Monthly Archives: December 2009

A Voice in the Night

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“Sit up!” the voice in the night said, “and take a deep breath.”

“It was a stormy night,” a personal friend shared, “and we were awakened by an extremely loud clap of thunder. After the initial fright, checking the kids and the house, we went back to bed and to sleep.

“Then came the voice. I was certain I heard someone speaking. “Sit up and take in a deep breath,” it said.

“I only half-awoke and thought I must have been dreaming, so rolled over and went back to sleep.”

“The voice spoke again with more insistence, ‘Sit up and take in a deep breath.”‘

“This is weird,” I thought so again rolled over and went back to sleep.

“‘SIT UP! Take in a deep breath!’ the voice spoke again with great urgency.

“So I sat up and took in a deep breath … and smelled smoke!” I was fully awake in an instant … awakened my husband … rushed to wake the children … we had the oldest one phone 911 (for emergency) … my husband took over the phone … the operator asked if the lights were working … my husband said they were going out one room at a time.

“Get OUT of the house immediately,” declared the operator. Your house has been struck by lightning.”

As quick as a flash the family rushed outside … immediately the house exploded and burst into flames. It took firemen six hours to put the fire out. The house was totally destroyed … but the entire family was saved. Talk about a wake-up call!

Surely this was a God thing. Fortunately this family was committed followers of Jesus Christ and even though they lost their house, their lives were saved.

God doesn’t usually speak to most of us with an audible voice. He doesn’t have to because his “wake-up call” is spoken to us repeatedly in his Word, the Bible. “Wake up!” God says to every one of us, “Flee from the wrath to come” (God’s judgment of sin and evil for the world that has turned from God will be judged and purified by fire). Wake up, “It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment.” Wake up, “I will come again,” Jesus promised “to take all who believe in me to be with me in heaven forever.”

“Wake up,” Jesus is coming again … it may be today. Are you ready? Again Jesus said, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in….”

Whatever you do don’t miss God’s wake-up call. Have you opened the door of life and invited Jesus, the Son of God, to come into your heart and life as your God and your Savior? If not, may I urge you to do that today … right now … by praying a simple prayer such as the following:

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, I hear your wake up call as faint as it may be. I confess that I am a sinner and ask for your forgiveness. Thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross to pay the penalty for all my sins. I invite you to come into my heart and life as my God and my Savior. With your help I repent of and turn from my sinful ways. Thank you for hearing my prayer, for forgiving me of my sins, and for coming into my heart and life as my Savior. Help me to live for you always in all ways. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

NOTE: If you prayed this prayer, please let us know by clicking on http://tinyurl.com/pgntm and we will send you articles (without charge) to help you in your Christian life. (Be assured that we will never give any information about you to any other person, organization, or business.)

For more help Click ON: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9 for the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian—without having to be religious.”

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Thorns That Don’t Prickle

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“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”1

“Around the turn of the century a young man named Ole took his girlfriend on a summer outing. They took a picnic lunch out to a picturesque island in the middle of a small lake. She wore a long dress with about a dozen petticoats. He was dressed in a suit with a high collar. Ole rowed them out to the island, dragged the boat on to the shore, and spread their picnic supplies beneath a shady tree. So hypnotized was he by her beauty that he hardly noticed the hot sun and perspiration on his brow. Softly she whispered to him, ‘Ole, you forgot the ice cream.’

“Ole pulled the boat back to the water and rowed to shore. He found a grocery store nearby, bought the ice cream, and rowed back to the island. She batted long eyelashes over deep blue eyes and purred, ‘Ole, you forgot the chocolate syrup.’

