Monthly Archives: September 2009

Unanimous Anonymous

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“Instead, we will lovingly follow the truth at all times—speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly—and so become more and more in every way like Christ.”1

I heard what I thought was a very funny ad on the radio. The announcer was discussing something with a make-believe Unanimous Anonymous support group. Like many a funny ad, I enjoyed the ad so much I don’t have the vaguest idea what product and/or brand name they were selling.

However, this ad reminded me of people who always agree with everything you say—whether they mean it or not. They can drive you nuts. I’m talking about people pleasers who always want to please you. They will give you the answer they think you want. They fall over backwards to help you even when you don’t want their help. Or give you things you don’t even want. I’m sure you’ve met one or two in your life. Sometimes they are referred to as “yes” men. You have no way of knowing what their motive is or what they are about.

Actually these people are untrue to their own self because they are very insecure and have an over-zealous need to please just about everybody in a vain attempt to get approval, which they substitute for love. In other words, they don’t have a healthy sense of self-love and acceptance.

The reality is that until we can love and accept ourselves in a healthy way, we cannot fully love and accept anyone else because we can’t give what we don’t have.

The way we grow in self-love starts by getting real; that is, by being honest with ourselves and admitting that we feel insecure and don’t have a healthy sense of self-love and acceptance. Once I admit that I feel insecure, I can stop trying to prove to myself that I’m okay and get off the endless merry-go-round of trying to please everyone. This can be incredibly liberating. Furthermore, it’s the only way I can do anything about my problem.

Then I need to admit how I really feel to at least one or two trusted, non-judgmental and supportive friends who won’t judge me or tell me I shouldn’t feel the way I do. (I feel the way I do because of who I am which has nothing to do with whether I should or shouldn’t feel the way I feel.) When I am courageously open and honest about myself with these trusted friends, and they love and accept me exactly as I am, little by little in time I learn to love and accept myself in a healthy way.

It also helps to realize that God loves and accepts us exactly as we are. But he also loves us too much to leave us as we are. He wants us to grow and become whole so his love can flow freely through us to others. However, until we love and accept ourselves, God’s love is blocked or hindered from flowing freely through us.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be real and help me to find a loving, accepting, non-judgmental friend or two with whom I feel safe to share my real self. Through their love, and knowing that you love and accept me as I am, please help me to love and accept myself in a healthy manner so your love can flow through me to others without being blocked or hindered. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Ephesians 4:15 (TLB/NLT).

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Use It or Lose It

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“‘So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ His master replied, …’Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.’”1

“Unamuno, the Spanish philosopher, tells about the Roman aqueduct at Segovia, in his native Spain. It was built in AD109 For eighteen hundred years, it carried cool water from the mountains to the hot and thirsty city. Nearly sixty generations of men drank from its flow.

“Then came another generation, a recent one, who said, ‘This aqueduct is so great a marvel that it ought to be preserved for our children, as a museum piece. We shall relieve it of its centuries-long labor.’ They did; they laid modern iron pipes. They gave the ancient bricks and mortar a reverent rest. And the aqueduct began to fall apart. The sun beating on the dry mortar caused it to crumble. The bricks and stone sagged and threatened to fall. What ages of service could not destroy idleness disintegrated.”2

God has given everyone at least one talent. While some people may have ten talents and others only one, we are all responsible for what we do with what we have been given. The important thing is to develop whatever talent/s we have and to use them wisely, and to invest them in things of eternal value, for we will reap what we sow.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the talent/s you have given to me. Please help me to know what my best talent/s is/are, to get the training I need to develop it/them, and find a place where I can use it/them to the best of my ability in the work of your Kingdom here on earth. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 25:25-26, 28-29 (NIV).

2. Resource, Sept./ Oct., 1992, p. 4.

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The Real Thing

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“They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the law or the messages that the LORD Almighty had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the LORD Almighty was so angry with them.”1

I read how a fellow in France was asked where in Paris he would most like to live. He said in the Eiffel Tower because it was the only place he could be and not have to look at it.

