Monthly Archives: January 2011

Welcome Home

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“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’”1

A Daily Encounter reader, C.A. wrote, “I returned home to New York City this morning after being away for 4 days visiting my Mom. At home, early on the first morning, I was awakened by the voices of my grandbabies, Charlene and Charles who were staying with us. As I came down the hallway to the bathroom, Charles was entering the hallway with his hands full of toys. He looked up at my face and said, ‘Grammie,’ dropped all his toys, stretched his arms upward for me to pick him up, gave me a kiss, and wrapped his little arms around my neck as I held him in my arms for a hug.

“It was such an overwhelming welcome that I continually thought about it until I realized that the lingering impact of the experience was so moving to me because I want Jesus to welcome me home just like that—with recognition, welcome, warmth, acceptance, love, and an all-enveloping embrace.”

That welcome home to heaven is available to everyone who has accepted Jesus as his/her Savior and has faithfully served the Lord [God] here on earth. Our service to God doesn’t get us into heaven. Only accepting Jesus as our Savior and his forgiveness for our sins does that. However, we will be rewarded for faithful service to God. How disappointing it would be when we meet Jesus face to face should we have nothing in the way of service to offer him. But how wonderful and rewarding to receive his welcome home knowing that we had served him to the best of our ability, and to hear his wonderful words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, because you gave your life and died in my place on the cross to pay the penalty for all my sins, help me to live my life in loving service to you every day for the rest of my life. Help me to so live that when I meet you face to face I will hear your welcoming words, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Note: If you are not absolutely certain that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and thereby have received God’s gift of forgiveness so that you know that you know that you know you will go to heaven when you die, I urge you to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian—without having to be religious at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

1. Matthew 25:23 (NKJV).

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Not What—But Who

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“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”1

I have read how Hayley Mills, a child star at the time, was escorted through Disneyland. As she was led past hundreds of people standing in line, a security guard attempted to stop her. “Hey there,” he called to Haley’s escort, “who do you think you are? Walt Disney?” Imagine his mortification when the escort turned around and said, “As a matter of fact I am Walt Disney.”

As the saying goes, “It’s not what you know but who you know.” That certainly holds true to get into many places. Joy, my wife, had the opportunity to be a guest at the inauguration of President Bush. How come? Because of someone she knew. She was a very good friend of the mother-in-law of a high ranking military officer who was stationed at the White House. Joy phoned me from the ball room to share her excitement about seeing the president in person. Jokingly I kidded, “Have you touched the hem of his garment yet?”

There is one place much greater than any inauguration ball, the White House, or Buckingham Palace where so many would like to be invited to. However, to be invited to this one place it is absolutely imperative that we know the only person who can get us in—yes, it’s into God’s heaven. And that person is Jesus. You may know about Jesus, but do you know him as your Savior? And does he know you? If not, I urge you to accept his invitation to meet him today. 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.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that your invitation to heaven is to ‘whosoever will may come.’ Thank you that that includes me. I confess that I am a sinner and thank you for dying in my place to pay the penalty for all my sins. I accept your invitation to come to you for my salvation, to ask for and accept your forgiveness, and to receive the gift of eternal life so that I will live with you forever in heaven. Thank you for your great gift of salvation and thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

If you prayed this prayer and genuinely meant it, please let us know by going to www.actsweb.org/decision.php

1. Acts 4:12 (NIV).

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True Friendship

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“A friend loves at all times”1.

I remember years ago how a friend said that some people are “cursed with the affliction to give advice.” I had no idea what he meant. Sure sounded strange to me. Now I understand. He was talking about unsolicited advice; that is, giving advice where it is neither asked for nor wanted.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, people “offering unwanted advice or services” are officious. I think that word is close to “obnoxious.” Such advice can be thinly veiled criticism.

I’m not talking about going to a lawyer, an accountant, a car mechanic, or whatever when we need professional advice. What I’m talking about is when we share our struggles and feelings with a friend and they have a compulsion to tell us what we should or shouldn’t do, or how we should or shouldn’t feel. They are in fact putting us down in that they are assuming that they know our needs and understand our situation better than we do ourselves.

Even when some people want advice about a personal issue, it is more effective not to give it to them, but help them come up with their own options and solutions.