“Ole got back into the boat and returned to the store for syrup. As he rowed back toward the island, suddenly he stopped. He sat there in the boat the rest of the afternoon, fascinated by an idea. By the end of that afternoon, Ole Evinrude had invented the outboard motor. And by the way, Ole later married the girl who waited so long on the island.”2

As the old saying goes, when life presents you with a lemon, turn it into lemonade! For the Apostle Paul his “thorn in the flesh” (whatever it was) was used by God to keep him humble and effective in his work for the Lord. For me personally (as I’ve shared before), it was when I felt God put me on the shelf that I turned to writing for something to do—I’m still writing some forty years later. In every challenge, setback, failure, discouragement, there is an opportunity. When you face a daunting challenge or a major setback in your life, with strong desire, commitment to God’s purpose for your life, and seeking his direction, you too will discover what your opportunity is.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, when I’m faced with a challenge, setback, or discouragement, please help me to discern what opportunity you have for me in it, and then pursue it with all my heart. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 12:7 (NIV).
2. From http://www.esermons.com/.

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Holy Motivation

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“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”1

Today’s message and prayer….

Dear Lord …

Thank you for the discontent
in my life:
the disappointments,
the pain.
the sad times,
the trying times,
the tough times,
the failures,
the many setbacks,
as well as all the good times,
and all the many successes.

For without feeling sorrow and pain,
I never would have searched for
answers to life’s problems,
healing for the sick,
hope for the discouraged,
comfort for the sorrowing,
or relief for the lonely.
And without experiencing failure
and discouragement,
I never would have searched for
better ways for doing things.
and thus improving everything I do.

Pain was thus a holy motivator,
God’s messenger in disguise,
that made me stretch and grow.2

Thank you, God, for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.

1. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV).
2. Dick Innes, © copyright.

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The Accepted Time

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“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.“1

Ron Clarke from Tasmania wrote about a legend that sounds as if it may have come or been adapted from C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters.

As the legend goes, the devil held a passing-out parade at the evil spiritual academy one year. During the day he questioned three of his evil spirits. To the first he said, “When you get out into the world, what are you going to say to the people?”

“Oh,” the evil spirit replied, “I shall tell them that there is no God.”

“That’s no use,” said the devil, “Creation tells people that there is a God. Not many will believe you.”

Then he said to the second evil spirit, “And what are you going to tell people?”

“I shall say that there is not going to be a judgment” was the reply.

“That’s not much use,” answered the devil, “Conscience tells them about judgment. Not many will believe you.”

Turning to the third evil spirit, he asked, “What about you?”

“I shall tell people that there is a God and a judgment to come,” answered the third evil spirit, “But I shall add that there is no hurry.”

“Excellent!” said the devil. “Many will believe that!”

This reminds me of the words of William Shakespeare who said:

“There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our venture.”

If you are not absolutely sure that you are ready to meet God, I encourage you not to delay this decision another day. Whatever you do, don’t put it off until tomorrow for none of us have any guarantee of tomorrow. For help be sure to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a real Christian—without having to be religious” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

As God’s Word says, “NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you have the gift of salvation and eternal life for all who will come to you and accept it. Help me to be sure that I am a real Christian and am ready to meet you face to face, for that day will surely come. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NKJV).

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When God Puts You on the Shelf

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“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”1

“When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
And the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low, and debts are high,
You want to smile but you have to cry….”

I’m sure most of us have felt this way on more than one occasion. I surely have.

However, if we hang in and trust God he will, in all things, work for the good for those who love God and who are called according to his purpose.” And, as I like to say—even if it is eventually!

For instance, a Daily Encounter reader, Cheri Q, shared how she lost her job but instead of staying discouraged, she decided to write a book and titled it, How to Survive the Loss of a Job.

I can certainly identify with Cheri. In my beginning days in Christian ministry I accepted a call to be the South Australian director of Youth for Christ. For the first year or two I had an incredible opportunity to teach the gospel message in many religious instruction classes in the public high schools. These classes were conducted by the local churches, who, after having done this for many years, voted in one night to discontinue teaching religious instruction in the schools.

As a result about 90 percent of my ministry vanished overnight. I told my YFC board that I was going to look for another job, but they wouldn’t accept my resignation for three months as this is what my contract required even though I had precious little to do. At the time I felt God had forgotten me and put me on the shelf. For something to do I decided to put into writing what I had been teaching in the public schools and wrote the booklet, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian—Without Having to Be Religious.” We ended up mailing a copy of this with a letter and questionnaire/response form to some 600 high school student leaders from 50 high schools. To my utter amazement well over a hundred students replied and 98 marked on their questionnaire/response form that they had read and understood the gospel message and had prayed the prayer at the end to invite Jesus Christ into their life as Savior.