This reminds me of what Jef Olson said about the movie, The Godfather, Part III: “When the Godfather, Don Corleone, is forced to visit the distinguished Cardinal Lamberto to tell him the bad news that a legitimate business deal involving the Vatican Bank has gone bad. The bank is run by the Archbishop and a coalition of Catholic businessmen.

“The Cardinal listens to the Godfather; then he says something quite profound. He picks up a stone and says, ‘Look at this stone. It has been lying in the water for a very long time. The water has not penetrated it.’ Then he smashes the stone. ‘Look,’ he says peering at the smashed insides of the stone, ‘perfectly dry. The same thing,’ the Cardinal continues, ‘has happened to men in Europe. They have been surrounded by Christianity for centuries, but Christ does not live in their hearts.’

“This is exactly what happened at the Temple in Jesus’ time. There were people there who had been surrounded by the Temple for years, but the God of the Temple had not been allowed to enter their lives nor penetrate their hearts. As St. Paul once put it, They had the form of godliness, but not the real thing.” 2,3

Like the man who would like to live in the Eiffel Tower so as not to see it, there are many who hide from God in church or in some religious ritual. And like so many in Jesus’ day, the hardest hearts may not be among the ungodly, but among the religious who have all the outward trappings of the godly, but their hearts, like stones, are hard and cold—and they know not God.

Very interesting too that the Apostle Paul wrote that “there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be … without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”4

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, when it comes to my relationship with you, please help me to be sure that I have the real thing and not just the outward trappings of religiosity. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Note: For help be sure to read “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

1. Zachariah 7:12 (NLT).

2. 2 Timothy 3:5

3. Rev. Jef Olson, “Reassessment of Ministry” cited on eSermons.com.

4. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NIV).

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How Embarrassing

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“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”1

“Some years ago Alabama was playing against Rice in the Cotton Bowl. Neither team had been able to do anything through the first quarter. Then a player from Rice got the ball with no one from Alabama near him, and was on his way to a touchdown. At that moment one of the players on the Alabama bench, overcome by excitement, jumped up, ran out on the field, made a beautiful tackle, brought the runner down, and then ran back to the bench and sat down as if nobody had seen him. Of course, thousands of people saw him. The touchdown was awarded to Rice and the tackler sat on the bench holding his head. Eventually the Alabama coach went over and put his arm around the player as though to say, ‘You made a mistake, but you are still part of the team.’”2

That’s the kind of acceptance and encouragement we need to give to our friends, family and comrades when they goof. And it’s the kind of acceptance and encouragement we need when we goof.

While the player from Alabama never made an “unpardonable mistake,” he sure made a humiliating one especially before thousands of fans.

Fortunately for us when we make big mistakes and sin, no matter how bad, when we confess these to God, he forgives us fully and still loves us unconditionally. In essence he says to us, “You made a mistake (sinned) but you are forgiven and are still part of the team.”

Sadly, many people feel that what they have done is unforgivable by God. Others feel they are unworthy of God’s love and forgiveness. This is not so. The only unpardonable sin we can commit is to reject God’s mercy and his gift of forgiveness and salvation. The fact is that of ourselves none of us is worthy. It’s God’s grace that pardons and saves us—not anything we have ever done or have ever failed to do.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for your mercy and for loving me unconditionally no matter what I have ever done or have failed to do. And thank you that you forgive me when I confess my sinfulness to you. Help me to overcome my sins and failures and freely forgive others as you have forgiven me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Note: For help be sure to read “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

1. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV).

2. King Duncan in www.sermons.com.

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None of These Diseases

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“If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”1

Regarding the laws God gave to the ancient Israelites. While perhaps seeming somewhat strange to us today, many of these were actually laws of health and hygiene. If the people heeded and lived by God’s laws, they would be a whole lot healthier than their counterparts in Egypt. In a very similar way, living according to God’s laws and principles will also help us to live happier and healthier lives.

For example, Ravi Zacharias writes: “In a fascinating article in the April 2000 issue of Christianity Today, psychology professor David G. Myers sifted through evidence to see if it indicated whether faith more often uplifts or debilitates. He writes, ‘We now have massive evidence that people in active faith communities are happier and healthier than their un-churched peers. Recent epidemiological studies reveal they even outlive their un-churched peers by several years.’