A good counselor doesn’t tell people what they should or shouldn’t do. He helps them see for themselves what they need to do.

What I want from a friend when I am feeling in the pits, is someone to listen to me with their heart, to give me their presence, and accept me as I am, and let me know that they care—not try to fix me—or someone who will weep with me when I weep. Such friends may be rare but they are worth their weight in gold.

In his book, Out of Solitude, Henri Nouwen wrote, “When we honestly ask ourselves which persons in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be a true friend and to be there for those who are hurting, not to give them advice or try to fix them or resolve their problems, but to listen to them, accept their feelings, give them my presence, love them, and be as Jesus to them. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 17:17 (NIV).

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Being Real Part II

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“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”1

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to love open, honest, and authentic people—and how difficult it is to even like defensive, dishonest people who are living in denial?

A good definition of denial has been called Truth Decay. In the long run denial can be extremely destructive to one’s physical, mental and spiritual health—and also destructive to relationships, and to the emotional and spiritual health of families and societies.

True, as children many of us were forced to build defenses around our feelings in order to survive. However, as adults we need to rid ourselves of unhealthy defenses in order to fully live and fully love—that is, to live productive lives and develop healthy, lasting and loving relationships. As long as I live behind a mask—no matter how attractive that mask may appear—I can never feel loved because my mask is not me. Only real people can get close to others and experience intimacy and real love.

Furthermore, the more dishonest I am with my inner self (my true feelings and motives), the more I will distort all other truth—including God’s truth—to make it match my perception of reality, and use it to justify my behavior. Ultimately I end up unhappily believing my own lies.

So where do we begin to overcome the problem of denial, which may very well be the most destructive personal and societal problem we have?

First, let’s call denial what it is. It’s SIN—and a destructive sin at that. Remember, it’s just as big a sin to lie to myself as it is to lie to anyone else. We can call poison by any name we like, but poison is still poison. Same goes for sin. We can call it freedom of choice, misspeak, or by any other fancy name to give it a sugar coating and make it sound attractive, but that makes it all the more deceptive and dangerous.

Second, confession. Remember that we change the world one person at a time. The first person to start with is myself. I need to realize that I can be as guilty of the sin of denial as anyone else and come to God with a genuine and humble heart asking him to “search my heart” and reveal to me, no matter how painful it may be, any areas in my life where I may be in denial and to confront me with the truth about myself.

Third, realize that without access to the truth there is no healing or recovery of individuals or societies, and there is no freedom but self-deceptive bondage. As Jesus said, only the truth sets people free (see John 8:32). It is not without good reason that God “desires truth in our innermost being.”

Fourth, accept the fact that pain was the way into denial and pain is the way out of it. As they say in AA, “It’s not the truth that hurts us but letting go of the lies.” Indeed, facing one’s truth can be painful but incredibly freeing and ultimately fulfilling. I say painful because it usually takes painful experiences to break through our self-defeating defenses.

Finally, the pursuit of truth needs to be a life-long journey. It is a journey that leads to fully living and fully loving—and ultimately to life everlasting. Lies are of the devil and ultimately lead to hell here on earth and in the life to come.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in the words of the psalmist, ‘Search me . . . and know my heart. Try me, and know my anxieties. And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’ No matter what the cost, please deliver me from the sin of denial. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 139:23-24 (NKJV).

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Being Real Part I

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“Surely you [God] desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.”1

I once asked a group what they felt was the Christian’s number one problem. One jokester called out, “Apathy, but who cares?” Another said, “I don’t know and I don’t care.” As the old saying goes, “many a true word is spoken in jest.”

Yes, I agree that one of our major problems is apathy. According to a journalist who writes for the LA Times newspaper, one reason why vocal radical minorities are winning in areas such as gay marriage, partial birth abortion, etc., is because enough Christians don’t care enough to do anything about it. They sit back, do nothing, let it all happen—and when it’s too late, cry, “Foul.” The fact that in this country (the U.S.), according to a report by Chuck Colson, only 33% of evangelical Christians are registered to vote speaks volumes about our apathy. How soon we forget that “the price of freedom is eternal vigilance!”