You know what? I’ve been involved in literature and writing outreach ever since! Over three million copies of “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” have been distributed in a number of countries, and multiplied thousands have read this same message on the Internet. From this message and other gospel messages on the ACTS website there have been more than 27,000 salvation and re-commitment to Jesus Christ responses that we know about from over 128 countries. And more than 40 million of ACTS printed gospel brochures have been distributed worldwide.

I could give many more fascinating examples of how God has used what I felt were very discouraging setbacks to greatly expand our ministry and to reach thousands, if not millions, more with the gospel message.

As the hymn-writer expressed it so well, “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform / He plants his footsteps in the sea / And rides upon the storm.”

So dear reader, when the storms of life surround you, remember that God rides upon them, and through it all he has a wonderful plan and purpose for your life.

For many years I have daily committed and trusted my life and way to God and he has worked my many setbacks for good. In fact, if it weren’t for the setbacks and being “put on the shelf” for a season, I wouldn’t be where I am today, and I certainly wouldn’t be writing Daily Encounters for I never had any ambition to be a writer. God will use your disappointments for your good, too, as you daily commit and trust your life and circumstances to him.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that in all things you work for the good of those who love you and are called according to your purpose. I commit and trust my life and way to you and pray that you will use every circumstance in my life to help me become the person you want me to be, and to lead me to do what you want me to do. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Romans 8:28 (NIV).

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Ring the Bells

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Wishing all a very Merry Christmas

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’”1

“On Sept. 14th, 2001—just after the tragic events of 9-11—President George W. Bush called for a national day of prayer and the ringing of bells in houses of worship across our land. Rector Daniel Paul Matthews contacted the churches in his Manhattan parish to let them know of President Bush’s initiative. Matthews especially wanted to hear the bells ring out from St. Paul’s Chapel on Broadway, the oldest public building in the city. St. Paul’s is also an historic church. President George Washington prayed there during times of war. But the engineers at St. Paul’s said it would be impossible to ring the Chapel’s bells. They were too near the chaos of Ground Zero, and the Chapel had been shut off from normal activity.

“But one of the engineers, Mike Borrero, wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. He climbed up into the Chapel’s bell tower and banged on the bell with an iron bar. Twelve times the bell pealed out through the streets of Manhattan. On the ground below, fire fighters and police officers paused in their work to take off their hats and bow their heads in reverence. One brave engineer determined that St. Paul’s Chapel would not remain silent in the midst of adversity.”2

May we, who call ourselves Christ followers, never have to wait ’till Christmas to hear the bells of peace ring out—or allow the purveyors of political correctness to silence the bells of peace—as expressed in an old favorite Christmas carol:

I heard the bells on Christmas day / Their old familiar carols play / And mild and sweet the words repeat, / Of peace on earth, good will to men. / I thought how as the day had come, / The belfries of all Christendom Had roll’d along th’ unbroken song / Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bow’d my head: / “There is no peace on earth,” I said, / “For hate is strong, and mocks the song / Of peace on earth, good will to men.” / Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: / “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; / The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, / With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in this world where so few wrongs are put right and where there is not yet lasting peace, grant that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, will hasten the day of his return to end forever all wars, evil, sadness, sickness, and suffering, and that there truly will be ‘peace on earth, good will to men.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

NOTE: If you have never accepted God’s remarkable Christmas gift of forgiveness and eternal life, for help go to www.actsweb.org/christian for the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian—without having to be religious.”

1. Luke 2:13-14 (NIV).
2. “God Reigns” by Daniel Paul Matthews, from a sermon preached on Sept. 23, 2001, quoted by Associated Church Press wire news.

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God So Loved

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“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”1

In a tribe of Indians, or so the story goes, someone was stealing chickens. The Chief declared that, if caught, the offender would receive 10 lashes.