“After paragraphs of citing statistics gathered from the United States and abroad, he concludes that the correlation between faith and morality is more commonsensical than one might think. ‘If your car broke down in a crime-ridden area and some strapping teenage boys approached you,’ asks commentator Dennis Prager, ‘wouldn’t you feel better to know they had just come from a Bible study?’”2

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, again I thank you for the laws and principles found in your Word that, when followed diligently, guarantee a healthier, happier, and more productive life. Help me to so live. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Exodus 15:26 (NKJV).

2. Ravi Zacharias, “A Slice of Infinity,” December 2, 2002, http://www.sliceofinfinity.org.

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The Judgment Seat of Christ

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“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”1

Question: Another Daily Encounter reader asks: “You said that man would be judged for what he did for God here on earth. I have always been of the opinion that what we did on earth for God won’t even be mentioned. I was brought up to believe that, ‘We are saved by faith, not of works lest any man should boast.’ To me that means that what we did for God while on earth is not going to be a topic that we will face. Could you please give me some insight into this?”

Answer: Actually there are two judgments in the Bible—there’s a good one and a bad one. First the good one: This is known as the judgment seat of Christ which is only for Christians. Here we will not be judged for our sins because they have already been judged and the penalty paid for by Jesus when he died on the cross in our place. The judgment seat of Christ is where Christians will be rewarded on the basis of their faithful service for the Lord while here on earth. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “That each one may receive what is due him for the things done while [here on earth].”1

The second judgment is what is known as “The Great White Throne Judgment” of God. The Apostle John wrote, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it … And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books … and each person was judged according to what he had done … If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire [hell].”2

This judgment of God is for those who never accepted Jesus as their Savior and received God’s pardon. At this judgment they will be judged for their sins—and will have to accept the just penalty for them because they rejected Jesus sacrifice of paying the penalty for them by his death on the cross. Sadly, God will say to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me.”3

A terrifying thing for those who don’t know Jesus Christ as their Savior: they will be lost forever in hell—whatever and wherever that place may be. One thing about hell is certain: it is an eternal separation from God, the author of all love and life—a place prepared for the devil and his demons of evil.

God has made it very clear in his Word that “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”4 So whatever you do, make absolutely sure that you have accepted Jesus as your Savior. This is obtaining your Passport for Heaven. Whatever you do, don’t leave earth without it.

For help be sure to read “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that your Word makes the way of salvation very clear. Grant that I shall so live that I will not be disappointed at the judgment seat of Christ. Also that my life will be a living witness of your love and salvation so that others will want to accept you and not have to appear before you at the Great White Judgment. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV).

2. Revelation 20:11-13, 15 (NIV).

3. Matthew 7:23 (NKJV).

4. Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV).

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One Way to God: Fact or Fiction?

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“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”1

A Daily Encounter reader writes: “About your ‘I Hate Religion’ article …It seems pretty judgmental to me. Are you saying that the ONLY right way to worship the one true God is Christianity? If you are, I have a little quote for YOU, ‘Judge not lest ye be judged.’”

Hello, Judy (name changed), you ask if I am saying that the only way to God is Christianity. Actually, I’m quoting Jesus and God’s Word. Jesus said without apology, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” And again, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”2

In actuality, had there been any other way to God, why would Jesus, the Son of God, have come to earth to die on the cross for our sins? Furthermore, I would much rather listen to what God has said than listen to what man-made religions say. Also, when we decide what is/are the way/s to God, we put ourselves above God and his Word. This is a very dangerous path to follow.

As Jesus also said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”3

Yes, it is true that Jesus said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”4 At the same time God’s Word also says, “But he that is spiritual judges all things.”5 In other words, while we are not to be judgmental towards people, we are to be wise and judge what others do, say, and teach.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me a love for your Word so that I will always know the truth of what you say, and so that I am not deceived by what others say—no matter how comfortable their words may be. Help me to always choose the way of your Truth, no matter how uncomfortable and unpopular that may be. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Note: See God’s way based on God’s Word, the Bible, for “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

1. John 14:6 (NIV).

2. Acts 4:12 (NKJV).

3. Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV).