However, apathy is just one of our problems. While we all struggle with various problems to one degree or another, my personal belief—either rightly or wrongly—is that our biggest problem is that of denial; that is, being unreal (avoiding the truth about ourselves). We hide our true feelings and motives behind a facade or mask of busyness, intellectualism, performance, success, achievement, religiosity, saccharine sweetness, rationalization, belligerence, control of others, addictive behaviors, superficiality, over-conscientiousness, self-righteousness, aggressiveness, satirical humor, shyness, a negative critical attitude, and any one of a hundred or more other ways—including apathy.

Some of us who say we stand on the Word of God actually hide behind it. Ironically we use God’s Truth as a defense to avoid facing the truth about ourselves. Controlling, dictatorial religious leaders do this. They hide their deep insecurities behind a façade of theological rigidity, super-spirituality, and/or authoritarianism—and deny that they are in denial.

Sadly, people living in denial don’t recognize what authenticity is and, in fact, are threatened by it. They may withdraw from authentic people. For others, it “rattles the cage” of their phony facade and, when they are in denial, they tend to shout all the louder and get even more belligerent, or become very defensive.

To be continued . . . .

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that the principles found in your Word, the Bible, are for our protection, well-being, and for our personal freedom. Help me to live in harmony with your will and be truthful in my innermost being—truthful to myself, to my closest companions, and above all truthful to you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 51:6 (NIV).

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Mirror Image

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“Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”1

Dr. William Barker tells about the actor, Ben Kingsley who “starred as the main character in the motion picture GANDHI. He spent months preparing for the role, visiting the various Indian locales Gandhi had frequented. He even learned to spin cotton thread on a wooden wheel while holding conversations as Gandhi did. The physical resemblance between Gandhi and Kingsley was almost startling. After filming a scene in a village south of Delhi, Kingsley stepped out of a car, and an elderly peasant knelt to touch his feet. Embarrassed, Kingsley explained that he was merely an actor playing Gandhi. ‘We know,’ replied the villager, ‘but through you he will surely live again.’”2

As Christians, if we truly follow and serve the Lord, we will become more and more in every way like Christ. May God help us to so live that others will see the likeness of Jesus in us—as this is by far the most powerful and effective witness of our Christian faith that any one of us could ever have.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in the words of the song writer, ‘I have one deep supreme desire / that I might be like Jesus / to this I fervently aspire / that I might be like Jesus / I want my heart His throne to be / So that a watching world may see / His likeness shining forth in me / I want to be like Jesus.’3 Please help me to so live that people will always see Jesus in me and thus be drawn to you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Ephesians 4:15 (NLT).

2. Dr. William P. Barker, Tarbell’s Teacher’s Manual, (Elgin, Illinois: David C. Cook Church Ministries, 1994). Quoted in a sermon by Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn, “One in Christ” http://www.epulpit.net/billy112.htm

3. Thomas O. Chisholm.

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Obnoxious Effluvium

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“But he, willing to justify [excuse] himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?”1

The effluvium (stench) in Joy’s home office was putrid. It was about the same as when we had a dead rat in a wall in the last home where we lived. Leaving the windows open day and night didn’t alleviate the wretched smell. Burning several scented candles in the room didn’t help either. Joy and I must have looked a sight crawling around the room on the floor sniffing the walls to see if we could find the place where the rat or rats had been trapped and died. We emptied drawers and sniffed in them. We sniffed in the closet. We sniffed the bookshelves. All our sniffing efforts to find and eliminate the culprit were in vain. We even had a termite inspector crawl around in our attic thinking the offensive culprit may have died in the ceiling.

Then lo and forsooth, a few days later, Joy happened to be cleaning her desk and there, right under our nose, under a pile of papers was the sickening culprit. No, it wasn’t a rat. It was an Easter egg left there by one of our grandkids some weeks before. What a mess! What a stink! We had a great laugh at our folly!

Seriously, have you ever noticed that many of our personal problems are caused by our failure to clean up our lifestyle? And how we search everywhere for a hook upon which to hang the blame for our problems . . . and all the while the problem is right under our nose?

Speaking personally, more often than not, I am the main cause of the difficulties I have. What others have done to me may or may not be a problem, but how I react is always my responsibility—and to the degree that I overreact, that is always my problem. In other words what bothers me is my problem. And the answer to resolving my problem so often lies within myself.