When the stealing continued, he raised it to 20 lashes. Still the chickens methodically disappeared. In anger the Chief raised the sentence to 100 lashes.

The thief was finally caught, but the Chief faced a terrible dilemma. The thief was his mother! When the day of penalty came, the whole tribe gathered. Would the Chief’s love override his justice? The crowd gasped when he ordered his mother to be tied to the whipping post.

The Chief removed his shirt, revealing his powerful stature, and took the whip in hand. But instead of raising it to strike the first blow, he handed it to a strong, young brave standing at his side. Slowly the Chief walked over to his mother and wrapped his massive arms around her in an engulfing embrace. Then he ordered the brave to give him the 100 lashes.

That’s what JESUS did for you and me when he came to earth clothed in an external garment of human flesh some 2000 years ago, which is commemorated as “Christmas.” In love he became our substitute and died in our place to pay the penalty for all our sins. He overcame our inability to save ourselves by paying the price for our sins. His death bridged the gulf between God and man and made it possible for us to be reconciled to God and to be restored to fellowship with him through faith in Christ and in his atoning death for us.2

Suggested prayer: “Dear Jesus/God, how I thank you for loving me so much that you gave your life to die on the cross at Calvary to pay the penalty for every sin I have ever committed, for your full and free pardon, and for the gift of eternal life for all who accept you as their personal Savior. For this I will be eternally grateful. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

NOTE: To help you to be sure you have accepted God’s forgiveness and his gift of eternal life, click on “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: https://learning.actsweb.org/christian.

1. John 3:16 (NASB).
2. Contributed by Alexandra Perros from Holland.

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The Lost Pilot

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“For the Son of Man [Jesus Christ] came to seek and to save what was lost.”1

In his early days as a pilot, Australia’s Outback Patrol pilot and bush padre, Les Nixon, was flying an old 1933 De Havilland Dragon bi-plane from Bourke to Longreach in the outback of far western Queensland. The twin engines were purring happily when suddenly a frantic call came over the radio from a lost pilot!

“Mayday … Mayday … Any Station … Any Station … Request urgent assistance,” came his first call. After half an hour of fruitless calling, he began to panic.

Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! He had become disoriented on his first cross-country solo exercise. Lost and low on fuel, he needed urgent help.

He was a hundred miles from Les so there was little he could do but pray for him, and hope someone was close enough to help.

“I’m almost out of fuel—someone help me.” Any other pilots listening could do little but offer suggestions and wish him the best.

Miraculously, through the static of the radio—out of the blue, came a quiet, stoic voice of a helper from above. A mysterious presence from nowhere assessed the situation, found an answer, and directed the frantic pilot what to do. “Yes, son, I have you in sight,” droned the pilot of an old commercial airline who happened to be flying overhead, and had heard his call for help.

“Now, listen … simply do what I say. Turn to your right-north-yes, that’s it. You’re doing just fine. Line up on that paddock (field) over the fence and you’ll find you can easily land on the open field, stay with your plane, and I’ll get someone there to get you.”

The older, experienced pilot had been watching from above—even as the frantic young pilot had been unable to work it out for himself—followed him for a few minutes, and found the answer to his problem. Then he quietly directed the inexperienced pilot through each maneuver until he placed him safely on an outback paddock (field).

One can only imagine the terror this young pilot must have experienced and then the incredible relief when the miraculous rescue “from above” guided him to safety.2

One of life’s greatest tragedies is that so many people are lost and they don’t even know it … some don’t even want to know it. That is, they are lost spiritually and heading towards a lost eternity without God and without hope. And that’s why Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth 2000 years ago. He came to die on the cross to pay the penalty for all our sins, to find us, to give us the gift of forgiveness, and to rescue us from a lost eternity in hell. All we need to do is to admit that because of our sin we are lost, and come to Christ for his forgiveness. He’s waiting from above to rescue us.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you have seen my plight, and my need of your rescue and salvation. Thank you that you are waiting to save me and to direct my way throughout my life. Today I surrender my heart and life to you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

To find God be sure to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

1. Luke 19:10 (NIV).
2. Les Nixon http://www.outbackpatrol.com.au/.

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Strange Coincidence or Divine Guidance

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“And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”1

God certainly does move in mysterious ways … and I am convinced that he also has a great sense of humor.

