by the way the church is run or the way they do things. If you’ve read the book of Revelation, you have probably noticed the different personalities of the seven churches which Christ addressed in His letter. You also noticed that although He needed to admonish each one, He first commended them for the good things they had done or were doing. This is a good point to remember whenever we deem it necessary to reprove or correct a friend or loved one who we feel is on a wrong path. If you analyze the message to each of the seven churches in the book, you will notice the uniqueness of each one and you should also know that today’s churches can have one or more of their characteristics.
Regarding the first church Christ addressed in His letter, Ephesus, the one glaring fault He found in them was that they had lost their first love. Revelation 2:4 reads: “Yet, I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.” Yes, He lauded them for their hard and perseverance as well as for their doctrinal soundness and zeal for His Word. However, it is evident, that they were now more in love with what they were doing than they were in Christ Himself. I bet, many of you know some Christians who are clearly more in love with their denomination, pastor, church, or it’s ministries and programs than they are in Christ. What would be the tell-tale signs that this is happening in your church? It is really quite simple. These three things will be absent: (1) A genuine love for one another, beginning with the pastor(s) and leaders of the church. (2) The members will really care for each other and their conversation will always be centered on Jesus. (3) They will love spending time with each other. If your pastor has a hard time getting people to leave the building long after the worship service has ended, that is a good thing! On the other hand, it is not at all a good sign when the last service of the day is over and you see everyone rush to be the first one out to the parking lot. I personally knew a church whose practice it was at the beginning of the year to send out their deacons to go visit each household for the purpose of getting their monetary pledge for the year. Not once did they tell them to ask what their needs were or to pray for them. Sadly, that church is no more.
I pray you are in a church where people genuinely love Christ as well as each other and where He is the center and focus of all conversations. If you are not, don’t leave without first praying and looking for ways to start making a difference. If your church is in need of revival or spiritual awakening, remember that it starts with you. In the end, if you love the Lord with all your heart, you’re going to be alright.
God’s word for today: (John 14:23) Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”
During this past "Holiday Season" everyone of you heard or uttered the phrase "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year." In Spanish, the customary greeting is Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo. (A Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year) If the intentions of those who share this latter phrase with you are sincere, they are hoping you will prosper in the coming year. However, I believe it is safe to say that we mostly connect the word "prosper" with finances, and while that is one of the meanings, to prosper mostly means "to succeed in an enterprise or activity, or to become strong and flourishing" That, perhaps, is one reason why the author of the first Psalm wrote that godly people are "like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in season and whose leaves do not wither ---- whatever they do prospers." (Ps. 1:3)
Without a doubt, God wants all His children to prosper. So do I. Nevertheless, we cannot ignore the truth conveyed in Psalm 1. That is, the chances of us actually prospering are greatly enhanced when we live our lives with the purpose of honoring and serving God. That, of course, includes serving others, although it begins with Him.
I don't know if you made new year resolutions or not, but if you did, I already shared a verse that gave you a clue regarding your chances of success. Even so, it is possible that some of you already broke one or all of your resolutions. That’s okay, its not the end of the world. The truth is that God’s children fall from time to time. Proverbs 24:16 says: “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.” David, on the other hand, wrote: “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”(Ps. 37:23-24 NLT) At first glance, it may appear that these two verses contradict each other. One says “a righteous man may fall” and the other says the righteous “will never fall.” The original Hebrew word for “fall” (naphal) is the same in both verses. It can mean to literally fall down or it it could mean to fall short. Besides, “falling” and “failing” are two different things. Someone has said “Failure is never failure until it reaches the heart.” I trust that if you “fell short” you will not permit your heart to call it failure. If you stumbled and fell, just dust yourself off and start all over. Besides, it’s still early and they can still qualify as new year resolutions. More importantly, we can “resolve” to better ourselves any day of the year. God helping you, I know you will have success this year.
God’s word for today: (Romans 14:4) “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own Master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.”
There is a verse in Genesis, Chapter 41, that as I read it, I immediately wondered how many bible readers were drawn to it and could identify with it. It is verse 51 and reads: Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” Manasseh mostly means “forgetfulness.” Before I continue I want to encourage you to make an effort to find the meaning of your birth name, especially if it is a biblical name or a variation of one. An excellent source is Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary which I’m sure you can easily find it on the Internet. To me, that is more meaningful than researching one’s ancestry. After all, we all are descendants of Adam anyway.
If you know the story of Joseph you are aware that he suffered many indignities and hardships in his life and it all started with his own brothers. It would have been impossible for him to forget these events, although he truly forgave his brothers as well as anyone else who caused him pain and grief, but Joseph was convinced that God could help him forget his troubles, and that is exactly what happened. He never forgot those damaging life events but he did forget to dwell on them to the point that they would torment him for the rest of his life. To borrow a line from a song I used to love when I was a teenager, Joseph "remembered not to care."
Interestingly, Christmas has been ruined forever in the hearts and minds of countless people around the world because they just cannot forget a sad or hurtful occurrence they experienced during the Christmas season. Every year when this season rolls around, they relive the hurt and pain they experienced in a Christmas past. Seriously, can anything be more impactful in the lives of God’s children than the fact that Christ is always with us, that there is hope in every situation, and that our best and most glorious events are still up ahead? Did not Paul write “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” ? (Romans 8:18) If you, because of the things I just mentioned, refuse to be happy at Christmas, I plead with you to snap out of it and do what Joseph did. Trust God that He can eliminate your pain and put love, joy, peace and comfort in your heart instead. God not only wants you have comfort and joy during Christmas. He wants you to have it for the rest of your life.
God’s word for today: (Philippians 4:4) “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.”