Difficult to see, I know, and even harder to admit, but the fact remains I am my own biggest problem and as long as I play the blame-game, I will never overcome or resolve my problems.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in every conflict in which I happen to find myself, please confront me with the reality of what I have contributed or am contributing to it. Help me to accept responsibility for my part and resolve that—and commit and trust to you any others that may be involved. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Luke 10:29 (KJV).

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Good Morning God

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“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”1

When praying for God’s guidance, do you ever feel that your prayers are not rising above the ceiling? Or do you sometimes find it difficult to concentrate because your mind wanders all over the “wilderness” as it were?

I recall one occasion when I was badly wanting God’s guidance, before going to bed, I picked up my bedside telephone and dialed 1-800-4heaven—from which I received a recorded message that said in a flat monotone voice: “You are dialing the wrong number.”

I was at least amused. It is true that (whether we feel it or not) God does hear our prayers when they come from the heart. As the old ditty says: “I often say my prayers / but do I really pray / and does the meaning of my heart / go with the words I say?” God doesn’t always answer our prayers in the way we want, but he always answers them in one way or another. Sometimes his answer is “no,” sometimes it is “yes,” and sometimes it is “wait a while.”

However, when having a difficult time praying, I have on many occasions written my prayers to God. This is something that King David often did in his Psalms. I have found this very helpful and suggest that you try and practice doing this oftentimes.

Today’s suggested prayer is an example: “Good morning, God, this is Jane (your name) calling/writing. Thank you for your promise that you always hear my prayers when I pray sincerely from my heart. Again today I commit and trust my life and way to you. Please guide me in the way that I should go. I am available so please use me to be ‘as Jesus’ in some way to every life I touch this day. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus name, amen.”

For further help read the article, “How to Pray Effectively” at:

http://tinyurl.com/good-morning-God

1. Psalm 145:18.

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God’s Will—Our Hiding Place

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“For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.”1

In her bestseller book, The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom tells of the tense times in Holland during the German invasion. One night when there was bombing and shelling happening all around the house where she and her sister lived, Corrie couldn’t sleep. Hearing her sister in the kitchen, she decided to go down and join her.

Long into the night after all the bombing ceased and all was silent, Corrie returned to her bed only to find that her pillow—right where her head lay—had been pierced with a sizable piece of sharp metal shrapnel from an exploding bomb! Going downstairs to the kitchen saved her life!

She rushed to tell her sister saying, “Betsie, if I hadn’t heard you in the kitchen . . . .” To this her saintly sister interrupted, “Don’t say it, Corrie. There are no ifs in God’s world. The center of his will is our safety.”

Later through terrible trying times in a Nazi prison, Miss Ten Boom was to learn over and over this marvelous truth: “God’s will is our hiding place.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, I don’t ask that you deliver me from the storms of life, but please help me to find deliverance in them. Hide me in the hollow of your hand, and in the shelter of your tabernacle, and set me high upon a rock. Gratefully in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. Psalm 27:5 (NIV).

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Don’t Quit

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From the Apostle Paul: “But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us—is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.”1

I suppose there are times when all of us feel overcome by problems and feel like quitting. I’ve been there, but couldn’t find anything better than my Christian faith to quit to. Today I thank God for the courage to keep going, not knowing that God was allowing trials to strengthen my faith and to help me grow.

If you feel like giving up and quitting, perhaps the following poem will encourage you to hang in, hang on, but never hang up when the going gets tough.

Don’t Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest, if you must—but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow—

You might succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than

It seems to a faint and faltering man,

Often the struggler has given up

When he might have captured the victor’s cup,

And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out—

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems afar;

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—

It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.2

I also like a quote attributed to Joseph P. Kennedy that Robert Schuller has used: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Or as the title of one of his books says, Tough Times Never Last. Tough People Do.

God never forsook the Apostle Paul who faced incredible trials and opposition. And he will never forsake you or me as long as we place our trust in him.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you will never forsake or abandon me. Please help me always to put my trust in you and your faithfulness regardless of my circumstances, knowing that in the end my faith and trust in you will be justified. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 (NLT).

2. Unknown.

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