I had been single for a number of years and, at the time I am about to write about, besides my work with ACTS, I was also on the staff at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. Some of you will be aware of the Cathedral’s Christmas program, “The Glory of Christmas” which, if you ever have a chance to see it, will find it to be spectacular and inspiring.

A decade or so ago it was the last night of “The Glory of Christmas” between the two presentations for the evening. There were some 2500+ people leaving via the side exits and another 2500+ people slowly entering via the front entrance. There were people everywhere—hundreds of them—as I crossed the plaza area on my way to teach a class in another building. All were moving forward except for one lady who was standing waiting. All I could see was her back. She could have been the wife of King Farouk for all I knew—or cared. Being in one of my fun moods, I walked up to the side of this lady and, extending my forearm, said, “Excuse me, lady, sorry to keep you waiting, but I’m your escort for the evening. Shall we go?”

She turned around and laughed hilariously. We visited for a while. I told her I was on the staff at the Cathedral … she told me she was from Napa in northern California and was a widow. We kind of hit it off and ended up exchanging phone numbers. I said to her, “You are brave giving a strange man your phone number.” She replied, “What makes you think it’s my phone number?” I asked her if she would like to do coffee after the program (and I hate coffee). She couldn’t because she was waiting for her date for the evening. She also said if I was ever in Napa to get in touch. I said, “I think I’m coming there real soon.” To let you in on a secret, I’d never heard of Napa and had no idea that it was 500 miles away!

Three years later we were married. Her name is Joy … and she certainly is. She has been and is a true God-send in my life. She is now an equal partner doing all the ACTS office work and is a vital part of the gospel outreach of ACTS International.

Joy and I have lots of hilarious laughter in our life. For me life has never been better nor has it been more fulfilling. I often kid to Joy that she “being in the way, the Lord led me.”

Now my question is: “Was this strange coincidence or was it divine guidance?”

I’ll let you be the judge … but as for me I certainly thank God for that very strange, funny, and most unusual meeting. And like I said, I do think God has a sense of humor.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that when I daily commit and trust my life and way to you, I have the assurance that through the good times and the bad, you lead me all the way. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Genesis 24:27 (KJV).

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Blessed are the Plodders

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“No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.”1

King Duncan of Dynamic Preaching shares how “Vince Lombardi has often been described as the greatest football coach in modern times. He was a tremendous motivator. Before a group of sportswriters, he was once asked to explain why the Green Bay Packers won so many ball games. Everyone was expecting some profound insight into the complexities of the game of football and the unique genius of a coach who was about to unravel the mysteries of his success. Instead, his response was simple and straightforward.

“He said, ‘Football is a game that requires you to move the ball 10 yards in four attempts. Football games are not won on 50-yard pass plays or 90-yard running plays. They are won by moving the ball 10 yards in four attempts. The other team will do everything in its power to prevent you from achieving this. So it is a game of who’s best prepared. Who wants to win the most, and who never loses sight of the fact that all you have to do is move the ball 10 yards at a time.’ Vince Lombardi was a winner because he never lost sight of the importance of plodding.”

Lombardi wasn’t saying that we shouldn’t have worthwhile goals. Not at all. His goal was to win football games. Our goal as Christians is to win at what God calls us to be and do. And that isn’t achieved overnight. It’s steady plodding all the way—year in and year out. As with the Apostle Paul, we don’t win the prize from God until our life’s work on earth is done.

As the Apostle Paul also said, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”2

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the high calling I have in Christ Jesus. Help me to keep my eye on the goal you have called me to reach for in what I become and in what I do with my life in serving you. And help me to never give up, so that in the end I will be a true winner in your eyes. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT).
2. Galatians 6:9-10 (NIV).

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