4. Matthew 7:1 (KJV).

5. 1 Corinthians 2:15 (NKJV).

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The Vine and the Branches

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“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”1

“A Bible scholar and pastor tells about a piece of wood that he keeps on his desk. He took this piece of wood from a vineyard in the San Joaquin Valley. It is a section of vine out of which grows a branch.

“The owner of the vineyard told him that if two people were in a tug of war using this section of the vine, it would break. However it would never break where the vine and branch are joined together for that is the strongest point of the vine. A vine, according to this teacher, is different from a tree. If you pull on a branch that goes into a tree, it will break at the trunk of the tree—in a tree that is the weakest place. But in a grapevine that is the strongest point—where the branch is joined to the vine.”2

Perhaps this is one reason Jesus likened those who truly put their trust in him as a branch grafted or joined into the vine, the vine being him. That bond is unbreakable. As Jesus said, “And this is the will of him [God] who sent me [Jesus], that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”3 For further help see: “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that my bond to Jesus is unbreakable, not because of anything I have done (except to believe that Jesus died for my sins), but because of what Jesus has done for me in giving his life to save me from my sins. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. John 15:5 (NIV).

2. The Best of J. Vernon McGee, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1988).

3. John 6:39-40 (NIV).

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Life After Life Guarantee

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“If we have been united with him [Jesus Christ] like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.”1

“There’s an old story about a small boy who was walking along the street with his parents during the Second World War. They saw a house with a gold star hanging in the window. ‘What does that mean?’ asked the boy. His parents told him that it meant that that family had lost a son in the war, and that star symbolized their loss. Later on that evening, as the boy saw the first star come out in the summer sky, the boy excitedly exclaimed, ‘Look! God lost a son, too!’”2

Regardless of the time of year may we ever be mindful of the “so great a salvation” God provided for us through the giving of his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for all our sins and, through his resurrection, to give us the guarantee that we, too, will arise and be given the gift of eternal life—that is, life after this life—through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is God’s promise to all who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and therein have received God’s forgiveness for all their sins*

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you not only gave your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross in my place, but also that he rose again giving me the hope and guarantee of the resurrection for all who believe in you and have accepted Jesus as their Savior. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

*To be sure you have accepted Jesus as your Savior and received God’s forgiveness see the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

1. Romans 6:5 (NIV).

2. “The Grief of God,” A sermon by Donald B. Strobe, of East Lansing, Michigan

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The Cross of Christ

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“For the message of the cross [of Christ] is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”1

“Maybe you know the story of Sir John Bowring. A brilliant man who spoke five languages, Sir John was twice elected to Parliament. Knighted by the queen, he served at one time as governor of Hong Kong. It’s said he wrote thirty-six books on a variety of subjects. If you visit a library, though, you will only find one of Sir John’s writings. It’s all we have left. And you’re likely to find it in a hymnal.

“It’s a poem which he wrote after a boat trip, sailing along the coast of China. Passing Macao, a city devastated by an earthquake, he spied the ruins of a mission church. Protruding from those ruins was the cross which had stood atop the chapel. The impact of that cross caused him to write these memorable words:”2

In the cross of Christ I glory / Towering o’er the wrecks of time / All the light of sacred story / Gathers round its head sublime.

When the woes of life o’ertake me / Hopes deceive, and fears annoy / Never shall the cross forsake me / Lo! it glows with peace and joy.

Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure / By the cross are sanctified / Peace is there that knows no measure / Joys that through all time abide.3

Still today the cross of Jesus Christ towers over the wrecks of time—faded dreams, lost hopes, disappointments, violent acts of terrorism, wars, and the lack of peace. In the end, however, the cross of Christ will triumph over all. It is the only hope of mankind.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the Cross of Christ and all it means for lost mankind. Thank you that in the end it will triumph over all evil, sickness, sadness, and sorrow, and death. Most of all I thank you for the Christ of the cross who, on this day so long ago, gave his life in my place to pay the penalty for all my sins so that I could be forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV).

2. From www.sermons.com.

3. Sir John Bowring, 1825.

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